Ricky Gervais' 'After Life' S3 Is A Poignant Closure To The Tale Of Grief & Dealing With Loss

If the last two years have taught us anything it is to be sensitive towards those who are dealing with loss and grief in their lives.

We saw people losing their loved ones and livelihoods, all in the blink of an eye. Most of the people are struggling to move on with their lives still haunted by the memories of the ones they lost.

After Life starring Ricky Gervais, is a show about a man who is grappling with the death of his wife. Throughout the three seasons of the show we see Tony Johnson (Ricky Gervais) undergo a human revolution when it comes to accepting the truth and moving on with his life.

In the first season we are introduced to the grieving widower Tony Johnson, who¡¯s wife has passed away after a battle with breast cancer.

In the first season we see how Tony from being a loving and caring husband develops a devil-may-care attitude and doesn¡¯t bother about the feelings of others or the repercussions of his actions. It is clear that he has not fully comprehended or accepted Lisa¡¯s death and wants to somehow be a jerk to people around him almost as if to make them pay for his wife¡¯s death.

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In season 2, we see Tony becoming less bitter and less cynical with people around him.

He¡¯s probably in a better space and accepting of the death of his wife. When it comes to season 3 and the final chapter, we see how Tony has finally transitioned into being a better human being than the one he was in the first season. Season 3 reaffirms our ideas about humans never being fully angels or demons, but people trying to navigate through life. The mood of the series is much lighter than the previous two seasons, Tony is less bitter. We also get to see another side of Kath which is that of a vulnerable and a sympathetic person than the toxic person she was previously.

Both Tony and Kath undergo a tremendous transformation by the end of the series. We all expected for Tony and Emma to get into a relationship, but Tony seemed to want to live in the past albeit a with a more upbeat and an optimistic outlook on life. Tony and Matthew who have always shared a troubled relationship almost seem to connect at one juncture.

The minor sub-plots include the romance between James and Brian. There is a funny gag involving postman Pat and Roxie and that adds onto to the slightly bizarre comedy in the show. Anne¡¯s character doesn¡¯t much of a screentime, but she imparts wisdom to Tony and at times becomes his voice of reason.

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Throughout the three seasons, while the series maintained a dark theme, it was interspersed with a lot of humour. There were some hilarious toilet and genitalia themed jokes that make you guffaw.

While the series addresses important issues like mental health, suicide, separation, it also doesn¡¯t turn preachy at any given point. There are some truly comical segments in season 3 and it will make you chuckle for sure.

The series is a bit slow paced, but then so is life. The series slowly grows on you and for those dealing with pain and grief, this series serves as an appropriate outlet of emotions that may have pent up inside of you.

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The series has been created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. We liked how the darkness of Tony¡¯c character also reflects in the cinematography. I truly think it is a show that perhaps, only Ricky Gervais could have pulled off. He¡¯s previously written another phenomenally loved and appreciated series, ¡®The Office¡¯.

In After Life, he refuses to sugarcoat death and grieving. He lets Tony be unabashedly snarky and mean. We are moved to see Tony struggle with suicidal thoughts and drug abuse and yet at no point do we see any mental health issue being trivialized. A lot of sensitivity and nuance has gone in writing a character so heavily flawed yet so relatable. The show offers an humanist perspective at the end of it all and instills in us that no matter how tough life and situations get, we have to continue living it.

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One of the best moments of the show is perhaps the climax of season 3, where Tony walks off from the fair and it continues to run perfectly even as he leaves, mimicking life and death.