Lower Decks

With every new episode I find myself more and more engrossed in Harper’s Island. It hasn’t gotten any better and I long ago gave up trying to keep track of who could be the killer and who, by virtue of having an alibi, can’t possibly be responsible for all these grizzly murders. There are only three new episodes left (the eleventh episode, “Splash,” airs tonight at 9PM Eastern on CBS) and only perhaps a half-dozen characters still among the living. Maybe eight at most. I’ve lost track.

Here’s a scene from last week’s episode. It’s a bit of a shocker at the end and will spoil the episode if you haven’t seen it.

Did you catch that? There’s. Someone. On. The. Roof. It’s almost as cliche as the phone call coming from inside the house.

I’m trying to remember which characters are alive without referring to an Internet source for fear of being spoiled. Abby (played by Elaine Cassidy) is still kicking as are the bride (played by Katie Cassidy) and groom (played by Christopher Gorham). And the bride’s sister and her daughter and the British guy and his girlfriend. And two of the groom’s friends. Oh, and Abby’s townie friend/bartender.

But the bride’s father is dead, as is her stepmother. So are the groom’s uncle, cousin and brother, plus two of his groomsmen. At least two bridesmaids bit the dust. Not to mention the poor sheriff. And the minister, the wedding planner, three deputies, the bride’s ex-boyfriend, one or more townies and probably a few more characters I’ve forgotten.

At first, when there were too many characters to keep track of, each new death wasn’t all that shocking. As the series progressed and the body count rose, I actually starting worrying about the remaining characters. I didn’t think the groom’s brother would be killed and I certainly expected the sheriff to survive. His death was perhaps the most gruesome in that he obviously knew he was going to die and knew there was nothing he could do about it.

I’m trying to keep my expectations low because it seems increasingly unlikely that the finale can deliver a compelling ending. I just don’t see how the killer can be revealed as one of the surviving characters. And if the killer is some random stranger, what’s the point? There’s supposed to be a mystery to Harper’s Island and it seems to me that the mystery aspect has been downplayed in favor of gore.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.