Zebra Crossing
Episode 1 of After Life Season 3 begins with Emma watching old videos of Tony and Lisa. He’s been keeping her at arm’s length and she’s trying desperately connect with him. That’s only exacerbated by Matt inviting Tony over to his house that night. He’s no exactly happy about it, making his disdain known. “What a sht day already,” He sighs. That sht day extends to Tony’s journalist gig too, which sees him visit Penny, a self-published author. She’s also a medium in her free time too and the novel’s story is… interesting, to say the least. On the way back home, Tony goes to cross the zebra crossing and a car doesn’t bother stopping. This, I may add, is a real pet peeve many of us Brits have! Anyway, Tony bemoans not having a brick so he can smash through their back window. At the office, Kath arrives with Colin, who makes it quite clear that they’re not an item, on account of his face. It’s a nice little quip, and it breaks up Tony’s touching moments with Anne at the graveyard, which follows soon after. Tony admits he’s stuck in two minds; one knows Lisa died and there’s no coming back. The other, comes from feeling Lisa’s energy and lingering presence, guiding him through life. This explains his indecisiveness in embracing his ties with Emma. The dinner goes ahead that night, with Matt and Jill joined by Emma and Tony. It’s incredibly awkward, conversation is stifled and when Lisa’s painting is brought up, everything is laid out on the table. Tony eventually leaves, being sure to smash a car window with the houseplant he’s given by Matt as a present. In his absence, Emma tries to grapple with the fact she’s always going to be second-best to Lisa.
The Episode Review
After Life returns with a solid opening chapter, one that reintroduces all of our characters, adds a few new jokes and manages to continue Tony’s journey to finding his purpose post-Lisa. This show has always been excellent at juggling dark comedy with poignant drama and this episode is no exception. Ricky Gervais is great in this role and some of the observational comedy – like the zebra crossing gag – is completely on the money and brilliantly true to life. It looks like we’ve got quite the treat in store for us this season!
