Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fans knew Jamie Gray Hyder was leaving the series, but no one had any idea just how shocking her departure would be. In the two-hour Season 23 premiere, Detective Katriona "Kat" Tamin began questioning the job, but she continued working with the squad despite her reservations. She did at least get to leave on her own terms.
In "And The Empire Strikes Back" and "Never Turn Your Back on Them," the squad tried to take down a rising politician, Congressman Howard (Ben Rappaport), who was accused of having sex with minors and transporting them across state lines. At the beginning of the second hour, the team scrambled as heir witnesses were dying one-by-one. They rushed to a place where Jenna, one of the young girls Howard was filmed attempting to have sex with, was staying. They were ambushed when they got there, and Kat was shot in the stomach. The bullet even went through her vest. Fin (Ice-T) was in the ambulance with Kat. By the time they reached the hospital, her heart had stopped, and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) hoped Fin wouldn't blame himself.
Thankfully, Kat woke up after her surgery and told Fin she got to thinking about her future. Carisi (Peter Scanavino) recently said being a D.A. was what he was meant to do. This made Kat wonder if she is really supposed to be a police officer. Fin assured her she was in the right line of work, but Kat told him she always feels like SVU is too late. They talk to traumatized victims who are then traumatized even more. Fin told her to relax and think again before making a major decision. Later, Fin told Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Benson that he doesn't think Kat wants to come back. Later, Benson tried to keep Kat at the squad, but she said she couldn't stay at SVU forever, unlike her.
Fans watching at home were shocked by the way Hyder's final episode played out, especially after Hyder revealed that it was not her choice to leave the show. "The decision was made above my pay grade and wouldn't have been my choice. But hey, that's showbiz for ya," Hyder tweeted on Sept. 4. "Kat's outta the bag...#SVU23 Just got a lot less colorful."
"To anyone who felt represented by any part of Kat's being or mission, please know that you will always have representation in me," Hyder later added. She also thanked everyone behind-the-scenes at the show and fans. Scroll on to see how fans responded to the way Kat left the series.
'Gonna miss you Kat'
"I'm gonna miss you Kat you were my favorite lgbtq+ character on this show you gave us so much representation more than you even know I'm sad your story has to end but I'm so happy your story even gotten a beginning," one fan wrote.
'Nice to see Kat on her feet'
"Nice To See Kat on her feet one good thing about how this episode ended," another wrote.
'I do agree with Kat'
"Well I do agree with Kat on that. Their job is specifically that they always get there too late. The crime has already happened," one fan tweeted. "They don't get to have preventative cases where the perp has never committed a crime and is prevented from ever committing one."
'Going to miss Kat'
"I'm going to miss Kat. Sad this is her final episode," another fan wrote.
'Not sitting right with me'
"Kat getting shot not sitting right with me," one fan wrote.
'Not Kat!!'
"This who y'all replacing Kat with? Y'all shot Kat to replace her with this dude and his daddy belt? Which probably ain't a true story," one fan wrote. This was in reference to Joe Velasco, a new detective played by Octavio Pisano who was introduced in the premiere.