As the first episode of Life After Life begins, Teddy Todd (Sean Delaney) tells his sister Ursula (Thomasin McKenzie) that he’d like to come back after a baker because he loves cakes. She believes he can be a baker after the war. When asked what Ursula would do, she questions whether she could be a man. Then, she says she might just come back as herself, but do things better. She’d want the same family including him, mom, dad, Pamela, and Jimmy. They laugh at the idea of keeping Maurice though. Teddy believes it would be fantastic if they could come back and do it over and over again. Ursula talks about how great the words “what if” are when they’re put together.

Then, we jump back to February 11, 1910. Sylvie Todd (Sian Clifford) screams for Dr. Fellowes (Ron Cook) as she struggles with her pregnancy. Bridget checks on the baby and finds it as white as a ghost with the cord wrapped around her neck. She believes the baby is gone before it had a chance. The narrator (Lesley Manville) reveals it was snowing when Ursula died and was born. We return to February 11, 1910, as Dr. Fellowes guides Sylvie through the birth. The doctor grabs a pair of scissors to cut the cord before telling Sylvie that she is lucky he got there when he did. They briefly talk about Mrs. Haddock. Again, they’re lucky he braved the elements because the baby would’ve died due to the cord around her neck.

The doctor yells for the maid to get some towels. The narrator explains that Ursula doesn’t know this is her second life, but she has an instinct. The world is a dangerous place. Outside, Bridget and Mrs. Glover (Jessica Hynes) watch as Fellowes yells at the men while they try to dig his car out of the snow. When her son, George Glover (Jack Forsyth-Noble), arrives on a horse, she suggests the doctor can hitch a ride with him. Back inside, Sylvie asks Maurice and Pamela to come say hello to their new sister. She is calling her Ursula which means little she-bear. Maurice gets mad and says he’d prefer a bear. Food is brought in by a maid. Meanwhile, Hugh Todd (James McArdle) gets off the train and rushes home to see his family.

Maurice greets him outside and says his sister is no good. He goes inside to apologize to Sylvie for not being there last night due to the snow. She asks him to take Ursula to Bridget for her bath. Hugh carries the baby to Bridget who tells him that the baby was born with the cord wrapped around her neck. He checks on Mrs. Glover while Bridget tells Ursula that God surely wanted her back. The narrator says Ursula would learn the universe was chaos and destruction, but she would love it anyway. There was something reassuring about the way it repeated itself. The horses were wonderful and Mrs. Glover loved her son. People Ursula’s size could be fun. As for Maurice, he was chaos and destruction.

He covers the baby with leaves before Hugh finds out and slaps him for it. Ursula entered her fifth summer without further mishap. Later, Sylvie takes the girls to the beach. Bridget reads a book. She gasps when learning that Mr. Rochester has been burnt in a fire. Ursula and her sister wade out into the water. While Sylvie is busy with Teddy, Ursula gets pulled underwater and dies. Then, we see her birth once again since she has been given the chance to live again. Eventually, Ursula makes her way down to the water with her sister once again. Archibald Winton (Tachia Newall), who is busy painting nearby, notices that the girls are out too far in the water. He carries them back to Sylvie and tells her what happened.

Sylvie tells Bridget to take Ursula home and get her dry. When Maurice learns that Ursula nearly drowned, he calls her an idiot. Sylvie offers to take Archibald to tea to thank him. On a train, the narrator says Ursula had heard Bridget retell the story of her birth multiple times and how God wanted her back. Hugh is at the station when Sylvie and Ursula get off the train. He tells the kid there is a surprise waiting for them at home. While they suspect it is a dog, Sylvie warns it better not be. Back at home, Hugh shows them how the light switch turns on the lights in the home.

Mrs. Glover and Bridget are scared of it while the others aren’t impressed. Later, Hugh and Sylvie agree that Teddy is the best one yet so they should keep him. When they begin discussing their holiday, Sylvie suggests getting Ursula swimming lessons since she isn’t a natural. She worries about her although Hugh insists she is fine. They agree that this is marriage. Ursula has a dream that wakes her in the middle of the night. She gets up later and tells her mother that she keeps dreaming that she is drowning and she is dead. Her mother insists she isn’t dead and it is a beautiful day. When Sylvie recommends running around outside, Ursula worries she’ll fall and hit her head. Her mother urges her to avoid dark thoughts at all costs.

She instructs her to shake her head when she has them before sending her outside to run around. The narrator says the days were lovely while life was frightening in dreams. Ursula resolved to enjoy life since there was so much life to enjoy. During their picnic, they watch George ride his horse while Bridget freaks out when a frog jumps onto her lap. Sylvie scolds Maurice. When she takes Teddy away to feed him, George stops by and nods at her. Later, she sleeps with Hugh who says she was very lively. She claims it could be the fresh air. Hugh looks outside and warns her there is going to be a storm. He can feel it. The next day, Mrs. Glover shows Hugh a picture of her son in his military uniform since he was one of the first to sign up.

Hugh tells Sylvie he wants to go to war since he doesn’t want to know he missed it. After he says it might be the only adventure he ever has, Sylvie asks what about his children and wife. He claims he is doing this for her to protect hearth and home, but she doesn’t believe that. When she storms out, Maurice argues his father is right. Pamela tells him to shut up. Hugh rarely raised his voice so something terrible must’ve happened. He managed to make everything right again the night before her left as he always did. As Hugh marches with his family the next day, he stops to say he has a fine family. Although Sylvie asks him not to be frightened now, he was. While he was away, they spent a lot of time knitting.

