Law & Order: SVU closed out its fourteenth season with a shocking cliffhanger that left its audience on the edge of their seats over the status of Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).

Although the gun that was aimed at Benson's head in the finale doesn't necessarily mean that she's dead, it does suggest the strong possibility that she may not be back, especially since she's still yet to sign a contract to return.

In what was surely an attempt to calm her fans down, Hargitay took to Twitter after the finale to relay them the following message:

"Where's the faith people???  Season 15 here we come!"

Although Detective Benson's well being is still up in the air, Hargitay's respective tweet seems to indicate that her return is a strong possibility.

Prior to the Season 14 finale, executive producer Warren Leight had spoken about the ramifications involved when putting a popular character's livelihood in jeopardy.

"It's a very scary thing to put your people in harm's way.  Yes, it makes everything much more dramatic, but then there's the issue of how often can you go to that well?  You can't do it too often or it loses its impact," he stated.

A behind-the-scenes look at the Law & Order: SVU Season 14 finale can be viewed below.

Tags: Law & Order SVU television nbc