Harper Curtis (TV)

**Harper Curtis** is a character appearing in the first season of the Apple TV+ series *Shining Girls*. He is portrayed by Jamie Bell.

## Throughout Series

In Cutline, during the year 1964, Harper Curtis speaks to a little girl and discusses the impending rain. After he lies down with her, he leaves her a small gift. Although she says she doesn’t want it, he claims that she will take it as that is what she always does. Later, Harper meets with Jin-Sook and asks her if she recognises him, to which she doesn’t. Eventually, Harper brutally murders Jin-Sook.

In Evergreen, Harper carries a stack of newspapers back to his house, which has most of the windows boarded up. After making himself a cup of coffee, he sits down and begins flipping through the *Sun-Times*. Upon finding Dan's article about Julia Madrigal’s death, the air around him fills with a strange noise and vibration.Harper’s coffee cup also changes, prompting a mildly curious reaction. He reads a little more before carefully tearing the article out. Then in 1990, the same year when Julia disappeared, Harper is at an assisted living center for people with severe mental disabilities visiting a man named Leo Jenkins. Despite being far younger than most of the other patients, Leo speaks with him about a battle he remembers fighting in Cantigny during World War I. Harper appears to remember being there, as well. Harper eventually bids his friend an affectionate farewell and heads downstairs to the reception area, arriving just as Julia walks in the door. He strikes up a conversation that begins well, but quickly derails when he critiques her hairstyle and reaches out to touch her. Julia firmly rebuffs Harper’s advances before walking over to Gordie, the assisted living home’s operator to meet some new clients.

Later, Harper taunts Julia, when she reaches for the phone to call the police, but instead, it rings before she can grab it. When she picks up, Harper’s voice assures her that he’s not inside the house and she doesn’t need the boxcutter. Julia asks how he got inside the house that day. Harper confidently replies that she let him in. When Julie fires back she doesn’t know him, Harper responds that she did and she will. He also reveals that the pictures he took of her are from tomorrow, although she may not be there to take them again. At this point, Julia’s nerves are understandably shot to hell. She becomes even more terrified/disoriented when Harper warns her to watch her step less than a second before her foot lands on a piece of bubble wrap. As Julia sinks to the floor, Harper laments how he can no longer tell where his memories are from. He then asks her if she thinks she can remember the future.

Eventually in another recording Julia made of a conversation between her and Harper, Julia tells him that she called the police, Harper responds that they won’t be there for another 18 minutes. Harper claims to work for the Chicago Daily News, which Dan informs him has been out of print for over a decade. Harper deftly plays this off as a joke, which Dan is buzzed enough to accept. When he introduces himself as a writer for the Sun-Times, Harper says that he reads his articles — including the recent one he published about Julia. Dan then asks if Harper knew the victim. Harper says he didn’t, but he does live fairly close to her. He also correctly infers that Dan believes someone other than the suspect the police arrested is responsible for the murder. This turns their previously friendly conversation hostile, with Harper implying that Dan doesn’t know how to do his job. Later, Harper returns home and heads upstairs to bed. As he lays down, a human-shaped patch of radium next to him begins to glow.

In Overnight, Harper is reading the newspaper at a convenience store when he notices a young woman attempting to purchase alcohol with a fake ID. When she’s unsuccessful, Lisa approaches Harper and asks if he’d be willing to purchase the six-pack for her. She’s a bit thrown when he knows her name, but not enough to keep her from trying to convince him to do her a solid. Instead of helping her, Harper advises Lisa to abscond with the alcohol out one of the side doors after the clerk drops a roll of quarters. The woman is confused at how he could’ve predicted this, but still takes the advice.After Lisa leaves, Harper gets up and follows the woman through the door. Turns out that the “exit” he told her about actually leads to the store’s supply area, where Lisa is stealing even more alcohol. She offers Harper a bottle, but he turns her down, explaining that he doesn’t drink. Lisa then asks how he knew about the quarters. Harper replies that he knows everything about the store, including the clerk and his customers. Understandably creeped out, Lisa decides to get out of there. She asks Harper where the actual exit is, which he claims is in another area of the storage room. When she heads in that direction, he follows her, explaining that he also needs to make a stealth escape so the shop’s owner won’t know he was back there.

