Greetings fright fans!  Guess what time it is?  You got it… its killing time, as we catch up on CBS’s murder ride, Harper’s Island.  So where did we leave off?  Oh yeah… NO ONE IS SAFE!  The truth is out that a killer is lurking on the island and Sheriff Mills has successfully tracked and captured Henry’s brother, JD.  The problem is, after he’s taken into custody, Malcolm meets a grizzly end and just before the episode concludes, the killer “gets” Madison.  And away we go!

Episode 8 begins as the island is being evacuated and our wedding guests, as well as other vacationers, are preparing to head to the marina and catch the ferry back to the mainland.  While the visitors gather in front of the Candlewick, Shea is frantically searching the hotel for Madison.  As her hunt becomes more desperate, Trish stands outside and stares at the picture Abby gave to her of herself and Henry as children.  Henry approaches and after showing him the picture, Trish reconciles with her husband-to-be, putting issues with her father’s death aside.  While they embrace, Cal, Chloe, Sully and Beth pass the reunited couple and comment on the misfortune of the situation.  The chatter quickly turns to the murders and JD’s arrest is mentioned.  Sully remarks that JD was a good guy and that he and Henry used to be very close.

 With that, we are whisked off to the Sheriff’s station where JD is being held in lock up… along with Shane, who is still being held after his earlier attack on JD.  Mills brings JD out to interrogate him about the killings and his possible motives.  JD is calm and denies any involvement in the murders.  Instead of pressing, Mills questions him about Cole Harkin and why JD had sent him to Abby.  Not tipping his hand, JD merely suggests that Harkin acted on his own and that Mills should ask him why he had done so.  Mills advises that if Harkin has information that could clear JD, he should come forward.  Instead, JD tells him where to find Harkin, but warns Mills to be careful.  Knowing precisely where the location is, Mills leaves directly to find him.

Unable to find her daughter, Shea finally reveals to Henry, Trish and Katherine that Madison is missing.  She also mentions that despite many attempts to contact him, Richard is still unaccounted for as well.  Katherine hastily suggests that perhaps Richard had taken Madison.  Trish immediately meets the comment with disapproval, and Henry steps aside and approaches the remaining wedding guests for help in finding Madison.  The group is noticeably hesitant, but Cal finally steps up and accepts.  Despite reluctance from the others, most visibly Sully, the rest of the group follows Cal’s lead.

 Back at the Sheriff’s station, JD is back in lock up after Mills leaves to find Cole Harkin.  Shane continues to aggravate him verbally, as his cell is adjacent to JD’s.  When JD finally retaliates, Shane grabs JD by the throat through the bars, causing a deputy to come in to stifle the commotion.  As Shane releases JD, the lights in the station go out and an unseen assassin shoots the deputy in the back.  Falling dead to floor, the deputy drops his keys near the front of JD’s cell.  Another shot is heard outside of the holding area as the two prisoners try to determine what is happening.  Seeing the keys within reach, JD seizes the opportunity to escape by reaching the key ring and unlocking his cell.  Shane demands that JD release him as well, as he tries to bargain for his freedom.  Instead, JD drops the keys back to the floor beyond Shane’s reach and leaves.  As he departs, Shane shouts out that the next time they meet, he would kill him.

Knowing that Richard had checked into a separate room at the Candlewick following Tom Wellington’s death, Shea, Henry and Trish convince Maggie to allow them into his room.  Of course, Richard is not there, and the trio observes that though his things are still there, it appears he never unpacked.  Shea is unnerved by Katherine’s earlier comment and expresses her concern over the possibility of Richard taking Madison.  Trish assures her that Richard would never run off with their daughter.  

 We rejoin Sheriff Mills as he has gone off alone to track down his former deputy, Cole Harkin.  He arrives at a secluded area and enters the forest in search of an old hunting lodge.  Deep into the woods, he is startled by a jingling sound.  He comes to a stop and listens intently as the sound draws closer to him.  Just then, Lucy’s long lost dog Gigi, comes into the clearing.  Spotting the little dog, he moves forward and begins calling to the animal.  When he steps forward, he stumbles through a trip wire that triggers a large, spiked rod to swing towards him.  One of the spikes is driven into Mills’ thigh as he writhes in pain.  He is able to free the spike from the pole and collapses to the ground.  Not being able to regain his feet, he labors but eventually pulls the spike from his leg.  Weakened from the effort and blood loss, Mills looses consciousness as a figure appears over him.

