Ricky Gervais is known for creating some of the greatest works of comedy of all time (The Office, in all its forms, was originally conceived by Stephen Merchant and Gervais). More recently, Derek and Netflix’s After Life have filled his typical offensive humor with some incredibly hard to watch moments of true emotion and sadness. It is the latter that has divided audiences the most, with many claiming that it relies too much on this emotional side.
The main character in After Life, Tony, is presented as a terrible person who doesn’t care as he ‘can always kill himself’ at first. Throughout the show, he sees the error of his ways, and we can compare those awful moments, so some moments of kindness.
AWFUL: His Conversation With The Ginger Kid
The conversation with the unnamed ginger child from the very start of season one was the perfect way to show off Tony’s unfiltered, angry personality.
It was shown in the trailer, which annoyingly gave away the show’s single funniest moment, but it was really latched onto by fans and quoted non-stop around the release of the first season. It was After Life’s Baby Yoda.
KIND: But He Was Nice To George
He might not have been very nice to the tiny ginger child, but Tony always went out of his way to care for Matt’s son George.
We saw him a few times in season one and very rarely in season two, but it was made very clear that George was the one person Tony would never treat unkindly. In fact, it was seeing George being bullied that first alerted Tony to the ginger kid.
AWFUL: He Wasn’t Very Nice To His Dad
Tony’s dad had dementia so severe that most of the time, he didn’t recognize Tony or even understand where he was and what he was doing.
Despite this, Tony didn’t really seem to show much sympathy. Rather than gently trying to explain things to his dad, he just got frustrated and either ignored him or sarcastically responded.
KIND: But He Did See Him Every Day
Despite that, he did visit him every single day. Ray might not have had a clue who Tony was most of the time, but you’d like to think that his presence next to him every single day probably helped him get through the days.
As Emma explained to Tony after Ray’s death, it’s incredibly rare for a child to visit their father in a care home every single day without fail.
AWFUL: His Reactions To All Of The News Stories They Cover
Most of the time, the stories being covered by the Tambury Gazette were ridiculous. They were funny, but not impressive or interesting at all. However, each person involved did genuinely seem to be proud of themselves.
Despite this, Tony was consistently dismissive and rude to all of them, even when he was trying to better himself.
KIND: He’s Always Nice To Sandy
There are only a handful of characters that Tony never displayed his trademark rudeness and dismissiveness to. One of those was Sandy, who was the newest member of the team at the paper.
He made sure to save the paper so that she wouldn’t cry, and he was her request for him to be happy that really made him try.
AWFUL: When He Calls Out The Charity Collectors
One scene in season one shows Tony walking through town before being approached by charity collectors who are being paid for their work.
He chooses to donate to the woman volunteering her time instead, which is fine. It is his response to the other group (who, at the end of the day, are just doing his job) that proves how unpleasant he is.
KIND: He Had The Paper Saved
As mentioned above, it was mostly down to Tony that the paper was saved from being sold, thus allowing everyone to keep their jobs. He did it mostly so that Sandy could continue to support her family.
His incredible ease in being able to convince the owner to not essentially cash in a cheque for half a million pounds is very unrealistic, but the thought it there.
AWFUL: When He’s Intolerant To Religion
It’s the classic issue with every Ricky Gervais creation. He can’t create a show (or film) without at least one reiterating his aggressive atheism. His viewpoint is obviously fine to have, but he just can’t help but disrespect and dismiss the views of others.
In this show, he gets away with it just seeming like one of Tony’s unpleasant moments, but for fans of Gervais, it is very overtly just him finding a way to speak his opinion through one of his characters yet again.
KIND: Every Interaction With Anne
The most heart-warming and wholesome relationship (aside from Tony and Lisa) is between Tony and Anne. The two form an unexpected mother-son relationship while sitting on their bench and look genuinely excited to see each other and make each other laugh each day.
It’s nice to see because she is basically the only character that Tony is consistently nice to throughout.
