Afterlife Series Two Episode 6 (Gervais)

Had anybody on this thread seen Derek one of Gervais other shows ?
Fuck me my heart when I watched that

Gervais is letting art imitate life.

Trans thing very well handled. I'm sure some people will take issue with it on basis that "there aren't many like that!" but they'll miss the point entirely, of course. It's about self-ID, no matter what form it takes. And there are plenty men like that....

Yes I loved the fact that Tony and the photographer weren't outright "this is bollocks", but asking questions, wondering, doubting if it's OK, unsure about the whole concept just the way many viewers will be. It's not in your face mocking, and they give hope to the wife and daughter, they ones who are genuinly torn apart because of having to validate him. So realistic.

Perfect!

I absolutely loved it. For a series like that (or two) to have a number of so incredibly well considered individual characters was just astonishing. His relationship with his bench pal Anne was the most gorgeous thing.

Just a perfectly written and acted story, packed to the brim with clever social and political observations. I couldn't ask for more.

Trans thing very well handled. I'm sure some people will take issue with it on basis that "there aren't many like that!" but they'll miss the point entirely, of course. It's about self-ID, no matter what form it takes. And there are plenty men like that....

Series 1 - hilarious. Laugh out loud in parts.
Couldnt wait for series 2.
Series 2 - awful. Just awful. Not a laugh from me. And i really didnt understand that psychiatrist?? Just so nauseating. And didn't seem to fit in.
Maybe its too intellectual for me but i was really disappointed with series 2. As with many other follow ups i think it should have been left at one series.

I thought that the therapist was being depicted as a man who embodied toxic masculinity and the message was how truly jealous he was of his quiet reserved client.

I agree with everything else said on this thread. It was truly outstanding and I was up and down laughing and crying.

I was very impressed with the quality - it really packed a very intelligent punch.

I’ve just come on to this board to see if there was a thread like this, and here it is!
I agree with the pp who think Gervais dealt brilliantly with the trans character and his family. I think that the Paul Kaye character is Gervais’ way of having a go at the incels and the truly toxic masculinity that you find on Twitter & elsewhere, opinions and beliefs that seem to be tolerated far more readily than any lesbian saying she’s not interested in ‘ladydick’...

I also think it was clever of him to have the trans character be a 50 year old man transing to an 8 year old girl.
Because everyone can see the ridiculousness of that variation, which has not become mainstream, and (hopefully!) never will.
If it had been the usual case of M to F, it would have been more controversial, inviting far more backlash. In fact, I doubt Netflix would have allowed it.
So the character was able to say "I'm trans!" and all viewers can officially agree "it's bollocks" -- without having to admit that the other version of trans is also bollocks. It gives a comedic slant to the whole serious issue, without mocking transwomen and -men.

I'm not sure if I've got my argument right but I think you'll know what I mean.
Doing it this way was particularly brilliant.

I binge watched both series between 10 last night and 5 this morning.

Absolutely brilliant but I have a serious headache from alternating between laughing and crying!

I loved it! The transgirl scene was superb; very nuanced, sensitive and funny yet critical. I too thought the therapist (and friends) was over the top vile.

I’m a fan of RG in general, and this series in particular.

That said, I found the romance storyline with the nurse a bit contrived

The psychiatrist is uncomfortable viewing but I don't think it's gratuitous. In comedy psychiatrists are always more broken than their patients. The humour around a doctor who freely disseminates his disturbing views is particularly dark. RG likes poking fun at authority figures and PK does 'creepy doctor' v well.

"That a grown man wishes to be treated as a child always seems less far fetched to me than the fact that there are people prepared to be ‘parents’ - unless a lot of money is changing hands. Even then..."

Those kinds of people are porn addicts. They watch more and more extreme porn until they can't get off to anything resembling a normal sex life anymore.

It's fucked up. And becoming more prevalent all the time.

I watched that whole scene with the plumber wearing a dress and wig and said "yes!" out loud.

Ricky nailed it. The whole scene was spot on.

Oh and yes to the 1980s sitcom reunion too.

I was wondering if the whole Paul Kaye, Ratty and 'The Nonce' was a dig at the Jordan Peterson followers.

Brilliant two fingers up to to gender ideology nonsense.

I've been thinking about the therapist and I wonder if his function is to show that some men think and talk like this, especially when they're with other men, but there are lots of men who don't like this attitude and behaviour. Only theory I can come up with!

trans 8 year old was a bit far fetched

The depiction was far gentler & far less sinister than the actual bloke in the US who does identify as a small girl. It was quite a sympathetic view of someone with issues who still had people around him who still loved him, while clearly exasperated with his behaviour & weren't the abusive bullies most families are depicted as when they fail to fully affirm this sort of thing.

Gervais has been paying v close attention to this & while he's occasionally posted comments, he's got the measure of this spot on. He made the man claiming trans ID sympathetic, not the rabid TRA plenty have come across. He wasn't mocking him he was ridiculing the idea a grow 50 yr old man could identify as an 8 yr old girl & expect everyone to take him seriously/affirm this unquestioningly.

He really is an excellent writer.

Agreed TheYellowOfTheEgg. The therapist role seemed almost self indulgently awful - I found I zoned out in the scenes involving him.
But I did enjoy it and like a lot of Netflix series - I'm sorry it's ended - I could have watched more.

I liked that it showed that the wife and daughter weren't delighted with Dennis' behaviour and that it was yet another selfish decision of his (like pretending to have ME). It seems almost compulsory to depict the families as totally supportive in newspapers and on TV. It was also good when Tony said that men dressing up as women "for a laugh" had never been funny.

I also liked the bit in the pub when the supposedly "nice guy" brother-in-law felt that he had the right to insert himself into the conversation between the two women. Tony told him not to and that the women had just come in to talk to each other. I hate the assumption men have that women out in public are "fair game" and should be delighted with men pushing in.

I thought the therapist wasn't realistic. In the first series he was OK, but it went right over the top in this series and I don't understand why Matt kept paying to listen to that awful rubbish. Surely the therapist and his dreadful friends would also be kicked out of a pub for behaving like that.

I watched the whole series last night and I really liked it apart from the therapist and his friends.

trans 8 year old was a bit far fetched

That a grown man wishes to be treated as a child always seems less far fetched to me than the fact that there are people prepared to be ‘parents’ - unless a lot of money is changing hands. Even then...

@POP7777777

Thank you! Will watch it now 😍

I also worried about that dog. In that scene with the Stefonknee character I liked the way that is was simply presented as a delusion, and not pervy with a charming little discussion with the daughter at the end. Now that was kind.

I've watched the whole series tonight & it was brilliant. He's a talented bastard that gervais.

The dog is on fine form throughout! Fear not!

I watched it all today and the main thing I'm thrilled about (avoiding spoilers) is the 1980's sitcom actor reunion ❤️