LOOKING FOR ALASKA: A Touching, First-Class Teen Drama

Teen drama is an ungrateful genre to review, especially for someone who left behind the high-school swoons long ago. One might argue it should not matter who (in terms of gender) and at what age tackles a given production, but let us be honest—stories created primarily for a teenage audience have their own singular character, often devoid of logic, sense, or a touch of good taste. Fortunately, the series Looking for Alaska is far from tacky.

It all began in March 2005, when John Green’s debut novel of the same name appeared on the American market.

Looking for Alaska immediately became a widely discussed book, selling hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. For some, it is a cult and formative work; for others, highly controversial because of the way it tackles themes of growing up and sex.

Many fans feared that the book could not be effectively translated to the small screen, but their doubts were surely dispelled as soon as they began watching the series. This eight-episode production for Hulu is a triumph of skillfully marrying form and content.

It is a far cry from the shouting of Euphoria, nor does it adopt the didacticism of many Netflix offerings. Its narrative is simple: four characters meet at a boarding school nestled in a forest, where they experience first bodily pleasures and confront the tragic dimensions of existence.

Series creator Josh Schwartz dispenses emotion with a deft hand. He does not immediately plunge into the highest registers, even when provoked to do so—such as when Miles (Charlie Plummer) describes his passion for learning the final words spoken by prominent figures just before their deaths.

The writers also resist flooring the accelerator when Alaska (Kristine Froseth) begins to experience emotional doubts and cannot decide which boy she wants to commit to seriously. Even the skirmishes waged by The Colonel (Denny Love) against the school’s bad boys feel more like comedy than racially or class-motivated reckonings.

Looking for Alaska bears a strong resemblance to the NBC series This Is Us. What they share most prominently is Ron Cephas Jones, who in the teen drama plays a religion teacher whose lessons revolve around life and death.

Above all, both titles embrace a similar approach to humanity: understanding of its failings and a desire to know people from every angle, including their better side. In Hulu’s offering there is no incessant drilling into humanity’s darker aspects, even though the protagonists inevitably face hardship. It is not about endless lamentation over the world’s hopelessness.

There may be no justice, and people can be vile, but there is always someone with whom one can share a candid conversation, exchange jokes, or at least smoke a cigarette beneath a wooden bridge while watching the sunset.

The series’ strength lies precisely in its exploration of humanity’s positive facets and its relentless search for life’s meaning, even when one has fallen to the very bottom and cries out from the depths. The characters wreak havoc, stumble over their own feet, sometimes wound each other (even intentionally), but at the same time discover the unique experience unfolding before them.

There are no taboos for them—even in sexual matters—so some of the questions they pose and the doubts they explore can be immensely valuable for the younger segment of the audience, equally intrigued and terrified by this aspect of life.

Looking for Alaska is a glorification of existence in its fullest form, an invitation to self-improvement, to living until you can no longer breathe, to seeking love and friendships with which to share your fate. Perhaps the creators achieved such a remarkable effect because of how much the world currently lacks a warmer perspective on people and their flaws.

The production’s success also lies in the details. Excellent casting makes it easy to believe in the characters on screen. The actors remain innocent, lost, stirred by hormonal fever, and eager to dive headlong into the pool of life. Special praise goes to Kristine Froseth, whose titular Alaska is an incredibly enigmatic and ambiguous figure.

Looking for Alaska is also a triumph of a marvelous, captivating form that does not eclipse the series’ substance. Everything is shot in a subtle, Sundance-style manner, employing pastel hues and melancholic music.

Even the most hardened hearts can stir while watching successive episodes. Hulu’s offering carries a purifying power and serves as a ticket back to the long-forgotten thrills of youthful hearts. It strikes tender chords, restoring hope of reclaiming innocence slowly lost through deeper acquaintance with the world.

In some cases, it is worth taking the characters’ example: do not be afraid to ask difficult questions, and above all, embark on a journey toward the Great Perhaps, giving yourself the chance to discover an intense, one-of-a-kind experience of reality.