Harper proceeds to toy with the terrified woman, implying that she’s too weak-willed and stupid to recognize what was obviously a trap. When Lisa asks what he wants, Harper responds that he wants nothing from her, especially when it should’ve taken them years to get to this point. He drives the point home further by declaring that there’s no use in following a woman who couldn’t even find a door. Harper then turns and walks back the way he came, leaving Lisa shaken but still alive.Harper re-enters the store and spots Freddie picking up groceries. He walks over and introduces himself as someone who used to work with Dan, but the kid is either extremely street smart, disinterested, or both. Whatever the case, he brushes the man off and exits the store. Harper follows Freddie outside and continues asking about his father; specifically if he’s working on any new and big stories. Freddie responds that his dad doesn’t openly discuss major projects until they’re done. Undeterred, Harper asks if Dan has ever mentioned Julia Madrigal’s murder. Freddie responds that his dad doesn’t talk to him about dead people. Harper implies that this means his father is likely hiding other things from him. He then gives the boy a stolen KitKat bar and walks away.

Harper enters Dan’s home and begins searching through his belongings. While rearranging his books, he hears Freddie run upstairs and into the living room. Harper calmly watches the boy grab something out of his bookbag and departs; almost as if he knew the kid wouldn’t look over in his direction.Once Freddie’s gone, Harper goes into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator, causing the crime scene photos to fall onto the floor. He picks them up and immediately recognizes his own handiwork. Harper drops the photos and exits the house moments before Freddie comes back to see if his dad was there.In the wee hours of the morning, Dan stumbles toward the subway station with a bottle of booze. As he gets on the escalator, Harper calls out to him, causing Dan to fall and the bottle to shatter under his arm. After Harper rushes down and helps him up, Dan recognizes the man from Julia’s house. Despite his drunken state, Dan grows uneasy at the man’s presence and begins walking toward the subway platform. Harper follows, explaining and lying that he just happened to be in same the area to see a woman he was dating. He also begins asking if Dan ever found the person he suspected of killing Julia instead of Pawel Banik. When Dan deflects, Harper begins poking at him by claiming to have a son of his own; a son he’d never leave unattended while he was out all night. Harper then goes back to questions about Julia’s killer. Dan eventually whispers and slurs that “she said he was the same.” Harper realizes that the reporter is referring to one of his victims who may have survived. As the train gets closer, Harper appears to be about to push Dan in front of it. Instead, he pulls the inebriated man back before it can clip him. He then wishes him well and remains on the platform.

In Attribution, Harper visits his murder sites over the years. Each time and place appears just like he left it until 1986. Instead of finding the corpse of Sharon Leads (aka Kirby Mazrachi), Harper sees where the sand was displaced as she dragged herself to a public area, which is currently occupied by an ambulance and approaching police sirens. Realizing that Sharon is Dan’s surviving source, Harper goes to the hospital to look for her. He’s unable to get past the hospital staff to the intensive care ward, but does notice a woman screaming to see her daughter Sharon. He sits down and strikes up a conversation, which ends up agitating the already angry and nervous woman even further. When she begins yelling at the hospital staff again, Harper uses the distraction to get past the reception area. After a bit of searching, he finds Sharon/Kirby’s room and enters it. He barely has time to look at his victim before a nurse spots him and forces him to leave.

