After Life Review

Today I watched the entirety of Ricky Gervais' new Netflix show, After Life, which follows the story of Tony, played by Gervais, struggling to find purpose in his life after the death of his wife.

I had some warning beforehand that it would be somewhat emotional intense, but it was far more so than I had predicted or been prepared for - I assumed it would still be mostly funny, but I would say the series is predominantly dramatic rather than comedic. Seeing the protagonist in such overwhelming emotional pain, grappling with suicide every day, hit pretty close to home, as did his main coping mechanism, which was to be as horrible as possible to the people around him.

Poignant and beautiful, After Life had some important takeaways for me. You are not special, neither is your pain - everyone feels it, and they deal with it somehow, so should you. You have to learn to help yourself out of it, because nobody else is able to do it for you. Not giving a fuck can be a superpower, but only if its powers are used for good - otherwise you're a POS. Things can get better, with enough time and effort.