‘Law & Order: SVU’ Reveals What Happened to Sheila

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit revealed what happened to one of season 19’s most prominent recurring characters: Sheila Porter (Brooke Shields).

In an unexpected opening scene, Olivia Benson and her adopted son, Noah, are shown talking to each other in the child’s bedroom. There it is revealed that Olivia has allowed Noah to visit Sheila, who is his biological grandmother, in a mental health institution.

Fans will remember that Sheila orchestrated the elaborate kidnapping of Noah in the episodes “Intent” and “Gone Baby Gone” from earlier in the season. She desired to have Noah all to herself and fled with him to a remote cabin.

Olivia then came to his rescued and apprehended Sheila, who has not been seen since.

During this season finale scene, Noah asks Olivia when Sheila is coming home from the hospital. He reasons that she does not seem very sick, so she should be discharged soon.

However, Olivia breaks the news to him that Sheila is “a different kind of sick” that involves the way she thinks.

This all shows that Sheila was committed in the wake of the kidnapping in place of being locked up in a normal prison. Furthermore it shows that Olivia has processed the incident enough to allow Noah to see her.

However, it also shows that Noah does not understand what happened during the kidnapping incident or what is truly wrong with his grandmother.

The rest of the episode leaves Sheila behind and instead focuses on a hostage situation where a victim is holding her alleged assaulter at gunpoint as it livestreams online.

Noah! And finally a mention of Sheila. I’ve been wondering about her. And Liv’s still wearing the necklace! #NeverForgetSVU #SVU

Fans were not expecting the Sheila mention and took to Twitter to react to it.

“Noah! And finally a mention of Sheila. I’ve been wondering about her,” one fan wrote.

Another added, “It pains my heart when Noah mentioned Sheila.”

However, not all fans were pleased with the mention of Sheila.

SVU diehards who were displeased with the Sheila plot lines from this season did not care for the update, as one would expect.

“Oh yes please, let’s revisit Grandma Sheila instead of leaving it forgotten like it should be,” one fan wrote.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. All past episodes of the show are available to stream on Hulu. Seasons 15-18 are available to stream on Netflix.

Photo Credit: NBC