How Do You Think ‘SVU’ Will Handle the Aftermath of the Rollisi Kiss? (POLL)

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Law & Order: SVU ended its 22nd season with a moment that had been a long time coming (though not quite as long as something we’re still waiting for involving another pair): Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Detective-turned-ADA Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) kissed!

The big moment came at what was supposed to be Sergeant Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) and Sergeant Phoebe Baker’s (Jennifer Esposito) wedding. (They decided they’re happy with how their relationship is and don’t need to get married.) Carisi was set to officiant the ceremony and spent pretty much all his time leading up to the moment working on his speech. Fortunately, it turns out that was time very well spent in a very unexpected way after Rollins had him read it to her.

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“Fin and Phoebe were each other’s first partners, over 20 years ago,” Carisi said. “A partnership is a lot like a marriage: You fight, then you make up. But at the end of the day, you always have each other’s backs. And if you had to, you’d take a bullet for each other. A bond like that, that never goes away.”

The speech made Rollins emotional, and after he wiped away her tears, she kissed him. And now we have to wait until the fall to see what that means for the potential couple. There are, after all, some complications. One of them: While Carisi’s girlfriend Nicole (Suzette Gunn) didn’t attend the wedding and the two were clearly heading towards a breakup, it didn’t sound like that happened just yet.

And just because Rollins and Carisi finally kissed doesn’t mean that we should expect to see them together when Season 23 begins (as much as we might hope that their will they/won’t they dance is over). Crossing that line might be easier said than done for these two. The photo above is from New Year’s Eve; just look how long it took for them to kiss after that.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

“It’s a complicated relationship. There’s something there between the two of them, but it’s one of those instances where you’ve had your relationship defined by work and being friends for so long, that sometimes it might be hard to cross over into something else and that might not even be what’s right,” Scanavino told TV Insider in April. “Sometimes the lines between what’s a platonic or romantic affection can be blurred and that might be there. But I think it’s very clear that they can really depend on each other when they’re really in a pinch. That’s a very special thing to have, particularly in the world that they exist in, which is one where work is always pressing.”

With that in mind, we’re bracing ourselves for a few possibilities in Season 23. The two could be together, perhaps even spending the day with her kids, when the premiere begins, but their relationship status is unclear. Maybe we think they’re involved, only to find out they haven’t taken that final step forward yet, allowing us to see the early days when they do. Or maybe we’ve missed that part because the season begins with them fully together. Or they’ve decided they just can’t take the risk because of how much they mean to one another and there’s another big moment in their future. (SVU has, after all, been renewed through Season 24.)

Law & Order: SVU, Season 23, Fall 2021, NBC