Twenty-four years. Honestly, most shows don't even make it to five. But Law & Order Special Victims Unit Season 24 proved that Olivia Benson isn’t just a character; she’s an institution. This specific run of episodes, which aired between 2022 and 2023, hit differently because it felt like the end of an era while simultaneously trying to build a bridge to whatever comes next.
It was messy. It was emotional. It was, at times, incredibly frustrating for longtime fans who have been shipping "Bensler" since the Clinton administration.
The Kelli Giddish Bombshell
You can't talk about this season without addressing the elephant in the squad room. Rollins left. Amanda Rollins, played by Kelli Giddish for over a decade, was written out mid-season, and the fans were absolutely livid. It wasn't just that she left; it was how it happened. After years of trauma—gambling addictions, getting shot, terrible boyfriends—she finally found some semblance of peace with Carisi. And then? She just decides to become a professor?
The transition felt rushed. Variety and other trade publications reported at the time that the shake-up wasn't necessarily Giddish's choice, which added a layer of real-world bitterness to her final episodes. When she walked out those doors in "And a Trauma in a Pear Tree," the show lost its grit. Rollins was the character who didn't always say the politically correct thing. She had baggage. Without her, the dynamic shifted heavily toward Benson’s saint-like leadership, which is fine, but it lacks that friction that made the earlier seasons feel like a true ensemble.
New Faces and the Three-Way Crossover
The season kicked off with a massive logistical nightmare—in a good way. The "Gimme Shelter" crossover event linked the original Law & Order, SVU, and Organized Crime. It was three hours of television that felt more like a feature film. Seeing Benson, Cosgrove, and Stabler all trying to navigate a single case involving international sex trafficking and a murder in a subway station was a reminder of why the Dick Wolf universe works. It’s the scale.
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We also met Grace Muncy. Played by Molly Burnett, Muncy was supposed to fill the void, bringing a street-smart, somewhat erratic energy from the Bronx gang unit. She was okay. Not great, but okay. The problem is that in Law & Order Special Victims Unit Season 24, the revolving door of detectives started to feel a bit dizzying. Churlish came in from the Bronx too, creating this weird tension that felt like high school drama instead of high-stakes policing.
The Benson and Stabler Tease
Let's be real. Most people watching at this point are just waiting for Olivia and Elliot to finally, actually, for-real kiss. Episode 12, "Blood Out," was the one. They were in the kitchen. The lighting was low. The tension was thick enough to cut with a tactical knife. And then... nothing.
The writers are playing a dangerous game. They know that the "will-they-won't-they" is the engine driving the social media engagement, but by the end of season 24, it started to feel like baiting. Benson admiting that she wasn't "ready" for him was a poignant moment of character growth, acknowledging her own trauma, but man, it’s been two decades.
Real Cases, Real World Problems
SVU has always ripped from the headlines. In this batch of episodes, they tackled the fallout of the end of Roe v. Wade, the complexities of "incels," and the terrifying reality of social media challenges gone wrong. "Mirroring" was a particularly tough watch, focusing on how technology can be weaponized against young girls in ways the police are barely equipped to handle.
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The show is at its best when it stops trying to be an action movie and goes back to being a legal drama. The courtroom scenes with Carisi have become the backbone of the series. Seeing him go from a bumbling detective to a sharp, albeit empathetic, ADA is one of the most satisfying long-term arcs in TV history. In season 24, he’s often the only person keeping the show grounded in reality while the detectives are running around with 1:1 ratios of suspects to cops.
Why the Finale Mattered
The season ended with another crossover, "All Pain Is One Malady," and "With Many Names." It brought back Rollins (thankfully) as a consultant, showing her pregnancy and her new life in academia. It felt like a soft apology to the fans. But the real meat was the hunt for the creator of a "rape-for-hire" website.
It was dark. Even for SVU.
The season closed with Benson and Stabler exchanging gifts—a compass necklace for Olivia. It symbolized her finding her way, or maybe him being her north star. It was subtle, but after the chaos of the previous 21 episodes, it was the quietest moment that resonated the most.
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Critical Takeaways for the Casual Viewer
If you're looking to jump into this season or just want the "SparkNotes" version, here is the reality of what you're getting:
- The Departure of Rollins: This is the emotional core of the first half. Watch her wedding to Carisi; it’s the one pure moment in a very dark year.
- The Bronx Infiltration: A lot of the season focuses on Benson cleaning up corruption and bringing in new talent from other boroughs. It’s hit or miss.
- The Stabler Factor: He appears just enough to keep the romantic tension simmering but not enough to solve the cases for them.
- Technical Shifts: The cinematography felt a bit more cinematic this year. Less of the shaky-cam "documentary" style of the early 2000s and more polished, high-contrast visuals.
To truly understand the impact of Law & Order Special Victims Unit Season 24, you have to look at it as a transition. It moved away from being a show about a squad to being a show about a legendary captain trying to figure out what her legacy looks like when the people she loves start moving on. Mariska Hargitay carries this show on her back. Without her performance—which is somehow still fresh after 500+ episodes—the whole thing would probably collapse under the weight of its own tropes.
Watch "Blood Out" for the character work. Watch the crossover for the spectacle. But most importantly, watch it for the way it handles the survivors. That has always been the heart of the series, and despite the cast changes and the frustrating romantic teases, the show still treats the victims' stories with a level of gravity that most procedurals ignore.
If you're catching up, start with the crossover and then move into the Rollins exit arc. It provides the most cohesive narrative experience before the season settles into its "case of the week" rhythm. Check your local listings or Peacock for the full run, as the episode order can get confusing with the crossovers.