Fans were shocked watching Olivia getting kicked out of the Special Victims Unit last week in "Law and Order: SVU" season 17. They were even more surprised not seeing Fin during the ordeal.
Executive producer Warren Leight has a perfect explanation for Fin's absence. "His character was on vacation," he told Entertainment Weekly. "He'll arrive to see Liv gone," Leight added.
When he finds Dodds in Olivia's office upon his return in "Laws and Order: SVU," he will ask Rollins about what's going on and will be told that he was called about it and if only he'd answered the phone, he would know.
"When I'm not at work, I'm not at work," Leight said, quoting Fin's response to Rollins. With that said, it looks like Fin will no longer be missing in action in the next "Law and Order: SVU" season 17 episodes.
As for Olivia's fate in the force, it appears that she won't be part of the team again anytime soon but she will still be part of the next episode of "Law and Order: SVU" season 17, titled "Unholiest Alliances."
Olivia was simply transferred as the team investigates her relationship with Tucker, which is something ADA Rafael Barba deems to be as bad as any transgression their unit seeks to fight.
It looks like Olivia won't be back in action with the Special Victims Unit when "Law and Order: SVU" season 17 returns but the promotional photos for the episode reveal the character is not going anywhere. She might even be assisting the team secretly with the new issue at hand.
The next "Law and Order: SVU" season 17 episode sees the team working on a sex trafficking operation. What makes it more complicated and interesting is that the crime involves government offices, the police department and the Catholic Church.
The involvement of these entities was given away by the implication of one of their members. With the SVU going after these large bodies, the next "Law and Order: SVU" season 17 episode should be remarkable.
"Unholiest Alliances" airs March 23 on NBC.