Back at the Candlewick, the wedding party has split up into three search parties.  Danny, Sully and Beth have united and begin their search upstairs.  They momentarily end up in Malcolm’s room.  Beth asks where Malcolm has gone and notes that his things are all still unpacked in the room.  Sully dismisses the question, obviously still upset by the inconvenient hunt for Madison.  However, later on when their search brings them to the kitchen, Beth wanders away from the two men and Sully proposes that Malcolm may have ran off.  Danny insists that they’re still going to the Sheriff, but Sully reminds him that Malcolm was the only one who knew the location of Booth’s body.

 The second group is comprised of Shea, Trish, Cal and Chloe.  Their search takes them downstairs to the basement.  When they come across the entrance to the incinerator, Cal recommends that they investigate.  Entering the room, they quickly realize that Madison could not be hiding there, but are horrified to find a bloody handprint on the door of the incinerator.  Cal cautiously opens it up and peering in, notices something inside.  He scoops out a charred human skull.  Shea is initially distressed, but Cal promptly points out that it is not the skull of a child.

 The last group is Henry, Abby and Katherine.  They have decided to search the surrounding areas of the Candlewick.  Their search takes them further and further away from the hotel and proves to be fruitless.  They eventually find themselves on the fringes of a large lagoon when Henry notices a length of rope trailing into the water.  Taking hold of the rope, he wades into the water to pursue it.  Not far in, he realizes that the rope is tied to a large oak.  On the opposite side of the tree, he finds Richard’s body tied and pinned by the harpoon that is still protruding from him.  Almost immediately after finding the body, Abby’s phone rings.  She answers and is surprised to hear that it is Madison.  Her message is brief as she tells Abby that she has been told to inform them that no one is to leave the island… or she’ll die. 

 With this new development, the three rush back to the Candlewick.  They are confused by the fact that since Madison’s phone call, they have lost cell phone signals.  They hurry into the hotel only to find that the landlines are also down.  Henry suggests that they gather everyone to discuss a plan. 

 The remaining members of the wedding party and families all gather in the lobby and everyone is brought up to speed.  Panic starts to set in as everyone begins to question the situation.  Cal quiets everyone when he queries how the call was made if JD is in jail.  Danny concurs and they agree that JD can’t be the killer.  Sully proposes that the killer has an agenda with the Wellington family, citing Richard and Thomas Wellington’s death, and Madison’s recent abduction.  Trish and Henry quickly attempt to discount this, but when Sully persists, Henry reveals that Uncle Marty has also been killed.  Unappeased, Sully is intent on leaving despite Shea’s pleas and Henry’s appeals.  After an insensitive comment regarding Madison’s worth, Trish slaps Sully and puts him in his place.

 Once the group resolves to stay put, they attempt to find solutions and make sense of the scenario.  Chloe begins to run a head count on everyone that has gone missing.  She lists all the known victims and mentions Cousin Ben and Lucy before asking if anyone has seen Malcolm or Booth.  Danny offers that they can’t be certain of any real connection.  Chloe is adamant that it is no coincidence and using a vague Wakefield reference, states that they are all in danger.  Moments later, the lights inside the hotel go out.  With this, Maggie leads Danny, Sully and Cal down the hall and unlocks the gun cabinet for the men.  Despite Cal objections, the men begin to hand out rifles as Henry and Abby appear.  Sully states that if they must remain on the island, then they have to be able to defend themselves.  Arming himself, Henry has no objections.

 Rifles ready, Maggie appears a short time later to declare that the fuses are fine.  They agree that whoever cut the phones was also responsible for cutting the power.  Learning that the hotel has a generator, Henry advises that they get it running quickly.  However, they are interrupted by the sound of someone approaching.  As the men shout warnings, Jimmy emerges from the shadows.  He inquires about what is happening and Abby hastily updates him.  Jimmy explains that he had come because he hadn’t seen anyone on the boat.  He also informs them that the boat had already left a short time ago.