In one of Harper’s first calls, it sounds as though Julia’s voice is echoing on the line. After pulling the recording apart, however, it becomes clear that the echo is actually another recording being played over the phone an instant before Julia spoke. Meanwhile, Harper goes to Kirby/Sharon’s old apartment and attacks the man who currently lives there. He holds him at knifepoint and demands to know where Kirby went, but the dude has no idea who she is. In fact, no one matching her description has ever lived there as far as he knows. While Harper continues holding the man down, he starts to realize that Kirby’s whereabouts are completely unknown to him; a feeling he hasn’t experienced with any of his other victims throughout time. He grows simultaneously confused and furious about how something like this is possible.Harper then decides not to take his anger out on him and leaves.

While staring at the totem of her violent past and future, Kirby is shocked to hear Harper muttering that she doesn’t look right. She turns around to find him approaching, his voice and demeanor more agitated than predatory. Harper continues to air his grievances, complaining that Kirby’s hair shouldn’t look the way it does and that she doesn’t live where she should. As Harper gets closer, Kirby realizes that he’s the same man who gave her the pegasus when she was a little girl. She also notes that he impossibly looks the same. Harper replies that she looks nothing like he left her before lunging forward. He grabs Kirby in a chokehold, turns her around, and growls that she’s supposed to be dead. Kirby uses her knife to stab Harper in the leg before turning and slashing him across the face. Harper lets go, but quickly recovers and shoves her into a nearby row of dryers. Harper mutters “this can’t be happening” and begins to choke Kirby. She fights back and pulls down part of his shirt, revealing a distinctive tattoo on the left side of his chest. As the two continue to struggle, the wall behind her turns into a mirror. Harper slams her into it, causing both of them to crash through into a fully furnished bar area.

In Screamer, Harper hears another patient in a nearby room and begs him to help, explaining that he “has to get home” and “can’t be away from the house for too long” or he’ll end up like Leo. Harper gets the man to undo his restraints by threatening to kill him if/when the nurses do it later. After putting on his clothes, he leaves and stumbles toward his house. On the way there, his blurred vision is invaded by spots of light.After struggling through the front door, the ringing, diminished vision, and severe pain all disappear. Later, Harper goes to visit Leo and asks if he’s ever seen reality change in the assisted living home; specifically in the same way he would “do to the house”. Leo says he hasn’t seen anything like that in his current living situation. In fact, the only oddities he’s observed are the lights that constantly invade his vision and make it hard for him to think. He then asks his friend if it would be okay for him to return to the house, but Harper politely refuses. As the two continue to talk, Harper reveals that his altercation with Kirby was the first time he’s ever seen reality change outside the house. Later, Harper travels back in time to yesterday evening when Kirby visited Jinny (which was before the attack at the laundromat/bar).

When Kirby looks down and sees that her clothes have changed, Harper notices this as well and steps forward, making his shape visible without completely revealing his presence. A fluttering sound is heard, which is followed by Kirby’s hair going back to the short length it was before she met Jinny, which causes Harper to smile. Harper’s euphoric reaction was due to the realization that both his actions and emotions can affect Kirby’s reality.Dan and Kirby watch the tape in the assisted living facility’s reception area, which features a blonde dancer being directed by Harper offscreen. When she begins speaking in French, Harper stops the woman and asks her to perform the routine like she used to at a place called Teenie’s. The dancer responds by asking Harper if her speaking French reminds him too much of his time in Paris. When he says it does, the woman fires back that she knows he never made it there because Leo told her. Harper replies that Leo doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He then encourages her to start again, but she refuses and tells him to turn the camera off.

That evening, Jinny heads up to the roof to smoke a cigarette. Instead of locking Jinny out and sneaking away, Harper reveals himself before approaching and asking how she knows Kirby. When Jinny refuses to answer, Harper requests that she send Kirby a message for him. Jinny asks what he wants her to say, but Harper replies that their current encounter is already relaying everything he needs. He then explains that whenever he feels something, Kirby knows. Kirby's reality shifts once, and an euphoric grin breaks out across his face, contrasting sharply with the fear on Jinny’s. Harper takes a second to soak everything in before assuring Jinny he won’t be killing her today. Moments after he departs, it starts to rain. Once again, Jinny finds her umbrella, which Harper left and uses it to keep dry.

