After Life: The Main Characters, Ranked By Intelligence

After Life took Netflix by storm, reaching the number one spot. Fans loved the mix of laugh-out-loud comedy and heartfelt emotion. Ricky Gervais delivered storylines that other shows often avoided. The touching drama had fans everywhere hooked, waiting to see what happened to their favorite character. The critic reviews weren’t all complimentary, but that didn’t stop this show from making a huge impact.

The characters were real, touching, and honest, fans appreciated their vulnerability and connected with them on a level like never before. The characters delivered on all levels, but across the course of the series, some have proved themselves to be more intelligent than others.

10 Tony Johnson

Tony Johnson starts the season off as a very depressed man. The love of his life had just died from breast cancer, and he struggles to deal with life after love. Tony alienates his friends, pushing them away, believing that making everyone’s life around him miserable is his “superpower.” He’s sarcastic and cruel, but that doesn’t stop fans from connecting with him.

Tony’s intelligence shines through when he starts to see the error of his ways, and he takes responsibility for his actions. His emotional intelligence is strong, and he proves this time and time again. He doesn’t get it right all the time, but he tries. He’s honest, funny, and, in the end, a very lovable intelligent character.

9 Lisa Johnson

Lisa Johnson is the late wife of Tony. Even after her death, she features heavily on the show, not just in conversations, but in the videotapes she pre-recorded during her illness. It was these videotapes that showed her character to be strong, caring, thoughtful, and intelligent. Lisa proved to be one of most intelligent characters of the series through her careful planning, her words of wisdom, and the knowledge and empathy for those she’d left behind.

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Lisa knew exactly what Tony needed from the grave, way before Tony even knew himself. She guided Tony through his trauma continuing to be the shining light in his life and having the intelligence to put these arrangements in place during the worst time of her life.

8 Roxy

Roxy’s character enters After Life as a sex worker, but fans soon realize there is much more to her, and she isn’t to be defined by a job. Roxy and Tony soon become close and have a tight friendship. She offers his character a female perspective, comfort, and support. Her sarcasm matches Tony’s, and they vibe off each other.

Roxy shows emotional maturity and intelligence by understanding the needs of others, and by putting their needs ahead of her own. Roxy is a strong female character, independent, reliable, honest, and emotionally intelligent. Roxy’s character is full of surprises, she is honest and has integrity and that’s fans loved her and consider her to be highly intelligent.

7 Anne Pearson

While visiting Lisa’s grave, Tony meets Anne Pearson on a bench opposite the gravestones, she’s there visiting her late husband. After Life delivered many meaningful quotes and countless of those came from Anne’s character, she was an integral part of Tony’s character growth and progression.

Anne uses her wisdom and experiences to help Tony to deal with the death of his wife. She, like most other characters in the series, doesn’t mince her words. Yet, she is still soft in her approach, she knows when to keep quiet and she knows when Tony needs guidance. Anne’s character grows from their conversations, and not only is she excellent at advice, she also has the intelligence to know to take it herself.

6 Matt Braden

Matt Braden is Tony’s brother-in-law and also Tony’s boss at the newspaper. He starts the series as a shy, retiring character, one who is walked over by many of the other characters. He is dealing with his own issues relating to his sister’s death, and on top of that, he doesn’t have respect from his workers.

That all said and done, fans loved the change in his character when he found the gumption to stand his ground. Although he might not have transformed into the strongest character, on paper he appeared to be one of the smartest, and fans cheered when he showed the intelligence to take charge of his life.

5 Emma

Fans were introduced to Emma when she was the carer for Tony’s dad. Tony visited his dad daily, and it’s through this that he starts to form a relationship with Emma. Emma shows intelligence, not only on paper but also emotional intelligence as she is thoughtful towards Tony and the relationship they are building together.

Fans enjoyed watching the care taken for the patients in the home, and Emma was portrayed as another strong independent woman. She put her feelings aside to ensure that those around her were taken care of. Her character, in the first season, in particular, was the complete opposite to Tony, but fans could see how these two souls worked together and the benefit they both had for the other. Emma’s intelligence was integral in the progression of the other characters.

4 Kath

Kath is the unlucky-in-love character. She’s a hopeless romantic, and fans saw her go from a bad relationship choice to another bad relationship choice. She worked at the newspaper selling advertising. She comes across as confident, but fans see right through her facade.

Fans are privy to Kath’s dating record, watching her become mentally stronger with each bad experience. On paper, she knows her job and she does it well but her real intelligence comes when she starts to see her true worth and when fans see her refuse to settle for anything less than she deserves.

3 James

James is a struggling actor, singer, and dancer but he provided fans with some great entertainment. However, fans see, throughout the series, that his ambition isn’t backed by his talent. James is shown to have a loving family, although unconventional and often in places borderline wrong.

James started as a work experience intern at the newspaper, and fans watched him progress to take charge of his life. He isn’t the character that most fans would deem as having high intelligence, but they see him grow as a character through his own life experience. James soon becomes an ambitious, driven character pushing forward his own agenda.

2 Lenny

Lenny is the long-suffering photographer at the newspaper, and fans often see him with Tony, completing the strange interviews for the Gazette. His character is a significant one in the series. He’s seen, not only taking Tony’s picture during his depression, but also the same person to take his picture looking happy towards the end of the series.

Fans don’t hear too much from Lenny, but they see him show his understanding and empathy through gestures and images. Lenny supports Tony during his depression and understands when he’s needed and when he’s not. He has the intelligence to read a room, knowing when to speak, when to keep quiet and when to put his foot down. Lenny is great at supporting his friends, scoring high in the emotional intelligence stakes.

1 Brandy the Dog

Brandy might be a dog, but this canine played a pivotal role in the series connecting Tony to Lisa and being the reason why Tony kept going.  Fans saw Brandy as one of the most intelligent characters in the series. She rescued Tony when he was at his lowest on more than one occasion. The love and compassion she showed Tony’s character got fans weeping more than ever.

Brandy showed loyalty, love, and empathy, without uttering a word. Fans believed Brandy was the glue that kept the show together. Without Brandy, Tony would have ended his life, and the show wouldn’t have continued. Brandy was considered the most respected, intelligent, and loving character throughout!