 With the ferry gone, Sully declares that there is no sense staying on the island.  He asks Jimmy to take them off the Harper’s Island on his boat.  Beth and Chloe support the notion, but Henry remains firm that no one from their party will be leaving and wants to try to call for help.  Jimmy divulges that he hadn’t been able to reach Sheriff Mills at the station.  He suggests using the radio at the station to try to contact the mainland.  Henry agrees and Jimmy and Abby depart for the Sheriff’s station.  

 About this time, Mills awakens inside Harkin’s cabin, his leg bandaged but still bleeding profusely.  He notices Harkin sitting nearby and he tells Mills that it was in fact his trap that he had tripped.  He comments that he couldn’t have the wrong people surprising him.  In a brief Q and A, Harkin reveals that he had been back on the island for a few weeks because he was hunting a “maniac”.  Mills accuses him of getting JD worked up over Wakefield’s grave.  Harkin admits that he needed to be sure that Wakefield was really dead, but he proposes that if that is the truth, than someone is doing a spot-on imitation of him.  Upset, Mills tells Harkin that he should have come to him and left Abby out of it.  Harkin retorts that she is involved whether he likes it or not.  He produces a journal and presents it to Mills while asking what is the most precious thing he could lose.

 Henry and Danny find the generator behind the hotel, but discover that the battery for it is dead.  Despite this, Henry thinks they can jump it using a car battery.  While the men work on restoring power at the Candlewick, Jimmy and Abby arrive at the Sheriff’s station.  There is still no power there and they soon realize that the radio has been destroyed.  That’s when they hear Shane calling from the holding area.  The couple enters the cellblock to discover the dead deputy and Shane still locked up.  He tells them what happened and when Abby demands to know what happened to her father, Shane bargains for his freedom with the knowledge of Mills’ whereabouts.

 At the Candlewick, Henry and Danny are able to restore the generator and bring the power back up.  However, when they return inside, they are alarmed to find that a number of the group has disappeared.  In the kitchen, Shea, Trish and Katherine are gathered, but they too are unaware that everyone else had gone.  Believing them to have left to find a way off the island, he tells Danny to stay with the women while he goes off to find them.  Before going, he assures Shea that no one will be leaving.  

 Back in Harkin’s cabin, Mills has had a chance to thoroughly examine through the journal.  It had belonged to Wakefield.  Harkin tells him that he had kept it during his time in prison.  Mills remarks that anyone wanting to imitate Wakefield would have a pretty solid source based on the contents of the journal.  He also inquires about JD’s connection with everything.  Harkin discloses that JD and his dad had visited him regularly in the hospital and that most recently, he was helping him track the killer.  Mills shares his doubts about both men, but seems to respond to Harkin’s interpretation.  

 Mills continues to process everything and asks what Harkin meant about losing what was most precious.  Harkin tells him that Abby’s return to the island is what set everything in motion.  Distressed, Mills is determined to get her off the island.  Nonetheless, he is in no shape to leave.  Harkin gathers the journal and resolves to go and get help for Mills.

Cole steps out onto the porch, holding a lantern while Gigi follows him out and begins to bark.  Harkin pauses to peer out into the woods when an arrow comes screaming out of the night.  It hits him in the shoulder, pinning him to the cabin and causing him to drop the lantern.  It breaks open on the wooden deck and a fire starts.  Harkin yells out to warn Charlie (Mills) as another arrow narrowly misses him.  Mills spills himself on the floor and begins to crawl towards the door.  As he does so, another arrow hits Harkin in the chest and kills him.  As he dies, the bag containing the journal falls from his neck and close to the fire that has started.  Unable to do anything to save his former friend, Mills slowly drags himself across the floor and attempts to escape before the fire can spread.  Still too weak to get out, Mills collapses as he draws near the door.

 Regaining consciousness after briefly fainting, Mills continues his struggle to escape.  He manages to reach a table and pull himself up as he notices movement outside.  He manages to prepare for an attack when Jimmy and Abby burst through the door.  Mills promptly sends Abby outside to retrieve the journal that Harkin had on him.  Almost on fire, she is able to pull it free before it is completely engulfed in flames.  Inside Jimmy tries to convince Charlie that he needs to go to the clinic, but Mills is adamant that Jimmy take him straight to the marina.

