Looking for Alaska Recap: I Love You, Not Past Tense

This recap of Hulu Series Looking for Alaska Season 1 Episode 7, “Now Comes The Mystery” contains significant spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.

I don’t think there’s ever a good time to watch this chapter. It’s steeped in depression and misery — it consoles itself to such sadness that you almost want it to end in the first few minutes. The purpose of the story worked. It’s sad.

“Now Comes The Mystery” opens up with still shots of the quiet Creek, and then it flits to The Eagle (Timothy Simons) sat in his car. You can feel the anticipation of the day ahead — he’s about to embark on one of the worst days of his life.

What makes it worse is that The Colonel assumes Dr. Hyde has died when they are called to the gym, but when they get there, their history teacher stands at the front. The Eagle asks if anyone is missing, which, quite frankly, was the worst question to ask. Miles notices that Alaska is not there and stands up, demanding that they wait for her. His panic is the answer before The Eagle confirms it — as hinted in Episode 1, Alaska died in a tragic car accident.

For a few brief scenes, Miles is in shock — he goes outside to throw up, and when he returns to the gym, he asks The Eagle why everyone is crying. “It’s a prank, Alaska is good at pranks”. The Eagle has to confirm that he saw Alaska’s dead body to get through to Miles, who suddenly sits down on the floor and cries.

Soon after the shocking news, The Colonel walks to The Eagle’s house and demands that he expels him. He blames The Eagle, but also himself for setting off the fireworks and allowing Alaska to drive away. The Eagle hugs him to stop the unrest. In their smoking spot, Takumi asks Miles and The Colonel what happened the night before, and blames them for letting her drive drunk and hysterical.

There’s a lot of blaming each other in Episode 7 in the aftermath, and eventually, Miles slumps in front of the TV and plays games for hours, while Lara watches over him. Takumi finally snaps him out of his slump and asks where the Colonel is — he went out walking in the rain, missing for a brief moment.

Classes resume in “Now Comes The Mystery”, and Dr. Hyde asks the class to answer Alaska’s essay — “How Will We Ever Get Out Of This Labyrinth Of Suffering”, a line that has been central to the story since the beginning.

On the way to the funeral, Miles briefly remembers the phone ringing before Alaska left his bed. The question is asked, “who called her that night?”. At the funeral, Miles’ emotions finally spill over — as he touches the coffin, he cries, “I love you, not past tense”. The Colonel’s emotions spill over after. He confronts Alaska’s dad, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and blaming him for her demise. When The Colonel’s mother separates them, the dad agrees — “I lost her a long time ago”.

And then we learn who called Alaska. It was Jake. He explains it was their second anniversary since they met and she got emotional and left the phone hanging. But Miles wonders still why she got into the car. For the others, it’s easy to presume she was upset because she forgot the anniversary of her and Jake, but Miles cannot comprehend that notion.

Looking for Alaska Season 1 Episode 7, “Now Comes The Mystery” closes with Miles finally taking a call from his parents who offer their support. Miles and The Colonel start clearing out Alaska’s things, but then Miles notices one of the books, and moves to the page where it describes The Labyrinth Of Suffering and sees a note written by Alaska — “straight and fast”. The Colonel reminds Miles that she drove straight and fast in the car before she died, and Miles rightfully asks the question, “what if it wasn’t an accident?”.

Notable Points

• Due to the tragedy, the parents have dropped the case against the Colonel. He is free to continue at the Creek.
• The Eagle believes he failed all of them.

You can read the recap of the eighth episode by clicking these words.