Law & Order: SVU kicked off its 27th season with a major character death. The season premiere, which aired on Thursday, saw the death of the titular unit’s former captain, Donald Cragen (Dann Florek). Viewers learned of his death as former and current members of the Special Victims Unit gathered in a bar to remember their former leader.

Here’s everything to know about Cragen’s on-screen death.

The episode doesn’t clarify Cragen’s cause of death

The Season 27 premiere episode opens with the current Special Victims Unit commanding officer, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), entering a bar where she meets a few familiar faces, as Today.com reported. Former special victims unit psychiatrist George Huang (BD Wong) is the first to greet Benson, followed by Brian Cassidy (Dean Cassidy) and assistant district attorney Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino), who have gathered to celebrate Cragen’s life.

After reuniting, Benson and her former colleagues watch an old video of Cragen giving a speech about his career.

“It’s been a long road. It hasn’t always been pleasant, and it certainly hasn’t always been easy,” Cragen says in the video, per NBC Insider. “I lived for my job, I don’t think that surprises anybody, and I can’t imagine my life any other way…”

The video concluded with Cragen, who retired from the titular unit during Season 15, addressing the group.

“It has been a privilege to have been able to serve with you,” he said.

Later, Benson tells Carisi that Cragen was “the best boss” and “everything I know about being a captain, I learned from him, Today.com reported. Benson and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) also share a moment to remember the “pretty good run” they had and realized they’re now entering their “all our friends are dying era.”

Florek reflected on his parental role on and off-screen last year

Thankfully, Cragen’s on-screen death does not extend to real life. Florek appears to be OK and even joined Hargitay and Meloni on set as they filmed their scene.

“Hangin with friends on a Friday nite,” Meloni captioned an Instagram post of reuniting with Florek and Hargitay on set.

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A post shared by Chris Meloni (@chris_meloni)

In January 2024, Florek reflected on Cragen’s paternal role on set and how, unlike the character’s death, it’s reminiscent of his real-life relationship with the Law & Order: SVU cast and crew.

“I think Cragen was a father figure to a lot of the people in the show, but for some wonderful reason, I think Dann Florek was kind of a father figure to a lot of the people and the actors,” Florek told Today.com at the time while on the red carpet celebrating the 25th season of the NBC police procedural crime drama.

“I always made a point to go out of my way and welcome everyone when they came in, because I remember when people did it for me,” he said.

Law & Order: SVU airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. on NBC

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

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