Law & Order Season 25 Episode 21 titled ‘Liberty’ aired on NBC on May 14. The latest episode marked the final entry of Season 25 of the network’s police procedural & legal drama.
The final episode of Law & Order Season 25 followed the murder of Vice Admiral Wally Kane, who was murdered during Fleet Week, while rescuing two of his sailors from a gambling debt. Kane was pushed from an elevated walkway. As Price and Baxter worked together to build a solid case against Kane’s killer, a corrupt judge threatened their victory, forcing Baxter to make a risky decision and affect his upcoming re-election campaign.
Here is the complete recap of Law & Order Season 25 finale.
Who killed Admiral Wally Kane in the Law & Order Season 25 finale?
The Law & Order Season 25 finale comes to a turn when the team comes across a witness who confirms that Kane’s death was a murder and not an accident. She saw the Admiral’s body hit the pavement and a man pushing him but was unable to identify the killer. Brady and Riley discover one of Kane’s disgruntled business associates, named FM, on his phone, who had texted him on the night of his murder, asking for his money. The man named Mazzeo was suspicious but the duo had to eventually let him go because the FBI swooped in and took him away.
Brady and Riley had no choice but to take the investigation into their own hands in the Law & Order Season 25 finale. A little more detective work revealed that Mazzeo is an FBI informant who had a strong alibi. Turns out, Admiral Kane and his boss Admiral Garvey were under FBI investigation for taking bribes. Since Garvey was about to be promoted to the Department of Defense, Kane would have gotten his job, which did not sit right with his longtime friend and boss.
The case took an unexpected turn when the duo got their hands on the security footage from a bodega across the street that captured the killer’s distinctive scarf, which was later found in Garvey’s belongings. After some struggle, Lieutenant Brady managed to board the ship and arrest the Admiral.
Baxter goes against a corrupt judge in the Law & Order Season 25 finale
While Baxter and Price had solid evidence against Garvey in the Law & Order Season 25 finale, they were surrounded by political pressure. To make matters worse, their case was against a crooked judge Kenneth Sullivan, who practically did the defense’s work for them. When the prosecution suggested that the security footage was from an obsolete system and therefore inadmissible as evidence, Sullivan sided with them and declared it inadmissible in court. However, Price strikes back, saying that Garvey killed Kane in anger when the latter revealed that they were under an FBI investigation.
Sullivan’s behaviour made Price and Baxter suspicious, which is why the latter arranged a chance meeting with the Judge outside the court. Turns out Sullivan wanted the DA seat for himself, and he is still cross with Baxter for snatching that opportunity away from him. Sullivan’s conduct in court made it clear that he was backing the opposing side.
In the final moments of the Law & Order Season 25 finale, Baxter decides to fight back against the corrupt judge, while risking his political career. However, Price cuts a deal with Garvey’s attorney behind his back, agreeing on a plea deal that would likely keep the killer in jail for only a year. This naturally infuriates Baxter when he hears the news the next morning, but Price advises him not to get emotional and risk throwing away his promising political career.
In the concluding moments of the finale, as Garvey accepts the plea deal, Baxter makes a bittersweet speech at a press conference, hinting at potential corruption and foul practices in the justice system:
“The courtroom is a place where facts still matter. Evidence still matters. Where the law quietly and deliberately does its work. And we must fight as hard as we can to protect the sanctity of this hallowed institution. Because if we don’t, this whole thing, this grand experiment, will crumble. When we feel ill, when we feel that lies and injustice are beginning to invade our collective well-being, law is the medicine that can help us heal.”
You can stream the Law & Order Season 25 finale on Peacock.
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Edited by Aashna