Witness

Season	Episode
1	7
Air date	November 3, 2011
Running time	43:25
Production code	2J6207
Written by	Amanda Segel
Directed by	Frederick E.O. Toye
Viewers	11.76M
POI; Charlie Burton

Episode Overview

Summary

POI

Cast and Characters

Crew

Person of Interest — Season 1 (Flashbacks in parentheses) Season 2 →
101 “Pilot” (Reese)	109 “Get Carter” (Carter)	117 “Baby Blue”
102 “Ghosts” (Finch)	110 “Number Crunch”	118 “Identity Crisis”
103 “Mission Creep” (Reese)	111 “Super” (Finch)	119 “Flesh and Blood” (Elias)
104 “Cura Te Ipsum”	112 “Legacy”	120 “Matsya Nyaya” (Reese)
105 “Judgment”	113 “Root Cause”	121 “Many Happy Returns” (Reese)
106 “The Fix”	114 “Wolf and Cub”	122 “No Good Deed” (Finch/Ingram)
107 “Witness”	115 “Blue Code” (Reese)	123 “Firewall”
108 “Foe” (Reese)	116 “Risk”

“	How many numbers will come up because we saved one man's life?	”
— Reese

"Witness" is the seventh episode in season 1, and the seventh produced hour of Person of Interest. It originally aired on November 3, 2011.

Synopsis[]

The Machine identifies a school teacher who witnessed a mob hit as their next POI and Reese and Finch rush to save his life.

Origin of the Title[]

The title refers to Charlie Burton's role as a witness of a crime, but can also refer to how he is a witness of his mother's murder. ^{(“Mission Creep”)}^{(“Flesh and Blood”)}

Main Plot Points[]

Person of Interest: Charlie Burton, a teacher who witnesses a gang-related murder.
Carter and Fusco investigate the murder of a Mafia don. The witness to the murder is the POI.
Reese rescues Burton but they are trapped in a Bulgarian drug dealer housing project while the Russian mob attempt to kill them both.
Anthony, Scarface, disguised as a cop intervenes. Finch "makes him" and enlists Fusco's help. They meet for the first time.
Carl Elias's identity is revealed
Scarface, Bill Szymanski and the Yogorov Family are introduced.

Episode Notes[]

After several weeks of embedded details, this episode introduces nascent mob boss Carl Elias. It is also the first episode that explores the idea that Reese is not infallible, but can be fooled by someone equally clever and seemingly benign.
The episode is set in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn with a large, multi-generational Jewish population which began immigrating during the Depression and in the years surrounding World War II. Newer residents are primarily Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. It is also the center of the Russian mafia in New York.

Vocabulary and Acronyms[]

Veni, vidi, vici (Latin): I came, I saw, I conquered. Elias's final quote in the episode.
Vory (Russian): Thieves. When Peter Yogorov tries to enter Will's apartment, Will tells him "that vory are supposed to show respect to one another." In the Russian Mafia to become a "Vor" (plural: Vory) (a thief) is an honorary title meaning to become a made man. The honor of becoming a Vor is only given when the recruit shows considerable leadership skills, personal ability, intellect and charisma.^[1] Invocation of the term "Vory" was another way of saying, "Honor among thieves."

Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]

When Finch calls up the schematics for Scarface's SUV, they mistakenly show the plans for a vehicle equipped with a convertible top.

Production Notes[]

Music[]

"Sinnerman" by Nina Simone (End of the episode)

Featured Locations[]

Main article: List_of_real-life_locations#1x07_-_Witness

The BRS (Bay Ridge Savings) bank where Finch hacks into the ATM is really a Jewish Community Centre (Shorefront YM-YWHA of Brighton - Manhattan Beach, Inc) located at 3300 Coney Island Avenue, adjacent to Brighton Beach

Stills of BRS Bank and Surrounding Area

Trivia[]

Will is reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, the tale of a man who disappears, is believed dead, and reappears with a new identity. Jim Caviezel (Reese) starred in a 2002 production of this story.
When Reese tries to give Charlie Burton, a.k.a Elias, a gun to defend himself, he tells Reese about a memory involving one of his foster dads. This implies that he has had multiple in the past, as Carter discovered of Elias’ life in the foster system earlier, foreshadowing the reveal at the end.

Quotes[]

"The Machine found a man who was targeted for death. We just didn't know that he was also a killer." (Finch)
"How many numbers will come up because we saved one man's life?" (Reese)

Clips[]

Person of Interest - Person of Interest - Preview Witness

Person of Interest 1x07 - Witness Promo (720p).avi

References[]

↑ Russian mafia

[1] Russian mafia

[1]