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Now, Jack McCoy is finally hanging up his tie.
Waterstons final episode, The Last Dance, airs tonight, February 22.
As district attorney, Ive tried to act fairly and ethically, McCoy remarks in the trailer.
Its been a helluva ride.
Law & Order(seasons 1223) is streaming onPeacock.
Second Opinion (Season 5, Episode 1)
First impressions are everything.
Kincaid tells McCoy that shes heard he has a reputation for sleeping with his assistants.
Still, Claire, ever the staunch feminist, insists that their relationship will be strictly professional.
(Despite having slept with a colleague herself in the past.)
Corpus Delicti epitomizes Jack McCoys ability to re-strategize and play the long game.
So McCoy gets tricky.
A hot-headed Jack brings up his fraud schemes again and again during cross-examination, resulting in a mistrial.
(The judge had previously ruled Christophers previous crimes as inadmissible.)
You know how emotional I get, McCoy says slyly to his boss.
Is it totally ethical?
Does it get the job done?
Another one in the win column for McCoy.
Jack suggests that Claire take a sick day and she does.
They will never see each other again.
They reminisce about their old men.
But no, he said.
You, Jack, you are going to law school, he drunkenly recounts to his new buddies.
You shouldve seen him the day I graduated, chest was out to here.
He hung my diploma in his den, right above his bowling trophy.
The night goes on and the beer keeps flowing.
For a character who is always so confident and so work focused, its a deeply humanizing moment.
Soon after, McCoy leaves the bar.
We never see his reaction to learning that Claire Kincaid was hit by a drunk driver that same night.
Has [McCoy] said, This ones for Claire Kincaid?
But McCoys actions are crystal clear.
He charges Dressler with murder not vehicular manslaughter and argues that he was on a homicidal rampage.
McCoy then hides witnesses and evidence that prove the defendant was too drunk to form intent to kill.
But the EADAs moral compass wont let him go through with it.
TheL&Ohalf of the third crossover is an episode overflowing with complicated intrigue.
McCoy refuses to give him any answers but is particularly staunch in not revealing his witnesss name.
If shes outed, it could ruin her career.
(If youre keeping score, McCoy is found in contempt of court 80 times throughout his career.)
We couldnt deliver because Rolf Firearms got in the way.
The least we can do now is give them the sense that their kids didnt die for no purpose.
What results is a legal battle fueled by McCoys own righteousness.
Its a compelling, emotional case and the jury finds Rolf Firearms CEO guilty.
Still, it makes you wish there were more real-life prosecutors like McCoy.
McCoys fury is palpable in his questioning of defendant Hamilton Stewart.
You were All-Atlantics director for Eastern European operations in 1938, werent you?!
The numbers dont lie, Mr. Stewart.
Are you telling us that you suspected nothing?!
Open Season tests that resolve.
He tells Danielle to surrender herself to the police and she does.
The attorney is arraigned on charges of conspiracy and manslaughter.
McCoy doesnt let her client, a white supremacist named Proust, know that, though.
He tells the white supremacist that Danielle gave him up.
In exchange for a slightly better deal, McCoy asks that Proust testify that Melnick had no criminal intent.
He does, and the DAs office offers her a deal that includes no jail time.
If youre thinking that sounds constitutionally dubious, the appellate court in the episode agrees.
Once March is found and taken into custody, his previous conviction is almost immediately thrown out.
We convicted him once, Im confident well convict him again, McCoy tells Abbys sister after the hearing.
You that sanguine?, DA Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson) asks him later.
McCoys response is immediate.
The other half of the fun is a master class of a scene between Mandy Patinkin and Sam Waterston.
Waterstons growing incredulity pairs beautifully with Patinkins matter-of-fact demeanor as he alleges crazier and crazier conspiracy theories.
But is he willing to put his life on the line for it?
This episode says yes.
Dont you think, Jack?
Im not going to be intimidated, Arthur.
Im not talking about intimidation.
Im talking about getting killed, Borgia argues.
Doesnt make a difference, McCoy responds, not letting on his fear.
Its about the law.
Doesnt work if we dont make it work.
As weve already established, Claires death devastated McCoy and impaired his ability to prosecute at least one case.
The murder of Alex Borgia has a similar effect.
Instead he gets less than three minutes of airtime.
He makes them count.
When an anonymous blogger threatens to commit a Columbine-esque school massacre, its all hands on deck.
But when she and her union lawyer remain tight-lipped, McCoy swoops in.
Just how far up your ass is your head?
You get no argument from me there.
By the time Im done, youll be finished.
So my advice to you is get out of my way!
Its not until Open Wounds that we get to witness Jack interact with Rebecca in a meaningful way.
What happens is bittersweet and adds a dimension to his character weve never seen before.
But even she cant overcome the classic McCoy passion.
Ultimately, her client is convicted.
Outside the courthouse Rebecca rebuffs her fathers attempts to reconcile the moment.
(No, unfortunately for us all, Eric Adams does not play the mayor.
Instead, its Bruce Altman.)
But Jack McCoy would never allow himself to be the reason a murderer walks.
Later, McCoy and Price share a glass of Scotch and the DA drops another bombshell: Hes resigning.
Its time; it just is, he says with finality.
Mayor Payne is going to bury everyone who wronged him, including you especially you, McCoy goes on.
If I step aside now, the governor will be able to appoint someone someone with integrity.
McCoy raises his glass to his own career and to Price, the next generation.
He smiles and walks away.
