We begin at Rollins and Carisi's place as it's revealed that Rollins is no longer teaching. It's her first day without a job, but she's cool with it because she wasn't loving the professor gig anyway. Later, Benson calls her up and asks her out for lunch, and that's when Rollins spilled that she turned down tenure and quit. Just as Benson was about to ask why, a case dropped in, and guess what? It was right up Rollins' alley.
A bride named Jenna has barricaded herself in a room at her wedding and will only speak to SVU. Benson volunteers to take the call, and Amanda decides to come along. Jenna confides in Benson and Rollins that she was assaulted the previous night while sleeping at her parents’ place after the rehearsal dinner. She describes to Amanda that the assailant was a black man who took her nightgown and all the bedding, and he seemed to know she was getting married because he told her she'd never forget him.
Meanwhile, Fin and Liv suspect that, given the sluggish pace of NYPD paperwork, Rollins might just so happen to still be an active cop... which would be beneficial for the investigation. What a coincidence, right?
When the DNA results arrive, they reveal that the individual who assaulted Jenna had also attacked another woman six months prior, just before her wedding. Speaking to this previous victim, they discover that her assailant had also taken the bedding and uttered the chilling phrase, “you’re going to remember me.”
Fin brings Rollins to the shooting range under the guise of retrieving her weapon for the case, but his true intention is to ask, "Have you discussed all this with the counselor yet?" Rollins assures him she'll fill him in later that evening. SVU is definitely laying the groundwork here to bring Rollins back next season. Series star Mariska Hargitay recently revealed she herself wants Kelli Giddish back.
Rollins gets right into the case as the squad identify a flower delivery man as their prime suspect, and they lay a trap for Rollins to pose as a bride-to-be. Leon shows up, and Rollins turns on the charm, convincing him to come inside and have a drink despite his initial refusal. Outside, Carisi starts to worry; it feels like entrapment to him.
Rollins continues to coax Leon, but he suddenly leaves without touching his drink - which would have provided his DNA. However, Rollins manages to gather enough DNA under her fingernails (though we don't see how) and on the glass rim to link Leon to the three rapes. Jenna identifies Leon by his voice, while another victim recognizes him by his face, wrapping the case up neatly.
Benson stops by the Rollins/Carisi household to return Amanda's stuffed chipmunk. "So, you're saying you don't want me back?" Amanda asks. Liv responds that even if she did, there's no desk for her. Furthermore, Liv advises Rollins to figure out what truly makes her happy instead of relying on SVU as a safety net. Both women have work to do, with Amanda deciding on her future and Liv continuing to work on herself in therapy. For SVU, this is about as happy an ending as we get.
