by Rachel Klein ‘22

A high school reunion. An extravagant party. A murder. Apple TV’s murder-mystery comedy The Afterparty was released in late January and explores the complex relationships between old high school friends that re-emerge at their 15-year reunion. Everything starts going downhill for the main characters when popstar Xavier, played by Dave Franco, arrives at the gathering. He invites a select group of his former peers to attend an afterparty at his lavish house, and by the end of the night, Xavier is dead. 

Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) and her partner Culp arrive on the scene. Everyone is on edge, clamoring to know what happened to their superstar host. One-by-one, Danner interviews the guests, asking them to recall every detail of their night, from when they got to the reunion to the exact moment that Xavier was murdered. 

One particularly unique aspect of the show is the different genres of each episode. Each one revolved around a different person being interviewed, so the tone of that episode corresponded with the nature of their personality. The best examples of this are in the third episode in which Yasper, an aspiring singer, tells his version in a musical theater genre and in episode six when Zoë, an artist, recounts her story through animation, showcasing the multiple sides to her personality and her internal struggles. Hearing all of the stories paves the way to lots of drama, as everyone there has some sort of grudge against someone else. However, in each of these episodes one clear fact is relevant: Everyone has a reason to hate Xavier.

The early episodes are packed with multiple storylines and character plots, but the identity of the murderer is not yet revealed. It does become hard for the viewer to remember where everyone was at any given moment. If each person’s storyline had not taken up an entire episode or if they were more spread out, it would have been easier to remember the small details that come into play later on. In addition to that, the episodes are released in a staggered manner, not all at once, again making it harder to keep track of anything other than big details. 

On top of the confusing episode plots, there also are too many characters. Most of them get their own full episode but some do not, which makes the overall narratives sometimes confusing. A character not in the previous few episodes suddenly shows up again. A character like Aniq, played by Sam Richardson, is mentioned a bunch in other characters’ stories while others like Indigo, played by Genevieve Angelson, are almost completely excluded, making it hard to understand why they were there at all. 

Nevertheless, the plot overall is gripping and amusing. Everything comes together perfectly at the end when all the little details fall into place and Xavier’s killer is finally revealed in a very dramatic manner. Until the season finale, everyone seems potentially guilty of the crime. Everyone has a motive to want Xavier dead, nobody has a good alibi, and none of them are confessing to the crime. The best mysteries keep you guessing to the end, and The Afterparty succeeds at that. 

Grade: B-