Jack McCoy Says ‘It’s Been a Hell of a Ride’ as Sam Waterston Bids Farewell in His Final Law & Order Episode

Law and order legend Jack McCoy has officially tried his last case.

Sam Waterston said goodbye to his District Attorney character on Thursday night after three decades, and the send-off saw him enter the courtroom for the last time.

The season 23 episode titled “The Last Dance” began with the death of a woman who was last seen in Central Park at 5 am. Detectives Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) and Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) later arrive at the scene and discover that the victim has not only smashed her head on a rock, but also been strangled.

After rescuing a woman’s stolen necklace from the clutches of a park worker named Miguel, detectives used the writing on the back of the pendant to determine the woman’s name and occupation: Veronica Knight, founder of a dating app.

Reid Scott as Det. Vincent Riley, Mehcad Brooks as Det. Jalen Shaw.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

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With the help of Miguel’s memories, Lt. Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim), and some security footage, the detectives then realize that the striking-looking Princeton alum was also in the park at the time of Veronica’s death.

The suspect turned out to be a high-profile tech mogul named Scott Kelton (Rob Benedict), who, fittingly, enjoyed jogging around the Central Park Reservoir every morning at 5 a.m.

Camryn Manheim as Lt. Kate Dixon.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Shaw and Riley went to Kelton’s tech headquarters to interview him, and of course Kelton said he didn’t see anything in the park, even though he knew Veronica. She worked for him when she was fresh out of college, and in recent weeks she’d been texting him asking to talk, but Kelton never responded.

Kelton’s story was confirmed, so the detectives continued to look for other possible leads, even questioning a food cart vendor, until Dixon interrupted. Veronica’s therapist, Dr. Andrews, arrived at the station with some valuable information to share.

“Veronica was sexually assaulted six years ago and she’s just starting to process it, come to terms with it,” Dr Andrews revealed. – She was definitely determined to face her attacker.

dr. Andrews also told detectives she knew the name of the man who attacked Veronica. Riley and Shaw quickly return through Kelton’s offices, this time to arrest him for the murder of Veronica Knight.

Camryn Manheim as Lt. Kate Dixon, Sam Waterston as District Attorney Jack McCoy, Bruce Altman as Mayor Payne.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

A press conference held with the mayor the next morning led to McCoy’s first appearance in the episode, as he insisted that the DA’s office would handle the case professionally and impartially – despite Kelton’s ties to the mayor, that is.

“Politics plays absolutely no role in this office,” McCoy assured reporters.

Kelton turned out to be the number one donor to McCoy’s opponent in the race for the new state’s attorney, and he was also a friend of the mayor, who did nothing to hide his displeasure with Kelton’s arrest.

“I hope you know what the hell you’re doing,” Mayor Payne told McCoy after the presser.

Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) and Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi) are then left to discuss the predicament they find themselves in—rumors swirling that McCoy is merely building a case against Kelton, “one of the greatest philanthropists man in the world,” Price lamented, to sabotage McCoy’s election opponent.

Bruce Altman as Mayor Payne, Sam Waterston as District Attorney Jack McCoy.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

As Kelton’s trial began, Price knew the case would “come down to motive.”

an issue? They couldn’t convince Dr. Andrews to testify about what Veronica had told her about Kelton and the rape. So when McCoy inevitably asked Price how the case was going and whether or not he would be able to prove Kelton’s motive, Price didn’t feel confident. He told McCoy that he would rather give Kelton a deal that would ensure he spends some time in prison instead of rolling the dice with a jury.

McCoy wasn’t too keen on the idea of ​​a guilty plea, but Price insisted that any evidence they had against Kelton was circumstantial at best. He wanted to catch Kelton, but he couldn’t risk an acquittal.

“Go ahead and make the son of a bitch an offer. Man[slaughter] one, 10 years,” McCoy said of Price.

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With McCoy’s blessing, Price and Maroun met with Kelton and his attorney to discuss the deal, and Kelton conceded. He said he did not rape Veronica, but that they had a “consensual” relationship several years ago, and Veronica accused him of rape on the day of her death.

Veronica demanded an apology from him, Kelton said, and when he refused, she told him she would go public with her story and file a police report. Then Kelton said he grabbed her and she hit him in retaliation and “everything just happened fast.”

“We need more than that,” Price said.

