The Afterparty season 2 comes to an end with the release of the 10th episode. Unlike the first season, the mystery angle was good enough to keep us guessing till the very last minute. While the humor was not always on point, the genre experimentation kept the interest going. Centered around the murder of a tech billionaire, Edgar, on his wedding night, Danner and Aniq reunited to solve another murder mystery. Aniq intended to get Zoe’s parents’ blessing before proposing to her, but the weekend soon turned into a disaster. Strangely enough, solving the mystery helped Zoe realize how important Aniq was to her. Before finding out who murdered Edgar and why, let’s take a quick look at all the possible suspects.
Spoiler Alert
Recap Summary: What Happens In Season 2?
Edgar, a reserved young man who had figured out a way to make money the wrong way, was the next big thing in the tech world. Through the course of The Afterparty, we find out that he inflated the value of his cryptocurrency, Bucephalus, through his shell companies. Assisting Edgar was his partner-in-crime since childhood, Sebastian. To sound convincing and suave, Sebastian always spoke with a British accent. While Edgar was the brains behind the scams they pulled off, Sebastian was the voice and the face. Their partnership had been rewarding, but Edgar was not completely satisfied. Sebastian did not wholeheartedly support Edgar’s crypto idea, and Edgar believed that he lost money because of Sebastian’s lack of trust. Years of partnership were destroyed in minutes when Edgar decided to fire Sebastian. Sebastian had the perfect motive, but there was a lack of evidence against him. More than the money, Sebastian was invested in getting his baseball card back, a prized possession that Edgar had taken away from him when they were kids.
Zoe’s sister, Grace, fell in love with Edgar when he visited her shop to buy a vintage typewriter. He had an old-world charm that Grace searched for in her partners. She soon figured out how important Edgar was in his field of business, yet when he was with her, he was just a sweet, caring partner. Grace cherished the rosy dating phase, and soon, Edgar proposed to her. Everything felt like a fairytale dream for Grace, but that was until Edgar got busy with his business commitments. Edgar’s sister, Hannah, accompanied Grace wherever she went. She comforted Grace when she needed a shoulder to cry on and offered her companionship when she missed Edgar. From being the best of friends, Hannah and Grace became lovers. Grace was aware of how complicated the situation was, yet she could not stop herself from being with Hannah. With the wedding day nearing, Grace decided to end their affair, leaving Hannah completely devastated. Murdering Edgar would have surely benefited Hannah, but she also loved her brother more than anyone else in their family. Grace made up her mind to stay committed to Edgar, but the fact that she chose not to sign the prenuptial agreement stuck out like a sore thumb.
During Danner and Aniq’s investigation, we also found out about Vivian and Ulysses’ affair years ago. The extramarital affair did not last for long, and Vivian broke up with Ulysses. Feng eventually found out about Vivian and Ulysses’ affair and asked his brother to never return home. Ulysses traveled the world to forget her, but it was not easy. When Edgar reached out to Ulysses and invited him to the wedding, he was hesitant at first. But the moment Edgar suggested that Grace could be his daughter, he had a change of heart. Ulysses’ presence caused Feng discomfort, but he was more concerned about his failing baobing business. Feng tried to convince Edgar to invest in his company, but unfortunately, his son-in-law was not a fan of the dessert. Feng wanted to prove himself to his wife, and he could not afford to have his business fail. Since Grace had not signed the prenup, murdering Edgar could have been the perfect idea, but instead of vengeance, Feng was more inclined to find a more sustainable way of running his business.
In episode 9 of The Afterparty, Isabel Minnows proposed that Edgar had accidentally poisoned himself. She was convinced that her son was trying to prove her delusional, and she confidently assumed that Edgar had poisoned the piece of cake he offered her at the wedding. But there was a problem with the theory. The devil’s trumpet is quite quick to react, but the time between Edgar’s consumption of the cake and the reaction was way too long. So, who is the murderer?
Why Did Ulysses Kill Edgar?
