'Law and Order: SVU' season 18 spoilers, plot news: Chief Dodds to blame Lt. Benson for his son's death?

Exiting showrunner of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" Warren Leight ended his run with his final episode killing of a member of the SVU squad, and that member is Sgt. Mike Dodds (Andy Karl). This leaves Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) with a lot under her belt, and fans speculate that that belt is about to get heavier as Chief William Dodds (Peter Gallagher) is going to blame her for his son's demise.

Game N Guide suggested that a part of the next season will see Benson trying to get over Mike's death.

In a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May, Leight said that he had Mike Dodds killed in the episode to show audiences how dangerous it is to be a police officer.

"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," he explained. "What is that loss like? What is that anxiety like for families of police officers?"

In the show, the younger Dodds was killed by a corrections officer who wanted to break free after he had been held captive. The event was heartbreaking for Benson, but it was more devastating to Mike's father, as Chief Dodds was the one who had to accept fate and turn off his son's life support system after seeing that there was no longer any hope for his son.

Season 18 will supposedly follow Benson as she tries to be the rock for the SVU while everyone is trying to get through Mike's passing. A lot of tension is also said to come from Chief Dodds and Benson trying to work together and keep things professional between themselves, seeing that Chief Dodds may be blaming Benson for the loss of his son.

"Law and Order: SVU" has been airing since 1999, and season 18 premieres this Sept. 21 on NBC.