Harper’s origin story as a soulless murderer came to light on Shining Girls Season 1 Episode 6.
We didn’t need to see his childhood because meeting Klara gave us insights into that, and he didn’t become a killer until he served in World War I.
But that war didn’t do it to him. He’s a coward who lifts himself up off the backs of others. And he always was.
There’s no doubt the power of war can break even the best of men. Harper was not a good man, but he was broken well before the war.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel for him running away from the front line and the despair he felt when his gas mask got crushed.
It wasn’t even so bad that he wanted to take another from a gravely wounded man. Hell, that guy wasn’t walking away from that.
But stealing it and watching him die as he did was just the beginning of his serial killer yearnings. And, frankly, he looked just like Friday the 13th’s Jason as he looked down in wonder at what he’d just done.
Leo started as the mature and serious one of that relationship, but he didn’t foresee that petty crimes weren’t going to be enough for Harper, and his companionship would offer relatively little to the sociopath.
Harper knows he doesn’t offer much himself to anybody, which seems to be the thorn in his side. He hates being slighted.
Klara was not the one that got away, but the one he could never have. She didn’t seem to mind him as a friend, but she recoiled at the thought of anything more.
Still, he thought he could wow her with trinkets like the hankie he stole off of the dead soldier’s body and looting an old woman’s house for silk stockings while she was off to church.
So, of course, Harper was where he shouldn’t be when he got his first whiff of the the future he’d have with the house.
Man: What war did you fight in?
Harper: The only war. The great war.
Man: World War I or !!?
Harper: There’s a second one?
By the time he told her about it, he had understood a bit about it. He knew what it did would impress her, and he was right.
Who wouldn’t be excited at seeing things change before our eyes? Klara saw the magic of it and wanted to know more.
She wasn’t satisfied not knowing why things changed in the house or why Harper couldn’t ever go beyond a certain point in the future. Don’t we all want to know why in those types of situations?
Harper, Leo, and Klara were all a part of the house from the very beginning, but only Harper had control over the house. It’s unlikely we’ll ever know why, but he enjoyed dangling its magnificence in front of Klara and Leo.
He was all but certain that having something that special would be the key to securing his future with Klara. The house’s possibilities certainly entranced her, but as soon as she set foot out of her time, it was apparent that it wouldn’t be with Harper if she could stay there forever.
The night that set her fate set Kirby’s and Leo’s too.
Leo revealed the truth about Harper. He’s a liar and a braggart that tells stories to manipulate others. Letting that slide surely wouldn’t sit well with Harper, nor would the way Klara was working their new time in the future to escape from Harper.
Klara saw the possibilities of the future more than Harper. She immediately felt freer and eager to see what it had to offer. With the world at his fingertips, Harper only sought to use it as a tool to manipulate others.
Klara’s new attitude only rubbed Harper raw. She didn’t need him in the future any more than he did in the past. Even worse, she took a liking to Sharon, aka Kirby, a kindred spirit.
Although she seemed leery of Harper and his intentions, knowing him from childhood gave Klara a false sense of security in his presence.
She might not have dragged Kirby to the dancefloor if she had known how the darkness enveloped him on the battlefield.
When with Klara, Harper only looked at Kirby with brief amusement. But then Klara had enough of his games and told him what she had learned about Paris.
She just wanted the truth and for him to leave her alone romantically, but he kept pushing, making excuses for his lies, and keeping his flame for her alive despite her rebuffing him.
You can come back as many times as you want, Harper. I’ll always know! Because I know you. You watched me? I watched you! You weren’t much back then. Now, all of this? It makes you look even smaller.
Klara
It was disgusting to hear that he’d tried again and again to capture her, only to kill her at the end of the night time and again.
What we saw might have been the last time. And it was the night that Kirby became his next obsession, one of the girls he’d track through time for years before ending or, in Kirby’s case, trying to end her life.
This was an interesting hour, moving the action away from Kirby and attempting to shed light on Harper.
Meeting his first Shining Girl shows that Klara was spot on in calling him a small man. No matter how hard he tries or how many women he kills, he can’t get away from himself.
Are what he calls shining girls a version of women he admires? Does he see in them who he wants and who he wants to be?
He keeps Leo trapped in a future he cannot leave because he shows the same exuberance for life as Klara. Leo said himself that he’d be right behind Harper, and after what Leo witnessed on the battlefield, gaining control over their relationship would have been crucial for Harper.
So seeing a woman happy, carefree, and confident must cut him like a knife. He’ll never achieve those qualities, and he’ll never have a girl who has, either.
What did you think of “Bright”?
Did Klara stand a chance?
Could Leo ever escape the hell Harper’s keeping him in?
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.
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