It was the coldest winter on record so the soldiers on the front were freezing. Even though Sylvie hadn’t heard from Hugh in months, she did not tell her children. She spent more money than usual on Christmas and told Ursula the doll was a present from her father. Sylvie distracted her kids from the newspaper headlines by creating chicken corner. Ursula wrote to her father about the wonder of warm eggs, but he did not write back. Sylvie claimed he was awfully busy. While Maurice was home with chickenpox, he was busy making everyone else miserable. He throws Ursula’s doll out of the window and flees the room.

Ursula climbs to the edge of the window to reach for the doll because Sylvie told her it came from her father. She falls to the ground and dies once again. However, she is reborn and the process begins again. When she climbs out of the window this time, Bridget rushes in just in time to stop her. Ursula manages to get the doll using what looks like a lacrosse stick. From then on, she avoided water, windows, and Maurice. Ursula continues missing her father as she gets older. While sleeping one night, she dreams that her father is calling her name. During breakfast, Sylvie claims the chicken they’re about to eat isn’t one of theirs. When asked about the war, she says she doesn’t know because Hugh only talks about the weather.

Maurice believes it is one of their chickens so Sylvie quickly changes the subject to the wishbone. She says they can make their dreams come true although Ursula doesn’t like her dreams. Baby Teddy was Sylvie’s favorite, but nobody minded because everyone loved him. On Teddy’s 4th birthday, the war to end all wars ended. Although George Glover returned home, he lost the use of his legs and mind during a sneak attack on a German trench 30 days before the ceasefire. Bridget bought a new hat to celebrate a new world. Her fiancé, Clarence, also survived although his face was damaged.

He wrote to her from the field hospital to say she was under no obligation to stay with him, but she wasn’t the sort to renege on a promise. Clarence (Ralph Davis) and Bridget invite Mrs. Glover to come with them on the train. She is avoiding crowds because of influenza. Her nephew was perfectly healthy at breakfast and dead by noon. Later that night, Ursula and the others learn that Bridget saw the King during her trip. They go downstairs to listen to Bridget’s story and learn she lost her hat. Clarence excuses himself because he has a headache. Later, Dr. Fellowes arrives to check on Bridget who they believe has influenza since she was in London for the Armistice Day festival.

Bridget and Ursula are unwell now. When Sylvie sits next to her daughter, Ursula begins seeing snowflakes falling around her. She dies once again before being reborn. The narrator admits that Ursula was very curious to find out whether Bridget actually met the King, but her instinct took her back to bed. In the morning, they become worried about Bridget and decide to contact Dr. Fellowes. Mrs. Glover claims she has consumed too much alcohol while Sylvie argues she is ill. Sylvie refuses to send the children to school for the day. Mrs. Glover gives them lessons downstairs before they find out that Teddy is missing. Ursula eventually finds him trying to make Bridget feel better.

He believes Bridget is asleep although her eyes are open. She tells Teddy to get off the bed. Sylvie rushes in and carries him out. The doctor enters to check on Bridget while Ursula is told to go to Sylvie’s room. Later, the doctor explains that Teddy has heliotrope cyanosis. He is afraid it is the more virulent strain. Ursula is sick as well. When Sylvie asks whether there is anything she can do, Fellowes encourages her to pray. Ursula wonders whether there is more she could’ve done to save Teddy. Although Sylvie did not believe in God, she prayed with desperate conviction that night. Teddy was gone by nightfall and Ursula knew the moment he died. Ursula is surrounded by darkness.

Ursula writes a note telling Bridget that she has locked and bolted the door so she cannot come in. She signs the note using Sylvie’s name. In the morning, Sylvie confronts her about the note. Ursula is concerned when she learns that her mother sent Pamela to fetch Bridget home. Sylvie calls her an anxious child while wondering whether they should take her to the doctor. It appears that Pamela gets sick before Teddy and Ursula do as well. They all die. This time, Ursula tries to prevent Bridget from going to London by pushing her down the stairs. Ursula knew she had to do it so she felt a surge of victory once she did it. The world was a dangerous place, but Ursula was not powerless.

Sylvie screams for the kids to come inside. Bridget says someone pushed her down the stairs. When Ursula runs out of the room, Sylvie realizes something is wrong with her daughter. As Ursula runs outside, she sees her father standing in front of her. The others run out to hug their father although Teddy is standoffish. Hugh walks forward and gets a hug from his son. Pamela tells their father about their chickens. While Teddy was Sylvie’s favorite, Ursula was her father’s. She had forgotten that, the smell of him, and how it felt in his arms. Ursula believed that was love and it would be worth dying for. An adult Ursula talks about how one thing can change in the past and change everything else.

She wishes she could go instead of her brother. Before Teddy leaves her, she asks him to be careful and try not to die.

 

Life After Life Review

With three episodes ahead, we’re just getting started. However, the first episode of Life After Life was engaging, engrossing, and fresh. The series has a unique mood that you can feel because it is so gloomy. The acting has been good in the first episode even with the younger performers. I like that the time period felt authentic although most of the episode took place on the family’s property.

The first episode did a great job of establishing the story and Ursula’s ability to come back to life and change the future. The only thing I’ll say negative is that I am not sure where the series is heading in future episodes. There is no clearly defined path although it’ll likely have something to do with Teddy’s stint in the military. The first episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Life After Life can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us here.