In Bright, now in France during 1918, specifically the Battle of Cantigny from World War I, Harper and the rest of his regiment advance on the Germans, an alert goes out to put on their masks moments before the air is filled with lethal mustard gas. In a cowardly act, Harper turns and flees in the other direction, but is stopped by Leo, who tells him to put his mask on and helps him. Once that’s done, he encourages Harper to go back toward the fight and promises to stay right behind him. A few moments later, an explosion knocks Harper to the ground along with everyone near him. He gets up and finds that the impact popped his mask’s glass eyepieces, making it essentially useless. As the yellow gas continues rolling toward him, he holds his breath and begins frantically searching for a downed soldier whose mask he can take.After a few harrowing seconds, Harper finds a soldier laying on the ground with an intact mask over his head. The soldier is also still alive, but that doesn’t stop Harper from ignoring his screams. He even goes so far as to dig his thumb into one of the man’s wounds, forcing his fallen brother-in-arms to let go of his mask. Harper manages to get it over his head seconds before the mustard gas cloud hits, breathing with unburdened relief while his fellow soldier chokes to death.

Now in 1920, Harper has return from the war. He goes to the building that will eventually become Sid’s to watch a woman covered in radium to perform a dance. After the show, Harper visits Klara in her dressing room and it quickly becomes clear from their conversation that the two have a history dating back to their respective childhoods. Klara eventually tells Harper that she never received the letters he sent her from overseas. Klara begins telling Harper about how her dance was about Empress Joséphine, Napoleon’s first wife. Instead of showing interest, Harper dismisses the deeper meaning behind her performance. He also tries to point out how small the crowd was, which Klara says was by design since the tickets were more expensive. Following his failed nagging attempts, Harper presents Klara with a fancy embroidered handkerchief. Part of the cloth is ripped, which he claims is due it to getting caught on his pocket knife. He also says it’s from Paris, which finally manages to impress Klara. Later that night, Harper takes Klara along to commit a robbery. As it turns out, the woman Harper plans to rob is a nun named Britta, who runs a weekly veterans dinner at her church which Harper has been to.

Back when they were kids, Klara taught Harper how to case a property and profile the owner so it could be successfully robbed. She expected him to no longer do such things as an adult, but that’s clearly not the case. After Britta leaves, Harper convinces Klara to step inside the house with him. As the pair look through the woman’s belongings, Klara needles Harper about how he used to spy on her when they were little. Harper counters that he was actually looking out for her. As Klara and Harper try to figure out what the bizarre device is, Britta walks back in to get an umbrella she forgot. Klara wisely retreats out the window, but Harper decides to stay and confront the nun about her watch. Britta initially refuses to reveal anything, hissing that Harper could never know because he’s a “small man.” He eventually threatens her enough that she tells him where it came from. After obtaining the information, he runs to catch up with Klara. When she asks what happened, Harper lies and says he ducked under the bed to avoid detection. He also explains his decision to stay behind as a way to ensure that Klara wasn’t spotted.

Before she can call him on his BS, Harper gives her the watch. Klara says she doesn’t need it, but Harper insists she accept the ill-gotten gift.The next day, Harper goes to visit Leo, who’s hustling people out of their change near an employment office. Leo immediately senses his friend is hiding a big secret and asks him to spill it. After a bit of prodding, Harper reveals that he knows a “spot” in Lake View before asking if Leo would like to accompany him there. After putting on their uniforms to pose as soldiers raising money for the American Legion, the pair head to the address that Britta wrote down on the back of a picture of her deceased husband. They arrive at a very familiar-looking House and go around to the back to break in. Harper is nervous someone might be home, but Leo assures him that the inch of dust on the shutters indicates they’re in the clear. Upon entering the House, Leo asks how Harper knows the owner. Harper lies and says he knows the owner’s cousin, who likes to travel the world and collect nice things. Harper then notices the strange flutter/vibration begin to occur. He also observes that all the windows in the house are covered by drapes or blankets. What little light that does get through has an odd, otherworldly shimmer to it. Meanwhile, Harper’s attention is caught at one point by a grandfather clock with a bizarre/curved base.

