Law And Order Is Losing A Star Ahead Of Season 24, But I'm Not Sure The Season 23 Finale Was A Fitting Farewell
Spoilers ahead for the Season 23 finale of Law & Order, called "In Harm's Way."
The 23rd season of Law & Order ended in the spring 2024 TV schedule on a case that hit very close to home for DA Baxter, when he was nearly assassinated at a charity event, only for another man to be killed out of pure chance. The case required his daughter to testify and expose a past crime that the Baxter family wanted to avoid getting to the press in New York, and the finale ended without revealing if the case had ruined Baxter's chances to win the District Attorney election.
And if all I knew about the cast for Season 24 was that one star was leaving, my money would be on Tony Goldwyn after how this episode ended. Instead, Camryn Manheim is on her way out, and "In Harm's Way" didn't feel like worthy farewell for Kate Dixon.
What Happened In The Season 23 Finale
The case initially seemed like it would center on the murder of a sports star at the charity event, until video footage revealed that Baxter was the target and only survived because he moved his head at the exact right moment. Shaw and Riley caught the bad guy fairly quickly with Dixon overseeing the investigation, and then it fell to Nolan and Maroun to prosecute the shooter. Unfortunately for the Baxter family, the only slam-dunk chance to close the case was for Carrie Baxter to testify about seeing the perp outside the family home before the actual shooting happened.
Baxter delayed telling Nolan about what Carrie had seen until the case was hanging by a thread, and even then Nolan tried to spare the family the ordeal. Years earlier, Carrie had caused a drunk driving accident that cost the victim the use of one of his arms, and her dad was responsible for getting her as light a sentence as possible. That didn't look great for him as a District Attorney, and the timing couldn't have been worse with the election neck and neck. The finale ended with everybody waiting on the results. As for Dixon, she... was also in the episode?
Why This Wasn't A Great Farewell For Camryn Manheim's Kate Dixon
If it seems like I barely mentioned Dixon in what will be her final episode on Law & Order, that's because she was very much a supporting player in "In Harm's Way." I actually really liked the finale and how it showcased Baxter as the new DA. Meeting his family and getting to see more of what makes him tick made for a great case, and the stage was even set on a story for him in Season 24 with his wife's anger. Awesome episode for Baxter!
But as far as anybody knows, Tony Goldwyn isn't leaving the cast of Law & Order actors ahead of Season 24, so I would have liked for the finale to spare at least a few minutes to set up an exit for Camryn Manheim as Kate Dixon. I wasn't terribly optimistic that this would happen since the news about Manheim's exit broke after the finale had already finished filming; if the decision hadn't been made much earlier, there might not have been time to set up an exit.
Still, after the unceremonious exits for Anthony Anderson as Detective Bernard and Jeffrey Dononvan as Detective Cosgrove that were explained after the fact – with Bernard getting a mention and Cosgrove as the subject of a cryptic conversation – I'd hoped for something more for Dixon and Manheim. Even if she would never get something as major as how L&O said goodbye to Jack McCoy when Sam Waterston left, I would have liked something.
It's not impossible that Camryn Manheim will appear in the beginning of Law & Order Season 24, but the announcement about her departure indicated that the Season 23 finale was the end of her time as Dixon. For now, fans can always celebrate getting more information about Baxter and revisit earlier episodes of Dixon in Season 23 with Law & Order streaming via a Peacock Premium subscription.
