On The Afterparty Season 1 Episode 5, the invisible man speaks, but his testimony is about events that happened 15 years ago. It's a teen party comedy full of the usual tropes, as well as plenty of insight into how these characters turned into who they are now. It makes sense that a show about a high school reunion would delve into those high school days at some point. Writer/creator Christopher Miller has even found an ingenious way to maintain the conceit of each episode being focused on one character -- with a bit of creative license. Having the essentially invisible Walt (Jamie Demetriou) around everyone at various points throughout St. Patrick's Day allowed him to eavesdrop on important conversations and events between most of the characters. Technically, we do get a quick run-down of Walt's night at the reunion in the present -- the bit with him the Yasper's car was particularly funny since no one else even registered he was there. Demetriou is hilariously awkward in the background at every turn but never pulls focus. He's brilliant. When he started singing Mr. Cellophane while everyone talked over him, I laughed as my heart broke for him. We still know very little about Walt -- apart from making honey in high school, having a little brother (who we never see) who leans politically to the right, and his last name is Butler. What's the most famous old murder mystery trope? The butler did it! This episode proves that you can have tons of fun and still have moments that make you consider the social issues at play. A great teen movie can stay with you for life. So can a bad high school experience. The Afterparty is at its best here, when this fantastic comedic ensemble gets to work together and share the spotlight. Episode 5 gave us so much backstory in a fun way but also made us think about how things have changed in the last 15 years -- and how much they haven't.
