Yasper

Ben Schwartz is a gift to comedy, okay? Physicality, line delivery -- he's got the goods. Also, the man can SING. He is in no way re-inventing himself as Yasper, the dorky audio-visual expert who desperately wants to be a big-time pop star. Schwartz knows exactly how to play up the pathetic side of Yasper while also making him goofy and endearing without a trace of irony. He genuinely believes that this dream can happen for him. I mean, if it happened to Xavier, why not Yasper? On the episode, Yasper gets to be the hero of a shallow narrative in which he is deeply invested. Every song he sings is about how close he is to making his fantasy come true. Yasper is so obsessed with Xavier that it's even off-putting to Xavier. Xavier got big and left Yasper behind. Anyone else might hold a grudge, but Yasper just seems to want a favor -- a "blessing," which, coming from Xavier, could actually change his life completely. The thing is, Yasper is so single-minded that he doesn't pay attention to anything that doesn't affect him. Watch how everyone else acts in his version of events -- he misses so many details because he's in his own little world. When did all the other guests leave? Was Jennifer #2 among them, and why would she leave without telling Jennifer #1? Here's the thing -- The Afterparty is so funny, and it has so many throwaway jokes that it's hard to know which ones are actually throwaways and which ones will have major significance down the line. It's fun to speculate. And then there's Chelsea's flask with the red 'X' on it, found near Xavier's body! Uh-oh! Looks like Chelsea is now the prime suspect and next in line for questioning. What secrets will be revealed with her interview? Jon Lajoie, the man behind Yasper's musical numbers, is the invisible MVP of this episode. He's intrinsic to why everyone's having so much damn fun.

Mixing a satire with a musical really didn't work for this show. I fell asleep numerous times being bored by this character. Good thing each episode is a completely different perspective.

Though the episode still drives the plot forward (a little), Episode 3 is mainly a showpiece for Yasper. Think song, dance and comedy triple threat overtaking the 30 minute installment. As each character tells their story/"mind-movie" to the detective, that character gets a deep dive, but Yasper's goes haywire. THREE song and dance numbers make me think this actor could transition to musician. He is so funny - he needs to be the lead of a comedy called Yasper. His HS classmates are pretty great backup dancers, and it's hilarious that there's always a key moment for the Asian dude. Nobody, including the detective, is THAT concerned with finding out whodunnit, except for maybe Aniq, but he's primarily concerned with clearing himself. The cast has good chemistry, better than the meet-cute couple, and they are believable as a reunion class years later. Franco, in a role it feels he's played before - is ironically the least magnetic of the characters, but his character does suck, so maybe not his fault. Ben's ep is more like a Broadway musical/comedy than a tv show, but it works for me.

Best musical materiel I ever seen in my life, it was amazing and not boring like most musicals are.

I'm sure it will be best episode of this show. Mark my words.

The sheer audacity of making this episode, knowing full well that it would alienate a considerable part of the audience, is admirable. The (varied) musical numbers are exhilarating - you may need to watch them at least twice to catch more lyrics. In fact, I watched the whole episode twice, just like I did the 1st one; Aniq and Yasper are likable and have depth to them, while Brett (the star of the 2nd episode) is an one-note character who is better in smaller doses (and his scenes in episodes 1 & 3 are funnier than anything in his own). I'd give this one 8.5/10.