As we are in episode 9 of The Afterparty, we’ve been hit with a curve ball. While this plot twist was expected, the way it was presented was unexpected. Elizabeth Perkins’ Isabel is quirky and straightforward, a trait that is entertaining in this genre of show, and so her episode is one of the best of the season. This season of The Afterparty is far less experimental than the first season, which is a shame because the musical and animated episodes were some of the best of the show. Feng’s Tik-Tok-ified story leads Danner to Isabel, but wouldn’t it be too easy of an answer? We can only find out in the last episode of The Afterparty, but until then, let’s go through Isabel’s night.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Episode?
After Isabel drinks her favorite glass of neat gin too fast, she starts to tell her story about the night of Edgar and Grace’s wedding. Her (drunken) story begins with the death of her husband, Edgar’s father. A year ago, he had died, and it had taken a toll on Isabel. The kids realized she wouldn’t be able to handle the loneliness and decided to bring her home to stay with them. Because Isabel was having trouble sleeping, Edgar got her some pills from their family doctor (yes, the same blue pills). Still, Isabel would not be able to sleep, and Edgar found her organizing his curry powders in the late hours of the night, or more like the early hours of the morning. Isabel tried really hard to make sure that her kids would not realize that she was going mad from the grief, but Edgar was pretty quick to catch on. One night, she found herself hearing children singing her husband’s favorite pop song when there was no actual music.
After some time like this, Edgar told Isabel that he was bringing a girl he liked over. Isabel was sure she heard him say Gail was her name in a game of Scrabble, but Edgar insisted he told her it was Grace. When she meets Grace, she calls her Gail, and out of a panic, she goes to check the Scrabble board. To her shock, it says Grace. Amidst the madness, Isabel also seemed to have been ordering things like a Samurai sword and full armor for no reason at all. When Hannah tries to speak to her about her feelings, Isabel doesn’t realize that her daughter is hurting too and is consumed by her own mindlessness. Isabel then decided to stop fighting it and instead chose to accept it. She bought a trampoline for herself, but this was the last straw for Edgar. After speaking to their family doctor, Edgar thinks it’s best to set up a conservatorship for his mother. To prove to Dr. Shulkind that she was fine, Isabel decided to design the paper towels for the rehearsal dinner.
At the dinner, Dr. Shulkind finds Isabel, and she’s ready to prove to him that she is “sane”, but Vivian shows up with the paper towel that reads the name Gail on it. Isabel pretends it is an inside joke, but she is certain that she put Grace on the paper towels. It is Travis who brings Edgar’s crypto to Isabel’s attention. After she slaps him for calling her a mad woman who is playing dumb, she realizes that Edgar is after her money. In the present time, Grace’s family defends Edgar for having a lot of money, and Grace is sure he couldn’t be a monster. On the other hand, Travis is clear that Sebastian is trying to sell all the crypto off so that Edgar’s shell company scheme is not found out. Sebastian acts strangely and tells Travis that it doesn’t matter what happens to crypto because the rich always win.
Back in Isabel’s flashback, Sebastian comes to her room at night so he can break into Edgar’s crypto safe, but she thinks he’s come to spy on her for Edgar. After shooing Sebastian away and telling him to tell Edgar that he will never get her money, she delivers the heirloom hairpin to Grace on the day of the wedding. When she sees the prenup, she tells Grace to sign it because she knows it will help her in the future (but Grace thought she was threatening her). Finally, Isabel sees the blue pill and comments on how they take the same sleeping pills. Grace and Zoe laugh it off and say that those are Adderall, and they have the opposite effect to putting one to sleep. This is another tip for Isabel to blame her son and prove her theory right. But again, when she shows Edgar the pills, he pretends they’re different shades of blue and completely different pills.
Isabel goes along and agrees with what Edgar is saying. He then wonders if she is sure about her toast at the wedding because she’s a nervous public speaker. Isabel makes a star mark on the print of her speech, so she knows that her son has not tampered with it. After the wedding, he handed her purse over to Aniq while the photos were being taken. This is when Isabel was sure he changed the script. When she has to give the toast, she sees that the star is missing. Isabel chooses to read from it anyway, though, because it would be better than not giving a speech at all, which would be a win for Edgar. It turns out that the script reads the lyrics of Isabel’s husband’s favorite song, and it’s actually very meaningful for Edgar and Grace.
In the end, Edgar had brought cake for Isabel and him, and she had called him out for trying to steal her money. When he was distracted by the shaved ice, Isabel switched the slices of cake, meaning Edgar had the one that was reserved for her. Isabel thinks she killed Edgar because he ate the slice of cake that was meant for her, but Aniq points out that the poison timing and hallucinations don’t line up with this theory. Just as they’re trying to figure things out, the police arrive with Sebastian a step behind. He tells everyone that he called them after he got done with his work. The Afterparty Episode 9 ends with Isabel telling her dear friend, the policeman, that Grace killed Edgar.
Final Thoughts
The ninth episode of The Afterparty Season 2 was more fun than some of the others. The second half of the season definitely picks up, which is a good thing. We still don’t have answers, but my bet is on Sebastian or Edgar’s accidental deaths. The one scene where Isabel tells Hannah that it would be absurd to think she would tell her how she really feels is really funny, and their relationship could’ve been explored a little bit more. Overall, I’d give this episode about 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more than just some classic outfits and 50s color grading for this episode.
