Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fans have been vocal about wanting Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) back as a series regular since her character was originally written out of the show, but her return to SVU full-time has an unforeseen consequence.

Rollins made her debut on SVU following the departure of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) in season 13. Initially, she was following the trail of a serial rapist from Georgia to New York, but she became a valuable and permanent member of the team. She was written out of the show in the middle of season 24, becoming a professor.

While the role of a professor teaching courses on criminal behavior fits for an experienced detective and someone with a forensic science degree, Rollins eventually left that job and became a sergeant under the Intelligence Unit of the NYPD at Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) recommendation.

Rollins has been steadily guest-starring ever since the writers took her out of SVU, but season 27 will mark her return as a main player and Giddish as a series regular.

Amanda Rollins Rejoining Olivia Benson’s Team Means A Demotion For Her In Law & Order: SVU Season 27

SVU Is Viewed As A Low-Ranking Unit

The last time Amanda Rollins worked for SVU, she was a Detective Second Grade, having earned that particular rank while on the squad. Most of the police officers out in the field investigating the cases are detectives of various ranks. The officers who spend more time doing work behind the scenes are the sergeants.

Fans will notice that when John Munch (Richard Belzer) was promoted to Sergeant in the earlier seasons of SVU, he spent less and less time in the field, and Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) even got a new partner for a while. Munch became the acting Captain whenever Cragen (Dann Florek) was not around because he outranked the detectives.

It’s unlikely that, even with the rank of Sergeant, Rollins would be put in that position. For one thing, she has been away from the unit for a few years. For another, Fin is now a Sergeant, and has been since season 19. He is Captain Benson’s second-in-command.

If Rollins is rejoining SVU, it would mean she would be outranked by, at the very least, the two of them. While that does make sense and likely would never bruise Rollins’ ego since they both have over a decade in the unit on her, Rollins’ return to SVU would still be seen as a demotion for her.

Rollins has spent the last year or so working in the Intelligence Unit of the NYPD. While, technically speaking, none of the task forces or separate units outrank the other, it has been a running theme in SVU that the Special Victims Unit is viewed as the lowest rung on the NYPD ladder.

It’s hammered home in the first few seasons of the show that the majority of detectives only last three years in the SVU – at the most. Most of the detectives who pass cases off to SVU in the early seasons do not see sexual assault investigations as worth their time.

They do not see some of the most frequent victims – prostitutes and the unhoused – as needing the same kind of justice as the average citizen. That’s part of what makes characters like Olivia Benson and Odafin Tutuola so impressive. They beat the odds and rose through the ranks of SVU because of their commitment and their empathy.

Rollins moving from the Intelligence Unit, which is often seen as the kind of squad that works the biggest cases, back to Sex Crimes, would be viewed as a demotion by nearly anyone outside of SVU, no matter what her official rank actually is.

Why A Demotion May Be Justified For Rollins’ Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Career Move

Rollins Is Very Good At The SVU Work

Rollins, much like Benson and Fin before her, is very good at SVU’s work. She is good at getting victims to open up to her, and she has an understanding of the way the criminal mind works. Rollins also has some blind spots that have been showcased in the series, though.

Rollins tends to have a blind spot when it comes to powerful and intelligent men. They are often able to manipulate her, but that happens more often in her personal life than in her professional life. The show has allowed her colleagues to call her out on these blind spots – especially as they led to many of her gambling issues.

Early appearances by Rollins in SVU also showcased her tendency to favor the men in cases rather than the women, which often made her clash with other members of SVU. Over time, however, her own history with domestic abuse has come to light which allows an explanation for her early behavior.

SVU has done a great job at having Rollins confront a lot of these behaviors head-on and has allowed her to grow. Bringing her back to SVU would allow Rollins to continue that growth while working under Benson and Fin, the two people closest to her on the squad who are more likely to point out any slips in her behavior.

Ultimately, Rollins being “demoted” to SVU works in her favor. The squad is where Rollins experienced the most growth in the past, and it’s where she can put her skills to best use. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit would do well to make Rollins a permanent member of the squad again.