 Down at the marina, Sully, Beth, Cal and Chloe have arrived and Sully is looking to steal a boat in order to get off the island.  Finding a suitable vessel, he climbs aboard and locates a set of keys.  Beth and Chloe climb aboard, but Cal hesitantly remains on the dock.  He has decided that he can’t go through with the hasty flight, stating that if Madison were hurt because of it, he wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt.  He convinces Chloe to join him in staying and Sully desperately tries to keep Beth on board.  Torn between the two, Beth appears to be siding with Cal and Chloe when Cal spots a figure running further down the harbor.  He quickly identifies it to be JD.  The group switches their focus and set off to find him.

 Soon after, Jimmy’s truck pulls into the marina.  Inside, Mills instructs Abby to take Jimmy’s boat and set out for the mainland.  He advises her to stay away until everything is over, remarking that he is uncertain that he can protect her.  Abby strongly protests when Sully appears and warns that JD is out and on the docks.  Jimmy and Abby arm themselves and leave Mills to aid in finding JD.  Walking the docks, Jimmy separates from Abby to investigate a noise.  When he does so, Abby is alarmed to hear a whimpering sound not far from her.  She slowly ambles down the dock to investigate and finds JD lying in a pool of blood with a grisly wound in his abdomen.

 JD is bleeding badly and is quickly slipping away.  Abby kneels down to help him, but realizes it to be too late.  She asks him who had been responsible, but JD is unable to speak much.  From behind Abby, a figure emerges from the shadows and approaches.  JD struggles, but manages to utter that it was all about her.  This is the last thing he says as he dies.  Just then, Abby realizes that she is not alone and turns to find Henry standing behind her, his hands covered in blood. 

 Wow!  What else is there to say?  Just when you think things are going one direction, things take a nasty turn in another!  The death toll just climbed dramatically with our first multi-fatality episode in a number of weeks, as we add an unknown deputy, as well as both would-be vigilantes, Cole Harkin and JD Dunn, to the heap.  Some of the ambiguity is revealed behind Harkin and his arrival on the island, but his death will bring about many more unanswered questions concerning his hunt for who he believed to be a John Wakefield copycat.  And with his only true confidant JD, also meeting his fate, we may not fully understand what the two were really up to and how close they were to finding the killer.  

 So that brings the body count up to lucky 13… and our group of survivors all trapped on the island with a brutal and cunning murderer.  With JD and Richard dead, there will be no more confusion about the possibilities of who the killer could be.  There are no further suspects for the remainder of the wedding guests to hold responsible, leaving the killer’s true identity more a mystery now than ever.  Not sure what the discovery of Wakefield’s journal will mean in terms of unmasking our stalker, but I maintain that John Wakefield could still be alive.  Mills’ anxiety over the situation is a telling factor that he knows more than he is letting on and I think there is going to be more revelations to come from the Sheriff.  Also, from Harkin’s suggestion and JD’s dying words, it is finally confirmed that Abby’s arrival was the match that started the proverbial blaze on Harper’s Island.  

 Okay, quick rundown… who is left?  We’ve got the future bride and groom, Henry and Trish.  The remainder of the Wellington family, Shea and Katherine, along with Madison, who has been kidnapped.  Then we have what’s left of the wedding party, Sully, Beth, Danny, Chloe, her beau Cal, and of course Abby.  And then there are the locals Jimmy, Shane, Candlewick proprietor Maggie, Cannery bartender Nikki, and Sheriff Mills.  That’s pretty much it.  Anyone who enters the show from this point will be new to the viewers.  So 13 down, 16 to go.  Who’s next on the list?  With only 5 episodes left (counting tonight’s), who is the next to be picked off?  I’d love to hear some of your opinions concerning whom you think is up on the chopping block as well as who you believe could be the killer.  Hit us up with some comments…

 In the meantime, I’m really excited for tonight’s episode.  We’re winding down and as long as things don’t take a detour towards the absurd and asinine, I think we’re going to be in for a treat.  Madison is still being held hostage somewhere on the island, there’s a story to be told about JD’s death and at some point, I think Sully’s resentment towards having to remain on the island, is going to get him or someone else killed.  There will be more victims before the sun rises!  Grab your slickers and goggles… its about to get even more messy on, Harper’s Island.