After Life - The Boy who cried Wolf (Spoilers)

After Life - The Boy who cried Wolf

So the long awaited season two of the instant classic, After Life, finally dropped on Netflix yesterday. I say long awaited, it has been the usual time between seasons but when you have been as excited for this as I have, any time was gonna be a long wait. After it was confirmed to have been given the green light last year, I was instantly excited but also nervous. I've definitely been late to the Ricky Gervais band wagon but since I got on board he has very quickly became one of my favourite comedians and seeing as though After Life has a lot of serious and tear jerking moments, I was worried that he might not be able to deliver as well as he did in the first season. Having watched all six episodes, five of which on very little sleep, I have some thoughts.

After Life is based on the life of Tony (Ricky Gervais) after his wife passed away. Throughout the entirety of season one we get to follow him through his grieving process which starts pretty serious as he is very vocal about his losing the will to live. One of the most unique things about the show is that throughout he watches recordings that either he or his wife had recorded of their life together or of her talking to him about when she passes. Lisa (Tony's wife) had basically recorded him an entire log giving him instructions on how to live his life without her for example feed the dog and don't drink alone. Its very clear throughout that he is struggling with doing any of the list that she left him (except feed the dog).

However as the season progresses, we do see that he does begin to adapt to life without Lisa. He slowly starts being pleasant to people and if you have watched the show, you know that the funniest moments are actually when he is being sarcastic, rude or just honest to people about everything. But even Ricky Gervais himself says that comedy is subjective and needs to be in the right context and that's just how Tony's transition works in this show. 

Now, I'm not gonna lie, that is probably the most basic summary of the first season and I'm also not gonna deny that it has been over a year since I watched it so if any of that is wrong, I can only apologise. Plus its 8:50 am and I've had about an hours sleep so leave me be. Thanks.

On to season two. This came out yesterday and I wasted no time in watching the first episode but then got distracted by Brooklyn 99 which I will argue with anyone is completely acceptable under any circumstances. So I had to watch the other five this morning. 

I had one prediction for this season and I feel like anyone who had already watched season one would agree and that was that his father was going to pass away at some point. Tony's dad (David Bradley), we find out in season one, has been ill for quite some time. He has dementia and lives under constant care in a nursing home where Tony visits every day. The relationship between them strictly comes from Tony's side, with Roy having dementia his input to most conversations are either regarding people who are no longer there or that Tony is a lot younger than the 58 year old he is. We actually get one of the most emotional conversations between the two late in season one, when they are reminiscing about an incident when Tony was a child in which he drew all over the wallpaper and Roy reassures him that it'll be fine and he will fix it the next day. The conversation ends with Roy calling his son "Gay" for telling him he loves him. Which brings you straight back down the comedic side of After Life.

When his dad does pass, peacefully in his sleep. We get to see Tony being comforted by his dads nurse, (who is actually a recurring character throughout the show and slowly became a potential love interest of Tony's. If he can ever get passed the idea that it would be cheating on his wife.) She seems to be the only person he ever wants to spend every second with and also the same person he doesn't want to get too close to. Its a confusing mix of emotions, but a mix we can all understand what with everything that he has been through.

One of the most brilliant aspects of this show is how fantastic the writing is to be able to build such a relationship between a very sarcastic and blunt man and a man who can barely contribute to a conversation and most of it is built up through silence if I'm honest. Season twos main bit of development between the two is when Roy mistakes Tony for his nephew. They talk about his uncle who we also find out has passed away. They really do only have each other and this is what was fuelling my prediction. When he dies, he tells the nurse about how his dad never had anyone but his mum, and when she passed he did what he could to make sure everyone was happy and that he thinks that that's what caused his illness, there was too much going on inside his own head.

The struggle with depression and grief alongside humour is so consistent and relatable all the way through that I personally think that this show is going to go down as a British classic. The development of Tony through each episode goes from, in his own words, "hating everyone who didn't die from cancer",  to wanting to do his best to help as many people he can. Probably the most powerful scene for me is when he is visiting the cemetery and he is speaking to Anne (played by Penelope Wilton, who I can't help but mutter "We're coming to get you Barbara" every time I see her). He says to her "people think that I am doing better and that when I get sad that its now a phase. But this is me all the time. I just remember what it was like to be normal and I pretend to be that way for people". Don't fully quote me on that, its somewhere in the ball park. The fact that he is openly telling someone that everything you see outside of the sadness is fake, hit home. I can fully relate to Tony in this way and I was speechless.

I can't remember the last time I have fully been able to relate to a character without actually being in any of the same situations as that person. If that makes no sense, I'm sorry, but it made sense to my lack of sleep brain. 

Although I don't want to fully explain every single detail of the story, because I seriously would rather any one reading this to have already watched/or to watch it right now. My explanations can be misinterpreted and I don't want to people to take my words as fact. They are my opinions and that's why I am giving After Life a 9/10. By no means is it the best show ever but its probably one of my favourites and a very wise man once said "just because its one of my favourites, doesn't mean its the best" (that was Adam - or baldy as he is currently known).

The whole show is full of dark, awkward, sarcastic, nasty humour alongside its serious, meaningful story line and the two blend together better than Bob Ross' paints. Its beginning, middle and end flowed pretty seamlessly and I am already counting the days for season 3.