At their 15-year reunion, Xavier (Dave Franco) hosts an after-party at his mansion. Unfortunately, he winds up dead. The suspects? His high school classmates. When the police arrive, each classmate is interrogated and retells the story from their perspective in the movie genre of their choice. With the growing popularity of locked door mysteries, The Afterparty created by Christopher Miller is a delightfully dark comedy from Apple+.
Many clues have already surfaced, so we’re taking a look at the top suspects. First, the characters all seem to follow their own color palette, much like a certain board game we all know and love. Second, there are hidden messages in background photos and screens in every episode that can be decodable as hints. And lastly, in each retelling, we get to see things we may have not seen in other characters' versions. One thing that is consistent, is everyone seems to stop at that mirror in Xavier's bedroom. Is that the biggest clue thus far? Is there a secret passageway? We’re only halfway through the season, so we may not have enough evidence yet to definitely name our killer, but with what we’ve been given, here are our best theories.
9. Jennifer #1 (Tiya Sircar) and/or Jennifer #2 (Ayden Mayeri)
Pros - The classic mean girls are easy to blame. Yes, they’re clearly uncomfortable being very pregnant, but they just don’t seem to be in the mood for murder. They just want to talk about their classmates and go home. Murder seems to be a little high maintenance for the Jennifers (Tiya Sircar and Ayden Mayeri) at this point, so it’s hard to believe they’re the culprits. Jennifer #2 is currently unaccounted for, but it’s easy to assume her water broke, and she’s just fine.
Cons - Unfortunately, being a mean girl isn’t a criminal offense. If it were, they would be convicted.
Verdict - Not Guilty.
8. Indigo (Genevieve Angelson)
Pros - Indigo (Genevieve Angelson) has a quick art film recap of her evening throwing all her suspicion on Aniq. But her movie doesn’t even have enough gusto for an entire episode. It looks like Indigo is just an innocent, but a fabulous observer.
Cons - Hyping a pyramid scheme, as well as her killer glasses, are her biggest crimes.
Verdict - Not Guilty.
7. Brett (Ike Barinholtz)
Pros - Divorce is never easy and Brett (Ike Barinholtz) is just trying to protect his daughter. He’s also trying to avoid that person he had an affair with. None of these things make him a great guy, but they don’t make him a murderer. He seems to be a hothead, at least in the eyes of his classmates, but that is where it ends. His most violent offense against Xavier probably piqued in the literal pissing contest in the bathroom.
Cons - His Facebook password was ‘diarrhea’ which is the mysterious word on Aniq’s face. That’s odd, no?
Verdict - Not Guilty.
6. Walt (Jamie Demetriou)
Pros - Nobody remembers Walt (Jamie Demetriou), and he’s a tragic figure in this whole story. However, it feels like they’re trying really hard to point the finger at Walt, so he may just be a classic red herring. At this point, it’s just too obvious.
Cons - If no one remembers him, no one will remember him committing murder. It’s the perfect crime.
Verdict - Not Guilty.
5. Chelsea (Ilana Glazer)
Pros - Chelsea (Ilana Glazer) wasn’t nearly as wasted as everyone made her out to be in other retellings. In trying to clear her name, she accidentally made Aniq look super guilty. But it seems the court of public opinion makes her look way more guilty than she actually is.
Cons - She seems really out for vengeance against Eugene aka Xavier for whatever it was he did at the infamous St. Patrick’s Day party senior year of high school. (Hopefully, we’ll get to see what actually happened at that party soon!) Convincing the detective that she changed her mind at her cat tranquilizer revenge is a hard sell. Especially since her flask was found near Xavier's body.
Verdict - Not Guilty.
4. Aniq (Sam Richardson)
Pros - Aniq (Sam Richardson) was the high school nerd, and it’s time for redemption. He is ready to go for it with his longtime crush, Zoe. When he’s humiliated at the party after misjudging his tolerance level, he is not happy. But is his anger vengeful? Is it enough to walk upstairs and murder Xavier? It’s unlikely. Also, he seems incredibly interested in solving the murder. Or maybe it’s a bias that’s based on a deep love for Sam Richardson and assuming he could never do anything wrong. Despite that, Aniq just isn’t the guy.
Cons - Chelsea’s story didn’t help, even though she was doing her best to frame him as the nice one. Given that we now know he was drugged, not just a lightweight, who knows what he was capable of?
Verdict - Probably Not Guilty.
3. Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish)
Pros - Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) is the detective (kind of) in charge of the investigation. She seems fascinated by everyone’s story and interested in getting to the bottom of it.
Cons - Yes, this is a radical theory, but it is also a classic Agatha Christie move. The person interrogating everyone is the one who is guilty. The motive is unclear, but the suspicion is certainly there. The captain made it clear he doesn’t want her investigating this, why?
Verdict - Hung Jury.
2. Zoe (Zoë Chao)
Pros - Newly divorced and excited about a night out, Zoe (Zoë Chao) came to the reunion for a good time. Yes, she is dismayed when not only her ex, Brett, shows up, but also her daughter thereby throwing her reconnecting with Aniq into a spiral. And right when she was really connecting with Aniq.
Cons - But, her motives could be ulterior. We’ve already seen through different retellings that her connection with Aniq may not be as whimsical as he imagined. Is she using him? Is she setting him up? In the background of other people’s stories, she’s doing some pretty questionable things. We haven’t seen her story yet, but things don’t look good for Zoe.
Verdict - Probably Guilty.
1. Yasper (Ben Schwartz)
Pros - Yasper's (Ben Schwartz) episode was a lot of fun, however…
Cons - With full access to the security system, he has already shown us that he can manipulate everything. Also, Aniq immediately let him in on his investigation which would have made it quite easy for him to fake his own handwriting. That note in the garbage that Aniq is basing his whole inquiry on looks suspiciously like song lyrics. Not to mention after getting full access to Brett’s story, Yasper has time to rewrite his own story to corroborate what Brett said. It’s not looking good, Jean-Ralphio, but by all means, keep writing those bops.
Verdict - Guilty!
Alternative Suspects
Detective Culp (John Early) - Sure, he seems to have a chip on his shoulder and he did erase all the footage… was that a coincidence? Wouldn’t that be a great twist?
Ned (Kelvin Yu) - The only thing he’s guilty of is being a jerk.
Mr. Shapiro (Christopher May) and Quiet Heather (Miracle Laurie) - Maybe Eugene/Xavier wasn’t Mr. Shapiro’s favorite student, but would it drive him to murder? Also, why do they keep popping up randomly? Just for a recurring joke? Or is it because Heather isn’t so quiet anymore now?
All of them - If they want to go true to Agatha Christie, they all collaborated together to get rid of Xavier.
The Afterparty is currently streaming on Apple TV+. The season finale will air on March 4.