List of Harper's Island episodes

The following is a list of episodes of the television series, Harper's Island. The show aired on CBS in the United States and Global TV in Canada, with the pilot premiering on April 9, 2009 as a mid-season replacement following the series finale of Eleventh Hour.

Contents

Series overview

Episodes Originally aired Series
Premiere
Series
Finale
Timeslot DVD release
date
13 2009 April 9, 2009 July 11, 2009 Thursday 10pm (April)
Saturday 9pm
September 8, 2009

Episodes

# Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1 "Whap" Jon Turteltaub Ari Schlossberg April 9, 2009 (2009-04-09)

Everyone gathers on the ferry to Harper's Island for the wedding of Henry Dunn and Trish Wellington. Trish's cousin, Ben Wellington, hasn't arrived, but they decide to cast off anyway. Unbeknownst to the party on board Ben has been tied to the drive shaft of the boar with an oxygen tank and goes head first into the propeller when the engine starts.

On the voyage to the Island Henry and his life-long best friend, Abby Mills, discuss her apprehension about returning to Harper's Island. Her mother was one of the victims that John Wakefield murdered seven years ago. Among the many guests coming to the Island is Henry's Uncle Marty, who is secretly travelling with a bag of $250,000 and a gun.

The wedding party arrives at The Candlewick Inn, the setting for all of the festivities, and Abby becomes familiar with her old surroundings. Hunter Jennings, Trish's ex-boyfriend, arrives on the Island per Mr. Wellington's request. They intend to break up Trish's marriage to Henry. Uncle Marty confronts Mr. Wellington about his treatment of Henry and also his plan to break up Henry and Trish's wedding.

Later in the evening while out for a walk, Marty falls though a footbridge, gets stuck, and is cut in half by an unknown killer. Once the evening winds down, Abby returns to her room to find a newspaper article taped to her bathroom mirror about her mother's murder at the hands of John Wakefield.

Deaths: Ben Wellington and Marty Dunn 
2 "Crackle" Sanford Bookstaver Jeffrey Bell April 16, 2009 (2009-04-16)

While out for a run in the woods Abby is startled by her ex-boyfriend, Jimmy, and another Harper's Island local, Shane, who are out hunting deer. Upon returning to their truck, Jimmy and Shane discover a deer carcass on the hood with the word "psycho" written in blood on the windshield. Shane suspects Henry's brother, J.D., is the culprit and vows retaliation. At the same time, Trish meets with Hunter again and states her intention of marrying Henry.

Meanwhile, the Reverend Fain is caught in a rope trap and decapitated in the woods by an unknown assassin. A scavenger hunt begins at the Candlewick and Abby gets reacquainted with Kelly, another local whose mother was murdered by John Wakefield. Kelly admits that she is still haunted by Wakefield, but Abby assures her that the Sheriff killed him. Later, they agree that Kelly should move to L.A. with Abby when the wedding reception is over; Kelly celebrates the news by having sex with J.D.

Trish confides in Lucy that Hunter is on the island, and that she doesn't know what to do. In an effort to thwart Sully's advances on Chloe, Cal ventures out alone in the woods to find them and he is caught in a rope trap. Sully comes upon Cal but he is unable to free him by himself, and he tells Cal that he will be back with help. Later that evening Chloe expresses her concern that Cal is still missing and Sully leads them to his whereabouts. They find him, still dangling upside down but very much alive.

Trying to keep the peace between Shane and J.D., Henry extends an invitation to Jimmy and Shane to attend the beach party that evening. However, the truce is short-lived when Henry arrives back at his room to discover a deer's head in his bath-tub. Nikki arrives to Kelly's house to pick her up for the beach party but finds her dead, hanging from the rafters. Shane arrives at the party and he is punched by Henry for the "deer in the bathtub" prank. During their altercation Lucy's dog, Gigi, manages to scamper off into the woods. Running after her, Lucy falls into a pit. Her screams for help are drowned out as the murderer sets her on fire.

Deaths: Reverend Fain, Kelly Seaver and Lucy Daramour 
3 "Ka-Blam" Steve Boyum Jill E. Blotevogel April 23, 2009 (2009-04-23)

Sheriff Mills informs Abby that Kelly committed suicide but she refuses to believe that her friend killed herself. When Abby breaks the news to J.D., he does not react; leaving Abby concerned and suspicious because she saw him with Kelly on the night that she died. When Shane hears the news of Kelly's death, he immediately suspects J.D. and sets out to settle the score. As J.D walks along a country road, Shane hits him with his truck and abducts him.

