The Afterparty season 2 episode 6 recap & review: Danner’s Fire

Open Go TV / August 9, 2023 / Reviews

In The Afterparty season 2 episode 6, Danner tells Aniq what mistake led her to quit the force and how he is making the same mistake. The episode is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Recap

Danner needs to tell Aniq why she quit the force because, right now, he is doing exactly what she did: she let her heart blind her brain. Danner discloses that she hates being an author; she is not happy at all and hasn’t written a single word in her book.

She confesses that she didn’t stop being a cop to write books; she stopped being a cop because she lost her confidence as she got too close to someone while investigating a case.

After solving the Xavier case, Danner began investigating a series of fires, and her team had a suspect: Leonard Vurr, who got out of prison six months ago. He was arrested for arson and has a personal connection to two of the three locations that burned.

Leonard is into fires spiritually, but he confesses that he doesn’t start fires anymore. Everything suggests Leonard caused the recent fires, but Danner refrains from believing; it’s too easy, and after talking to Leonard, she doesn’t think he is behind this.

Leonard has been seeing a psychiatrist named Quentin Devereaux, who specializes in treating pyromaniacs. Danner wonders why a man who is looking for help will burn buildings down again.

To find an answer to this, she meets Quentin Devereaux and is attracted to him the moment she sees him. Devereaux charms Danner and invites her to talk over dinner.

Devereaux and Danner end up getting intimate during dinner. Devereaux convinces Danner that Leonard is not obsessed with fire anymore; his new obsession is karaoke. Devereaux later drops by to bail Leonard out.

Danner’s partner, Culp, warns Danner not to cloud her judgment after spending a night with Devereaux. Danner meets Devereaux again, and after learning Dairy Freeze was the last location that got burned, Devereaux tells Danner that Leonard talked about this location.

Leonard had said that he is going to hit the karaoke bar and let off some steam because the people at the bar were mean to him, just like the people at the Dairy Freeze.

Danner catches Leonard at the bar with his car trunk full of accelerants. Danner then visits Devereaux to update him and discovers a box of the same accelerant she found inside Leonard’s trunk at Devereaux’s place.

Danner realizes that Devereaux is the arsonist, and he tried to frame Leonard. Devereaux is a sex addict for fire, and as a therapist, it was easy to find a sap to pin the blame on.

Danner tried to call Culp, but Devereaux showed up, and she had to cut the call. Devereaux cuffed Danner to his bed and poured turpentine all over his house. He lit the fire and left.

Culp arrives in time. He breaks Danner out and passes out. It’s Danner who picks him up, and they both escape the burning place. After this, her department let Leonard go, and Devereaux disappeared. Danner blamed herself and resigned.

When Aniq called Danner, she thought this might be her chance to be the old Danner again, so she came. Aniq promises to help Danner find the murderer, even if it is someone from Zoë’s family. The two agree to interrogate Uncle Ulysses next.

Amidst all of this, Travis drinks tea with the Devil’s Trumpet in it, claiming there is nothing to worry about as he has microdosed. He believed he would only face mild symptoms.

Everyone puts effort into saving Travis, and he survives. Travis proves the point that anyone can be a murderer because all the murderer needed was hot water and a teapot.

Zoë remembers that there is a teapot in Edgar’s room. She visits the room, but Isabel also arrives there. Zoë is forced to take cover. She hides the teapot and leaves the room once Isabel has left too.

Review

The sixth episode of The Afterparty season 2 is clearly a filler. It’s heavily predictable, but that’s part of the fun that the episode brings. It’s Danner’s narration that is more entertaining to hear than the story itself.
Michael Ealy shines as the seductive therapist with a heavy voice. The episode also managed to connect the points that make up a great thriller.
More importantly, all the episodes of The Afterparty have a life of their own. The compelling writing makes each one of them a different experience, and hence, fillers like these continue to amuse a viewer.