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Maggie (The Afterparty)

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"Maggie"
The Afterparty episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 8
Directed byChristopher Miller
Written byChristopher Miller
Featured musicDaniel Pemberton
Cinematography byCarl Herse[1]
Editing byJoel Negron
Nick Olah
Original air dateJanuary 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Running time35 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Danner" 		Next →
"Aniq 2: The Sequel"

"Maggie", also known as "WhoDannert?",[3] is the eighth episode and first season finale of the American murder mystery comedy television series The Afterparty. The episode was written and directed by series creator Christopher Miller,[3] and was released on Apple TV+ on March 4, 2022.[4][5][6]

The series follows the events that follow a high school reunion after-party ending in a murder, where everyone is a suspect, as Detective Danner interviews the various suspects present, having her tell them their "mind-movies" about the night in question and the events leading up to it. The episode follows Danner as she interviews Brett's and Zoë's young daughter Maggie, who recounts the night's events in the style of a children's show,[7] leading Danner to finally confirm who killed Xavier.[8]

The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised Ben Schwartz's performance as well as Miller's directing, writing, editing, and cinematography as strong points, for which he was nominated for Best Writing in a Streaming Series, Comedy for the episode at the 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards.[9] On March 2, 2022, a second season was ordered,[10] premiering its first two episodes, "Aniq 2: The Sequel" and "Grace", on July 12, 2023.

Plot

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Danner's final questioning is with Maggie (Everly Carganilla), who tells her recollection of the night in the style of an animated children's show. Maggie only snuck into the afterparty to retrieve her toy koala bear that Brett (Ike Barinholtz) took from her, but also decided to draw on Aniq's face. After playing hide and seek, Brett puts her back in the car, only for Maggie to hear Jennifer #2 go into labor.

After Maggie's story is done, Danner (Tiffany Haddish) gathers the guests in the main living room to reveal who killed Xavier (Dave Franco). She seemingly reveals to the group that Brett is the murderer, but Aniq (Sam Richardson) quickly steps in to defend him, despite this meaning that he would be the only other suspect left. However, Danner reveals her accusation of Brett was false: both a test for Aniq's character, and so she could confirm that he wasn't an accomplice to the true murderer: Yasper (Ben Schwartz).

After being harshly turned down by Xavier when Yasper asked to "bless" his music, a bitter Yasper used the loud videos to distract everyone while he tricked Xavier into coming up into the bedroom. Yasper confronted Xavier for stealing his ideas and punched him in the face, before throwing him off the balcony in a fit of rage. Once Yasper stole Xavier's phone, he used it to text his own phone to create an alibi, and he remotely erased the security camera recordings[a] so his actions could not be uncovered.

When the phone is exposed, Yasper admits to his jealousy over Xavier's success that he felt he deserved. He is promptly arrested after attempting to flee and being tackled by Culp (John Early). As morning comes, everyone goes their separate ways; Danner brags to Ostrander (Mel Rodriguez) and Germain (Reid Scott) that she's solved the case, Yasper is overjoyed to see the press gathering to watch his arrest, while Aniq and Zoë (Zoë Chao) confess their feelings for each other and kiss.[11][12]

Production

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Development

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Series creator Christopher Miller wrote and directed the episode.

Christopher Miller conceived of The Afterparty in the early 2010s, where he wanted to make a murder mystery showing the different perspectives of the murder from its witnesses, inspired by his love of the murder-mystery genre and Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. The high school reunion aspect was added after Miller attended a high school reunion himself, thinking it would be a unique setting for such a concept.[13] Miller initially wrote it as a feature-length screenplay on his own while he was making Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street with Lord. In June 2013, the project was set-up at Sony Pictures as a film titled The Reunion, with Miller as sole writer and director, while producing the film along with Lord, Jonathan Kadin, and Hannah Minghella.[14] However, the film never came to fruition due to commitments with The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street. Lord and Miller were still optimistic in making The Reunion while promoting The Lego Movie,[15] so when Miller considered making the project in later hears, he made the decision to make it as a mini-series. Miller felt that expanding the concept into a series would allow him to properly develop the characters. Doing so also gave Miller the idea to present each version of the event as a separate genre in line with the respective POV's of each witness, called "mind-movies" in the series itself.[16]

