How Law & Order Said Goodbye to Jack McCoy Sam Waterston

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Spoiler alert! This story contains plot points from Thursday's episode of Law and order.

After more than 400 episodes, Sam Waterston walked out of the courtroom for the final time as District Attorney Jack McCoy.

Fittingly, Waterston's final episode brought him back into the courtroom to argue a final case. A woman named Veronica Knight is found dead in Central Park, and evidence leads the police to Scott Kelton, a local tech billionaire who has friends in high places — namely the mayor (Bruce Altman).

McCoy ends up taking over the case from Assistant DA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) who was looking to call the mayor's son to the stand because of what he knows about Kelton's past relationship with the victim. Not only did the mayor threaten to fire Price from the district attorney's office, he pledged to stop supporting McCoy if he ran for re-election.

Undeterred, McCoy moves forward with the case and eventually secures a guilty verdict for Kelton. Instead of staying to see the thunder the mayor is trying to bring down on the District Attorney's Office, McCoy decides to resign instead.

“I've been thinking about this for a while,” McCoy tells Price. “It's time. It's just. Look, the mayor is a vindictive son of a bitch. He's going to call on every chip he has to make sure my opponent wins the election. And he's going to succeed. He's going to bury everyone who wronged him, including you. If I step down now, the governor will be able to appoint someone “A person of integrity.”

This one will be played by Tony Goldwyn, who was revealed in February as the newest L&O Cast member.

“It was a hell of a ride,” McCoy tells Price.

In his final scene of the drama, McCoy wanders alone at night outside the courthouse.

Waterston first appeared in L&O In the season 5 premiere (1994). He has also reprized the role in several other projects including spin-offs: Law and Order Special Victims Unit And Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

At the time of announcing his departure from the NBC show, Waterston issued this statement: “Greetings, wonderful people. It is a pleasure to speak directly in this way to the backbone of Law and orderOur absolutely amazing audience. It's time for me to move on and take Jack McCoy with me. There's sadness in leaving, but I'm curious about what's next. The actor doesn't want to let himself get too comfortable. I am more grateful to you than I can say. L&O'Our amazing long-term survival, along with its amazing comeback, is all thanks to you and Dick Wolf, but because of his vision, patience, perseverance, and unique blend of creative and business talent, none of this would have happened. I feel very lucky. I hope to see you all on the other side. Thank you.”