Warning: this article contains spoilers for the Season 27 premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “In the Wind.”

The world of one of television’s longest-running action dramas became a little smaller Thursday night as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit officially killed off one of the series’ original cast members, as first reported by Deadline’s Glenn Garner. The Season 27 premiere, “In the Wind,” opened with Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) giving an unexpected eulogy for her former boss — fellow NYPD Captain Donald Cragen, played by the accomplished Dann Florek (Under the Dome, L.A. Law).

A veteran of the franchise, Cragen first appeared all the way back in the pilot of the original Law & Order in 1990, where he acted as the irritable yet honorable homicide captain of the NYPD. After season three, his character was written off the show, only to return six years later in the premiere of Special Victims Unit, now heading the department’s sex crimes division. Florek’s tenure at the SVU would last a whopping fifteen seasons before the captain finally announced his retirement in the episode “Amaro’s One-Eighty” — but even this wasn’t quite the end of the line for Cragen. After his retirement, he continued making guest appearances on Seasons 16 and 23 of SVU, as well as on sister spin-off Law & Order: Organized Crime. In total, Cragen is credited in over four hundred episodes set in the Law & Order universe.

“He was the best boss that I ever had,” states Benson, who along with Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), comprises one of only two Law & Order characters to exceed Florek’s monumental number of appearances. “Everything I know about being a captain, I learned from him (via Deadline).”

The exact circumstances of Cragen’s demise are left unclear, though given the company he kept in life, it’s safe to assume the SVU team would have sleuthed out any evidence of foul play. Thankfully, Florek is able to make one final cameo as Cragen in “In the Wind” when his squad decides to end the memorial service by watching one of the character’s retirement speeches.

“It’s been a long road,” Cragen tells his team (per NBC Insider). It hasn’t always been pleasant, and it certainly hasn’t always been easy. I lived for my job, I don’t think that surprises anybody, and I can’t imagine my life any other way (…) It has been a privilege to have been able to serve with you.” Season 27 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit continues this Thursday at 9/8c on NBC, while “In the Wind” and previous seasons of the series are streaming now on Peacock.