On June 24, 2020, it was announced that Apple TV+ had given the production an eight-episode straight-to-series order, now titled The Afterparty. The series is created by Miller who is also the showrunner and is expected to executive produce alongside Lord while Aubrey Lee is a producer. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Sony Pictures Television and TriStar Television.[17][18][19] Up until the release of "Maggie", the episode was originally titled "WhoDannert?", a portmanteau of Tiffany Haddish's Detective Danner and the phrase "whodunnit" (a colloquial elision of "Who [has] done it?"), with the script being released on June 3, 2022.[3]

Casting

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In November 2020, the cast was announced, including Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Ben Schwartz, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer and Dave Franco,[20] Schwartz having been told of his character's ultimate fate from the get-go.[21][22][23]

Filming

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On November 11, 2020, Miller, in an Instagram post, confirmed that filming for the series had officially begun.[24] Miller directed "Maggie" and all eight episodes in the series, making it the first time he had directed separately since his collaborations with Phil Lord.[25]

Reception

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Critical response

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"Maggie" received extremely positive reviews from critics. Mary Littlejohn of TV Fanatic called the episode "a satisfying conclusion to a meticulously planned, incredibly entertaining series", in particular praising Everly Carganilla's performance as being "as adorable as child actors get [with her] line delivery [being] spot-on".[26] Rating the episode "10/10", Christian Hubbard of Full Circle Cinema similarly praised Carganilla's "high levels of charisma and wit in this episode well beyond her years", stating that "the young actress impresses with the screentime she receives early on", lauding the overall episode as "a genuinely satisfying conclusion".[27]

Jordan Lyon of Ready Steady Cut called the episode "excellent end to a brilliant series",[28] while Jordan Williams of Screen Rant praised the episode's ending for "bring[ing] together some of the most common themes that occur when people are confronted with their past [and] displace the blame onto others, particularly onto those who succeeded in the exact manner they envisioned for themselves", with the ending's "significance tie[d] into the dangers of the pursuit of fame and obsession with celebrity [while] also preach[ing] the importance of facing one's past in order to move forward. Each character attends the reunion for a specific reason, typically to get another shot in terms of where they felt they fell short in life, try to get revenge for past conflicts, or prove how far they have come since their youth. The Afterparty's season 1 ending recalls how integral one’s high school years are to their future life and how easy it can be to revert to a youthful state of mind at a reunion. After 15 years, The Afterparty's characters, like Ike Barinholtz's Brett, are confronted head-on with their successes and failures, with such an event being a catalyst for these figures to bring out the worst and best in themselves. Just like real high school reunions, every suspect in The Afterparty is telling the story they want to tell in terms of how they wish to be perceived, but underneath these surface narratives are often lies to make themselves look better. However, The Afterparty's ending suggests that only when the characters are honest with themselves do they truly get the second chance they desire".[29] Joan Kubicek of Vulture similarly called the episode "a ska-pe dre-am", lauding its "juicy unveiling" scene and "happy ending",[30] and The Envoy Web lauding the "truth behind the killer ha[ving] a decent amount of suspense right till the end [and the] comic element of the series [being] maintained right till the end, [with] the reveal [being] detailed and mak[ing] sense".[31]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Writing in a Streaming Series, Comedy Christopher Miller Nominated [9]

At the 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards, Christopher Miller was nominated for Best Writing in a Streaming Series, Comedy for "Maggie".[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ As depicted in "Yasper".

