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

Waterston wrapped his run on the NBC series Thursday night after 19 seasons, paving the way for Tony Goldwyn to take over in the coming weeks as a new District Attorney

Law & Order legend Jack McCoy has officially tried his last case.

Sam Waterston’s goodbye to his District Attorney character arrived Thursday night after three decades, and the sendoff saw him stepping into the courtroom one final time.

The season 23 episode, titled “Last Dance,” kicked off with the death of a woman last seen out in Central Park at 5 AM. Detectives Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) and Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) later arrived at the scene to find that the victim had not only smashed her head on a rock, but that she'd also been strangled.

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

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With the help of Miguel's recollection, Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim) and some security video, the detectives then figured out that a conspicuous-looking Princeton alum was also in the park during the time of Veronica's death.

The suspect turned out to be a prominent tech mogul named Scott Kelton (Rob Benedict), who, fittingly, enjoyed jogging around the central park reservoir every morning at 5 a.m.

Shaw and Riley went to Kelton's tech headquarters in order interview him, and Kelton, of course, said he didn't see anything in the park, though he did know Veronica. She used to work for him when she first graduated college, and she'd texted him in recent weeks asking to talk, but Kelton never responded.

Kelton's story checked out, so the detectives continued to track down other possible leads, even interrogating a food cart vendor, until Dixon interrupted. Veronica's therapist, Dr. Andrews, had arrived at the precinct with some valuable information to share.

"Veronica was sexually assaulted six years ago, and she was just beginning to process it, come to terms with it," Dr. Andrews revealed. "She was definitely determined to confront her assailant."

Dr. Andrews also told the detectives she knew the name of the man who'd assaulted Veronica. Cue Riley and Shaw walking swiftly back through Kelton's offices, this time to arrest him for the murder of Veronica Knight.

A press conference held in conjunction with the mayor the following morning brought about McCoy's first appearance in the episode, as he insisted that the DA’s office would handle the case professionally and without prejudice — despite Kelton's ties to the mayor, that is.

"Politics play absolutely no role in this office,” McCoy assured the press.

Kelton, it turned out, was the number one donor to McCoy’s opponent in the race to become the new DA, and he was also a friend of the Mayor, who did nothing to hide his displeasure at 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) were then left to dicuss the tricky situation they found themselves in — rumors were swirling that McCoy was only bringing a case against Kelton, “one of the most philanthropic men in the world,” lamented Price, to sabotage McCoy's election opponent.

As the trial against Kelton kicked off, Price knew the case was going "to come down to motive."

The problem? They couldn't convince Dr. Andrews to testify to 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 they’d be able to prove Kelton’s motive, Price wasn't feeling confident. He told McCoy he'd rather give Kelton a deal that ensured he spent some time in prison versus rolling the dice with the jury.

McCoy was less than thrilled with the idea of a plea, but Price insisted all the evidence they have against Kelton was circumstantial at best. He wanted to nail Kelton, but he also couldn't risk an acquittal.

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

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With McCoy's blessing, Price and Maroun met with Kelton and his lawyer to discuss a deal, and Kelton confessed. He said he didn’t rape Veronica, but that they did have "consensual" relations years ago, and Veronica accused him of rape on the day that she died.

Veronica demanded an apology from him, Kelton said, and when he refused, she told him she was going to 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.

At Price's insistence, Kelton continued, adding that he pushed Veronica, and she fell and hit her head on a rock and started to bleed.

“I knew in that moment my life was over — that I couldn’t take it back, and that no one was ever going to believe my side of the story. It was me or her, so I choked her,” Kelton admitted.

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

Kelton ultimately opted not to take the plea deal, and so the trial forged onward.

Price and Maroun then interviewed the mayor’s son Jordan Payne — who happened to be one of Kelton’s best friends — in search of a way to strengthen their case. They were after corroborating information Payne had from a tropical trip he took with Kelton six years prior — the trip during which Kelton likely raped Veronica.

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

"My son is off limits,” he told Price, further threatening that the DA better cut a deal with Kelton or he was going to pull his support from McCoy and ensure that Jack's opponent was elected to the office instead.

“I have an immense amount of respect for Jack McCoy,” the mayor told Price, “but if you subpoena my son, I will bury you.”

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The mayor was quick with a threatening call to McCoy, too, but, in true McCoy fashion, he wouldn't be deterred from the pursuit of justice.

“We can’t let the mayor’s office dictate how we proceed," McCoy said, before revealing the phone call to Price: "He told me he was going pull his endorsement if you force 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 altogether. McCoy was going to finish the prosecution of Kelton himself — politics and the mayor be damned.

Back in the courtroom with Jordan Payne on the stand after all, McCoy proved that Payne, Kelton and Veronica were all on the aforementioned trip to St. Bart's by using the flight manifesto, and despite Jordan’s penchant for being a hostile witness, his testimony spelled bad news for Kelton.

In his closing argument, McCoy acknowledged that the jury may otherwise view the tech mogul as a “decent man,” given all of his philanthropic efforts.

“But,” said McCoy, “on the morning of December 12, he was not. He was a killer, and that’s all that matters. When I was elected district attorney, I gave a pledge to the citizens of New York to act fairly and ethically without bias or favor, to always act with integrity. During my time as district attorney, I’ve tried to uphold that sacred oath in the pursuit of justice, and now, members of the jury, it’s your turn to act fairly and ethically without bias or favor and to find the defendant Scott Kelton guilty of murder.”

And, in the court of law where Jack McCoy is in charge, the jury did just that. Much to the mayor's disgust, the jury handed down a guilty verdict of murder in the second degree.

As Price congratulated his boss on the win — “you haven’t lost step!” he said — McCoy shocked him again with the news that some 20 minutes prior, he had officially tendered his resignation.

Price was floored, and he objected plenty, but McCoy insisted that he’s “been thinking about this for a while. It’s time. It just is,” he said. “Look, the Mayor is a vindictive son of a bitch ... and he’s going to bury everyone who wronged him, including you, especially you. If I step aside now, the governor will be able to appoint someone new, someone with integrity,” he added, and in doing so, seemingly set up Tony Goldwyn’s imminent entry as DA Nicholas Baxter.

Earlier this month, NBC announced the Scandal alum would be joining the long-running crime drama as Waterston steps away after his more than 400 episodes.

On Today, Waterston recently shared his excitement for the new addition to the cast, saying, “I think he's going to be great. You know, my reputation is in terrible danger, because I think he's just going to be wonderful and I'll be watching."

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

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

And then, with one final and gorgeous shot, McCoy gave a last look up at the courthouse where he spent so much of his life, and he walked away into the night.

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Law & Order airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.

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