As soon as the sheriff entered the scene, Isabel pointed her finger at Grace once again. Danner and Aniq had five minutes to solve the case, but they were equally confused. Every person in the room had a motive and the means to commit murder, making it impossible to come to a conclusion. But the moment they realized that the murder could have been an accident and that the poison was meant for someone else, they came up with a theory.
During The Afterparty season 2’s ending, it turned out that Ulysses was not the funcle Zoe and Grace remembered from their childhood days. Danner and Aniq believed that when Ulysses came to the wedding, he was once again reminded of his love for Vivian. It was unbearable for him to watch Vivian and Feng together, and he decided to take his chance and confess his feelings for her. But Vivian was happy with Feng, and she had no intentions of unearthing the past. Rejected by Vivian once again, Ulysses decided to murder Feng once and for all. He had knowledge of herbs and flowers, and the moment he noticed the devil’s trumpet, he knew it was meant to serve his purpose. He added the flower and hot water from the shower to his kantsi and brewed the poison.
At the afterparty, he had added the liquid from the kantsi to a glass of whiskey that he later offered Feng. Lucky for Aniq and Danner, they had Kyler’s video footage that captured it all. Feng took a sip of the drink and carried it with him when he went to Edgar’s table to offer him a bowl of baobing. He had placed his glass right next to Edgar’s, and while leaving the table, he took Edgar’s glass instead of his. And soon, Edgar started to drink from Feng’s glass. The next morning, when Ulysses heard a scream, he assumed it was Vivian. When he knocked on Vivian’s door, he was shocked to see Feng alive.
According to Ulysses’ explanation, he had Grace’s glass in hand, and he was using a swab stick to conduct a paternity test later on. But strangely enough, he had a whiskey glass in hand, whereas Grace was drinking rosé that night. Not only that, Vivian never mentioned having any conversation regarding a paternity test with Ulysses. Danner and Aniq concluded that it was a story Ulysses came up with to explain what he was doing behind the bar counter at the afterparty. To get a confession out of Ulysses, Vivian demanded that he allow her to drink from the kantsi. Just when Vivian was about to drink the gin from it, Ulysses stopped her and admitted to murdering Edgar. He harbored hatred for Feng and believed that he did not deserve a beauty such as Vivian.
At the end of The Afterparty season two, Ulysses was handcuffed and taken to the police station. Danner and Aniq had once again successfully solved a murder mystery together. What helped them solve the puzzle was Ulysses’ strong motive, his vast knowledge of herbs and flowers, his and Vivian’s contradictory statements, Sebastian witnessing Ulysses doing something suspicious behind the bar, and Kyler’s video footage. The ending suggests that Isabel Minnows was possibly delusional, considering she was throwing away pills right before narrating her story. Maybe she wanted everyone to believe that she was right to suspect Edgar, and she went a little out of her way to prove her point.
What Happened To Aniq And Danner?
Vivian and Feng were grateful to Aniq for putting in the effort to find out the actual culprit. When Aniq expressed his intention of proposing to Zoe, they welcomed him to their family with open arms. Aniq was not sure if proposing to Zoe right after her uncle was found to be guilty was the perfect thing to do. While Aniq was hesitant, Zoe knew what she wanted. After learning about her mother’s affair and how Vivian regretted that phase in her life, Zoe realized the importance of being with the person who truly mattered to her. She proposed to Aniq with a ring made of a branch. She wanted to make the moment count, and Aniq was pleasantly surprised. He did not expect Zoe to propose before he did, and they ended up proposing to each other multiple times.
Danner was overjoyed to see Aniq get his fairy tale ending, and before she left, Aniq suggested she make a film on the Xavier murder instead of the book she was working on. Danner’s investigation process involved making mental films, and it would only make sense for the mystery she solved to unfold in a visual format. With sparkling diamonds on their fingers, Aniq and Zoe reached Danner’s movie set. Not only was Danner making a film out of her lived experience, but she was also engaged to Jaleel White. She finally found love, though the entire situation was a little uncomfortable for Aniq. After all, Jaleel was playing Aniq in Danner’s film—a parallel love story that no one expected! Season two of The Afterparty ends on a happy note, with both Danner and Aniq finding love and solving a complicated murder case once again.
