Witness (Person of Interest)

In its original American broadcast, "Witness" was seen by an estimated 11.76 million household viewers and gained a 2.7/7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 11.62 million viewers with a 2.7/6 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] With these ratings, Person of Interest was the fourth most watched show on CBS for the night behind The Mentalist, Rules of Engagement and The Big Bang Theory, fourth on its timeslot and eight for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind The Mentalist, The Office, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, The X Factor, Rules of Engagement, and The Big Bang Theory.

"Witness" received generally positive reviews from critics. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" rating and wrote "At least I got to go out with a bang. 'Witness' pulls off the best (and maybe only really successful) twist the show has managed in its first season, a Keyser Soze move that probably should've been obvious, but caught me off guard. Charlie Burton (Enrico Colantoni, better known as Veronica Mars's dad) was too saintly to be real, a sensitive, compassionate high school teacher who'd devoted the last three years of his life to giving the kids of Brighton Beach a shot at a life outside the Russian mob."[3]

Keysha Couzens of TV Overmind wrote "Again, I can't stress enough how perfect Colantoni was in the role as he had to transform from this seemingly meek nice guy to a ruthless manipulating crime boss in the making. This episode set a new standard for the freshman series, and I'm pleased that at times it's becoming less of the procedural and more of a very solid crime drama that doesn't always have a simple happy ending. It makes for compelling television and this is the first time that I'm simply downright anxious for next week's episode. Which, with all my luck, will be the most by-the-numbers one in the show’s run. But here's hoping that the next chapter of the Elias story is told sooner rather than later. It woke the show right up."[4] Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy wrote "Elias revealed! 'Witness' provides us with our first proper look at Reese's chief nemesis, and we must admit, we didn't see the Burton twist coming!"[5]

Luke Gelineau of TV Equals wrote "Even though this episode wasn't quite as strong as past installments, it's still really encouraging to see the Elias story going strong. I'm excited to see what happens in future installments, and with CBS officially picking up the option for a full season, it looks like we'll get to see what happens with this Elias guy pretty soon! As he said, it's only just begun!"[6] Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.3 star rating out of 5 and wrote "Hello, grander season-long mythology. Excited to meet you. I have to admit, the start of Person of Interest this week didn't feel too promising. My eyes started to roll as soon as Fusco called Reese about looking into a 'Witness' and Reese was already watching him. How convenient. I know the police cases and Reese and Finch number cases are bound to intersect, but when it lines up so easily it can feel a bit contrived. I don't want things to be too obvious. In the long run, though, none of it really turned out to be."[7]