Sam Waterston as Prosecutor Jack McCoy.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

At Price’s insistence, Kelton continued and added that he pushed Veronica and she fell and hit her head on a rock and started bleeding.

“At that moment I knew my life was over – that I couldn’t get it back and that no one would ever believe my side of the story. It was me or her, so I strangled her,” Kelton admitted.

With the truth in hand, Price offered Kelton a first-degree manslaughter plea with 15 years in prison. Kelton’s attorney countered with manslaughter in the second and five years behind bars, to which Price pushed for “not a day less than 10 years,” according to his conversation with McCoy.

Kelton ultimately decided not to accept a plea bargain, so the trial moved forward.

Sam Waterston as Prosecutor Jack McCoy.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Price and Maroun then interviewed the mayor’s son, Jordan Payne — who happened to be one of Kelton’s best friends — looking for a way to bolster their case. They were seeking confirmation of information Payne had from a tropical trip he took with Kelton six years ago – a trip during which Kelton allegedly raped Veronica.

Payne was unsurprisingly uncooperative, and pestering the mayor’s son for information he could use against his best friend predictably led Price to a meeting with, well, the mayor.

“My son is banned,” he told Price, further threatening that the prosecutor had better settle with Kelton or withdraw his support from McCoy and ensure that Jack’s opponent was elected to office in his place.

“I have the utmost respect for Jack McCoy,” the mayor told Price, “but if you take my son to court, I’ll bury you.”

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The mayor was also quick with a threatening call to McCoy, but, in true McCoy fashion, he was undeterred in his pursuit of justice.

“We can’t let the mayor’s office dictate how we proceed,” McCoy said, before revealing a phone call to Price: “He told me he would withdraw his support if you forced his son to testify.”

“AND?” Price asked.

“I told him to go to hell,” McCoy quipped.

Still, Price was surprised when his boss took him off the case entirely. McCoy intended to complete the prosecution of Kelton himself—politics and the mayor be damned.

Sam Waterston as Prosecutor Jack McCoy, Jeremy Gabriel as Jordan Payne.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

In the courtroom with Jordan Payne after all, McCoy proved that Payne, Kelton and Veronica were on the aforementioned trip to St. Bart’s using the flight manifest, and despite Jordan’s tendency to be a hostile witness, his testimony spelled bad news for Kelton.

In his closing argument, McCoy acknowledged that a jury might otherwise find the tech mogul a “decent man,” given all his philanthropic efforts.

“But,” McCoy said, “on the morning of December 12th, he wasn’t. He was a killer, and that’s all that matters. When I was elected District Attorney, I promised the people of New York that I would act fairly and ethically, without bias or favor, and that I would always act with integrity. When I was District Attorney, I tried to uphold that sacred oath in the pursuit of justice, and now, members of the jury, it is your turn to act fairly and ethically without bias or favor and find the defendant Scott Kelton guilty of murder.”

And in a court with Jack McCoy in charge, the jury did just that. To the mayor’s dismay, the jury returned a guilty verdict of second-degree murder.

Sam Waterston as Prosecutor Jack McCoy.

Will Hart/NBC

While Price congratulated his boss on the victory — “you didn’t lose a step!” he said — McCoy shocked him again with the news that he had officially resigned 20 minutes before.

Price was disappointed and protested a lot, but McCoy insisted that he had “thought about this for a while. It is time. It just is, he said. “Look, the mayor is a vengeful son of a bitch… and he’ll bury everyone who wronged him, including you, especially you. If I step down now, the governor will be able to appoint someone new, someone with integrity,” he added, seemingly securing the imminent entry of Tony Goldwyn as District Attorney Nicholas Baxter.

Reid Scott, Tony Goldwyn and Mehcad Brooks on the set of Law & Order 2024.

Tony Goldwyn/Instagram

Earlier this month, NBC announced Scandal alum would join the long-running crime drama as Waterston departs after her more than 400 episodes.

On Today, Waterston recently shared his excitement about the new addition to the cast, saying, “I think he’s going to be great. You know, my reputation is in terrible jeopardy, because I think it’s going to be wonderful, and I’m going to watch it.”

As for McCoy? He had the adventure of a lifetime.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” he told Price with a grin at the end of the episode as the two men clinked glasses.

And then, with one final and beautiful frame, McCoy took one last look at the courthouse where he had spent so much of his life, and walked off into the night.

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Law and order airs Thursdays at 8pm on NBC.

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