Pratik Handore
The second season of Apple TV+’s ‘The Afterparty‘ revolves around the murder of billionaire Edgar Minnows, which Danner and Aniq investigate while Zoe tries to prove her sister’s innocence. In the first episode, Edgar is found dead on the morning after his wedding, and the suspicion falls upon Zoe’s sister, Grace, and the rest of her family. Meanwhile, Aniq’s girlfriend, Zoe, tries to prove her family’s innocence. However, Zoe makes some suspicious decisions, and her actions might lead some viewers to believe that she is the killer. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Zoe Likely Did Not Kill Edgar
Zoe Zhu (Zoe Chao of ‘Party Down‘) is introduced in the first season of ‘The Afterparty.’ She is the high school crush of Aniq (Sam Richardson of ‘Ted Lasso’), and the duo starts a relationship by the end of season 1. The second season of ‘The Afterparty’ opens with Zoe and her boyfriend, Aniq, arriving for her sister Grace’s wedding. Grace (Poppy Liu of ‘American Born Chinese‘) is marrying billionaire Edgar Minnows at his family’s estate. However, on the morning after his wedding, Edgar is found dead, making his newly-wed bride, Grace, the prime suspect in the murder case. As a result, Zoe is determined to investigate the murder mystery and prove that her sister is innocent. However, as the narrative progresses, everyone at the house becomes a suspect.
In the second episode, it is revealed that Zoe was unhappy with Grace marrying Edgar since they did not have anything in common. Meanwhile, Zoe learns that Grace had a brief affair with Edgar’s adopted sister, Hannah (Anna Konkle of ‘PEN15‘), further pointing the needle of suspicion to her. Later, Zoe deduces that the Devil’s Trumpet flowers from Hannah’s garden were used to poison Edgar.
In the sixth episode, Travis proves that using the flowers to make a poison tea is extremely easy, and anyone in the house could have done it. The episode ends with Zoe removing and hiding a teapot from the room where Edgar’s dead body was found. Zoe, knowing of the teapot’s presence and actively trying to hide the important piece of evidence, implies she is linked to Edgar’s murder.
Firstly, Danner and Aniq are yet to formally interrogate Zoe, and her whereabouts for important intervals on the wedding night remain unaccounted for. Therefore, there is a high chance Zoe is hiding her involvement in the murder. However, Zoe lacks a direct motive for killing Edgar. Furthermore, she is the one to discover the Devil Trumpt flowers and their poisonous use. Hence, it is unlikely that a killer would directly lead the investigators on their trail. The sixth episode’s ending implies Zoe is trying to cover up her tracks. However, she may be simply trying to protect Grace.
Moreover, other suspects like Hannah and Sebastian Drapewood (Jack Whitehall) have a more direct motivation to kill Edgar and benefit from his death. Ultimately, while Zoe cannot be ruled out as the potential killer, there is a lack of motivation and evidence to suggest that she killed Edgar. However, Zoe’s increasingly suspicious actions and desire to protect Grace hint that she is hiding a secret that could be crucial to the overall investigation. The events framing Zoe as the prime suspect will provide an interesting challenge for Aniq over the next few episodes while serving as a red-herring for the twist ending that will reveal the actual killer.
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