‘The Afterparty’ Beautifully Brought This Director’s Style to Life

SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses the events of season 2, episode 4 of ‘The Afterparty.’

Part of what makes The Afterparty such a fun show is the series’ storytelling device: each character experiences the mystery in a different film genre. Whether that means a Nancy Meyers-style romantic comedy like Aniq’s (Sam Robinson) episode or the musical episode from season one starring Ben Schwartz’s Yasper, the show utilizes each genre to its advantage. Sometimes the genre works incredibly well with the murder mystery of it all, while other times it’s just a nod to a genre we know and love.

Season 2 features two episodes that really work as perfect examples of their respective genres. First was the Jane Austen-inspired period piece for Grace’s episode (Poppy Liu) as she prepared to marry Edgar (Zach Woods). But running a close second for my favorite episode of the season thus far is Hannah’s Wes Anderson-inspired episode.

Hannah (PEN15‘s Anna Konkle) is the adopted sister of Edgar and lives in a yurt on their family estate. Prior to this episode, she remained quietly on the outskirts as she mourned her brother. But in “Hannah,” we got to see her own journey within her family through the lens of a Wes Anderson-esque story. The show really did an incredible job of nailing Anderson’s aesthetic while incorprorating the themes of his films as well.

Hannah’s story was a marriage between The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom, which left me wanting more of Hannah’s story after her episode ended.

Family, pastels, and pain

The episode itself isn’t just a visual homage to Anderson; it also follows his story structure. The show uses Hannah’s lack of love in her life to its advantage and highlights her dynamic with her brother Edgar as well as her budding romance with Grace. The twist of the episode was that Grace and Hannah were also in love with each other (behind Edgar’s back), and Hannah was willing to tell Aniq and Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) all about it.

It was such an Anderson view of the world, in the sense that Hannah didn’t care about making herself come across as innocent. She just wanted to tell her truth, no matter what Danner or Aniq thought about her.

Hannah deserves happiness

The episode showed Grace trying to come to terms with the fact that her affair with Hannah was exposed. While Grace is clearly trying to unpack her own feelings, I do hope that Hannah gets to find her own happiness. If she did murder Edgar? Well, that’s a different story. I don’t think she did, but anything is possible. In the meantime, we get to enjoy this terrific tribute to Wes Anderson.

(featured image: Apple TV+)