Looking for Alaska (2019) | Hulu Series Review

“I go to seek a great perhaps.” – Francois Rabelai

Derived from the French Poet Francois Rabelais’ famous last words, this quote is a driver for the entire series of Looking for Alaska. Based on the New York Times best-selling novel from John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, Turtles All the Way Down), Josh Schwartz (The O.C.) skillfully adapts Looking for Alaska for television. This young adult story filled to the brim with teenage angst follows Miles “Pudge” Halter (Charlie Plummer) as he ventures to a highly esteemed boarding school after realizing he’s exhausted of his dull home life. Upon Miles’ arrival and our introduction to him, he is, as one can imagine, on an adventure to seek his great perhaps.

Here at Culver Creek Academy in 2005 Alabama, Miles is becoming increasingly aware of the disproportion between the “haves” and the “have-nots” and meets the friends that will ultimately change his life. Chip “The Colonel” Martin (Denny Love), who is validly arrogant about his intellect, likely as a result of the defamation he’s received for being among the poor and attending school on a scholarship, but has an indubitable level of loyalty. Takumi Hikohito (Jay Lee) is the friend that intertwines logic and fun, depending on what the situation calls for, and is always available to serve as a stealthy distraction. Lara Buterskaya (Sofia Vassilieva) is the beautiful Romanian young woman with “perky breasts” that appears sweet and innocent, but has no trouble standing up for herself when the time calls.

We can’t forget about Miss Alaska Young (Kristine Froseth), whom the story seems to have a focus on at first – mostly because that’s where Pudge’s focus is. Alaska is the type to unknowingly pull in the attention of every and any one person who will give it, but is more than just the “hot girl”; she’s a brainiac with mysterious emotional complexities, so more like “hot girl next door”. She’s also a power feminist and sexually free, and based off of her attire, these motives and ideology are probably attributed to her mother who was keen on the hippie life in her formative years.

And of course, there’s Miles. Everyone has a specialty – Pudge’s famous last words. Name someone famous and he can tell you the last thing they said before they died. Green did not use this to make Pudge appear pretentious, but rather to guide his character’s growth throughout the story, and this works just as effectively in the television miniseries. Each quote has intention and meaning, and Miles’ perception of the quotes could vary depending on what his current life circumstances are.

“We are all going.” – William McKinley

This group made up of trouble-making pranksters are bonded over their taste for revenge and playfulness, and likely from being cast as outsiders in the Culver Creek world. As the battle between the have and the have-nots increases because someone ratted out a “have”, the relationships between them ride up and down like a roller coaster. Tensions rise and then they fall, and what they’re left with is an overwhelming sense of love for one another, but it takes tragedy to bring this to light. What the tragedy is won’t be disclosed here, but the first few minutes of the pilot episode engulf you fully into this deep-seeded mystery, and then quickly catapults you into the fun and games of the show.

The chemistry within the cast is palpable, although it takes an episode or so for the story to catch up with the performances. Each of them has their own moment(s) to shine and show us exactly why they’re suitable for their roles. Quite honestly, as someone who has read the book and envisioned the characters to be one way, when I saw the teasers I wasn’t impressed. But after seeing the raw emotional and riveting renditions of these characters, I was moved and truly captivated. The two leads, Pudge (Plummer) and Alaska (Froseth), are obviously notable actors, with some of the most genuine and unmissable performances from young adult actors on television this year. Plummer fully lives up to the character trope of Miles “Pudge” being a naive doormat that eventually learns about himself, and of others, and finally puts his foot to the ground; while Froseth throws you through the whirlwind of emotions that Alaska does to every person she meets on a daily basis.

With that said, there are two cast members who drove the entire series home for me personally, and without this impeccable display of a character, Looking for Alaska would not be as terrific as these eight episodes are. The first is Timothy Simons’s depiction of Mr. Starnes, a.k.a. “The Eagle”, who is in charge of the Academy and has little to no humor yet loves his authority, particularly after his recent separation. Simons stands out because he effortlessly delivers a stern and unrelenting facade, when deep down all he cares about is protecting his students. Don’t miss him in Yes, God, Yes with Natalia Dyer when it hits theaters next year.

The second is Denny Love’s “The Colonel”. Every scene Love is in, he owns, every word spoken, he commands, and every ounce of sarcastic, depraved humor is appreciated. He’s smart and arrogant, but he has moments of weakness and insecurity that are standard to the human species. He’s stubborn, but he shows love in his actions and his allegiance to his friends. And most of all, he works hard and sets the standards everyone should achieve, yet he knows how to have fun. This dichotomy of character traits is easy to write and visualize, but not always to portray. Sometimes actors get ruffled in who they’re supposed to be and try to find reason in between this yin and yang, but Love knows exactly what his persona is and how to convey that to the audience. One other aspect I found remarkable about the overall character of The Colonel and Love’s portrayal of him is that of the character backgrounds in the book, his was the only one that felt like we were guided on his past from the character subtly and naturally, rather than from the story. It’s a weird and yet encapsulating way to handle a character that is pivotal to the series, without making him the front-man of the show.

“It’s very beautiful over there.” – Thomas Edison

While enjoyable, there’s nothing particularly eye-opening or astonishing with the cinematography in Looking for Alaska, but there is something special about the way they adapted this story. There was an obvious carefulness in respecting and appreciating the original art of the novel and yet incorporated such timely and well-thought out changes. Nothing that Schwartz and co. changed affected the overall story, and all of the most pivotal aspects of the book are there for the audience to now visualize.

Much credit is given to John Green for laying out the outline of the story, but there’s so much work that goes into taking someone else’s story and bringing it to life in the vision of the author. The crew made choices that benefited the series, taking nothing away, and elaborated on the aspects that bring justice to the narrative. The consideration given to character lines as a way to backdrop story elements without over-indulging is another great take-away. The music choices were off-putting in the beginning, as there are A LOT of non-dialogue scenes driven by the music, which rarely felt necessary. Nevertheless, it was fun to hear standard mid 2000’s song turned into these atmospheric acoustic jams.

The timeline of events are done in such a way that feels much more natural than the book might lend to. There weren’t huge gaps in time but it also didn’t feel like time was dragging. Even the events leading up to the pranks felt naturally paced, and their production was spectacular, following along with Green’s vision. Honestly, there’s not much in this series that falters.

“Now comes the mystery.” – Henry Ward Beecher

Told from the perspective of the high school young adult who must go through these motions and find solace in the unknown, Looking for Alaska is a story about tragedy and grief, about hope, friendship, forgiveness, and the chaotic complexity that is the human condition. It’s a story about how actions have consequences, and it’s a story about survival. It doesn’t always matter what the final results are, it doesn’t always matter what the details are. What matters is figuring out, “How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?”. A question ultimately all of us seek answers to.

Looking for Alaska premieres October 18th, 2019 on Hulu
Starring Charlie Plummer, Kristine Froseth, and Denny Love
Based on the novel by John Green 
Created for television by Josh Schwartz