The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Zoe

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Anything is possible when it's animation!

While The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6 goes off the rails a bit, and though it doesn’t quite hold up to the rest of the series, it’s still arguably more fun than you’ll have anywhere else.

Episode 6 gets to the heart of the woman at the center of so many other stories -- Zoe.

Zoe and Fun Zoe - tall - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

Vice-principal. Aniq’s crush. Chelsea’s former friend. Brett’s ex-wife. Maggie’s mom. Zoe is many Zoes rolled up into one.

Wonder no more about the bear in the opening credits — Mama Bear Zoe is here, and she takes no prisoners.

This has to be the most inventive, absurd, and ambitious episode of The Afterparty. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best.

Conceptually, it’s strong. It makes sense to have Zoe, the art teacher, have her story told in the style of a cartoon, but the execution is messy.

Animated Aniq - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

ShadowMachine, the production company behind Bojack Horseman, is responsible for the animated sequences.

They did well as streamlining the whimsy and fantastical elements, such as Zoe’s multiple selves squishing in and out of her body.

The caricatures were of inconsistent quality, though. Aniq, Indigo, and Jennifer #2 were perfectly realized, but Yasper and Chelsea looked slightly off.

It was satisfying to finally see inside Zoe’s head and realize how much she had going on. She’s been an integral part of so many stories, but her motivations really crystallized here.

You ever feel like there’s this you inside you who's the person you always wanted to be and there’s also this you that you never thought you’d be and you can’t believe you are?

How nice that Aniq could realize, as he was listening, that he had been shortsighted and single-minded in his interactions with her throughout the night.

Mama Bear bowls - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

Aniq had a version of her in his head, of the girl he had a crush on in high school. She’s still in there, but she is so much more complex than he ever knew.

I had a whole plan, but the minute there’s other people involved, nothing works out the way you thought it would.

It’s also still really not cool that he and Yasper are listening in to the conversation, despite the shenanigans they got into looking for a charger. Not only is it illegal, but it’s also ethically murky.

The most entertaining sequence by far was when Zoe realized she could just have fun by herself -- well, with her other selves.

It was like a quirky Cronenberg homage when the five Zoes amalgamated into one glorious Zoe-beast. The montage of Zoe finally cutting loose and ticking off the items on her list was as celebratory as it was ridiculous.

All the Zoes - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

The Afterparty is at its heart an ensemble comedy, and it has managed to maintain this vibe despite each episode having only one central character.

With so much of this episode focusing on an animated Zoe and multiple versions of herself, the only other characters we saw in real-life were Aniq, Yasper, Culp, and Danner (with a little bit of Jennifer #1).

Largely absent were Brett, Chelsea, Ned, Indigo, Walt (though he got to do about as much as he does in any episode apart from The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 5).

Animated Xavier was hilarious, but it would have been amazing to see Dave Franco in-person singing his ridiculous “Over You” lyrics.

I got over being under you
Are you into being under me? 
You were out of my league but now you’re 
Into my heart

Xavier [singing]

Xavier & Fun Zoe - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

Zoe spent more time with Xavier than virtually anybody else, but we’re no closer to finding out who killed him.

If anything, this was the clearest picture of Xavier that we got from anyone, and it tracks most of what he was doing that night -- right up until his death, which is the most crucial part.

We did find out that it was Jennifer #2 sending those threatening texts to Chelsea, but there’s still no indication of where she could be. Honestly, Jennifer #2 is looking like a reasonable choice for who killed Xavier at this point, though her motivation is unclear.

There is still the blonde wig to consider. Does it have something to do with the Hall and Oates movie?

We’ve seen lots of Xavier props and merchandise peppered throughout the series, and this wig resembles the one Xavier wore in the movie. Another possibility is that the killer wore the wig as a disguise.

Yasper listens to some tunes - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

Culp finally takes matters into his own hands. He’s got good instincts, though he’s still green. Going over Danner’s head and calling in the captain was a bold move, but she had dismissed him for too long.

Why wouldn’t we ask a police officer for help in a stressful situation? Ooh, I don’t know, maybe all of human history?

Yasper

Animated episodes of live-action shows don’t have the best track record (looking at you, Community). Here what we gained in character development sacrificed progressing the plot.

Zoe’s struggle with motherhood and divorce makes her one of the most relatable, grounded-in-reality characters.

Making her version of events so surreal, though thematically it made sense, ultimately made this episode feel a bit hollow.

Zoe: I’m just dramatizing my internal conflict.
Detective Danner: So, should I be concerned about that?

The Zoes check their list - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

There is less room for satire here, which may be part of the issue. All the previous episodes have been deliberate send-ups and homages to the genres they are parodying.

In contrast, this episode isn’t really challenging the tropes present in animation simply because animation is too broad a genre.

Aniq wants to prevent Zoe from “confessing,” even if it means he takes the rap. He doesn’t know that she’s just trying to get Danner to realize what she already believes.

Aniq technically is the most likely suspect, but he just doesn’t seem like a killer, and Danner should trust her instincts and keep digging for the truth.

Zoe's Story - The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6

At the end of the episode, Zoe makes a good point, one that the show has done expertly -- any one of them could have done it. Details could have been left out of anyone’s stories.

It seems likely that the culprit is someone unexpected, someone who hasn’t had an episode centered around them.

This was an uneven episode, but it did have moments of brilliance that wouldn't have been possible without the medium of animation. 

Which version of Zoe is your favorite? Do you feel like we’re any closer to solving the mystery of who killed Xavier?

Share your thoughts and theories in the comments!  

Zoe Review

Editor Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 (1 Vote)

Mary Littlejohn Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She loves television, cinema, and theatre (especially musicals!), particularly when it champions inclusivity, diversity, and social justice. Follow her on Twitter.

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The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 6 Quotes

I had a whole plan, but the minute there’s other people involved, nothing works out the way you thought it would.

Zoe

Why wouldn’t we ask a police officer for help in a stressful situation? Ooh, I don’t know, maybe all of human history?

Yasper