Meanwhile; Henry discovers that Trish's ex-boyfriend, Hunter Jennings is staying at a nearby hotel. Pretending to be Hunter, Henry sends Trish a note to meet him at a room in the Candlewick Inn. Trish approaches the door to the hotel room, but she hesitates and leaves. Inside the hotel room; Henry smiles to himself - he knows Trish has chosen him over Hunter.

Knowing of the bad blood between Shane and J.D., Abby goes to Shane's house and finds J.D. held captive in his barn. Abby tells a threatening and crazed Shane that Kelly did not commit suicide but was murdered - by John Wakefield. Sheriff Mills comes upon them; he saves Abby and J.D, and arrests Shane.

That evening at dinner; Trish and Henry present a loving, unified front to her father. Knowing that he has lost Trish to Henry; Hunter propositions Mr. Wellington. He promises not to tell Trish that her father brought him to the island to break up the engagement if Mr. Wellington pays him $50,000. Mr. Wellington agrees and Hunter leaves the Island with his money. As he boats away from Harper's Island, Hunter is murdered by a rigged shotgun in the middle of the ocean.

Death: Hunter Jennings 
4 "Bang" Guy Bee Lindsay Sturman April 30, 2009 (2009-04-30) (Global)

Driving into town, Jimmy and Abby reminisce and begin to rekindle their relationship. Once in town, Abby visits the local newspaper - Harper's Globe - to pick up a childhood picture of Trish and Henry for her wedding gift. While waiting, Abby is spooked by old newspapers featuring the Wakefield murders; Robin Matthews tells her that someone was inquiring about them but the person never came to pick them up.

The day of the bachelor and bachelorette parties have arrived. While out fishing, Henry and his groomsmen come across Hunter's boat. They discover his body and the bag of money with the gun. They decide not to report it and sink the boat instead, taking the money and gun. When they return to the Candlewick Inn, the men agree to deal with the $250,000 that they confiscated after the wedding.

When two men enter the Inn with concealed weapons, the groomsmen decide that they need to hide the money immediately. Booth heads out into the woods to bury the money and Malcolm follows him. Accidentally, Booth shoots himself in the leg and bleeds to death in Malcolm's arms. At the bachelor party, they are relived to discover the two men are bouncers for the stripper. Malcolm arrives and lies about seeing Booth. Back in his hotel room, Malcolm hides the bag of money and mourns the loss of his friend.

Trish's afternoon tea is ruined when she discovers that her Mother's tea set is purposely destroyed. At the bachelorette party, the hired psychic warns Abby that she must leave the Island. Freaked out with this encounter, Abby goes to Jimmy's house and stays the night. Upset over the loss of her Mother's tea set, a drunk Trish falls into the hotel swimming pool and becomes trapped under the water. Trish loses consciousness and begins to drown; but her brother-in-law, Richard finds her and saves her life.

Death: Joel Booth 
5 "Thwack" Steve Gomer Tyler Bensinger May 7, 2009 (2009-05-07)

It's the day before the wedding and Trish is freaking out about all that still needs to be done. Henry tells Trish to take the morning off and spend time with her father, while he handles all the final preparations. Henry is overwhelmed with all the wedding details and finds a decaying animal carcass on the altar. Knowing that J.D. is responsible, Henry confronts him and tells him that he never wants to see him again. J.D. tells Henry that he has one more surprise for him.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Mills and his deputy investigate the disappearance of Reverend Fain. At his home, they find unopened mail and unheard voice messages. Their search ends when they discover his dismembered body in the water attached to a fishing line. During the investigation, Abby visits her father's house and discovers articles focusing on John Wakefield, she realises that the Sheriff thinks Wakefield is still alive.

On a bike ride in the woods, Trish and her father trip a swinging booby trap that knocks them off their bikes. They start walking back towards the Candlewick Inn. They come upon a figure in the woods and ask for help. In response, the figure releases a rabid German Shepherd on them but before he can attack, Thomas kills the dog. They escape and make it back to the Candlewick Inn.

The wedding rehearsal begins. At the altar, Henry stands with Trish and Mr. Wellington. Abby is asked to turn off the lights. As she does, a head spade inserted into the chandelier above Henry, Trish and Thomas is dropped; killing Mr. Wellington.

Death: Thomas Wellington 
6 "Sploosh" James Whitmore, Jr. Robert Levine May 21, 2009 (2009-05-21) (Global)

The Sheriff commences his investigation into Mr. Wellington's murder and discovers that it was not a coincidence that someone wanted him dead. Henry tells Abby about J.D.'s possible involvement in Wellington's murder. J.D. denies having anything to do with the murder and believes that John Wakefield is still alive.

