After a heart-rending finale to season 2, After Life season 3 continues in the same vein as its previous two seasons: deep in trauma. Season 3 is un-apologetically inappropriate, poignant, and hilariously funny. The supporting cast is vital to the continued success of this show. After two hugely popular seasons, can season 3 give us the perfect goodbye?
After Life Season 3: Can It Give Us the Perfect Goodbye?
Life Goes On
Grief is a subject matter that is taboo for many shows, and they often dance around it. Ricky Gervais tackles grief head-on, and due to the brilliant script, After Life succeeds in tackling grief head-on as no show has done before.
Season 3 begins where season 2 left off, with Tony seemingly taking one step forward and two steps back, much to the worry of all that love him. Despite Tony struggling to carry on, the supporting cast helps him realize that hope is possible. Anne continues to support Tony, and her guidance is undoubtedly one of the main reasons Tony continues to find some sort of positivity in his life.
Matt comes to the fore and often ends up as something of a punching bag for Tony – but his loyalty to Tony never waivers, and you can see the mutual love they have for each other. The awkward scene where Matt and Tony have a drink with Emma and Matt’s wife Jill is hilariously uncomfortable, and it leads to Tony leaving and taking offence to a motorist who refused to stop at a pedestrian crossing.
The friendship between James and Brian is explored brilliantly with a hilarious scene involving James taking a bath – where Brian and his Mum get a bit too close to James for his liking. Following this, James decides to move in with Brian.
The relationship between Lenny and June is a lovely arc away from Tony’s journey, and their wedding is met with a heart-warming gesture from Tony following his decision to cash-in Lisa’s life insurance.
Seeing Tony cash-in Lisa’s life insurance is equally heartbreaking as it is poignant as Tony decides to help all those close to him by writing them all checks. Watching Tony help those around him encapsulates what Afterlife is about, and it shows us the importance of being there for each other. As Anne said in season 1, “we’re not just here for us, we are here for others”.
Ricky Gervais depicts a man longing for his late wife in an authentic way, and the way he navigates through the different stages of grief will be something that leaves viewers feeling empathetic. During season 3 you sense Tony is beginning to move forward with this life.
Kerry Godliman’s (Lisa) performance is perfect. She portrays a warm, funny, and loving woman who undoubtedly made Tony’s life more fulfilling. Lisa is portrayed so well by Godliman that every time Lisa appears, you understand why Tony is struggling to live without his late wife.
Over 100 million households have followed Tony and his journey through the various stages of grief – which makes the final scene of season 3 beautiful and equally heartbreaking at the same time.
After Life carries a message to cherish the time you have with loved ones, and no matter what happens to any of us, life does go on.
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