One of Olivia Benson's more emotionally taxing seasons of Law & Order: SVU (and that's really saying something) comes to a close in Thursday's episode. The season that began with Maddie Flynn ends ...

which of course turned out to be a gift, as any sort of growth is. But I was scared; I was sad," adds the actress, who has continued playing Benson on SVU — now the longest-running drama series ...