After Life is the dark-comedy series on Netflix starring Ricky Gervais as a widow named Tony. The show is based around Tony’s new normal as he tries to go on with life after his wife dies of cancer. Without his wife, Tony finds it hard to live and makes horrible decisions throughout season one because he has nothing to be scared of if death is his inevitable end-goal.
Thankfully, the season one finale showed us there was hope for Tony and a second season is on its way this year. But before we check out what Tony and his friends are up to in the show’s sophomore season, let’s take a look at 10 of Tony’s biggest mistakes.
HE HELPED JULIAN KILL HIMSELF
After Tony’s wife Lisa passes away, we find him at a loss. Beautifully, Lisa left a video behind with tips and tricks on how to go on with life once she dies. Although Tony doesn’t know it, these videos give him hope. But that’s not before he did something inexplicable.
Tony got to know the local drug dealer, Julian, after deciding to try drugs on a whim. Julian seemed like a nice man but he was ultimately an addict who needed help. Instead of being the bigger person and helping Julian, Tony helps him successfully kill himself. Julian explained if he had the money to buy enough drugs to kill himself he would do it. And that’s when Tony handed him enough cash to get the job done and it sadly worked.
AND MISSED HIS FUNERAL
By the time Tony comes around and finds the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s too late. By the sixth episode of the season, he decides life is worth living and he doesn’t need to be miserable or make the lives of those he cares about miserable.
To show his respect for the man he, essentially, helped kill, he showed up at his funeral but he was too late. The funeral had already ended. This is one of those things that will most likely stick with Tony for life.
HE THREATENED A CHILD FOR BULLYING HIS NEPHEW
Not many adults can blame Tony for protecting his nephew from a bully but where Tony went wrong is how he did it.
After seeing George sitting alone on the playground, Tony learns that he’s being bullied by a student named Robbie. Instead of being the adult and going to the teacher, Tony took the problem in his own hands and threatened Robbie with a hammer… And just when Tony thought there were no consequences, he got called out by his brother-in-law, Matt — George’s father.
BUT HE WAS ALSO A BULLY TO LENNY
Tony is furious when he learns of George’s bully. He doesn’t seem to be a fan of children but it’s obvious he adores his nephew. Funny enough, Tony does the same thing that Robbie does (without physical violence). But Tony doesn’t need to use physical force to hurt someone.
He bullies his co-worker Lenny incessantly about everything under the sun. The way he eats, the way he dresses, his weight, his job performance — there’s nothing Lenny does that Tony can compliment him for. Things turn around for the two in the season finale but Lenny doesn’t deserve the hate thrown his way by someone he sees every day.
HE MADE FUN OF KATH FOR HER LOVE OF LIFE (AND CALLED HER BORING)
Kath is the advertising guru at the newspaper Tony works for. She’s a gorgeous woman who clearly just wants positive interactions at work. Sadly, Tony can’t give Kath what she wants. Every time she steps over to the feature-writers’ Tony makes a remark about how boring she is or that no one cares about what she has to say.
She made a few suggestions for the paper, which Tony shot down because he thought they were stupid. He also pokes fun at her for loving Kevin Hart and James Corden. By the end of the season, we see Tony feeling remorseful about his treatment of Kath and tries to make amends but is it too late?
HE MISJUDGED JUNE
Part of Lenny and Tony’s jobs is heading to people’s homes to interview them for the paper. In one particularly interesting interview, they talked to a woman named June and her son who could play the recorder with his nose. By the end of the meeting, Lenny admits he asked her for her number and the two begin dating, much to Tony’s disgust.
He couldn’t fathom who was disturbing enough to date someone like Lenny but once June came into the office, she was lovely. She had beautiful things to say about Lenny and was clearly taken by all the things that Tony rips on him for. When she left the office, viewers could see that Tony was feeling remorseful for his views on June, Lenny, and their relationship.
AND WAS INCREDIBLY RUDE TO HIS DAD’S NURSE
In a weird turn of events, Emma goes from the annoying nurse taking care of Tony’s dad to the possible apple of his eye. But before he realized he had a crush on Emma, he was insanely rude to her simply because he finds her job useless.
She takes care of the elderly—including his father—and makes them feel as comfortable as they can. Tony’s father is old enough where he doesn’t remember who Tony is half the time, which depresses him and brings him to anger. And sadly, he directed that anger towards Emma a few too many times.
HE WAS SO DISMISSIVE OF HIS FATHER
Speaking of Tony’s father, he seems like a sweet man even though he can’t remember who he is, where he is, or what’s going on. It’s kind of Tony to visit his father so often but it never seems to end well.
He becomes depressed when he visits his dad because his father doesn’t remember anything and continues to bring up his deceased wife. But if he doesn’t visit his dad, he literally has no one to live for other than his beloved dog Brandy. The entire situation makes one angry Tony. If it wasn’t for Emma snapping Tony into place, he would have never had compassion for his ailing father.
HE WAS FAR TOO HARD ON MATT
Matt is Tony’s boss and brother-in-law. He’s a sweet man who is going through his own battles, unbeknownst to Tony. After all, Tony may have lost his wife but Matt lost his sister.
They’re both grieving and yet Tony acts like he’s the only one affected. This leads him to ignore Matt’s orders at work, getting his son in trouble at school, and defying him in all aspects of life. Matt wants the best for Tony and is constantly worrying about him. Seeing Tony treat him so poorly is heartbreaking.
HE TOLD INNOCENT SANDY THAT HER JOB WOULD TAKE HER NOWHERE
Sandy is the new girl at the office. She’s adorably sweet, youthful, and just so happens to sit next to Tony at the office. She seems eager to work and is excited for her future as a journalist.
However, Tony kills her dreams by telling her their job sucks. Working at the Tambury Gazette will get her nowhere and no one takes their work seriously. This hurts Sandy but viewers can tell she still has hope for both Tony and her career. Thankfully, their relationship takes a turn when she helps Tony with a blind date but she never deserved poor treatment to begin with.
