Kelli Giddish says there was 'real emotion' in her final Law & Order: SVU scenes

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Dec. 8 episode of Law & Order: SVU.

In the end, Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) got a happy ending.

After joining Law & Order: SVU in season 13, Giddish said farewell in Thursday's mid-season finale, which saw Rollins tie the knot with Peter Scanavino's Carisi and decide to leave the unit to make a major change in her life: She's going to teach at Fordham University. In the end, the team applauded her as she walked out.

EW spoke with Giddish about Rollins' ending.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You've known this was your final season, but what was your reaction once you read Amanda's ending?

KELLI GIDDISH: It all started because she gets shot in the opening and they were like, "Listen, that's gonna really put her life in perspective." She's a mom and she's got all this awesome stuff happening around her. And she kinda realizes like, "Wait, like why am I not off enjoying this?" Why not just go and pursue this thing that is making you so happy? We've seen Rollins and Carisi just love and trust and respect each other so much and they've got this awesome little family with her two girls. It was such the right place to leave Rollins at that time.

Peter Kramer/NBC Kelli Giddish on 'Law & Order: SVU'

If that wedding hadn't happened, fans would've rioted.

They would've lost their s---. [Laughs]

What was it like for you to get to film that?

I was so happy for the fans. I loved the courtroom part where they actually were gonna say the vowels and watching their faces. And then when there's any kind of big crowd or a lot of people in a scene, I get super uncomfortable. So I was like, "Please let this be over." [Laughs] So that part I wasn't honestly crazy about, but the really sweet part, when they get to wake up in bed and that true intimacy you see between them, and the girls come and jump on the bed, and knowing that they're going to say their vows to each other that day, that was my favorite part.

I know filming is rarely chronological, so what was the actual last scene you shot?

It was in Carisi's office. It was the one where he's like, "You haven't talked to Olivia, have you?" We did the scene in the bed, with my daughters, and then we moved to his office for two scenes. I begged and pleaded for especially Mariska [Hargitay] not to do a big thing, no cake, any of that. So they said cut, I got to say thank you and bye to the crew, and then I left and raced home because it was Halloween to go trick-or-treating with my kid. I was like, "Okay, that's that, that job is done. What's the next one?" [Laughs]

Now that you've been done for a couple of months, have you been able to shed this character?

No, not at all. But it does feel different this morning. Waking up and knowing that the fans have seen it, I hope they're happy. It's out now, and I got all the feedback from my friends and family and from the fans from Twitter. So it does feel different today. It feels different just navigating the world of being a mom and not having someone tell you where to be at what time. It's a lot different, you know, and it's busy. There's no lunch break. [Laughs]

Scott Gries/NBC Peter Scanavino and Kelli Giddish on 'Law & Order: SVU'

Do you remember your first day on set?

I do, because I had finished up a movie with Gina Carano where, I think, she kills me, and so I had fake blood in my hair and it's kind of hard to get out. I took a trailer shower that night after the film shoot, so it was kind of out, but not really. I took a red eye, I got into New York at like 4 a.m., I get on set and I go into hair and makeup and my hair's pink. They're like, "We'll hide it." I go up to set with Ice-T, and I was like, "Do you want me to wait until you do this so I can say that?" and he goes, "You do you, boo." And I go, "Perfect, this is going to work." And then I had to race across town because I was in the The Good Wife and I had to go do a fitting for them. So it was a great, awesome nutty time.

What was it like to film those final scenes with Mariska?

Over the years, there's a certain magic that happens when I get to film scenes with her. It's just easy. But all of the emotion was just there with us the whole time, the love for each other that we have. I think it made for a beautiful scene for the audience to get to be a part of. It was very real emotion. We kept it pretty contained to be honest.

What do you hope Amanda's legacy will be?

Well, she got a rare happy ending. That's a huge legacy. You won't remember her for like the gruesome way she got murdered. You'll just remember that character went through a whole hell of a lot and they gave her happy ending. That's kind of awesome.

Is the door open for a future return? She's still in New York!

She's still in New York. I think the door's open, sure. I loved working with everybody that was ever involved with SVU and I know they feel the same about me, so if it works in a story line or whatever, I don't think the audience would ever hate to see that.

There are now allegations of bullying and misogyny against showrunner David Graziano. What was your experience?

I have always had a great experience on SVU.

Related content:

• Law & Order: SVU showrunner accused of bullying, misogyny, and 'toxic' behavior

• Dick Wolf fires Law & Order spin-off writer who threatened to 'light up' looters

• Kelli Giddish is leaving Law & Order: SVU after 12 seasons: 'No other character on TV like Rollins'