EXTREME SPOILER WARNING. DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T WARN YOU.
And so, the only show that I considered appointment viewing this year has come to an end. After the Party started so strong, with the introduction of a largely-unsympathetic protagonist (Penny, played exceptionally by Robyn Malcolm) and a mystery of the most depressing nature – did Penny’s husband Phil (Peter Mullan) sexually assault her teenage daughter’s friend as Penny claimed?
But lots of shows start strong and then fall over after three episodes, having front-loaded all the best quips and shocking turns to get people invested in the first place. Where After the Party rises above nearly every other local drama is in its pacing. After the first episode, I was stressed the hell out and not convinced I wanted to witness another five hours of it. The second episode gave a glimpse of hope without falling into premature resolutions. The third episode was back to despair. And so on until I hit play on the sixth and final episode nervously confident that they might just pull it off, having been patient in laying the relational foundations of the series.
