Lieutenant Olivia Benson and the rest of her team will have to face the upcoming season of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)" without Mike Dodds.

The season 17 finale saw the death of Dodds while on duty. The shocking ending of the season witnessed how he was shot by a reprobate corrections officer who wanted to break free after being held captive.

The event was a heartbreaking one not only for Benson and her squad but even more so, for Deputy Chief William Doods, who had to be the one to turn off Mike's life support system after accepting the fact that there was no longer hope for his son.

According to outgoing showrunner Warren Leight, the death of Mike in the previous season was meant to show the viewers how dangerous being a police officer was.

"We tend to think of our guys almost being like superheroes in our way. There's an invulnerability to them, and that's not the reality of that job. We just also wanted to give respect to the police officers who do risk their lives every day and whose families don't know if they're ever coming home. What is that loss like? What is that anxiety like for families of police officers?" Leight told Hollywood Reporter.

Season 18 is expected to follow Benson as she becomes the rock of her team as they all cope with the demise of Mike, who was undeniably one of the most prized assets of SVU. It will also follow Benson and Dodds Sr. as they try to not let their emotions get the better of them while they work together. It remains to be seen if Mike's dad will blame Benson in the near future for what happened to his son.

"Law & Order: SVU" season 18 premieres on Sept. 21, 9:00 p.m. on NBC.