After Life‘s Final Season Poignantly Concludes TV’s Most Thoughtful Existential Series
Photo Courtesy of Netflix
Ricky Gervais is a churlish turd. Or at least that’s the way he comes across onscreen. The British actor, director, comedian, and writer is a master at creating and playing unpleasant characters who are self-centered, sarcastic, socially awkward, or a combination of all three. From The Office to Extras to Ghost Town, Gervais knows exactly how to make viewers cringe or roll their eyes.
While he often exudes a prickly persona, Gervais’ characters have also, somewhat ironically, maintained a thoughtful, kind, and humorous quality. The most recent and best example of Gervais’ gift for making unlikable characters lovable is his portrayal of Tony in the Netflix series After Life, which has returned for its third and final season.
After Life follows the thought-provoking story of Tony, a journalist for a small-town newspaper, shortly after his wife Lisa (Kerry Godliman) has died. Despondent and suicidal, Tony believes there’s no longer any advantage to being kind. He feels that doing and saying whatever he wants is his “superpower.” Tony is rude to friends and strangers, drinks like a fish, and finds humans to be generally annoying. At the office for the Tambury Gazette, Tony mocks his co-workers: he makes fun of a photographer named Lenny (Tony Way) for being fat and eating too much, and advertising executive Kath (Diane Morgan) for believing in conspiracy theories. He’s perturbed by his pushy postman and the kind-hearted sex worker who often arrives at his home uninvited. Tony’s job is also a source of frustration. Of course, covering stories about a teen who can play two recorders through his nostrils, or a man who has a wallpaper stain that looks like Sir Kenneth Branagh would probably make any journalist question their career choice.
While miserable, Tony does have a few things in life that keep him tethered. There’s relationship potential with a nurse named Emma (Ashley Jensen). He meets a fellow widower named Anne (Penelope Wilson), and they bond over their shared sense of loss. Tony also takes care of his beloved dog Brandy and often uses her as an excuse to continue living.
Tony may be a curmudgeon, but like most other Gervais productions, there’s more to this character than being a stereotypical jerk. The series is a study in existentialism, addressing what makes life worth living (hint: it’s love) while also pointing out that with love can also come the pain of losing the people closest to you. Grief, depression, and guilt are felt by everyone and can derail your life. That said, it’s important to appreciate what we have while we have it.
“One day, you’ll eat your last meal, smell your last flower, hug your friend for the very last time,” says Tony in the final episode of Season 1. “You might not know it’s the last time, so that’s why you should do everything you love with passion, you know? Treasure the few years you’ve got because that’s all there is.”
After Life’s mercurial blend of humor and sadness doesn’t seem like it should work, but it does. One minute you’ll be laughing at the crazy antics of Tony’s therapist, making a fool of himself and his two mates as they come up with the most inappropriate and lewd comments you’ve ever heard (the name Michael Parkinbum will ALWAYS make me giggle). Then you’ll be crying as Tony watches a home video of his wife in happier times that perfectly exemplifies their love. This is a series that will have you alternately crying from laughter and sadness.
The first two seasons of After Life show Tony’s gradual evolution; this continues in Season 3, in which his outlook on life has improved. But he still mourns Lisa, which makes pursuing a relationship with Emma complicated.