'The Afterparty' Episode 5 Review: Walt's adorkable party is a blast from the past
Spoilers for 'The Afterparty' Episode 5 ' High School'
It's finally Friday which means we get to dive into another episode of the addictively funny and interesting Apple TV+ murder mystery 'The Afterparty's fifth episode! So far into the story, various different accounts of incidents have been given making the quest to find the killer confusing.
Previously on 'The Afterparty', we saw Chelsea (Ilana Glazer) being questioned with the matter of the mysterious Saint Patrick's Day senior party coming up. A mention of Aniq (Sam Richardson) throws the suspicion back onto him as Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) remembers Aniq saying that Xavier (Dave Franco) did it 'again'. Wondering what he meant by that she feels the need to question the man who co-incidentally is hiding in the very same room. Read on to know what happens next and our thoughts on the fifth episode.
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The episode begins as we see the unfruitful search for Aniq frustrating Danner who is also on a clock as the detective that was actually meant to solve the case arrives in an hour. Exasperated she wants to know what happened at the senior party prompting her to go out and ask the attendees about it. Walt (Jamie Demetriou) the 'nobody' of the class that none of them seem to remember or even notice being there volunteers to tell the story in front of everyone.
The fifth episode takes the teen coming-of-age comedy route as we see the infamous party actually take place at a house that no one knows is Walt's house. Reflecting just how much of a nobody he is, this episode is not named after him and furthering this narrative is the fact that he is never the one in focus but rather always in the background. The episode is a blast from the past making for a cute watch as we see the characters as adorkable high schoolers who are trying to be cool. From fun 2000s songs like Chammilionaire's 'Ridin' marking a cringey teen Xavier's entrance to Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' at the party, the fifth episode is purely a comedic nostalgic trip. From Sam Richardson, Dave Franco to Zoë Chao, and Ike Barinholtz, everyone dressed in 2006 fashion and haircuts makes a fun switch up that highly amuses the 2022 watcher.
We are also finally shown the reason for Aniq and Chelsea's grudge against the deceased Xavier and how he came to be the spoilt, rich pop star he was. The episode also subtly included racism and White privilege showcasing the life-altering consequence Aniq faces. The fifth episode is hands-down the best episode yet filled with throwbacks, irony, and more that sets up the next episode as Zoe (Zoë Chao) draws attention to herself when she volunteers to tell her story after Walt's account leaves Danner confused as to who could be the killer.
New episodes of 'The Afterparty' premiere every Friday on Apple TV+.