Is ‘Law & Order’ Killing off Riley in Reid Scott’s Final Episode?

Law & Order has, in recent years, written off characters between seasons when cast members have exited. In Season 26, it will happen onscreen for Reid Scott‘s Det. Vincent Riley … and based on the preview for his final episode, airing Thursday, October 14, there’s real reason to worry he could be killed off.

In the Law & Order Season 26 Episode 2 promo, which you can watch above, Riley calls out to someone and identifies himself as NYPD. But then that person turns around and shoots him! “Shooting a cop, someone is going to pay,” Lt. Jessica Brady (Maura Tierney) says. And is that a glimpse at a funeral?!

Also coming up in this episode, titled “Into the Mystic,” NBC teases, “Price [Hugh Dancy] and Walker [David Ajala] are forced off a high-stakes case when their connection to a murder suspect creates a conflict of interest. Baxter [Tony Goldwyn] faces mounting pressure when a key witness for the prosecution suddenly changes their story.”

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Ahead of the season, executive producer Rick Eid told TV Insider that Scott’s last episode is “really emotional and powerful. We wanted to give him a memorable exit. He’s a great character. And honestly, I’d say interestingly enough, the genesis for the idea may have come from Reid himself.”

He confirmed that Ryan Eggold is back as Riley’s brother, Matt, last seen in a coma after being stabbed for snitching and helping Vince out with a case. He’s “a complicated character and he’s had a complicated relationship with his brother, but I think as we started seeing the last time we saw him, there’s real love there and it’s probably mostly unspoken, but there’s a powerful bond between the two of them, and we’ll see that in this episode,” Eid previewed.

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He added, “I just like the idea of two brothers that live totally opposite lives and who view the world in totally opposite ways yet still connect and love each other. But they have a hard time getting it right. But underneath all the conflict and issues and resentments is a strong brotherly love.”

How do you think Law & Order will write out Riley? What do you want to see from Reid Scott’s last episode? Let us know in the comments section below.

Law & Order, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC