AFTER THE PARTY. wed&thur 9pm ch4 - TV PACE NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

After The Party is a tense drama full of accusations and high emotions.

Set in Wellington, New Zealand, the series follows a woman who lost everything when she accused her husband of a sex crime against her daughter’s teenage friend, and no one believed her.

It features Black Bird (www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/black-bird-release-date-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know) star Robyn Malcolm as Penny Wilding, an outspoken science teacher, basketball coach and environmental campaigner. Lord of the Rings star Peter Mullan plays Penny’s accused ex-husband who returns to town leaving Penny to decide what’s more important, the truth or rebuilding her relationship with those around her.

Here’s everything you need to know about
After The Party
…

Penny Wilding tells it like it is, whether that’s lecturing teenage boys on how porn will ruin their sex lives or waging a graffiti war on fishing boats.

But her attitude means she has few friends in the coastal town near Wellington, New Zealand.

Five years ago, however, Penny’s life was turned upside down when she accused her husband Phil of a sex crime and nobody believed her.

When Phil returns, Penny’s daughter pleads with her to forget the accusations and move on. But can she really let such injustice go unpunished?

Robyn Malcolm plays brutally honest teacher, mother and grandmother Penny Wilding.

Robyn says: "Penny did something based on what she believed, and it caused great damage and ruined a number of lives including her daughter’s.

Now, she feels she has to double down and be right, but righteous people can be dangerous and Penny is deeply fallible.

"It’s a simple story – did he do it, or didn't he do it, and is she right or is she wrong?

But the show exists in a morally grey area, we didn’t want to give simple answers. The rug gets pulled out from under you..."

I really liked Penny. But I think they were trying to show her as a real woman, rather than a flawless hero. Real life is complicated and they were trying to show that.

I agree @CandyMaker I really liked the Penny character. She was flawed. Lots of her behaviour - anger, frustration etc - could have been a direct consequence of Phil's behaviour and the chaos he brought to everyone's life. The affair - which I didn't like - happened because she was lonely. And the fact the friend blamed her and forgave the husband, was very typical.

I believe Phil was a serial sex abuser. I think he had abused Ollie on school trips. Ollie's brother had flashbacks to tents (may have got that wrong but I think he did). He could have been a victim too. The Tom aspect was a brilliant twist. Phil got what he deserved. It's not Penny's fault but it showed the love and compassion she has for others. I thought the male neighbour was going to be a creep, but he was just lonely too and a decent man.

I loved the fact she was a life model and didn't give a toss about her shape or floppy tits. There was some great messaging there from the production team.

I loved the fact she was a life model and didn't give a toss about her shape or floppy tits. There was some great messaging there from the production team.

Me too

Also being honest, people who are more placid and easy going IME are very unlikely to do what Penny did and openly say to the boys parents she saw her husband abusing him. It takes courage to behave as she did, and people with that kind of courage do not tend to be easy going. So I think it all fits with her character.

Amazing acting totally agree. So refreshing to see people looking so normal, throws other picture perfect flawless characters into the unrealistic light they belong. Final episode didn’t quite deliver for me, but they’ve left it open for a second series. Overall, best thing I’ve seen for a long time.

I also liked that the neighbour was not a creep, just a lonely man doing the typical over reach in terms of who he thinks who he has a chance with.

Yes Ollie's brother def had some kind of flashback /tent

Whether he was abused by Phil or a friend on the trip

Something triggered him

I was also wondering why he never tried it on with Ollie

And came to this conclusion

Ollie was gay

Tom and Ollie's brother not

We know rape isn't always about sex but power

So think he didn't try it on with Ollie as Ollie has bum sex so not as powerful

Where as Tom is straight and raping Tom is more fun then raping Ollie due to the power thing

Or maybe overthinking

Tom used to live with penny hence his stuff in spare bedroom

Ans why the books etx were there

@Blondeshavemorefun when you read the Radio Times review it says Tom looks over the old police files and that Ollie had given a statement that he'd walked in on his brother with Phil. I missed that bit.

