The Afterparty Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2 Review: Aniq 2: The Sequel and Grace

Danner, Aniq, and Zoë are back with more murder mystery mayhem told in various motifs on The Afterparty Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2, “Aniq 2: The Sequel” and “Grace.” 

The concept of The Afterparty is clever and it reminds us of that with the first episode of Season 2, “Aniq 2: The Sequel.” These murder mystery puzzles need the murder in order for the players to investigate so you would expect too much exposition. This is avoided, however, by having the theme of Aniq’s “mind movie” be the sequel to a romantic comedy. 

The episode goes over the top with the tropes and stereotypical sequel elements, and effectively makes its point in doing so. 

Aniq’s storyline is very Meet the Parents but with the added bonus of the audience already being familiar his character. Thusly, we want to see him succeed just like we did on The Afterparty Season 1. Sam Richardson does an admirable job as the bumbling boyfriend, making his awkwardness adorable and his anxiety relatable. 

The tale unravels as Aniq gets former detective Danner up to speed on the case via phone. The comical scenes play out in between and it sets up the upcoming investigation perfectly. The audience is able to look for clues while being entertained by a slew of oddball characters and funny situations. 

The parents provide a lot of humor, and they also clash which is typical fodder for this rom-com topic. The differences between Zoë’s parents and Edgar’s mother are many, and it feeds into both the conflict and the comedy of the story. 

Ken Jeong is hilariously clueless as Feng, as evidenced in him making the rather common joke of eating the potpourri funnier than it ought to be. Vivian Wu is playing Zoë and Grace’s mom, Vivian, as amusing and a tad mysterious. Which is appropriate for a murder mystery, is it not? 

The great Elizabeth Perkins is odd Edgar’s odd mother, Isabel, serving as a monster-in-law to Poppy Liu’s sweet, angelic Grace.

The second episode of the second season is Grace’s mind movie told as an Austen-style romance. Not only does this work for Grace’s recounting to Danner and Aniq—the story of how Grace and Edgar meet and their subsequent courtship lends well to that type of genre—but for Grace’s overall personality, too. 

The Jane Austen stuff is laid on pretty thick—I see you, “bewitched”—but the themes are meant to be exaggerated in these mind movies. The mix of modern elements within the Bridgerton-esque story sets it apart and broadens the humor. Comparing Fast Company to society rags is a perfect example.

And the exaggerated Isabel is like Lucille Bluth in her Regency Era, which is to say Perkins’ performance is spot-on for this type of comedy. 

Grace: I always envisioned my wedding a more intimate affair. Personal, with family contributions.
Lady Isabel: I don’t understand the words you’re saying. 

The first two mind movies of The Afterparty Season 2 are so fitting to their characters and to the story itself which is a great way to kick off another twisty whodunnit. There are enough gaps in Grace’s story for so many things to happen that can complicate the investigation, but there are also many clues.

Get your armchair detective caps on and try to figure out who killed Edgar Minnows.

The Afterthoughts: 

• I’m so glad to have Danner and Aniq together, buddy-cop style.
• Zoe Chao’s physical comedy in the scene where they try to use face I.D. on dead Edgar is hilarious.
• Edgar telling his guests to leave is an introvert’s inner monologue when they want the party to be over. 
• “A scroll of boundaries” tho.

What did you think of the premiere episodes of The Afterparty Season 2? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below!

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New episodes of The Afterparty stream Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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