References

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  1. ^ Littlejohn, Mary (February 28, 2022). "Cinematographer Carl Herse on the Many Looks of The Afterparty". TV Fanatic. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Markle, John (February 3, 2022). "The 10 Funniest Characters In The Afterparty, Ranked". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 3, 2022. In The Afterparty, two actors portray themselves on screen, Will Forte and Channing Tatum.
  3. ^ a b c Fleming, Ryan (June 3, 2022). "It Starts On The Page: Read Chris Miller's Script For The 'The Afterparty' Season 1 Finale". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Apple TV+ sets worldwide premiere of highly anticipated murder-mystery comedy series The Afterparty for January 28". Apple TV+ Press (Press release). November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Caruso, Nick (March 4, 2022). "The Afterparty Finale Recap: Xavier's Killer Gets Cuffed! — Grade Season 1". TVLine. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  6. ^ DeGrushe, Allison (March 4, 2022). "'The Afterparty' Concludes With a Thrilling Murder Confession (SPOILERS)". Distractify. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Schwartz, Ben (April 22, 2022). The Afterparty | Yasper Performs 'Two Shots'. Sony Pictures Television. Retrieved April 22, 2022 – via YouTube. Yasper sings about how we all get one shot....twice.
  8. ^ Porter, Rick (June 24, 2020). "Phil Lord, Chris Miller Land Murder-Mystery Comedy at Apple". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Schneider, Michael (July 7, 2022). "Severance, Ted Lasso Lead Streaming Nominees for 2nd Annual HCA TV Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Porter, Rick (March 2, 2022). "The Afterparty, Starring Tiffany Haddish, Renewed at Apple TV+". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Tayshete, Shirley (March 4, 2022). "'The Afterparty' Episode 8: Disgruntled [SPOILER] revealed as Xavier's killer!". Meaww. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  12. ^ Trivedi, Dhruv (March 4, 2022). "The Afterparty Ending, Explained: Who Killed Xavier?". TheCinemaholic. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Meszaros, E.L. (January 19, 2022). "The Afterparty: Lord & Miller's Murder Mystery Comedy Series Was Almost a Movie". Comic Book Resources.
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (June 27, 2013). "21 Jump Street Directors, Sony Reunite on New Comedy (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  15. ^ Sampson, Mike (February 5, 2014). "Block Party: Talking The LEGO Movie With Writer/Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller". ScreenCrush. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  16. ^ Weintraub, Steve (January 29, 2022). "Chris Miller and Phil Lord on The Afterparty and Having Every Episode Tell the Story Using a Different Visual Format and Genre". Collider.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 24, 2020). "Apple Picks Up The Afterparty Murder Mystery Comedy Series From Phil Lord & Chris Miller". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  18. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 24, 2020). "Chris Miller, Phil Lord Set Murder Mystery Comedy Series at Apple (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  19. ^ Nakamura, Reid (June 24, 2020). "Lord and Miller Murder Mystery Comedy The Afterparty Gets Series Order at Apple TV+". TheWrap. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  20. ^ Petski, Denise (November 11, 2020). "Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao Among 9 Cast In Apple's The Afterparty". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  21. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (March 4, 2022). "'The Afterparty': The Killer Speaks!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  22. ^ Travers, Ben (March 4, 2022). "'The Afterparty' Finale: The Creator and the Killer on Hidden Clues, Key Secrets, and Hungry Hippos". IndieWire. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  23. ^ Hailu, Selome; Shanfeld, Ethan (March 4, 2022). "'The Afterparty' Stars Ben Schwartz and Sam Richardson Discuss the Killer — and Dissect the Clues". Variety. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  24. ^ Miller, Chris [@chrizmillr] (November 11, 2020). "The Afterparty! Been working on this one for a decade. Now it's finally happening, with the best cast imaginable. @tiffanyhaddish @thesamrichardson @zchao @rejectedjokes @ikebarinholtz @ilana @jamiedemetriou @bejohnce Dave Franco and more!". Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Instagram.
  25. ^ Miller, Chris [@chrizmillr] (February 17, 2021). "That's a season wrap on The Afterparty. Coming to AppleTV+ soon. Here is a knit version of the film clapper @jamiedemetriou had made for me". Retrieved April 27, 2021 – via Instagram.
  26. ^ Littlejohn, Mary (March 4, 2022). "The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Maggie". TV Fanatic. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  27. ^ Hubbard, Christian (March 4, 2022). "'The Afterparty' Episode 8 "Maggie" Review: "A Genuinely Satisfying Conclusion"". Full Circle Cinema. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  28. ^ Lyon, Jordan (January 28, 2022). "The Afterparty season 1, episode 8 recap – the finale and ending explained". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  29. ^ Williams, Jordan (March 4, 2022). "The Afterparty Season 1 Ending & Killer Identity Explained". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  30. ^ Kubicek, Joan (March 4, 2022). "The Afterparty Season-Finale Recap: How Great Is This Party?". Vulture. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  31. ^ Tejendra, Anweshak (March 5, 2022). "The Afterparty season 1 episode 8 recap & review: Maggie". The Envoy Web. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
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