After Life 3 Ending Explained: Where is Tony Now? A Heartbreaking End To A Heartwarming Story?
Tony Johnson and the Tanbury crew are back one last time in After Life Season 3, and they’ll definitely bring tears to your eyes. After Life is a refreshing British comedy-drama series produced, written, created and directed by Ricky Gervais, who also plays the character of Tony Johnson, the star of the series. The series is a dark comedy that revolves around the themes of loss and suffering, and the show really touches your heart. Without being preachy, he offers a genuine point of view on the bitterness and resentment that often remains when we lose our loved ones and all that comes with it.
The first season, in particular, was an undoubted masterstroke, balancing pain and heartfelt moments with genuine, laugh-filled jokes and black comedy. In season two, we find Tony slipping back into darkness and wallowing in grief to the point that it jeopardizes his potential new romance with Emma, the nurse he met, played by Ashley Jensen. We saw a rude, insensitive and unapologetic Tony in the previous seasons. However, the third season takes a self-reflexive turn and we get to see the real Tony.
So Let’s Take A Look At What Really Happened In After Life Season 3
The third season of After Life kicks off with the song “The Things We Do For Love” by 10cc and shows us how each character continues with his life after the last season. It all seems pretty light and happy at first. After the music fades, we get a glimpse into the depth of each character’s life, which is not as happy as it seems. Everyone is struggling with their own insecurities and worries. We see Tony spending a lot of time with Emma, but things aren’t as good as they seem. Tony is still struggling to find purpose in his life after Lisa, so his romance with Emma is still up for debate.
The first two episodes show him throwing sarcastic comments and being harsh to many people around him, but as the season progresses, his actions begin to soften. We also see Tony forming a connection with his brother-in-law, Matt, played by Tom Basden. We are also introduced to a new character, Coleen, a shady new staff member of The Tambury Gazette, played by Kath Hughes, who lives with her alcoholic mother and wants to start a new independent life. We can also see how each character’s life progresses individually. The friendship between James, played by Ethan Lawrence, and Brian, played by David Earl, is strangely sweet. Kath’s story, played by Diane Morgan, of being lonely hits hard.
She’s desperate to find a man all season long, but once she starts dating, they just get worse one after another. Ultimately, it puts her in a vulnerable position. We see Tony and Anne (played by Penelope Wilton) have some very moving conversations in the graveyard as the season progresses. We get some fantastic introspective monologues from Tony, who begins to realize what he’s been up to since Lisa left. He admits that he is struggling with mental illness and sometimes even feels like he wants to die but wants to help others. He wants to make everyone happy.
After Life 3 Ending Explained: How Does Season 3 End?
Tony meets a sick boy during an interview at the cancer hospital, which hits him hard. He realizes what he should be doing with his life and begins to look at life from a different angle. She then meets up with all of her friends at The Tanbury Fair, where Kath adopts a dog and finds a cure for her loneliness. We also see the other characters trying to start their next chapter, but more importantly, happy.
Where is Tony Now?
In the last scene, we see everyone on a merry-go-round with Tony looking at them teary-eyed and finally walking out with his beloved dog, Brandy. It’s up to the audience to decide what happened to Tony. In the closing moments of the final episode, Tony walks through the garden with Lisa and Brandy. Lisa then begins to fade, followed by Brandy, and finally Tony fades away.