‘Law & Order’ Season 26, Episode 2 Recap: What Happened to Riley in Reid Scott’s Finale Episode?

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details about Law and order Season 26, Episode 2, airs on NBC on Thursday, October 15.

Earlier this year, Deadline reported that Reid Scott, who plays lead detective Vincent Riley, was leaving the NBC procedural.

Scott’s exit finally aired in the second episode of season 26 titled “Into the Mystic.”

The episode opens with Riley sitting at his desk and something drives him to look for Ray Biller. When he arrives at Ray’s apartment, the person who opens the door says that Ray is not there. Riley orders the guy to call Ray to find out where he is.

Moments later, Riley calls Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) and says, “I need to talk to you right now. Call me back.”

Riley then calls Theo Walker (David Ajala) and tells him he’s heading to a bar because “something’s coming.” After heading to the bar, Riley receives a text from Walker saying he’s on his way.

As Riley approaches the bar, he notices Ray leaving the establishment. Riley follows Ray, who tells him he needs to talk. However, when he turns around, he shoots Riley twice in the chest and runs away.

Walker arrives on the scene and notices a man running away with a gun in his hand. However, near the bar, there is a lot of commotion as Riley bleeds from the gunshot wounds.

Walker calls for help, presses and yells, “Vince, stay with me, come on!” »

Lt. Jessica Brady (Maura Tierney) arrives at the hospital and Walker tells her what happened, leaving her shocked and speechless.

At the hospital, the doctor tells Walker that they couldn’t save Riley, leaving all of his colleagues in despair.

Robert Calvino, played by James Badge Dale, is introduced to help investigate Riley’s death.

Riley’s wife shows up at the police station and tells them that he recently withdrew “a lot of money.” Although Riley’s wife didn’t know what the money was for, she noted that he was drinking.

Jessica Brady and Robert Calvino visit a woman Riley had argued with hours earlier, on the day she died. The pregnant woman told police that Riley was giving her money because he “felt guilty” about killing her husband years ago.

Brady and Calvino discover that Riley was at Ray Biller’s apartment and talk to his friend, who corroborates what Riley was doing there the night he was killed. Back at the office, Nolan tells them that Ray Biller’s brother, Wayne, whom he found for murder, was killed in prison.

Police track down Ray Biller, who was attending his brother Wayne’s funeral, and arrest him as the prime suspect in Riley’s death.

Actor Ryan Eggold made an appearance reprising his role as Matt Riley, the troubled brother of Detective Vincent Riley, showing up in court and demanding justice for his brother’s death.

The prosecution runs into a problem when Ray Biller’s defense claims they can’t prove he killed Riley because they didn’t recover a gun.

DA Nicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) is determined to put Walker on the stand, but Nolan pushes back because he doesn’t believe Walker actually saw Ray Biller as the man who killed Riley.

On the day of the verdict, Ray Biller was found guilty of first degree murder.

While this is a victory for the prosecution, doubt remains about whether Walker was telling the truth, and Nolan remains skeptical about whether they did the right thing.

In July, Deadline first reported that Reid Scott was leaving Law and orderafter joining season 23. He reportedly decided to leave the NBC procedural due to the strain of the cross-country commute to New York, where the series is filmed.