Law & Order Fans Are Still Confused Over This Character's Departure

Back in the 00s, having LGBTQ+ characters on mainstream television was a huge victory for a community.

But one character that certainly did not do justice to the community was Serena Southerlyn, Law & Order's Assistant District Attorney, portrayed by Elisabeth Röhm.

With such a harsh reaction, you'd be surprised to know that there's only one thing that has bothered fans so much about her character and performance over the years.

That moment is the character's abrupt departure with the worst possible explanation.

Elisabeth Röhm worked in the role of Southerlyn from 2001 to 2005 and was present from seasons 12 to 15.

That should set the stage and explain a bit the show's decision to never mention Southerlyn's sexual orientation out loud.

Although there were a few subtle hints over the years where she expressed discomfort in homophobic situations, these could easily be passed off as her simply being an ally (or a generally nice person).

However, in her final dialogue, the L-word was dropped, and to this day, many believe it was the worst decision ever made by the Law & Order production team.

"I think the writers wanted to let the character go out on a splash, so they just wrote whatever. A lot of fans over the years have tried to make sense of the line in hindsight but honestly, I don't think that it's worth the effort.

Southerlyn was never going to be a great representation of lesbians; announcing that a character is LGBT in the very last scene they have before they leave a show is lazy," Redditor Korrocks pointed out.

However, the writers are not the only ones to blame for this decision.

Series creator Dick Wolf later explained that he had consulted Elisabeth Röhm before putting that part in the script.

It's hard to believe now that it could have been approved by anyone, let alone seen as a smart move, but television in 2005 was very different, and it was shocking enough for everyone to be discussing it even 18 years later.