With The Afterparty‘s finale approaching and still no leads on the killer, we have some theories. Apple TV+’s genre-bending murder mystery has been nonstop fun since the premiere. We’re sad to see it go, but can’t wait to learn what happened at this high school reunion turned homicidal party foul.
We know that not every suspect is as likely as the others. So, we broke the list down by prime suspects, plot twists, and wild cards — including a group-wide conspiracy, six-year-old Maggie, and actor Channing Tatum. Like the Hungry Hungry Hippos, we too have lost our marbles.
The prime suspects
Aniq
Credit: Apple TV+
Motive: Revenge
Aniq (Sam Richardson) may have attended his 15-year high school reunion for love, but it can’t have been easy watching Zoe spend half the night with the guy who stole Aniq’s whole future. On the night of the St. Patrick’s Day party, Xavier needled Aniq until he snapped. Then, the spoiled little rich boy let him get arrested and kicked out of Stanford — a detail Aniq conveniently withheld from detectives. Xavier’s impulses changed the entire course of Aniq’s life — his education, career, and love life without Zoe. Are we sure tonight didn’t push Aniq over the edge? —Proma Khosla, Senior Entertainment Reporter
Brett
Credit: Apple TV+
Motive: Protecting his family
Brett (Ike Barinholtz) is a dummy, but that doesn’t make him harmless. Brett’s primary motivation through the whole evening is to get his family back together. Any obstacle in the way of that goal was gonna get demolished. Xavier’s flirtation with Zoe posed an existential threat to Brett’s dreams of a happy home, and we’ve already seen him get in a physical altercation with Xavier. Who’s to say he didn’t give the performance of his life apologizing to Zoe, before sneaking back upstairs and unleashing his fury on Xavier one final time? —Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter
Yasper
Credit: Apple TV+
Motive: Jealousy
Yasper (Ben Schwartz) has shown himself to be petty and status-obsessed. He holds a lot of regret for making the wrong choice in high school, choosing ska over Eugene (aka Xavier). He resents Xavier’s success, and now his spurned former bandmate has the power to change his life by blessing his track.
What feels the most off about Yasper’s story is the text messages that he shows Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish). In these, Xavier tells him to meet at the studio so they can work on a song that Yasper allegedly inspired. Thing is, there’s no way Xavier actually sent those texts. He had no interest in working with Yasper. So, the origin of those texts is automatically suspicious. We know from Chelsea’s story that both Jennifer 2 and Danner are aware of text message spoofing. But who would spoof praise from Xavier? Yasper would — to bring attention to his music by featuring the last song Xavier made before he died. —A.N.
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Chelsea
Credit: Apple TV+
Motive: Also revenge
Going into the night, Chelsea (Ilana Glazer) — like Aniq — had strong reasons to sabotage Xavier. He tried to take advantage of her back in high school. When she rejected him, he lied to everyone, ruining her reputation and setting her on a path of self-destructive behavior that she still perpetuates as an adult.
Chelsea already confessed to Danner that she planned to sedate Xavier and leak explicit photos on the internet. She may have admitted to disliking Xavier only to present as forthcoming, when she actually took out her anger on him with more sinister methods. —P.K.
Walt
Credit: Apple TV+
Motive: Attention
Walt, Walt…who’s Walt again? Oh right, the most forgettable character in The Afterparty. Poor Walt (Jamie Demetriou) is right when he says he’s been involved, if only peripherally, in everyone’s stories since the St. Patrick Day’s party in high school. He’s always been the lurker in the background, the observer, the supporting player to everyone else’s starring role. And he’s frickin’ sick of it. Lots of killers cite attention and infamy as motivations to murder. Becoming The Man Who Killed Xavier might be more appealing to Walt than being left in the wings for the rest of his life. —A.N.
Zoe
Motive: Enough is enough
Literally, no one suspects Zoe (Zoe Chao) of killing Xavier, which would be more suspicious if it hadn’t been addressed head-on in episode 6. But Zoe herself admits that there are endless sides to a person, versions of herself that lay dormant until provoked. Xavier used her. Brett lied to her. And Aniq saw her as part of his rom-com fantasy. Most of her night is accounted for, but large swaths were spent with Xavier, who can’t corroborate anything that happened — including whether she punched him in the face and threw him off the balcony. —P.K.
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The Plot Twists
Jennifer 2
Credit: Apple TV+
Jennifer 2 (Ayden Mayeri) has been missing since the start of the investigation, appearing only in others’ flashbacks while Danner and the rest try to track her down in the present. There’s absolutely nothing to indicate her whereabouts either — except a puddle in the entryway that Danner and Culp discover when they arrive. Wherever she is, there’s a strong chance Jenn 2 is in labor because her water broke in the entryway.
