By: Ava Rogha
Looking for Alaska (2019) is a teen-drama starring Kristine Frøseth and Charlie Plummer as the main characters, Alaska Young and Miles Halter. It is based on the novel with the same title by John Green, the well-known author of The Fault in our Stars.
This mini-series of only eight episodes explores Miles Halter’s life when he starts attending Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. Miles is shy, introverted and pretty much your usual outsider. The first person he meets is his roommate Chip Martin (Denny Love), also known as the “Colonel”, and then shortly after he meets Takumi (Jay Lee) and Alaska – the cute girl on campus.
"True love will triumph in the end – which may or may not be a lie, but if it is a lie, it's the most beautiful lie we have."
Alaska is mysterious and secretive, yet she seems to be the leader of their newly formed group of four. Miles makes sure to spend some alone time with the girl as well, so they can form a closer bond. He shares his passion for “famous last words" with Alaska, which seems to be intriguing to her as well. One of his favorite last words is “I go to seek a great perhaps” by Fancois Rabelais, which inspired Miles to get a new beginning at Culver Creek.
The vibe of the show is quite calming and soothing due to the noticeably green background as most of the scenes are filmed in the nature surrounding the campus area. That in particular is what makes this show relatable to young students like myself out there.
The show has also got a lot of dialogue, so you have to pay attention to the conversations to understand the plot. And who knows, maybe you’ll even catch on to the hints that are thrown during the show!
"I may die young, but at least I'll die smart."
Miles and his friends live the usual student life at Culver Creek, including partying and drama. But, what really catches your attention is the development of Miles and Alaska’s friendship.
Alaska is an easy target at the student dorm and she has a lot going on with her family. She is rebellious and one of her favorite activities is digging up wine bottles she’s hidden in the woods to get drunk. Reading seems to be her top favorite activity as her room is filled with books. And lastly, you can tell she is experienced with boys from the way she acts around Miles, and she is currently in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Jake.
Miles, on the other hand, is an inexperienced young boy who is set up with Lara (Sofia Vassilieva), another student at Culver Creek, to explore his sexuality. Although Lara starts catching feelings for him, he just can’t get Alaska off of his mind. It’s upsetting to see Miles playing with Lara’s emotions, but what goes around comes around... It’s pretty obvious that Alaska might be taking advantage of Miles' vulnerability at times too, or maybe he’s just an easy target as well?
"The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive."
As you can already tell, this show plays with OUR emotions as well! The mystery that is built up during each episode makes this show worth watching, and the highly anticipated romance between Alaska and Miles pulls you all the way to the end. However, there is a heartbreaking plot-twist towards the end that I wasn’t mentally prepared for when I watched the show for the very first time! All I can say is that it will have a tragic ending, which contributes to the action in the last few episodes.
Looking for Alaska can be compared to the first season of 13 Reasons Why. Everything from the plot to the main characters are quite similar. The only difference is that 13 Reasons Why gives away the whole plot in the first episode, whereas Looking for Alaska is not as fast paced. In fact, it might take some time for you to solve the mysteries of the show and most importantly, understand why the main characters struggle to express themselves.
"Memories fall apart, too. And then you’re left with nothing, left not even with a ghost but with its shadow."
So, if you’re currently looking for a new teen-drama to binge-watch, then you should totally give this one a go because it’s short but with a lot of depth to it. Have fun binging!
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