Harper's island finale

[Othello]

TV Guide has an interview with the guy who plays Sully. I get the feelign from the interview that these last two hours are going to be REALLY good and kind of a "holy shit that was cool" vibe you get that makes the rest that came before it all the more enjoyable and make you want to rewatch it.


http://www.tvguide.com/News/Matt-Barr-Harpers-1007905.aspx

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I wondered if I was the only one going to watch this thing. I have no real idea what's going to happen. My bet is that the killer is Henry or Madison - the explanation for either would be strained and sorta stupid - but I can't think of any explanation that would work for any of the others, short of something really absurd like split personality or demonic possession.

The ever-popular "someone we think is dead but really isn't" would also be a stretch. I've run thru the scenarios in my mind and the characters either have to be dead, or would be ridiculous choices for the killer, or both.

 

[Dream]

It might be interesting if the last scene of the show has Jack Shepard from LOST waking up on the ground and opening his eyes.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It might be interesting if the last scene of the show has Jack Shepard from LOST waking up on the ground and opening his eyes.

THAT would win the prize for Most Random Ending Ever. Beats even BSG.

I'm not so sad to see this series cancelled since the main attraction is that some of the actors are pretty good, and they wouldn't have been back anyway even if they survive the finale. I'd like to see Elaine Cassidy (Abby), Christopher Gorham (Henry), Matt Barr (Sully), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny), Ben Cotton (Shane) and CJ Thomason (Jimmy) again. And of course Jim Beaver.

 

[Holoaddict]

I wondered if I was the only one going to watch this thing. I have no real idea what's going to happen. My bet is that the killer is Henry or Madison - the explanation for either would be strained and sorta stupid - but I can't think of any explanation that would work for any of the others, short of something really absurd like split personality or demonic possession.

The ever-popular "someone we think is dead but really isn't" would also be a stretch. I've run thru the scenarios in my mind and the characters either have to be dead, or would be ridiculous choices for the killer, or both.

I am just glad I am not the only one who thinks Madison is a killer. I wonder which one of the adult women will survive. Will it be Abby or Trish?

 

[Spot's Meow]

The show wasn't really cancelled, it was only planned to be a miniseries with 13 episodes and that was it.

I can't even speculate on who the killer is. Hopefully that's because the answer is so fricken awesome that we couldn't even imagine the possibilities, but somehow I doubt it.

 

[Worf2DS9]

Here in Canada, we see the show on Thursday, but I won't spoil anything for those who see it tonight. It was a good ending though...

 

[bigdaddy]

The show wasn't really cancelled, it was only planned to be a miniseries with 13 episodes and that was it.

It was canceled and shockingly shoved into the Saturday Night death slot to be finished. The plan was to have a different story with different characters every summer, but that won't happen now.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I wonder which one of the adult women will survive. Will it be Abby or Trish?

I predict: Abby and Henry survive if Madison is the killer. Abby and Madison survive if Henry is the killer. Everyone else is TOAST!

Just a few hours till we find out.

The show wasn't really cancelled, it was only planned to be a miniseries with 13 episodes and that was it.

They were planning to continue the franchise with Harper's this and that...Harper's Cruise, Harper's Creepy Old Deserted Mansion, etc. Could have been fun. It's fun just talking about it.

I can't even speculate on who the killer is. Hopefully that's because the answer is so fricken awesome that we couldn't even imagine the possibilities, but somehow I doubt it.

Considering that the writing has ranged from terrible to good at best, that would be a rather shocking turnaround in one episode.

 

[Othello]

I really enjoyed the finale....

 

[Corran Horn]

It was enjoyable. A few surprises, a few obvious things.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Interesting finale. It wasn't all that bad. The wedding video at the very end was sad. The Wakefield's son thing was kind of predictable but they still played it nicely. It was kind of strange how the last half hour of the last episode was all in that creepy house of Henry's, didn't really expect that. But it wasn't bad, just different. Overall I'm happy with how things turned out.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yep, the explanation about Henry was strained. But I figured CBS would go for the pop-psychology notion that serial killer-ness is inheritable.

Didn't expect Henry to kill Wakefield, tho. And the freaky playing-house ending was totally out of left field, and getting into unwholesome territory that I would think is a bit out of the CBS comfort zone. If the whole series had been that unpredictable and gutsy, I might have not almost bailed on the whole thing early on.

So, what foreshadowing did they do of Henry (other than editing-style hints - having someone mention "Wakefield's child" and then cut to Henry)? All the nattering about Abby being a "bad seed" simply because people thought she was the kid, was all the hints I remember.

Also, maybe I should rewatch my tape, but when Henry meets back up with Sully at the boat house, and knows that Danny is dead, was there any way (from Sully's perspective) that Henry could have known that? Assuming of course Henry did not speak with Wakefield and didn't meet up with Madison or Shay? I kept waiting for Sully to go "oh, waitaminute..." I guess I was kinda rooting for him to unexpectedly escape, after he gave up his chance of escape because he didn't want to abandon Henry.

And one more question: why did Henry say the money in the boat was Uncle Henry's? Wasn't it the money Wellington gave Hunter (remember him?) to get him to leave Trish alone (wow, was Wellington off base about future sons in law, huh?)

 

[Elemental]

The biggest tip off they gave that it was Henry early on was the blood on his hands when Abby found JD. That always seemed like way too big a tip off and but it didn't make sense at all for Henry to find JD stabbed, get his hands covered in blood, leave, and then come back when Abby found him. For a while I just figured it for bad writing.

