The Afterparty Review: High School (Season 1 Episode 5)
The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 5, “High School” takes us back to, you guessed it, high school, and to another party with clues that get us closer to solving the murder.
“High School” breaks up the pattern of titling the episode after the character who is telling their story to Detective Danner—which is appropriate for the chronically-unnoticed Walt (Jamie Demetriou) who sheds light on the 2006 St. Patrick’s Day party that reveals some pretty suspicious motives.
Nobody knows who he is then and now, even though he’s throwing the party and is a part of a threesome rumor with Chelsea (Ilana Glazer) and Eugene/Xavier (Dave Franco).
And these jokes are consistently funny, both then and now.
Jennifer 1: I’m sorry, who are you?
Walt: Walt is my name. Walt Butler.
Indigo: Oh, the butler.
Ned: Walt, we’re pretty low on ice.
The butler mention brings me back to the comparison to Clue: The Movie that became apparent on the previous episode, The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 4, “Chelsea.”
The high school personas of the characters are spot on from adorkable Zoe (Zoe Chao) to the bitchy Jennifers (Ayden Mayeri, Tiya Sircar).
Eugene has just changed his moniker to Xavier, under which he later becomes rich and famous. He tries so hard to be perceived as cool, and that trait stays with him into adulthood as evidenced by his behavior at the reunion.
He is just as awful in the past, doing despicable things like messing with Aniq (Sam Richardson) which includes pressing charges and getting Aniq arrested, and perpetuating the damaging rumor about Chelsea. It kinda makes me glad he ends up dead, to be honest.
Each episode of The Afterparty thus far has been in a style that relates to the character on which the episode focuses. This episode, “High School,” has big Can’t Hardly Wait energy. An epic rager of a party to celebrate graduation and a boy attending the party with the goal of telling his long-time crush his feelings are in line with the plot of the late 90s teen flick.
Out-of-control high school parties provide a great atmosphere for humorous storytelling with an ensemble cast of funny characters, and this one is a cleverly-placed flashback told with the context of the present-day murder mystery.
With all the laughs this episode brings, there is also a disheartening aspect. We see that Brett (Ike Barinholtz) has always been a deceitful jerk and that Zoe’s attraction to him was all predicated on lies. Everything Eugene/Xavier does is contemptible, especially handing Aniq over to the police.
Their preceding fight, however, is delightful and silly. Chelsea’s episode is similar with dark tones amidst the comedy.
What did you think of this episode of The Afterparty? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of The Afterparty stream Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.