For 20 years, Sam Waterston’s portrayal of Jack McCoy in Law & Order has been an essential part of the show, and many episodes highlight his skills as a performer. Waterston’s performance helped establish the classic lawyer archetype seen in crime procedurals to this day, and in his best episodes, he is a steadfast defender of the law. However, the show is also sure to show the moral ambiguity that can come from bureaucratic red tape and the pressure to get results.
Introduced in season 5, Waterston quickly developed a report with the other cast members as if he had been on the show since the beginning. After so many years, it sometimes feels as if he has always been on the series because he is one of TV’s longest-running characters. While other Law & Order actors have come and gone, he has been a standby for the series, ensuring that audiences can return to the show at any time, knowing he’ll be there. Though he is leaving in season 23 of the revival, his legacy will live on long after he’s gone.
Law & Order Season 23 Episode 5 Trailer Teases Jack McCoy’s Exit After 20 Years
A trailer for Law & Order season 23, episode 5 teases the first look at Sam Waterston’s Jack McCoy exit after 20 years on the long-running drama.
Episodes | IMBd Rating |
“Hot Pursuit” | 7.9 /10 |
“Second Opinion” | 7.9 /10 |
“Rubber Room” | 8.6 / 10 |
“Hubris” | 8.3 / 10 |
“Absentia” | 7.8 / 10 |
“Gunshow” | 7.8 / 10 |
“Open Season” | 8.3 / 10 |
“Monster” | 7.9 / 10 |
“Invaders” | 8.8 / 10 |
“Aftershock” | 9.1 /10 |
10 Season 6, Episode 5, “Hot Pursuit”
An exploration of a criminal who claims she was coerced into her crimes.
McCoy and his partner, ADA Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy), butt heads in “Hot Pursuit”. Their relationship is a recurring plot point as they work together in the courtroom and have a romantic relationship in private. Any episode that features the frequent friction between them when their different styles and morals come to a head is always engaging. In “Hot Pursuit”, this is especially apparent when McCoy feels they should persecute to the full extent of the law and doesn’t believe the victim’s story that she was forced to commit the violent crimes she was part of.
Of course, Kincaid disagrees, and another one of their famous debates ensues. This episode is a classic example of what makes McCoy’s style so distinctive and leaves the audience questioning where they fall on the issue. McCoy is a tough attorney and will investigate until he’s satisfied instead of immediately believing the words of the victim. Additionally, the comparisons to Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped and then committed crimes with her kidnappers, made the episode especially topical.
9 Season 5, Episode 1, “Second Opinion”
The first appearance of Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy.
Waterston’s first appearance is one of the best character introductions on the show and one of the best episodes. While Law & Order is no stranger to concisely incorporating guest stars, it’s much more difficult to make audiences automatically connect to a new member of the DA’s office who’s going to be a regular on the show. Despite these challenges, McCoy finds a creative solution to the case. In his first episode, he goes after the larger structure that led to the crime instead of the individual, a trend that will continue but is flawlessly executed here.
8 Season 20, Episode 23, “Rubber Room”
The final episode of the series, before the 2021 revival.
The series was initially canceled in 2010, but when it came back in 2021, the Law & Order revival was successful because of Jack McCoy. Before this, the show was aware that Waterston’s character was a vital piece of the show, and gave him an epic sendoff in the first series finale, “Rubber Room”. McCoy might be a serious man, but he’s well-known for making grand speeches about morality and the nature of the law in the courtroom. This episode features his greatest speech of the series and pays tribute to how important he is to Law & Order.
7 Season 11, Episode 9, “Hubris”
McCoy goes head-to-head with a murderer who chooses to represent himself.
McCoy is continuously frustrated by a con man who uses his charisma to use a member of the jury to convince the other members of his innocence despite his obvious guilt. While his usual adversaries in the courtroom are other lawyers, it’s difficult to see McCoy being practically outmatched by an insidious criminal. Toward the end, it even seems that McCoy has lost completely and will see the man who made a fool of him in the courtroom walk free. The ending has a twist that’s impossible to predict, which balances the straightforward but dramatically compelling format of the episode.
6 Season 13, Episode 13, “Absentia”
McCoy must prove the validity of a conviction in not just one trial, but two.