The finale was ripe with cliches and I can't say I really enjoyed that whole sequence in the "let's live together happily ever after" house of Henry's. Shows where the killer is a genius at killing but then has absolutely stupid notions about how they can make someone else love them always come off as retarded and only serve to take away from any notion of them being a compelling villain. Also, the idea that a few drops of blood in the burned down church would make everyone think that the person perished is absurd. I did like the end with the wedding videos though. Would have been great if we could see a few more people in the vids though.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The biggest tip off they gave that it was Henry early on was the blood on his hands when Abby found JD.

Yeah - by then I was suspecting Henry and was confused why JD said to Abby, "it's all about you!" (as opposed to, "Henry's the killer!!!" same number of syllables, right? ) But at least now we know what he meant about Abby. I figured Henry would be her brother, but not in love with her - I thought either he resented her for being the one that Mom kept, and was saving her to kill her after seeing her father and boyfriend killed, or that he was loyal to her for brotherly reasons and would stop Wakefield at the end.

But there were a fair number of foreshadowing devices (too many really, this isn't the only message board where Henry has been the prime suspect for a long time) - Gorham had a nervous, squirrely way of playing the role, there were one or two suspicious violent outbursts from the guy, and in the later episodes it seemed like he was more interested in protecting Abby than Trish. The problem with Henry is not foreshadowing so much as the "he's just nuts" motivation is too cheap and easy a thing to write.

For a while I just figured it for bad writing.

The bad writing was why I didn't suspect Henry whole-hog. Every so often, he'd do something dumb - distract someone from taking a shot at Wakefield. But does that mean he's in cahoots? So many people were doing obviously dumb things that I figured it could just as well be more sloppy writing. The lousy writing was the main thing keeping the mystery being a mystery.

Shows where the killer is a genius at killing but then has absolutely stupid notions about how they can make someone else love them always come off as retarded and only serve to take away from any notion of them being a compelling villain.

Whoever owned that million-dollar-mansion they were claiming squatter's rights to was NEVER going to come back home, were they?

Oh and I read elsewhere about the money - Wellington never gave Hunter a bag of money - I think that was during my "this show sucks, I'm not watching anymore" phase.

 

[1001001]

Hmmm.

I just finished watching.

Well, I can't say that I was blown away. I think Henry's motive was pretty implausable. That was a lot to go through just for some sister-lovin'....

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yep, Henry managed to convince a gorgeous rich girl to marry him over the objections of her father, but he can't convince a moderately good looking poor girl, estranged from her father, living a lonely life in cold, anonymous LA, to go out on a date?!? And he's a childhood friend to boot, so it's not like he's any schmoe trying to pick her up in a bar. Just fly down for a friendly visit and see where it goes from there.

And if Henry wants to pursue a side career as a serial killer, what city could be more ideal than LA? He just needs to remember Dexter Morgan's first rule: never kill anyone with a personal connection to you. He had his perfect life all mapped out for him, but he insisted on doing it all the hard way.

But I guess he needed to return to the island, since that seemed to be as much part of his obsession as Abby. Which wouldn't work if (and I don't think this was ever confirmed) the sherrif knew that Henry and Abby were siblings. Which would mean Henry would have to kill the sherrif to get him out of the way. And hey, maybe the rampage could be justified as cover for killing the sherrif - make it look completely like Wakefield's work, and Abby would never suspect Henry had anything to do with it.

Not that that was how they played it, I just like trying to rewrite bad shows.

 

[1001001]

I guess he was psychologically fixated on the island, particularly that beach with Abby. He was trying to get back there.

Still his plan was incredibly convoluted. Get an island girl to marry him and have the wedding on Harper's Island so he could invite Abby and she'd have to go, then he could join with his long lost father and kill every person in sight in the most gruesome way so he and Abby would have the island to themselves and live happily ever after because no one would notice all those people missing and no one would ever come to the island again.

Oh, and he knows she's his sister. And he's in a good place with that.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Oh, and he knows she's his sister. And he's in a good place with that.

Heck, that might have been what sparked his interest. He sure didn't seem interested in that mega-gorgeous finance of his. Maybe he has more exotic interests.

...continuing with my rewrite of this train wreck, let's say Henry realizes he has to knock off the sherrif and Jimmy (who might be interested in rekindling his romance with Abby). One could be an accident, but two? Both with ties to Abby? Too risky.

So Henry, who's learned that dear old dad is a psycho killer, asks him for some help. Even better, maybe Wakefield never came back at all. Henry was just using his legend to cover two murders by killing half the people on the island. The whole scenario can play out without the absurdity of Henry "inheriting" psycho killer-ness. He's just a selfish sociopath who's stuck on his sister, that's all.

I dunno where that leaves the wedding scenario, but we don't really need that, anyway. It could just be a soap opera about Henry and Abby, who return to the island after many years away, and by coincidence, that's when the serial killer strikes.

 

[Base_Delta_Zero]

The ending was alright, I guess. Once it was established Henry had a bloody hardon for Abby, I knew Wakefield's little kill her last plan wasn't going to go down quite how he wanted. Moron.

I wanted Sully, Danny and Trish to make it off the island. Cal would have been nice. Maybe Shay. Madison was such a little creepy, info-dribbling loser, I was hoping they'd show some balls and whack her. Did I forget to tell you guys Wakefield has a helper? Oopsie. Can I have that poptart?

I was hoping Jimmy was Wakefield's helper in a double twist, everything points to him, then away, then right back. He'd kill Henry, then Abby would kill him.

Course, once they had Wakefield and DIDN'T KILL HIM, it was clear all my favorite characters were going to die horribly, wishing they'd listened to Sully, the voice of reason who came up with the sweet ambush in the first place.