"Flesh and Blood" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American television drama seriesPerson of Interest. It is the 19th overall episode of the series and is written by Amanda Segel and directed by Stephen Semel. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on April 5, 2012.
Plot
Flashbacks
In 1981, a young Elias complains that his life has been a disaster since he can't find his father. Later, in 1991, Elias finally meets Moretti. Appreciating his valor, Moretti decides to employ Elias. However, Moretti's hitmen take him to the woods and try to kill him until Elias overpowers them.
Present day
Reese and Finch get five numbers: the Don of each of New York'scrime families. Reese suggests to let Elias "take out the trash" but is convinced that their deaths would cause collateral damage. The Five Dons are discussing the issue with Elias. Gianni Jr., wants to kill him but the other Dons forbid it as it could affect their businesses. After failing to get Carter's help, Reese tries to save Don Caparelli but he is killed when his car is blown up. Carter decides to place the rest of the Dons in police protection but Fusco reveals that HR is planning to let Elias get his objective as well as sending a task force to kill Reese. A shooter manages to kill Don Basile. Carter and Fusco take the remaining Dons to a safe house controlled by Finch just when they're followed by assassins. Elias has Scarface take Taylor, Carter's son, as part of an exchange. Elias calls Carter, demanding the Dons and he'll return Taylor. Finch goes with Patrick Simmons to show him that Elias is targeting him and everyone in HR, as well as their families. In the safe house, Don Zambrano is revealed to be working for Elias and tells Carter to let Elias enter. Reese manages to locate Taylor's location as well as Moretti's cell room. He manages to kill the guards although Scarface flees. After considering his betrayal, Simmons has HR stop helping Elias, leaving him outnumbered. Elias is arrested but from his cell, he manages to get Moretti and Gianni, Jr. killed by blowing up their car.
Reception
Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Flesh and Blood" was seen by an estimated 13.69 million household viewers and gained a 3.0/8 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This was a 7% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 14.59 million viewers with a 3.3/9 in the 18-49 demographics. With these ratings, Person of Interest was the second most watched show on CBS for the night beating The Mentalist and Rules of Engagement, but behind The Big Bang Theory although being first in terms of viewership, first on its timeslot and third for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind American Idol, and The Big Bang Theory.
Critical reviews
"Flesh and Blood" received positive reviews from critics. Luke Gelineau of TV Equals wrote "With only three episodes left this season after tonight's episode 'Flesh and Blood', Person of Interest returned tonight with the dramatic recurrence of the elusive M. Elias." Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.6 star rating out of 5 and wrote "This was a great episode that hit on all the marks that really makes Person of Interest stand out. I could gripe about a few smaller things like Carter's campy lines, the simplicity in which Elias got to everyone, or even him going in person to see Carter - but the show has done a fantastic job in making its characters and the overall story compelling week in and week out. It's just proving that this is a show whose numbers won't be up for a while."
