Best Man
Episode 4 of After Life Season 3 begins with Tony arriving at the Tambury Gazette with an air-horn. It’s the same air-horn he used with Lisa and this time he uses it to prank Matthew. And this rivalry with Matthew that’s been bubbling all season long is only exacerbated when he beats Matthew at tennis. This sets up a nice series of games between the pair, with Tony refusing to let his brother-in-law win. At the Tambury Gazette, Tony encourages Brian to talk to Pat, especially as his existence is so awful it could encourage Pat to brighten up a bit about his relationship woes involving Roxie. In the midst of this, there’s a really nice moment involving Tony and Lenny. Lenny reminds Tony that he’s got a good heart, especially when it comes to Lisa. According to Lenny, he’s never seen a more devoted husband. This is enough to spark Tony into action, going for a walk with Emma and trying to move forward with his life. Meanwhile, Ken starts organizing for the Tambury Fair. Colleen is going to be doing a big feature and is also covering the behind the scenes organizing. Their first meeting is pretty funny too, as the gang all start to hash out different ideas. Elsewhere, Kath heads out for another date. This time with an obnoxious, horrible teacher. Things go from bad to worse when her date shows off how pompous, arrogant and awful he is. He even constantly tells Kath to take her elbows off the table. That night, Lenny heads over to Tony’s place, asking him to be his best man. Tony is obviously flattered but the chat constantly reels around to death and getting drunk. Tony admits that he’s no longer angry at the world, he’s more indifferent about it and even admits he’s sitting on £150,000. However, he hasn’t bothered to cash it in yet. Kath soon shows up and after the early quip about her never using the word c*nt, she does just that to describe her date. Lenny immediately sorts her out a drink as the trio sit together and reflect on what’s happened.
The Episode Review
This episode does a great job capturing Tony’s mood across this season and the peace he’s made for himself following Lisa’s death. It’s a beautiful moment in truth, and you can tell Tony is genuinely trying to find something that will help bring meaning and purpose back to his life following Lisa’s passing. The lemon, the air horn and the moments with Emma; it all feeds into the larger story of trying to move past grief and make sense of one’s purpose. This is something After Life has always done really well with, balancing out that poignant, reflective drama with dark comedy. For the most part, this series achieves that beautifully, with the ending helping to reinforce that really, we’re all just drifting through life trying to find our way.
