The Afterparty: Season 1 Ending Explained – Who killed Xavier?

Who Killed Xavier?

What does Maggie know?

Episode 8 of The Afterparty starts this finale with Danner now interviewing Maggie and learning what she knows. Through her playful flashbacks, including wacky sound effects and a whimsical score, Maggie admits she broke into the party. She was also the one who drew cat whiskers on Aniq too.

Midway through exploring, she decided to play a game of hide and seek, hiding from Brett when she spotted him across the room. Well he soon finds her, and eventually puts her in the car seat. After learning that Zoe was smooching with Aniq, Maggie admits that Brett was using his “big voice” and thundered back inside. See also saw a “bad thing”, which Danner encourages her to elaborate on.

Well, she saw the pregnant lady’s (Jennifer) water breaking while she was heading outside. This explains where she’s gone in all of this.

Does Aniq do the right thing?

With the interview done, Danner does one last sweep around Xavier’s room while Culp collects up the group to discuss what’s happened – and who is responsible for killing Xavier.

After going over the five different suspect testimonies they’ve heard, Danner takes an age to discuss the different witnesses and the inconsistencies in their stories. Danner throws shade on Brett but when Aniq woke up, he actually saw Brett in the driveway. Aniq immediately speaks up and covers for Brett, subsequently putting himself in the firing line, when everyone finds out that he’s been listening in all this time.

Who killed Xavier?

As Aniq catches up to what Danner has realized for a while, we receive a big twist in the story. It turns out someone was actually hiding in the closet this entire time. The 1 minute window is irrelevant because whoever this was, actually snuck in beforehand and waited for the opportune time to strike. And that guy? Yasper.

Yasper appears to be the one responsible, with his motivation stemming from jealousy. He wanted to record a song with Xavier of course, but he never showed up to the studio. Overcome with rage, Yasper hid in the closet, eventually sneaking out and confronting Xavier on the balcony. After a stiff punch to the nose, he pushed him over the balcony, then dropped down to the level below to avoid suspicion.

Were there any clues along the way that he was responsible?

Yes there were several actually. Thankfully, the Danner flashbacks makes more sense now, as our detective uses her expertise to deduce that Yasper sent a message to himself from Xavier’s phone, giving himself an alibi and clearing his own name in the process.

Yasper was also the one who knew about the hidden cameras, and used Xavier’s phone to delete the camera footage. It wasn’t Culp’s butter fingers after all. He also used Xavier’s phone to switch across the music, typified by Aniq finding him in the bathroom checking the acoustic. And ringing Xavier’s number, Yasper’s pocket blares as it reinforces that he’s definitely responsible.

Eventually he admits to the murder, revealing that he was angry and jealous of Xavier, believing Xavier owes his whole life to him. However, Yasper is taken outside in handcuffs as the Captain shows up and learns Danner has managed to get a confession and solved the case without him.

How does The Afterparty end?

With the party over and dawn breaking, everyone remembers Walt’s name and they say goodbye. Zoe and Aniq decide to go for breakfast together while Brett and Maggie head home together.

Everything is resolved, as Aniq finally makes his move and kisses Zoe. Only, Walt happens to be in the backseat though interrupts them both, asking if he can be taken home.

The Episode Review

That was worth the wait! For a while I’ve been convinced that Xavier fell off the balcony and no one was to blame but in the end this murder mystery bows out with a satisfying and well worked conclusion, actually giving a reason for Yasper killing Xavier.

It all makes good by the end and the snippets of Maggie’s interview, plus the drawn up tension and suspense from Danner, help to put this case to bed and end things on a high. The Danner flashback episode also makes a lot more sense now too, given it’s integral to how this case is wrapped up and resolved, while the 36 minute run-time is just about perfect to end this with a neat little bow.

The Afterparty may have wavered these past few chapters but it makes good in the end, bowing things out with a great finale that concludes everything in a really satisfying way.

Did you guess it was Yasper? Who did you think was responsible for Xavier’s murder? Let us know in the comments below!