Harper goes upstairs and enters an office, where he finds an almanac from 1973. Hecontinues searching the office, he hears a sound coming from a nearby armoire and realizes that someone is hiding inside it.Instead of retreating, Harper approaches the armoire and mockingly asks if the person inside has enough room. He’s answered by someone who requests that he leave while offering all the money from the trunk downstairs.Harper opens the armoire instead. An older man with a gun steps out, points the weapon at him, and demands to know which war he fought in. When Harper tells him it was “the Great War,” the man asks if he’s referring to World War I or II. This completely throws Harper for a loop. He becomes even more confused when the man has no idea what month, day, or year it is. After Harper reveals that it’s October 9, 1920, the old man replies that he “has not been to this day.”Harper decides to try a different tactic and asks about the watch he gave to Britta. The old man responds by asking if Harper is a craftsman. Harper replies that he could be, but the old man retorts that he can tell Harper is someone who takes instead of creates. He then walks over to a dresser, pulls out a dinky-looking watch, and offers it to him. The device may be from the future, but Harper can still tell he’s being bought off cheap.

To Harper’s shock and amazement, however, the world he’s just stepped into is filled with cars from what appears to be the late 1940s or early 1950s. Sometime later, Harper goes back to see Klara in the dressing room of what will eventually become Sid’s. He finds her using a gas mask, which she claims helps keep her chest clear. Her coughing fits indicate that it isn’t working very well (thanks in no small part to the radium she paints herself with). Harper then asks Klara over to “his house” to get ready for her next show. When Klara expresses disbelief at his new status as a homeowner, he explains/lies that The House belongs to the brother of his lieutenant and he’s been charged with watching over it. Klara remains skeptical, but agrees to come over. Once they arrive, Harper has Klara lay on the floor with him and look up at a chandelier. A few moments later, she gasps in shock/delight as it completely changes forms. When she asks how he did it, Harper explains that things in The House randomly change without notice. Sometimes they become newer, older, or just different. As Klara struggles to process what he’s saying, Harper invites her to come with him on a journey. To start, he asks her to think of a specific day or year. When she suggests a thousand years in the future, Harper shoots it down, explaining that nothing will be around by then. When he asks her to be more specific, Klara says she’d like to go as far from their current point in time as possible. Harper takes Klara by the hand and leads her out the back door into Chicago during the early 1990s.

Despite how thrilled she is, Klara suggests that perhaps they don’t belong in this time. Harper counters that it’s always been that way for them. He asks Klara if she wants to get back, but she doesn’t — maybe not ever. Harper then reveals that the other workers at Teenie’s confirmed they handed his letters to Klara. When he asks why she never wrote back, Klara lamely admits that she didn’t know what to say before insisting he take her on a shopping spree. When the pair giddily returns from 1993 Chicago, they find Leo despondently waiting in the living room. He tells them that he tried looking for Harper on his own, but The House doesn’t open to different times for him like it does for his friend. Harper breaks the tension by introducing Klara, who Leo knows as the girl from Harper’s childhood that he’s always talking about.

The group walks through the door and heads to Sid’s, where the local Chicago band Epicycle is playing their single “Hardcore Punk” for a raucous crowd. Leo’s foul mood is quickly lifted when he discovers that his lack of natural rhythm is no issue when it comes to slam dancing. Meanwhile, Klara and Harper decided to get a drink. On their way to the bar, Klara asks if Harper can visit the same day over and over. He feigns ignorance and speculates that it might be possible. When Harper and Klara reach the bar, the person serving them happens to be Sharon Leads, who we’ll eventually know as Kirby Mazrachi. s the two women giggle and enjoy each other’s company, Harper starts to get annoyed/angry. After Sharon/Kirby leaves, he asks what was going on between them. Klara responds that she thought Harper liked the cute bartender and was trying to keep her around for him. Harper however proclaims that the bartender isn’t the one he wants while staring intensely at Klara. She responds by asking if he’s sure about that before grabbing Sharon/Kirby and pulling her onto the dance floor. The two women dance and Harper watches them and grows even more annoyed. When Klara returns and asks him to dance, he coldly rejects her.

