Law & Order: SVU Sure Seems Like It's About To Lose Another Main Cast Member (& Honestly? It's Time)

The following article contains spoilers for "Law & Order: SVU" Season 24, Episode 13, "Intersection."

"Law & Order: SVU" has been on the air for a couple of decades at this point, and you don't get that far without losing a few cast members along the way. Plenty of people have come and gone from the precinct, and regardless if they leave on good or bad terms, it always makes for intriguing television. The current season has already seen a departure with Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) bidding goodbye to her crime-fighting compatriots. Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) took the news particularly hard upon first hearing Rollins was leaving the force to teach at Fordham University (via USA Today), but eventually, she came around to accepting the news.

Rollins' leaving wasn't that long ago, but if the most recent episode, "Intersection," is any indication, the force could be losing another member pretty quickly. The episode saw Benson coming to terms with a recording she has of Velasco (Octavio Pisano) seemingly confessing to a murder while talking to a perp. Now, this is a "Law & Order" show, and it certainly wouldn't be out of the question for Velasco to lie to the perp to get him to talk. But the way Benson and Muncy (Molly Burnett) talk about it, they appear to be treating it as though he's actually confessing to murder. The arc could set the stage for another detective to take his place, keeping a balance within the Special Victims Unit.

To be fair, Velasco's confession doesn't exactly paint him as a cold-blooded killer. He explains that when he was a kid, he was seemingly forced into murdering someone for his "boss," and we know from previous episodes that he had a pretty rough upbringing. His exact quote was, "I've seen a lot of people get murdered. And the second my nuts dropped, my boss, he put a gun in my hand and made me blow this guy away. I've never told anybody that, until now." The fact he made sure no other detectives were around when he said it doesn't exactly help matters. That sort of statement may force his hand into leaving the unit, which would set the stage for Bruno (Kevin Kane) to take his place. 

"Law & Order: SVU" has a tendency to rotate through cast members. After Kelli Giddish left, Muncy was there to serve as a replacement of sorts. With Bruno making a good impression on Fin (Ice-T) as of late, it would seem he's fitting to serve a similar role. Granted, it's always possible that the unit could expand rather than replace, but too many cooks in the kitchen could spread storylines pretty thin, meaning not everyone could get the attention they deserve. 

It would make for a pretty quick turnaround if the writers were already planning on getting rid of Velasco. He first made his debut on the show in Season 23, whereas Rollins had been around since Season 13. But the show may be feeling the pinch of needing to find new ways to keep the show fresh as it's been going on for 20+ seasons. It's hard to say what direction it will go in next, as the teaser for the next episode didn't reveal much concerning Velasco's fate. But this is one plotline fans will no doubt keep a close eye on.