Dhruv Trivedi
‘The Afterparty’ opens with the bizarre death of a celebrity during a high-school reunion party at his house. As the investigation gets underway, it soon becomes clear that the guests of the party — who all happen to be suspects — have some pretty wild recollections of the evening.
As past grudges and present secrets come tumbling out, the seemingly innocent guests all begin to appear slightly guilty. The ominous feeling that the murderer could still be amongst them becomes palpable when one of the guests, affectionately called Jennifer #2, disappears. Forgotten amidst the confusion of the investigation, Jennifer #2 is missing for a substantial time, and it is even hinted that we might begin to consider the possibility of a second victim. Let’s take a look at what we know about Jennifer #2. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Is Jennifer #2 Dead or Alive?
Jennifer’s status is unknown at the end of episode 3 — when she is discovered to be missing. Aniq, while tallying all the guests’ handwriting samples to compare with the threatening note, discovers that Jennifer #2’s sample is missing. When he confers with Jennifer #1, she too admits to not having seen her friend for a long time. It is a masterful move of misdirection by the show because even the audiences, amidst all the chaos of the investigation, don’t realize that a character is missing until it is brought to notice.
Jennifer #2, like Jennifer #1, is heavily pregnant and is seen occasionally in an orange dress in the party crowd. She is not part of the initial interrogation subjects and generally stays clear of the rowdier characters like Brett and Chelsea. More importantly, no one has displayed any malice towards Jennifer #2, making her murder less likely.
Of course, as Jennifer #1 reminds Detective Danner, the missing woman is especially inept at navigating places alone at night. This, combined with the fact that she is pregnant, puts Jennifer #2’s wellbeing in some question. However, the odds (currently) seem to favor that she is alive. In a broader sense, it is highly unlikely a show like ‘The Afterparty’ would depict something as dark as the death of a pregnant woman. Therefore, if you are genuinely queasy about Jennifer #2’s fate, there isn’t a need to worry.
Where is Jennifer #2?
So if Jennifer #2 is alive, where could she be? The “ominously missing” character may have merely fallen asleep in one of the mansion’s many rooms. We see Jennifer #1 trying desperately to get some rest even as she is repeatedly interrupted by Aniq, and Jennifer #2 may have decided to find some peace where she can’t be easily found. Knowing Xavier, it is also likely that his palatial house has secret rooms and passageways, and Jennifer #2 could have locked herself in one of them by mistake.
Lastly, the missing woman is possibly not dead, but something unfortunate has happened to her nonetheless. The house is obviously full of people who have a lot of secrets, and both the “Jennifers” seem quite adept at dredging up stories from everyone’s past. Thus, it is possible that one of the party guests — possibly the murderer — revealed their identity or secret to Jennifer #2 and subsequently trapped her so she could not reveal what she might know.
Interestingly, the possibility of the “missing guest” having run away is also valid, especially considering how inept the two detectives are at handling the crime screen. Of course, this is merely speculation at the moment, as Jennifer #2 has so far shown no reason for having to run away.
Read More: Is The Afterparty a True Story? Is Xavier Based on a Real Celebrity?