When Klara asks if the woman is like the ones he and Harper met in Paris, Leo reveals that they never made it to the French capital. He also tells her that she might not know Harper as well as she thinks. The tense conversation is interrupted when Harper walks up with something under Klara’s coat and asks her to go back with him to The House. Klara asks Harper to fess up and reveal where he actually got the handkerchief he gave her. Harper admits that he got it off someone who died. It was a fellow soldier who didn’t have anyone to give it to, but he did, so he took it. Klara lightly chastizes Harper for lying to her and sits down on the bed next to him. Harper tells her that when he first found The House, she was the only person he wanted to show it to. He then pulls her head toward him for a kiss. Klara reluctantly allows it to happen for a few seconds before pulling away. She points out that the radium she painted on her body is getting all over his sheets, but he doesn’t care.Klara continues to deflect his advances, asking if they can try filming her dance again. Harper responds by becoming aggressive, demanding she sit back down on the bed and pulling her toward him.

At that moment, Klara realizes that Harper has visited this same day with her countless times. Harper tries to deny it at first, but eventually confesses that he always finds a way to manipulate her into ending their perfect day in bed together. When Klara asks why she never remembers, Harper replies with a very important piece of information; that it is cecause it’s not her house. Klara begins gathering her belongings to leave. When Harper begs her to stay, Klara declares that she’ll always know what a small and damaged man he is no matter how many times he goes back for her.Harper responds to this by punching Klara in the face before throwing her onto the bed and continuing to beat her. In 1918, Harper and other surviving soldiers from his regiment are recovering bodies from the previous battle. After setting down the body of the man whose gas mask he stole, Harper notices a fancy handkerchief sticking out of his pocket — the same one he eventually gives to Klara. It’s monogrammed, but he fixes that little problem by cutting it off with his pocket knife. While he’s doing this, Leo walks over and says he knew Harper would survive. He looks down, notices the missing gas mask, and tells Harper to make sure it’s returned with the soldier’s body along with a plausible account of how he died. Before walking away, Leo also reminds Harper of his promise to be “right behind him”. In the mid-1980s, Harper is sitting alone at the bar in Sid’s, but this time it is during a trip in which Klara was never brought with him into the future. Leonard Cohen’s “The Ballad of the Absent Mare,” which was Sharon/Kirby’s favorite song and part of Harper’s message to her (SHARON’S GONE LIKE THE SMOKE) before his assault plays.

Sharon/Kirby notices Harper eyeing her and says he can order one more drink before last call. When he tells her to pour him the same one as last time, she doesn’t remember his order, which visibly annoys him. Harper then offers Sharon/Kirby $100 if he can “guess” where her earrings came from by holding them in his hands. Being the kind soul that she is, Kirby decides to go along with the game. When he correctly “guesses” how she got them, however, Sharon/Kirby is visibly creeped out. She lies and says they were a purchase she made for herself from the dollar store and lets him keep them. Harper accepts the earrings, but tells her that he knows he was right. Sharon/Kirby playfully responds “I guess we’ll never know” before walking away to clean the stage area. Harper puts the earrings in his pocket, turns around, and watches his next victim with a vengeful smirk.