J.D leads Abby into the woods to show her the body of Uncle Marty tied up in a tree. They find Henry and break the news of Uncle Marty's murder and their belief that John Wakefield could be involved in the murders. Abby takes Henry to her father's attic to show the research on Wakefield. Together; the three of them confront the Sheriff, who continues to reassure them that Wakefield is dead. J.D does not believe him and decides to dig up Wakefield's grave, but the Sheriff locks him in the pantry.

As the Sheriff questions the rest of the wedding party, Abby and Henry dig up Wakefield's grave. They discover a skeleton in the coffin, proving to them that Wakefield is dead. Back at the Inn, Madison lets J.D. out of the pantry. J.D runs through the woods and enters the cabin of the mysterious figure.

The Sheriff starts to suspect Richard Allen - Shea's husband and Madison's father - for the murders. Sheriff Mills asks Richard about his relationship with Mr. Wellington and his affair with Katherine Wellington. Richard admits that he hated Wellington and the affair was his way of humiliating his father-in-law. The sheriff leaves; knowing that he is the prime suspect in the murder, Richard calls his lawyer. While is on the phone; Richard is murdered, harpooned through the chest.

Death: Richard Allen 
7 "Thrack, Splat, Sizzle" Scott Peters Jeffrey Bell May 28, 2009 (2009-05-28) (Global)
May 30, 2009 (CBS)

After Abby, J.D. and Henry try to solve the mystery by looking in the sheriff's attic, the guests begin to think that they know who is responsible for all of the killings. The atmosphere at the Candlewick Inn darkens when the Sheriff begins to search everyone's rooms for possible clues concerning Thomas Wellington's death.

Meanwhile, Malcolm becomes stressed to the idea of the Sheriff finding the $250,000 he was hiding from everyone. His plan fails when Sully and Danny become curious of Malcolm's behavior. After being accused of killing Booth by both groomsmen, Malcolm goes to the basement of the Candlewick Inn to burn the money in the garbage incinerator. While watching some of the money burn, Malcolm is savagely decapitated by the murderer. The killer throws Malcolm's body parts in the incinerator.

In conclusion, after worrying for her father's disappearance, Madison receives a mysterious message. Madison goes to a room of the Candlewick Inn, where she was asked to meet in the letter. Madison vanishes after arriving at the meeting place.

Death: Malcolm Ross 
8 "Gurgle" Rick Bota Tyler Bensinger June 4, 2009 (2009-06-04) (Global)
June 6, 2009 (CBS)

After a wedding guest is kidnapped, people enter a race against time to find her and four people try to escape from the island even after they have been told that the kidnapped victim will be killed if anyone leaves. In the meanwhile, three more victims die.

Deaths: Deputy Garrett, Cole Harkin and J.D. Dunn 
9 "Seep" Craig R. Baxley Nichelle Tramble Spellman June 11, 2009 (2009-06-11) (Global)
June 13, 2009 (CBS)

After reading John Wakefield's journal, Abby finds out she could be his daughter. After over-hearing this information, Shane tells everyone still staying in the Candlewick Inn that he believes Abby is the murderer, causing the party to start turning on her and each other. This tension causes Abby to realize that she is in the center of the killings. After denying Abby a place inside the Inn, Shane is attacked by Henry, who is only stopped when the group pulls him off. Meanwhile, Cal and Chloe are attending the Sheriff Mills' leg injury. Chloe gets turned on when Cal saves his life and they sleep together in a separate room. Cal wakes up to discover that the Sheriff is missing.

Moments after the fight, Sully realizes that Beth is missing. He and Danny search for her and start following the trail of blood. This leads them to an underground tunnel system. Danny finds Beth's body in one of the tunnels as Abby gets trapped in a separate tunnel while also attempting to locate Beth. After finding her safe in a room, Abby and Madison attempt to find their way out of the tunnels, only to be found by Trish and Shea who were driving the see the psychic. Meanwhile, Shane discovers someone has killed Katherine by stabbing garden shears through the back of the couch on which she had been sitting.

Deaths: Beth Barrington and Katherine Wellington 
10 "Snap" Steve Boyum Christine Roum June 18, 2009 (2009-06-18) (Global)
June 20, 2009 (CBS)

Madison leads the group to believe that the Sheriff is the man who kidnapped her, causing them to suspect that he is in fact the murderer. The group decides to leave the island on Jimmy's boat, but after seeing the dead cops, Shane calls for everyone to get off the dock. Moments later, the dock explodes, along with all the boats. The group takes refuge at The Cannery, where Nikki shows up in fear. Later, Maggie decides to leave and appears to have gone home, but she is later hung from the The Cannery sign in front of the group.