But Ollie's statement does reveal that he did previously walk into Phil's tent on a camping trip and saw him "sexually engaged" with his brother

I think we can only surmise that Phil didn't attack Ollie because Penny interrupted him.

I'm glad I watched it but the last episode was more about plot devices than story so the ending didn't impact for me and seemed a bit convenient.

And then obv couldn't after been accused

Yes we saw he read the report - I did pause it on screen and briefly read it

And this is why there will be a series 2 @bobslay28. You've perfectly summed up all the questions deliberately left open to allow a second series .

I enjoyed it but found the character of Ollie very inauthentic. Otoh he SAYS Phil was just a caring parent figure, ot other hand we see him trying to kiss him at the leaving party. I just found him intolerable and the actor not very good at doing drunk acting.

Yes, and why was Tom's memory box in Penny's house?

Coz Tom used to live with penny

I enjoyed it but found the character of Ollie very inauthentic. Otoh he SAYS Phil was just a caring parent figure, ot other hand we see him trying to kiss him at the leaving party. I just found him intolerable and the actor not very good at doing drunk acting.

I think Phil definitely abused Ollie but Ollie hasn't yet accepted that it was abuse, Phil groomed him to believe it was a loving relationship and that's why he protects him by claiming nothing ever happened. Again, there is massive scope to explore that in a second series and I think we can expect to see Ollie spiral further into self destructive behaviour and MH issues.

Can anyone help? There's one scene I watched randomly while scrolling through trying to find my place ... and I can't work out where in the timeline it happened. It was in episode 5 or 6 I think. Penny living in a sort of seaside shack. Collecting driftwood on the beach in a storm. A concerned neighbour comes and knocks on the door and leaves some fish for her. Penny turns her phone on and sees a long list of missed calls.

I don't recall the events leading up to her being in that situation?

I enjoyed it but the ending was a little disappointing.

It's very good and well handled

Especially the internal dilemmas and confusion of what's love or not at a young age and just wanting to be noticed and the shame and denial all entwined in a big fat mess

Penny spiralling into a kind of madness with it all

And yet the outcome whilst good is not satisfactory for all involved

On reflection it's actually quite brilliant

I think that's the beg of e6

After in 5 saying she was sorry and wrong and Phil didn't abuse she takes her self out on time out to think about it for a few weeks

I just finished watching this. Thought it was very good although quite a hard watch. Loved penny. She obviously made mistakes. I think she was very lonely herself and that is why she ended up with friends husband. I agree that I think zach was abused but didn’t want to say it was him so told the story to the police about it being Ollie. The shame is too much for him to tell the truth. Ollie was only saved by penny interupting them.

i think the ending was good. It’s a shame that penny will never get to show that she was right all along as Tom will never speak about it. But I think pennys character doesn’t really care about that, she only cares that he is stopped from continuing his abuse.

Agree people need to know she was right

People need to come forward

Maybe they will in s2 once they know Phil is dead

Is there a s2?

Grace will never know and penny will have to hear her speak about how amazing her dad was. But penny will I think, just be pleased that Walt is now safe.

I think it's good as a stand alone series

Yes I think once everything crumbled around her - her friend finding out about her sleeping with her husband, her lawyer friend falling out with her and then the conversation with Ollie - she takes herself away for a few weeks and turns off her phone to think things through. That's when she comes to the conclusion that she was wrong about Phil abusing Ollie. She goes back to apologise and make amends then finds the evidence about Tom's abuse. Must be absolutely maddening for her to know she's been pursuing the wrong thing all those years when the evidence was right under her nose.

Still can't get my head around Tom letting grace take Walt away with Phil knowing what he's capable of. It was obviously all very difficult for him to process but you'd think being a father and uncle to two young boys he would at least try to protect them.

I hope so

I want people to know penny wasn't lying