In Offset, seconds after Tokoyo pulls the leash from Sharon's hand, Harper lunges at her from behind. When Kirby and Dan arrive at Teenie’s, Kirby notices that the cutwork on the pigs matches the precision of Harper’s cut into her and his other victims. Dan assumes Harper dumped her body in a tank filled with blood and feces to cover up his crime, but Kirby knows better. Instead, he did it to punish her. At the same time, Harper takes in a show at the planetarium, where a narrator explains that “all it takes is one star to change the course of the galaxy.” When the show concludes, Harper is simultaneously shocked and infuriated to discover that Jinny isn’t in the audience, which is the place she’s supposed to be prior to him killing her. That evening, Kirby and Dan sit on his front stoop. Both of them struggle to wrap their heads around the physical proof of Harper’s existence and murderous activities since 1920, and that he looks the same now as he did then. Unbeknownst to them, Harper managed to follow Dan home and has been listening to their conversation from just a few feet away. He starts to move toward Kirby when Dan goes upstairs, but decides against it and walks away.

While Dan is staring at the poster, Harper walks up and asks how he found her. Before Dan can answer, Harper stabs and slices him through the torso. He then wrestles the dying reporter to the ground and takes his jacket. As Dan takes his last breath, Harper thanks him for the new clothes and departs. Freddie eventually sees Harper leaving and recognizes him as his dad’s “friend”. He calls out to him and asks if he saw Dan inside the bar. When Harper walks over to say he didn’t see his dad anywhere, Freddie asks why he’s wearing his father’s jacket. Harper lies again, this time claiming that the jacket is his and bidding the boy farewell. Before walking away, he deliberately leaves a bloody handprint on the car window.

In 30,Harper returns to The House covered in Dan’s blood. After walking inside, he’s surprised to find a Pit Bull sitting in the hallway — specifically, Kirby’s Pit Bull named Grendel. The dog doesn’t charge, but he does grumble in the man’s general direction. Grendel allows Harper to walk around him to the back of The House. After reaching the back door, he opens it and encourages Grendel to fetch a shoe, which he throws outside. Grendel obliges, darting after the object and allowing Harper to close the door behind him.Harper visits Leo at the VA assisted living home on a day when he knows his friend will be relatively lucid. When he asks about the tape with Klara on it, however, Leo appears to have no idea what Harper is talking about. Harper begins tearing the room apart, but to no avail. Leo suggests they go back to The House so his mind can work properly again. Harper initially rejects this idea, but relents when his friend’s mental state proves to be an insurmountable roadblock.

When they enter The House, Leo immediately becomes lucid. He also stops seeing the lights that have constantly plagued his vision since being left behind. But instead of using his repaired mind to reveal the tape’s location, Leo asks Harper to be taken back to his original time. When Harper refuses, Leo tries to do it himself only to find that The House still won’t work for him. This leads the pair into a physical altercation. As they tussle with each other, Leo brings up when they dumped Klara’s body. He also mentions how Harper claimed he killed her because she was going to tell everyone about The House — something he knew was a lie even back then. Leo then makes a revelation of his own. That he took the tape as potential leverage over his friend. Harper never noticed because he assumed it disappeared just like other things do inside The House. Instead of giving in to his demands, however, Harper says he’ll just keep coming back to this day until Leo finally gives up the tape. Leo counters that he’ll see through him just like Klara did. That statement alone would be enough to send Harper over the edge, but Leo ratchets things up a notch by saying that he knows why Harper doesn’t want to go back to their original time. It’s because he has nothing there. The linear version of his life is pathetic and meaningless, which is why he’ll never leave The House. This brutal-yet-astute observation earns Leo a stomach slicing from Harper, causing him to bleed out and die on the floor. After cradling his friend’s body in his arms with a surprising tinge of sadness/regret. Harper then leaves The House and heads to a hotel, where he kills one of the maids.