After creating a small diversion, Cal and Sully are able to take Nikki's car to get to Cal's sailboat, but not without consequences. Hours later, the Sheriff's truck deliver the gang an unconscious Jimmy. This prompts Abby to go back to the Candlewick Inn, where she finds her father. She blames him for the murders, but he tells her it has been Wakefield all this time. After a few revealing secrets and twists, Abby witnesses her father die at the hands of Wakefield, who confronts her.

Deaths: Officer Daryl Riggens, Officer Tyra Coulter, Maggie Krell and Sheriff Charlie Mills 
11 "Splash" Rick Bota Dan Shotz June 25, 2009 (2009-06-25) (Global)
June 27, 2009 (CBS)

It is revealed that Wakefield has been "friends" with Madison since the day everyone arrives on the island. While at The Cannery, Madison informs everyone "Mommy, he's here!" Nikki grabs for a gun, but is too slow and Wakefield kills her. Shane distracts Wakefield while the girls can run to safety. Danny, Abby, and Henry make their way back to The Cannery to find a dead Shane and Nikki and the girls missing.

Trish, Shea, Chloe, and Madison end up at Sheriff Mills house, hiding in the attic. After hearing bells from the church, the girls and the group at The Cannery make their way over, each thinking someone from the other group was ringing it. The meet up and realize that Jimmy is missing and Deputy Lillis is dead. Moments later, Sully and Cal enter the church, while Wakefield sneaks in and grabs Chloe. Moments later, Jimmy enters the church after hearing the bells.

The group decides to split up to block off the exits to the underground tunnels Wakefield is using to get around the island. Danny and Sully encounter Wakefield and decide to enter the tunnels to help their friends. In the woods, Cal finds and rescues Chloe while Abby and Henry are chasing Wakefield. Moments are rescuing Chloe, Cal proposes to her. Wakefield shows up and kills Cal, then throws him off the bridge. Chloe tells Wakefield "You can't have me," and jumps to her death. It is revealed that the Sheriff thought Wakefield had an accomplice, and Shea thinks it is Jimmy.

Deaths: Nikki Bolton, Shane Pierce, Deputy Patrick Lillis, Cal Vandeusen and Chloe Carter 
12 "Gasp"[1] Seith Mann Christine Roum & Robert Levine July 9, 2009 (2009-07-09) (Global)
July 11, 2009 (CBS)

After witnessing the death of Chloe, Henry and Abby are off to find Wakefield. Danny acts as bait to lure Wakefield out, but when it comes to killing him, Abby can't do it. Instead, she knocks him out and they carry him to the Police Station where they lock him up. Henry goes to find Trish and Jimmy, but they have left the car. While at the station, Shea tells the group that Sheriff Mills suspected Jimmy of being a Wakefield copycat, causing the group to analyze Jimmy's behavior and brushes with death. Jimmy comes to the station, seemingly upset that Trish has fallen off a cliff and is stuck.

Wakefield reveals to Abby that she is in fact the reason behind the killings, and that he really loved her mother. He reveals that Abby's mother gave Wakefield's son up for adoption, but Wakefield found him. Meanwhile Jimmy, Henry, Abby, and Sully go off to rescue Trish, who they find unharmed. Trish found a radio, and with the help of Sully and Jimmy, was able to contact the coast guard who state they are sending help.

Back at the station, Shea, Madison, and Danny are playing games when Wakefield escapes from his cell and kills Danny, who stayed behind to allow Shea and Madison to escape. While wandering through the woods, Madison and Shea come upon Jimmy and Abby who are going to get Trish and Henry. They arrive at the Inn to find that Wakefield has already been there and Trish and Henry are missing. Trish, who is on the run from Wakefield, stumbles upon Henry. Her happiness turns to horror when Henry reveals that he is Wakefield's accomplice. After a struggle, Henry kills his fiance`.

Deaths: Danny Brooks and Trish Wellington 
13 "Sigh"[1] Sanford Bookstaver Jeffrey Bell July 9, 2009 (2009-07-09) (Global)
July 11, 2009 (CBS)

Starting with a flashback, we see Henry and Abby are best friends. His parents come to pick him up, and through glances, it is obvious that Abby's mother and Henry's adoptive mother know what happened. Henry and Abby share a secret before he goes back home to Tacoma.

Wakefield and Henry are discussing their overall plan when they hear Abby and they leave Trish's body in the woods. Shea and Madison make to the boat house where Sully learns Wakefield has escaped. Abby and Jimmy find Trish's body, and decide to leave her there to find Henry. Meanwhile, Sully sends Shea and Madison off towards Seattle on a small boat, while Henry takes Sully into the woods to "find Trish." There, Henry tells Sully everything, but he doesn't believe him at first. Eventually he tries to shoot Henry, but he doesn't have any bullets. Henry and his father kill Sully while Henry tells him "you never should have dogged Trish," leading the audience to believe that Henry cared for Trish.

