Person of Interest: Flesh and Blood
November 29, 2024 6:43 AM - Season 1, Episode 19 - Subscribe
When The Machine spits out five numbers, naming the Don of each of New York's crime families, Reese and Finch suspect Elias is planning to eliminate his competition.
The episode opens with Elias wondering who he would be if his mother hadn't been murdered.
Reese arrives at the Library and Finch tells him that they have five numbers: the five heads of the New York mob, including Gianni Moretti, Jr., who took over when his father went to prison. They figure that the only person crazy enough to take on all the mob leaders at the same time is Elias, who has already kidnapped his father.
The five dons meet at the Covenant Club in Brooklyn, and Finch hacks the fire alarm system sound system.The two men listen in as Gianni Jr. wonders when they’re going to retaliate against Elias. However, the other mobsters are willing to let it go, figuring that Gianni Sr. set himself up by killing Marlene Elias. As long as Elias brings in money, they don’t care what he does.
Finch tells Reese to apologize to Carter so she’ll start working with them again. Carter ignores the call. Reese decides to take a more direct approach and attempts to warn one of the mob dons only to be dismissed. Moments later the don's car explodes. Reese reaches out to Elias to reason with him only to be told he should "stick to innocent men."
Finch tells Reese that he’s been monitoring Carter and knows that she’s reaching out to the remaining dons offering police protection. She doesn’t know that Elias plans to take them out and has HR (dirty cops) backing him, and Reese leaves to protect her. She attempts to protect another don, who is murdered in front of her, but Reese arrives in time to kill the shooter and protect her.
Flashback to a 22-year-old Elias dropping off a delivery for Gianni, who is eating dinner with his legitimate son Gianni Jr. Once they’re alone, Gianni says that he knows Marlene Elias, hinting he is aware that Elias is his son, and asks what he wants. Elias says that he just wants a job and a chance to learn from the best. The mobster assures Elias that there’s a place for him in his operation.
Carter and Fusco decide to keep the remaining dons in protective custody, and they go to a safehouse despite having no back up aside from a huge cache of weapons that Reese has gifted Carter.
Elias has Taylor, Carter's son, abducted. Reese calls and starts to tell Carter that he’ll find Taylor and save him, but Elias calls on Taylor’s phone. He tells her that she’s out of backup and has nowhere to turn.
When Carter wonders why he has to kill them given how much power he’s shown, Elias explains that Zambrano sells heroin to school children, Grifoni sells guns, and Gianni Jr. imports drugs and young girls. He assures Carter that he’ll run an efficient operation, but Carter hangs up. (This echoes what Elias said in s1 episode 17 "Baby Blue" about not hurting children.)
While Fusco checks the security of the safehouse, Elias arrives to ask Carter if she's ready to join "the right side." When she refuses, Elias gives to go ahead to his men to use a blowtorch on the door.
In a flashback 22 year old Elias is taken into the woods by two of Gianni Sr.’s men who complain about Sr not having the decency to face his own son after ordering his murder. Elias tells them that they’re not safe because they outnumber him, and he gets his strength from being alone. He vows to destroy them all and one of the men tries to garrote him. Elias uses him as a shield and lets the other man shoot his partner, then shoots the second man down.
Reese rescues Taylor. As Elias continues to cut through the door, one of the dons reveals he has cut a deal with Elias. Elias and his men hear gunshots before breaking in to find Fusco and Carter ready for them. The police arrive, and Carter arrests Elias, who goes willingly.
The Morettis (Sr and Jr) are reunited, and they get into the car. They hear a phone ring and finally locate an envelope holding a cell phone and a photo of the dead Marlene Elias. Gianni Sr. answers the phone and Elias tells him goodbye, and wishes he could be there. Their car blows up and Elias hands his cell phone back to the guard and goes into his cell.
Points of Interest
The opening lines of Elias about the loss of his mother mirror the opening lines of Reese in the pilot episode.
Despite Elias claiming he won't hurt children, this is the 2nd episode he's directly threatened a child to get what he wants from an adult.
In the scene with the 22 year old Elias (while working for his father Moretti), Moretti is shown sitting at a round table covered with a white tablecloth, in a dark suit and tie, toward the back center of a restaurant with wooden chairs. This is a recreation of the scene in The Godfather where Michael shoots Sollozzo and McCluskey. Only the shape of the wooden chairs is different.
The episode opens with Elias wondering who he would be if his mother hadn't been murdered.
Reese arrives at the Library and Finch tells him that they have five numbers: the five heads of the New York mob, including Gianni Moretti, Jr., who took over when his father went to prison. They figure that the only person crazy enough to take on all the mob leaders at the same time is Elias, who has already kidnapped his father.
The five dons meet at the Covenant Club in Brooklyn, and Finch hacks the fire alarm system sound system.The two men listen in as Gianni Jr. wonders when they’re going to retaliate against Elias. However, the other mobsters are willing to let it go, figuring that Gianni Sr. set himself up by killing Marlene Elias. As long as Elias brings in money, they don’t care what he does.
