"Harper's Island" Finale: Well .... THAT happened!
Yowch! Well, you gotta give the producers credit for delivering on their promise: By the end of the 13-episode series, a murderer was exposed, a mystery was solved and an entire David's Bridal collection was shredded to ribbons.
In the two-part finale we learned which member of the wedding party was a secret psycho, spilled a lot more blood, and wrapped up what was, in retrospect, a decidedly mean but pretty damn tidy little horror story. I wasn't terribly surprised to learn that my guess as to whom the killer would be was totally wrong, because I am the worst sleuth since Inspector Gadget. But if you'd rather not be spoiled as to the identity of the murder and the way things played out, stop reading now.
SPOILERS YONDER
So yes, Henry the groom-to-be was John Wakefield's son and he orchestrated the entire wedding as a way of getting Abby back to the Island ... not because he wanted revenge on her for getting the life and family that he was denied, but because he wanted to play house with her forever in a spread from Northwest Living magazine.
It's actually ridiculously obvious, when you think about it. And yet for some reason I didn't think that it could be that easy, so when it played out I was pretty satisfied. I also loved the way that the show jumped to the mainland (Shaye and that horrid little girl were the only two people to get off the Island) and made you think that everyone else had perished, just like Henry wanted us to. The whole "keeping Jimmy alive so he could take the fall" thing seemed a bit unnecessary and convenient, as I would rather have seen brother and sister face off one-on-one, Laurie Strode-style. But Abby got her vengeance, and I guess her and Jimmy's ride off into the sunset is the show's half-assed way of redeeming itself for being what was otherwise pretty much the most misanthropic and sadistic 13 weeks of television I've ever seen.
So what'dya think? Anyone stick with it to the end? Did you guess right? And overall, was it a successful serialized slasher experiment? This guy says "yes".
And OMG, how horrible was this whole thing for poor, dead, dirty-dressed Trish? (A little club soda will get that out!) I didn't really like her to begin with, but Lordy did that girl get the short end of the stick!
Labels: Harper's Island, slashers
posted by campbloodbuzz at
2:58 PM
8 Comments:
Oh MY. I loved it. There were plot holes big enough to drown in, and I missed Cal and Chloe, but all in all I enjoyed the series as a whole. I never felt like it dragged or had too much unnecessary business going on. I picked either Henry or the Sheriff from the very beginning, and I knew it was Henry when Abby found JD dead, it just seemed obvious.
I hope they try this again, but they probably won't any time soon considering the ratings this one got. But it was a cool experiment that I am glad I took advantage of.
I know - they had said that they had ways of continuing the story in other locales if Harper's was a success, but I think it went out with a whimper. Which is too bad, because I'd love to see what they'd do with the story if it continued. I think our best bet for something similar going forward is "Durham County", a Canadian serial-killer-in-the-suburbs mystery show that's going to be airing in the States on Ion (whatever that is!) in the fall. More deets to come!
Ohhh, that's supposed to have Maryann from True Blood in it!
Although, truth be told, she's becoming such a beatdown on TB, that I think I will have had enough of her acting stylings by the end of this season.
I loved it, and so did the friend I watched it with. We both thought it was really tense, and it did keep us guessing constantly. Had the killer down as Henry at first (irrationally so, though--I pegged him because I didn't like his smile and his hair), but then we started to think it might be Jimmy and then maybe the blonde guy (Chris?)! They did a good job of misdirection, I think. I'm sure there were plenty of plot holes, but I was so focused on the whodunnit, and, well, as a slasher fan, I have a natural talent at overlooking plot holes.
I'm also depressed it didn't get better ratings. I would have recommended it more to friends, but I was honestly afraid it would get worse or start to really fall apart towards the end. Now that I know the ending wasn't a bust, I won't feel any qualms about recommending the DVD to any friends.
I'm glad it was Henry. He reminded me of Adrien Zmed for some reason and that really bothered me.
such fun! thanks, buzz, for recommending it, else i would have missed the boat (unintended pun, i swear). i watched the first 11 episodes in a couple of days and caught the finale, very exciting!
i thought the whole series was fabulously written and i was impressed with the production value. the finale was extremely satisfying, even if we'd have liked abby to be a bit more of a final girl sans jimmy.
here's hoping for more slashing on the networks!
Little late chiming in here since just watched it on TIVO-- but really loved the whole series and the finale did not disappoint. Originally thought it was Henry but abandoned that theory early on as too obvious-- so was pretty surprised. Too bad there probably won't be a sequel. Was hoping maybe Madison was the big bad but no such luck. Still, lots of fun!
Wasn't it tremendous?? I so miss it already and would love a sequel: the couple return 7 years later to be married and that EVIL Madison comes undone all over the bridal party - AGAIN. Jimmy took my heart from the first episode so new he was too sweet to do bad things. Henry had a puppet mouth so had picked him as bad stuff from the beginning. Return me to Harpers Island plse.
Post a Comment
<< Home