Harper goes to a park in what appears to be the 1940s and kills a woman. He hides her body before heading back to The House again, but not before taking a snack from the dead woman’s picnic basket to tide him over. Later that evening, Harper arrives home to find the tape of Klara playing on the television. He hears a sound, turns around, and gets tagged by Kirby with a baseball bat, causing him to drop his knife. Harper attempts to flee down the hall only for Kirby to appear in front of him and smash his head. Their fight continues like this for a while; Kirby using The House to brutalize Harper. At one point, he manages to knock her down and get a piece of rope around her neck. Seconds later, it turns into a string of pearls and snaps. Kirby eventually leads him upstairs to the bedroom. She uses The House to spring a trap, allowing her to stab Harper in the stomach and throw him against the window. The shutters break, causing the room to be bathed in otherworldly light. As Harper struggles to get back up, Kirby points her knife at him and growls: "It was never you. It was always this house!"

Harper manages to kick the knife away from Kirby before throwing her on the bed and beginning to choke her. As she struggles to breath, Harper growls at her that it’s “his f\*\*\*ing house.” Just when it appears he’s going to kill her, Kirby pulls a knife from her boot and thrusts it through Harper’s head. Then in the 1920's at Klara’s show in Chicago specifically, Harper goes to visit her in the green room afterward, her first words to him are “You shouldn’t be here, Harper.” She then proceeds to be much colder and dismissive of him than the last time the pair reunited. When Harper tries to give her the “Parisian” handkerchief, Klara can say his words before he does. She also calls out the lies he’d planned to tell her about the item along with his time in Europe. As Kirby walks by (who he wouldn’t have met in this timeline yet), he asks Klara how she’s doing this. Her only response is a disgusted and determined stare until Harper finally leaves. Later that evening, Harper goes to case Britta’s home by himself. This time, the woman sees Harper and gives him a pointed look before exiting her apartment. After Harper breaks in, he once again hears the sound of a digital watch beeping. This time, though, it’s been neatly laid on the bed in plain view. On the floor near his feet, Harper finds a Polaroid of himself at that exact same moment. He turns the photograph over and sees an address written down on the back.

The next day, Harper takes Leo with him to the address (which is where The House is located). Just like before, they walk around to the back and Leo picks the lock to get them inside. As Leo begins putting valuable items in his rucksack, Harper walks through the house looking for anything that could cause him harm.Harper tries to beg for his life, but she isn’t having it. He may not know who she is, but Kirby knows him all too well — and she’s been been doing a bit of additional research. While holding him at gunpoint, she reminds Harper that no one wanted him as a child — not his parents or the nuns, who are supposed to take everyone. Because of that, he began thinking that the world owed him. He could take whatever he wanted from anyone. But not The House. That belongs to her. Harper asks how Kirby knows so much about him when he doesn’t even know her. Kirby responds that he may not know her today, but she is always with him. She then instructs Harper to leave The House and never come or she’ll kill him — something she’s already done before.

Harper flees back to an L-Train overpass and rendezvous with Leo. While chastising his cowardly friend and writhing in pain, a reality-shifting shudder can be heard. When it’s over, Harper looks down to see that his WWI uniform has been replaced with civilian clothes. Harper asks Leo what happened, but his former battalion-mate has no idea what he’s talking about. In his version of events, the pair met at St. Alderberts. Harper never even made it over to Europe and he certainly wasn’t wearing a solder’s uniform before. Leo then asks what Harper managed to take when he was inside The House. When Harper removes the “wooden horse” from his pocket, Leo corrects him that it’s actually a pegasus, mirroring the conversation Harper had with Kirby/Sharon when she was little. As Harper grudgingly accepts that his reality has completely changed, the women he will never get to kill get a new lease on life.

## Book Comparisons

* While Lauren Beukes downplayed the character of Harper in her book, Silka Luisa fleshed him out a little to make him more intriguing. She was careful to keep him out of the limelight, but said "[h]is humanness made him almost more unsettling."
* The show's interpretation of how time works is slightly different from that in the book. Luisa said that she imagined time as being a string that Harper moved up and down on. The closer he is to the top, the more Kirby is affected by his actions. Luisa explained that survivors remain connected to this string, and Shining Girls "is about cutting that string.
* Some of the details of Harper's victims are different, such as the items Harper leaves in his victims are also different on the tv series vs. the book.