The series ‘After Life’ has never been one of the productions of Netflix that has made the most noise. He landed on the platform in March 2019 leaving a good taste in his mouth but without being a phenomenon. The second batch of episodes confirmed the good feelings that its predecessor had left and no one would have been surprised that the thing stayed there, since Ricky gervais I’ve never done a series with more than two seasons before.
Luckily, Gervais was encouraged to make a third season, making it clear that it would be the last of the series. The wait to see it has been longer than usual, but the last six episodes of ‘After Life’ finally arrive on Netflix this Friday, January 14. I have already had the opportunity to see them and I think it is a great closing for the story, highlighting above all its unbeatable ending.
Tony’s evolution
The story of ‘After Life’ has always dealt with how the protagonist deals with the pain caused by the death of his wife. She was what gave his life meaning, and now he saw no reason why it was worth moving on. That situation is something that was evolving little by little and in the third season is when that transition is complete In someway.
It is true that the end of the second season was already pointing in that direction, but Gervais he strays from the easy path, making it clear from the first episode of this third season. His Tony is still not well, but he has learned to process the pain he suffers to some extent, something that is shown progressively at all levels, from his attitude to the peculiar characters with whom he interacts to get an article to with those around you.
That does not mean that the series leaves aside that uncomfortable humor that flirts with the shame of others so characteristic of Gervais, since that aspect of ‘After Life’ leaves us with a handful of unforgettable scenes in this third season, such as the reaction of the protagonist when he is bothered by the noises that a father makes to calm his baby or the collision he has when he is trying to comply with the last will of his father.
Tony is still Tony, but the third season completes his character arc in a satisfactory way, both when he transmits it directly to the public through the dialogue and when we simply see certain changes in his life attitude. All this reaches its climax in the final episode, especially during the last 15 minutes of it., where Gervais sure makes tears rise in the eyes of more than one spectator. And he does it without unnecessary effects and with an accurate musical selection.
What surrounds the protagonist
On the way there, ‘After Life’ alternates several successes with some small problem, the usual in the series and what always prevented him from reaching greatness. In this third season, everything about Kaith stands out for good (Diane morgan), the protagonist’s co-worker with whom Tony never got on particularly well.
The scenes Tony shares with Matt also work very well (Tom basden), the brother of his deceased wife and also his boss. It is there where the personal growth of the protagonist is best perceived without ever giving up being oneself, while the arrival of a new worker helps to better illustrate the protagonist’s miseries, both in opposition and by being sincere about certain issues of his last.
The funny thing is that the third season is the one that offers the least dramatic ups and downs. Yes there are some slightly sloppy secondary and some less satisfying subplots, but there is no really grandiose situation here. Everything is illustrated in a measured way, both the most painful moments and those in which humor predominates. Here the balance is more achieved, noting that Gervais he knows very well what he is looking for, crossing the tender with the emotional and the pathetic, and also how to achieve it.
In short
Season 3 of ‘After Life’ is the best of the Ricky Gervais series for Netflix. During the first five episodes it shows a level more or less equal to that of the previous two, but the sixth goes further to offer an excellent closure to which it is difficult to put any kind of but.