Beyond the pregnancy, all we know about her is that she slut-shamed Chelsea in high school then sent her threatening texts from a fake phone number during the reunion. That’s pretty sinister — and also unprovoked! What could she be capable of with an actual motive? What if she stole Xavier’s phone and put her textual cyberbullying expertise to work to trick Yasper and pin the murder on someone else? Even with so little to go on, Jenn 2 sure feels like a criminal mastermind. —P.K.
Jennifer 1
Though ostensibly in the clear because she’s with child, Jennifer 1 (Tiya Sircar) is living for the drama of this night. She and Jenn 2 couldn’t get enough of Chelsea’s fall from grace. And she’s not helping Aniq’s case by constantly bringing the investigation back to him. She’s also pretty late to notice that her BFF Jenn 2 is missing — perhaps because it covers Jenn 1’s own tracks. She may lack a motive, but that doesn’t mean Jenn 1’s hands are clean. —P.K.
Indigo
Indigo (Genevieve Angelson) was the first to tell her story — albeit an abridged version ‚ back when detectives first reached the scene in the pilot. She’s also the only person confirmed to be upstairs at the time of the murder, which means could have seen or heard the real killer or at least be a prime suspect. She was quick to point fingers at Aniq and hasn’t said much since, letting the detectives and party guests collectively turn on him. —P.K.
Ned
Ned’s been awful quiet throughout The Afterparty‘s run, which is both suspicious behavior for the character and suboptimal use of Kelvin Yu as an actor. Since Xavier ostensibly hooked up with Ned’s ex at the infamous St. Patrick’s Day party, he has probably hated Xavier longer than anyone else. High school heartbreak can be fleeting, as we see with Ned and Jennifer 1 getting together at that same party. But who’s to say Ned’s wounded feelings didn’t take the wheel that night? In the present, Ned is visibly shaken to learn that Chelsea and Xavier never slept together, which Jenn 1 quickly diverts by bringing the conversation back to Aniq. Was Ned feeling regret for killing someone over something they never did? —P.K.
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The Wildcards
Everyone did it.
Would it be a letdown or the greatest gift of all for The Afterparty to go full Murder on the Orient Express? Watching any of these skilled comedy actors portray a cold-blooded murderer will be immensely gratifying, but it will be a special treat indeed if they’re all in on Xavier’s death. Every distraction had a purpose, every story was told in exactly the right way to throw Danner off the scent so that the class of 2006 could move on without its most illustrious chardonnay-haired alum hovering over their lives. It’s unlikely, but we’d watch the heck out of it. —P.K.
Maggie
Maybe we’ve watched too many TV whodunnits, but they’ve taught us not to rule out the adorable child as a suspect in the violent murder. (Looking at you Mare of Easttown.) What lengths would Maggie (Everly Carganilla) go to to protect her koala? —P.K.
Whoever it is, we have no doubt that the finale will answer all these questions and more.
Channing Tatum
We have no real evidence that actor Channing Tatum was at Xavier’s reunion afterparty, but he’s still a suspect. Why? The wig! In the pilot, Detectives Danner and Culp (John Early) go down to the beach to examine Xavier’s body. They discover he has a nose contusion, he’s lying on top of a hat, and a blonde wig is a few feet from his body. That wig looks an awful lot like the one Xavier wore in the musical Hall & Oates biopic, “Private Eyes.” And later in the episode, we see clips of Xavier as Daryl Hall alongside Channing Tatum’s John Oates. In that, we see Oates breaking a record against a wall. Though Tatum was clearly acting, his rage was convincing as hell.
We also learned that Xavier got a People’s Choice Award nomination for his portrayal of Hall. Was Tatum nominated? Unclear! But if not, maybe he was MAD and wanted revenge. When Detective Danner first saw the wig, she said, “Was someone playing dress-up and killed the rockstar?” The answer is yes: Channing Tatum. I mean, maybe! Who knows. —Nicole Gallucci, Senior Editor
Xavier was somehow involved
Credit: Apple TV+
We’re not saying that Eugene Duckworth Jr. (Dave Franco) of Hungry Hungry Hippos fame is a mastermind who staged his own death. But like everyone else, he may have had high hopes and big plans for this high school reunion that didn’t pan out. For starters, Xavier set his sights on Zoe, and then had to contend with Brett, Maggie, and Aniq while he tried to seduce her. He barely speaks to Zoe in the 2006 flashback episode. So, could she have been part of a specific plan for this night?
Then again, lots of people find new connections at high school reunions.But there are other parts of Xavier’s night and personality that don’t add up. Why was he writing revenge lyrics, even if he ultimately tore them up? Why did he agree to work on a track with Yasper after 15 years — assuming those texts even came from Xavier, which they very likely didn’t? If that was indeed Xavier’s wig from the Hall & Oates biopic, is he the one who took it out — perhaps to frame Channing Tatum?? —P.K.
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The Afterparty concludes March 4 on Apple TV+.