As Levi March, Mandy Patinkin guest stars as a man who got away with the murder of his girlfriend and has been on the run. However, when his identity is revealed, McCoy has his work cut out for him in trying to make the conviction stick. He has to be creative when convincing the jury that the man before them is guilty. Law & Order makes the sometimes work of lawyers as exciting as the police work, but in “Absentia”, it’s especially thrilling thanks to Waterston’s performance. He makes a moving case to the jury and has great chemistry with Patinkin.
5 Season 10, Episode 1, “Gunshow”
Instead of prosecuting one man, McCoy goes after an entire corporation.
“Gunshow” is a particularly well-timed episode as it deals with the realities of gun violence in the United States and how the superstructures that influence individual people’s actions are often just as guilty as the people who commit the crimes. Through McCoy, the series subverts expectations by having him prosecute the company that made the gun instead of the perpetrator of a mass shooting. Creating a delicate balance of both action and clever prosecution, “Gunshow” showcases why Waterston is so successful on Law & Order: he embodies the genius and heart that make McCoy an amazing lawyer.
4 Season 13, Episode 7, “Open Season”
The ethics of defending criminals are called into question.
Waterston has great chemistry with almost every defense attorney he comes up against in the series, but Tovah Feldshuh, as Danielle Melnick, gives him a run for his money. While it’s gratifying to see McCoy crush his opponents in the courtroom, it’s just as enjoyable to see him have to work hard to win even when the evidence is on his side. Like all the great episodes of Law & Order, “Open Season” interrogates the intersection between the police, the lawyers, and the criminals and how they all cannot exist without each other.
3 Season 8, Episode 24, “Monster”
McCoy’s methods are called into question during an investigation of a sensitive case.
Outside the courtroom, the NYPD officers search for a horrible criminal who assaulted a young girl, and inside, McCoy fights tooth and nail against a judge who is investigating him for a break of ethics. This episode culminates in an epic confrontation between McCoy and Judge Feldman (Cliff Gorman), who cares more about his desire to become District Attorney than he does about fairly prosecuting a case. Seeing McCoy stand up for himself and the case in the face of political machinations cements him as a character to root for.
Law & Order: 10 Best Episodes Across The Franchise, According To Reddit
Cumulatively, thousands of episodes have aired across the Law & Order franchise over the last 3 decades but which ones do Redditros consider the best?
2 Season 16, Episode 22, “Invaders”
A tragic personal loss shakes McCoy to his core.
Throughout Law & Order, both the prosecutors and the police try to keep things as professional as possible, but sometimes the criminals make things personal. McCoy worked with ADA Alexandra Borgia (Annie Parisse) for only a few seasons, but her brutal murder in “Invaders” was a terrible loss for McCoy and the entire team. Though dramatized, it’s an example of the danger that criminal prosecutors put themselves in after Borgia is targeted and killed because of the case she’s investigating.
However, this is only the beginning, as her death sets McCoy down a dangerous path of vengeance. The episode particularly stands out because McCoy works hard to do things by the book, but he steps outside the law to get justice for Borgia, knowing he can’t sit by and see her killers walk free. The episode ends with McCoy being forced off the case because of how emotionally entangled he is, a situation that rarely occurs.
1 Season 6, Episode 23, “Aftershock”
The conclusion of McCoy and Kincaid’s relationship comes without warning.
Considered not only one of Waterston’s best performances but all the cast’s, as well as a standout episode in general, “Aftershock” proved how versatile Law & Order is. The episode includes Claire Kincaid’s shocking death at the hands of a drunk driver in a twist ending. Before this tragic end, the episode flips the formula of the procedural by exploring each character’s personal life after they witness a man they put in prison being executed via lethal injection. This intense moment has a profound impact on them all.
While the most significant moment of the episode is Kincaid’s death, Waterston has a chance to delve into a side of McCoy that usually remains unseen. He goes to a bar after leaving the execution and contemplates his life choices, even speaking briefly about his relationship with his father. Episodes that break the format of the show are always popular and sure to leave a lasting impact, and “Aftershock” remains an essential McCoy and Law & Order episode to this day.
