'After Life' Season 2: Contrary to Ricky Gervais' past takes, show handles toxic masculinity surprisingly well
Spoilers for 'After Life' Season 2
The writing of ‘After Life’ Season 2 is mature. Despite the show’s soft spot for unnecessary cursing, especially words like “c***”, the show created by Ricky Gervais tackles several issues with surprising sensitivity, especially topics like toxic masculinity and gender. It’s surprising because Gervais, a veteran comic, has often come under fire for not being the most woke person out there.
A little more than a year ago, when the shaving brand Gillette had created an ad about toxic masculinity, the #MeToo movement, sexual violence and gendered crimes, an outrage had erupted across the internet with many calling this woke posturing unnecessary, even bad. Taking a pot shot at this ad, Gervais had then tweeted, “I used to love beating up kids at barbecues. Now I realize that is wrong. Also, my balls have never been smoother. Thanks, Gillette.”
Gervais has also been called out, on several occasions, for his transphobic jokes. Even as recently as December 2019, speaking about trans women Gervais said: “Those awful biological women can never understand what it must be like for you becoming a lovely lady so late in life. They take their girly privileges for granted. Winning at female sports and having their own toilets. Well, enough is enough.”
But is this awful commentary all in the past for Gervais? ‘After Life’ Season 2 would suggest so. The show created by him has an unnamed character who is Tony’s (Gervais) psychiatrist, played by Paul Kaye. In Season 2, he’s a recurring face and is now treating Matt (Tom Basden). By any account, he’s the most loathsome character on the show. He’s loud and obnoxious. He seems uninterested in providing therapy. He’s on constant braggadocio mode about his sexual conquests. And he’s rude.
In a show that displays heart and sensitivity, Kaye’s character sticks out like a sore thumb. He has some interesting opinions on masculinity as well. He hates the “namby-pamby” culture of men being sensitive. He advocates his patients that they shouldn’t display their inner emotions. He constantly dehumanizes women. In short, he’s just a bad shrink and a bad human being.
The contrast between him and the other men on the show, who even if gruff are shown to be sensitive, creates a good binary of appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Is this Gervais’ way of acknowledging that toxic masculinity is bad? There’s another poignant scene where Roxy (Roisin Conaty) laughs at Tony’s extraordinary bad culinary skills. The conversation then leads to how Tony’s wife would always encourage him to cook more by pretending to enjoy his bad food. He acknowledges then that women are better people than men.
In the season finale, on a reporting assignment, Tony and Lenny (Tony Way) meet a 50-year-old man who claims to be an eight-year-old girl. While this person’s wife claims they were having a nervous breakdown and that they were not transgender (adding that she had no problem with trans folks and would have understood if her husband was actually a transgendered person).
When they step outside, Tony consoles the daughter saying that her father was not trans, they were just probably suffering from a breakdown. Lenny corrects Tony, saying that they could be both — transgendered and suffering from a nervous breakdown. Tony acknowledges that it was within the realm of possibilities.
Here too, there seems to be a refreshing departure from a stance Gervais has displayed in the past. One can only assume if Gervais has actually grown as a person or not. What we can all agree with is that his writing certainly has.
‘After Life’ Season 2 is available for viewing on Netflix.