The Season 14 finale of NBC's hit crime drama Law & Order SVU brought with it a scenario that none of its viewers were surely anticipating; a cliffhanger that left the potential death of Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) in the balance.

At the very end of the episode, Lewis broke into Benson's apartment, and a gunshot was about to be fired at her head. The respective scenario could very well mean the end of Benson, who has been a fixture on the show for quite some time.

To top off the speculation, Hargitay has yet to sign a deal for a Season 15 return. While the show has dealt with mega departures in the past, including Christopher Meloni, the offing of Benson would clearly be more extreme.

According to TVLine, nothing is set in stone as of yet, as the actress is reportedly close to signing a one-year agreement that would mark her return in some type of capacity. However, if she did return, it wouldn't guarantee that her character would be restored to full normalcy.

Prior to the Season 14 finale, executive producer Warren Leight had spoken about the ramifications involved when putting a popular character's livelihood in jeopardy.

"It's a very scary thing to put your people in harm's way. Yes, it makes everything much more dramatic, but then there's the issue of how often can you go to that well? You can't do it too often or it loses its impact," he stated.

A behind-the-scenes look at the Law & Order: SVU Season 14 finale can be viewed below.

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Law & Order SVU, Television, Nbc