Finch tells Reese to apologize to Carter so she’ll start working with them again. Carter ignores the call. Reese decides to take a more direct approach and attempts to warn one of the mob dons only to be dismissed. Moments later the don's car explodes. Reese reaches out to Elias to reason with him only to be told he should "stick to innocent men."
Finch tells Reese that he’s been monitoring Carter and knows that she’s reaching out to the remaining dons offering police protection. She doesn’t know that Elias plans to take them out and has HR (dirty cops) backing him, and Reese leaves to protect her. She attempts to protect another don, who is murdered in front of her, but Reese arrives in time to kill the shooter and protect her.
Flashback to a 22-year-old Elias dropping off a delivery for Gianni, who is eating dinner with his legitimate son Gianni Jr. Once they’re alone, Gianni says that he knows Marlene Elias, hinting he is aware that Elias is his son, and asks what he wants. Elias says that he just wants a job and a chance to learn from the best. The mobster assures Elias that there’s a place for him in his operation.
Carter and Fusco decide to keep the remaining dons in protective custody, and they go to a safehouse despite having no back up aside from a huge cache of weapons that Reese has gifted Carter.
Elias has Taylor, Carter's son, abducted. Reese calls and starts to tell Carter that he’ll find Taylor and save him, but Elias calls on Taylor’s phone. He tells her that she’s out of backup and has nowhere to turn.
When Carter wonders why he has to kill them given how much power he’s shown, Elias explains that Zambrano sells heroin to school children, Grifoni sells guns, and Gianni Jr. imports drugs and young girls. He assures Carter that he’ll run an efficient operation, but Carter hangs up. (This echoes what Elias said in s1 episode 17 "Baby Blue" about not hurting children.)
While Fusco checks the security of the safehouse, Elias arrives to ask Carter if she's ready to join "the right side." When she refuses, Elias gives to go ahead to his men to use a blowtorch on the door.
In a flashback 22 year old Elias is taken into the woods by two of Gianni Sr.’s men who complain about Sr not having the decency to face his own son after ordering his murder. Elias tells them that they’re not safe because they outnumber him, and he gets his strength from being alone. He vows to destroy them all and one of the men tries to garrote him. Elias uses him as a shield and lets the other man shoot his partner, then shoots the second man down.
Reese rescues Taylor. As Elias continues to cut through the door, one of the dons reveals he has cut a deal with Elias. Elias and his men hear gunshots before breaking in to find Fusco and Carter ready for them. The police arrive, and Carter arrests Elias, who goes willingly.
The Morettis (Sr and Jr) are reunited, and they get into the car. They hear a phone ring and finally locate an envelope holding a cell phone and a photo of the dead Marlene Elias. Gianni Sr. answers the phone and Elias tells him goodbye, and wishes he could be there. Their car blows up and Elias hands his cell phone back to the guard and goes into his cell.
Points of Interest
The opening lines of Elias about the loss of his mother mirror the opening lines of Reese in the pilot episode.
Despite Elias claiming he won't hurt children, this is the 2nd episode he's directly threatened a child to get what he wants from an adult.
In the scene with the 22 year old Elias (while working for his father Moretti), Moretti is shown sitting at a round table covered with a white tablecloth, in a dark suit and tie, toward the back center of a restaurant with wooden chairs. This is a recreation of the scene in The Godfather where Michael shoots Sollozzo and McCluskey. Only the shape of the wooden chairs is different.
Reese: "That's ok Harold. You can be the getaway driver. I'll be fine. Besides, you know I don't like it when people mess with kids."
Other examples abound, but I love how this show is about people uplifting each other.
posted by porpoise at 6:42 PM on November 30 [3 favorites]
Other examples abound, but I love how this show is about people uplifting each other.
posted by porpoise at 6:42 PM on November 30 [3 favorites]
(my first-watch is up to here; the posts skipped over S1E18, the "Finch gets dosed with E" episode?)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:50 PM on November 30 [1 favorite]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:50 PM on November 30 [1 favorite]
Oh dear, I must have accidentally overlooked making that post. I'll rectify that tomorrow.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:53 PM on November 30 [1 favorite]
posted by miss-lapin at 6:53 PM on November 30 [1 favorite]
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While I have problems with Elias nakedly saying that to John in Baby Blue (because it seems to be against Elias's methodical nature to confess he was simply bluffing after seeing how effective the threat was) I think overall it makes sense for his character. His trauma makes him punish people who have protective feelings for children (their own and others) because he feels deprived of that. I say feels because we see in this episode a positive maternal figure who stepped in after Marlene was killed. Because of his father's betrayal of him, he doesn't see manipulating his former students against their parents as problematic or hurtful either. He might even see it as innocculating them against the pain he faced discovered his father's animosity towards him. And any harm that befalls a child as collateral damage from his crime enterprise, he would likely dismiss as the "way of the world." We see him do something like that when John goes to him about Baby Leila, saying he survived being deprived of parents (ignoring that she is being sold to a gang unlike himself who was placed in foster care).
So I can kind of see all the mental gymnastics Elias does to convince himself that he, himself, is not hurting children while very clearly hurting children.
posted by miss-lapin at 7:33 AM on November 29 [3 favorites]