Abby and Jimmy then come across Henry, who is alone. He doesn't seem to believe them when they tell him Trish is dead. Instead, he runs to the church where Trish's body is. There Abby, Jimmy, and Henry are found by Wakefield. Wakefield attacks Jimmy, who yells for Abby to run. When she leaves the church, Wakefield yells at Henry that Abby is escaping. Jimmy connects the dots, and fights off Wakefield while Henry runs to find Abby.

Henry catches up to Abby and instead of killing her, kills Wakefield, who is surprised. Abby pieces everything together and tries to run from Henry, but she is knocked unconscious.

The scene shifts to Shea and Madison who are informed that they are the only survivors, other than a handful of locals. The scene shifts yet again to Abby, who wakes in a house. Downstairs, she finds Henry. He explains that they were meant to be together, and that no one knows they are half-siblings, which makes everything okay. Attempting to escape, she finds Jimmy who is tied up. Henry has him sign a full confession in exchange for keeping Abby safe. Henry gets jealous when Abby admits she loves Jimmy and he slaps her. While on the floor, Abby stabs Henry in the foot. Having slipped Jimmy tools to help him unlock himself, Abby leads Henry on a chase, where she tells him that she doesn't want or love him. Distraught, he doesn't notice Jimmy coming up on him, and together, Henry and Jimmy go off a cliff. While checking on Jimmy, Henry walks up behind Abby and she stabs him. His last words to her are "Abby, I love you." Abby and Jimmy make it off the island safely.

Deaths: Christopher "Sully" Sullivan, John Wakefield and Henry Dunn

Survivors: Abby Mills, Jimmy Mance, Shea and Madison Allen 

Ratings

Despite falling ratings, CBS aired all Harper's Island episodes, although the show was moved from its original night and time to Saturdays.

International airings

In Australia, Harper's Island ratings were extremely underwhelming, being beaten by competing shows on other networks. After episode 2 was aired in Australia (episode 1 and 2 aired at 9:40pm), it was moved to a late night timeslot of 1:25am, episodes 9 and 10 were aired at the time of 11:20, episode 11 was aired at 2:15am, episode 12 and 13 were aired at 12:20. In Canada, the show continued to air on Thursday nights at 10 PM on GlobalTV. In Denmark, Harper's Island was moved after episode 5 from Thursdays 22:50 to around midnight. In Ireland the show stayed on its original Monday night airing time at 10:00 GMT. In the United Kingdom, the show's ratings started off under average but as the series progressed it became the channel's number one show on Sundays, and therefore maintained the 9pm slot. In Finland, the program was aired at 9:00 pm during the whole season. In French Canada, the show's original airing was Tuesdays at 8pm, and had four reruns after its original airing within that week. The reruns aired Wednesdays at 9am, 2pm and 10pm, and on Saturdays at 9pm. Despite being known for falling ratings and timeslot changes, the show experienced great success on Ztélé, its airing channel.

Episode ratings

Episode # US Air Date Rating Share Rating/Share (18-49) Viewers
(millions)
1 Thursday, April 9, 2009 6.5 11 2.6/8 10.21
2 Thursday, April 16, 2009 5.1 9 2.2/6 7.82
3 Thursday, April 23, 2009 4.7 9 1.9/5 7.02
4 Saturday, May 2, 2009 3.1 6 1.0/3 4.61
5 Saturday, May 9, 2009 3.1 6 1.1/3 4.60
6 Saturday, May 23, 2009 2.5 5 1.0/4 3.85
7 Saturday, May 30, 2009 2.4 5 0.9/3 3.62
8 Saturday, June 6, 2009 2.4 5 0.9/3 3.56
9 Saturday, June 13, 2009 2.0 4 0.8/3 3.20
10 Saturday, June 20, 2009 2.3 4 0.9/4 3.79
11 Saturday, June 27, 2009 2.4 5 0.8/3 3.53
12 Saturday, July 11, 2009 2.4 5 0.8/3 3.63
13 Saturday, July 11, 2009 2.6 5 1.0/3 4.05

References

  1. ^ a b Zreik, Karim (2009-06-22). "Karim Zreik's Twitter". http://twitter.com/karimzreik/status/2286368302. Retrieved 2009-06-24. "Gasp & Sigh [in response to question as to the names of episodes 12 & 13]" 

External links