The Afterparty (Season 2) Episode 7: Let us just take a moment to appreciate the kind of phenomenal work Apple TV’s The Afterparty has done in its latest season. From breaking the pattern by giving Danner a backstory last week to bringing in so many different genres together to tell Ulysses’s story and justifying John Cho’s casting this week, the show has been delivering its A-game. This week’s episode features a fascinating performance by Cho, which is probably the best in both seasons of the show combined and especially hits the stride. Part Korean romance drama, part nineties erotic musical adapting the style of something like “Dirty Dancing” (1987), and part Western even – the episode is so well-crafted that you wish for it to go on and on. It makes you forget the central mystery of Edgar’s murder even, but in true Afterparty style, it does leave you with enough breadcrumbs to follow the trail to the next one.
The Afterparty (Season 2) Episode 7 Recap:
Who Is Funcle Ulysses?
John Cho’s Funcle Ulysses has clearly been the most fascinating character The Afterparty has to offer. We have only seen the character in bits and pieces so far and his story has been due for a long time. With Sebastian pointing out that Ulysses was doing something with a glass in the after-party which followed the fateful night of Edgar’s death (or murder?), it was a matter of time until the fun uncle came under the investigative lenses of our ace duo, Danner and now a more determined Aniq. While Zoé’s parents seem really skeptical about going through the investigation of their daughter’s fiance and the former detective, Ulysses seems more than willing to share his tale. And what a story we are in for!
Dance has always been in Ulysses’s blood. But a horrible trip with the American army in the land of Kuwait ends up under the rug of PTSD-induced nightmares. Broken and dejected, Ulysses takes shelter at his half-brother Feng’s place. Feng sees the poor man as no less than his own brother and loves him to death. Upon Feng’s insistence, Ulysses starts dancing again with Feng’s wife, Vivian. Shaky and wobbly at first, Ulysses slowly finds his groove with the help of Vivian. But that’s not the only thing he finds. A fire of love brews between the passionate dancers, and the two of them start a secret affair right under the nose of an unsuspecting Feng.
Days go by and Ulysses and Vivian continue their romantic trust; until one day, Vivian decides to end it because of her infinite amount of guilt. Ulysses is heartbroken, but he still chooses to be there for his brother’s family and tries to find solace in his role of being the fun uncle for his nieces, Grace and Zoey. But his love for Vivian couldn’t let him find peace, and to make matters worse, Feng eventually gets to know all about it. An angry and betrayed Feng orders Ulysses to get out of their life and never come back again. Ulysses has no choice but to follow a path of lifelong loneliness and stay away from the love of his life.
Why Does Ulysses Come Back?
Ulysses keeps traveling all around the world, but no matter where he goes, Vivian does not leave him. The memory of his lover keeps haunting him but slowly Ulysses adapts to the life he has got and finally finds peace in becoming a healer until one day, Edgar knocks at his door to take him to the wedding as the special guest. Ulysses initially rejects the proposal considering his relationship with his brother Feng, but upon hearing Edgar’s claim that Grace might just be his real daughter, he can’t say ‘No’ to coming back and facing his past.
John Cho and Poppy Liu in “The Afterparty,” now streaming on Apple TV+.As you would expect, Ulysses receives a warm welcome from Zoé and Grace, both of whom are elated to see their Funcle after so many years. Feng is obviously not happy with the sight of the brother he once loved, while Vivian is perplexed. Upon meeting Vivian in secret, Ulysses asks if Grace is his real daughter, but Vivian denies it. Feng soon cuts in and has a verbal altercation with Ulysses. This is the same moment when a naked Sebastian walks past them, and Aniq comes to give Vivian the charger. With his brother still in no mood to forgive him and knowing Grace is not his daughter, Ulysses gets heartbroken again, but for the sake of Grace and her wedding, he decides to carry on with his Funcle duties and leaves for good after the wedding is over.
What Does Ulysses Do With The Glass?
Despite Vivian telling him that Grace is not his daughter, he has his doubts reappearing when he dances with Grace after Edgar bails on the bride, and Ulysses finds Grace to be a natural at dancing just like him. This time, he decides to get to the bottom of it just for the peace of his mind. And he chooses to find it all by himself. So he does the only possible thing that he can do in this situation, which is to acquire Grace’s glass and get a sample of her DNA. Sebastian catches him in this act. He shows the DNA sample, as well as a picture of Vivian and him from their heyday to Danner and Aniq in order to validate his story. In The Afterparty, everyone is always a suspect, but Fun Uncle Ulysses is probably just a man who is lost in love and destined for a life full of sadness only.
The Afterparty (Season 2) Episode 7 Ending Explained:
Why Is Feng A Suspect?
During the altercation Ulysses has with Feng, he tells his half-brother about Edgar’s theory of Grace being Ulysses’s daughter. This upsets Feng a lot and he tells Ulysses that he will take care of Edgar. Later, after collecting the sample, Ulysses offers to have a drink with his brother, and he tells Feng that he will be gone for good. Right at this moment, Ulysses notices a scoop of ice cream in Feng’s hand which Feng offers to Edgar as it is specially made for his son-in-law.
Feng and Vivian seem really skeptical about being investigated by Danner and Aniq, which Zoé finds strange as she is under the impression that her parents have nothing to hide. Meanwhile, Hannah mentions to Grace that Feng had hired a videographer named Kyler to cover the wedding, but that videographer suddenly vanished. If Kyler, the videographer, can be found, his videos can lead everyone to hard evidence. The question here is, does Feng have anything to do with Kyler, the videographer, going missing?
And the bigger question here is he would obviously not want Edgar to share his theory about Ulysses being Grace’s father to Grace, but would he really go the distance of killing the man his beloved daughter just got married to? Feng does have so much to answer for, and we are going to get his side of the story next week, for which we can’t wait. Also, Ken Jeong will finally get his opportunity to shine, which is always a great thing.
Wild Killer Prediction:
We still don’t really know how truthful Sebastian was being about his own story and other than what this guy has told us, every other story sort of validates itself with proper evidence. So we are sticking with Sebastian for this week as well. Let’s see if Feng would change that next week.
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The Afterparty (Season 2), Episode 7 Links: IMDb
The Afterparty (Season 2), Episode 7 Cast: Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, Alanna Phillips
Where to watch The Afterparty
