After Law And Order Celebrated Sam Waterston's 400th Episode, Could One McCoy Family Reveal Be A Big Deal In Season 23?
Warning: spoilers ahead for the Season 22 finale of Law & Order, called “Open Wounds.”
The Season 22 finale of Law & Order was a packed episode, and not just because it was the last of the 2022-2023 TV schedule. “Open Wounds” marked star Sam Waterston’s 400th episode, which is a milestone that few actors ever hit, let alone an actor whose show was cancelled and then revived years later. The case of the week was complicated, as Price had to prosecute a man who assassinated a senator while suffering from the effects of PTSD, and the defense attorney was none other than Jack McCoy’s daughter Rebecca. By the end of the hour, there was a seemingly minor reveal about the McCoy family that I suspect could be relevant in the already-renewed Season 23.
What Happened With Jack And His Daughter
In a fun twist, Jack McCoy’s daughter was played by Sam Waterston’s real-life daughter, Elisabeth Waterston. There wasn’t a whole lot of fun to be found in the case, however, as Rebecca made such a strong case for her client that Price wanted to be as lenient as possible even while he prosecuted the case. Of course, Rebecca’s status as defense attorney meant some awkwardness with her dad. He was clearly thrilled to see his daughter again, but she had to admit that she and her husband Eric are in counseling. McCoy then asked after his grandson, Linc, who is an undergrad at Northwestern.
Rebecca shared that he’s waiting to hear back from law schools, prompting her dad to say “For better or worse, it’s in the genes!” While it was a sweet moment between father and daughter, the mood was ruined when she asked him for a favor about the case. McCoy stuck to the rules and denied her, and they weren’t on particularly great terms for the rest of the episode. She turned down his invitation to go out for dinner and didn’t want to have a conversation (or even accept a ride) after the guilty verdict, but did have a slight peace offering with this reveal:
Linc got accepted to Columbia Law School. Starts in the fall. I’ll tell him you say hi.
Was an update on his grandson a sign that he and his daughter are going to be on spectacular terms if she appears on Law & Order again? Definitely not, and old episodes streaming via Peacock Premium subscription don’t paint a picture of a McCoy who spent his first 399 episodes as a model family man, but the details in that update lead me to wonder if the show intends to pick up where it left off with the McCoy family.
How The Reveal Could Affect Season 23
The news that Linc was accepted to Columbia Law School says two things about Jack McCoy’s off-screen grandson. First, going to Columbia means that he’ll be relocating to New York after evidently spending his undergrad years just outside of Chicago. If he’s in NYC and pursuing the law, then there are plenty of reasons why he might spend some time with his grandfather, for better or worse. Law & Order could have said that he was going to law school anywhere, but chose a school in New York, and that seems significant to me.
And second, Linc choosing to go to Columbia shows that he at least has the good sense not to go to Hudson University, a.k.a. the college in the L&O universe where crime is so prevalent that I’m surprised Olivia Benson from Law & Order: SVU doesn’t have her own reserved parking spot. SVU even acknowledged how bad it can get at Hudson back in Season 23, so good call to Linc for not choosing Hudson Law.
In all seriousness, I’d love for the mention of McCoy’s grandson pursuing the law and attending school in New York to result in Linc having a part to play in Season 24. Law & Order is by far the most procedural of the three current L&O shows (including Mariska Hargitay’s SVU and Christopher Meloni’s Organized Crime), and rarely features the characters’ families, with the exception of special episodes like the one that showcased Cosgrove’s relationship with his daughter. Law & Order potentially continuing with a personal family storyline for McCoy despite its very procedural status feels like a big deal to me!
For now, we can only wait and see what Season 23 has in store. Unfortunately, the WGA writers strike means that the fall TV season could get off to a later start than usual, but fans can always revisit older episodes of Law & Order streaming on Peacock. It’s also worth noting that Law & Order will finish Season 22 at 487 episodes, which means that it will follow in SVU’s example and hit the 500-episode milestone.
