The story of ‘A Teacher’ revolves around an English teacher, Claire, who sleeps with Eric Walker, a teen who happens to be her student. As the show progresses, we discover their individual stories and some truth about their interesting backgrounds, psyche, and motivations. By episode 7, i.e., the finale, the illicit relationship has been exposed to the authorities. How drastically will the lives of these two change? Continue reading to find out; SPOILER alert for anyone who hasn’t watched the show yet, and now that you are reading this, head over to Hotstar in case you’re missing out on this gripping drama series!
A Teacher: Episode 7 Explained
In college, Eric gets questioned over some personal details about his affair with Claire while he is in the party. Eric’s past continues to follow him even when he tries to hook up with a new girl at the party. While having a serious conversation with Cody, Eric realizes that Claire may not have even gone to jail in the first place had he not convinced her to go out with him that day. He implied that he, in fact, is not a victim, to say the least. We learn that Claire will be out soon; therefore, Eric is suggested to begin counseling, as he is considered a victim by his parents and the rest of the society. Eric hooks up with that girl from the party, who apologizes for being insensitive. While having fun with his college friends, Eric climbs onto the car’s hood but then falls, sustaining a few minor injuries. Team Omega Kappa Beta finally takes the pledges, and Cody decides to be Eric’s big brother in the fraternity. Later during the ceremony, Karen (a stripper) is invited to the house as per tradition. She gives Eric a lap dance and uses references from his past during the dirty talk. Her words trigger him, and he tells her to stop, infuriated. Even after Cody approaches him, Eric asserts that his unwillingness to partake in such things and leaves.
Back in the dorm, Eric runs into a boy named Micah, who is surprisingly sitting on the floor. He tells him that his roommate is hooking up with someone, and so he is unable to access his own room. Later, the two end up doing shrooms together while talking about the universe. The evening ends with Eric realizing that he still misses Claire, implying that he really loved her after all.
Why is Eric acting this way? Is there hope for the two of them after all?
The news that Eric hooked up with his teacher spreads like wildfire in the new campus. Instead of college being a fresh new start for Eric, he finds himself stuck between groups of people who either sympathize with him as he is the ‘victim’ or people who think he ‘nailed’ her just to look cool. Eric’s popularity rises amongst his peers even though it has only been one week since the college started. In The Teacher finale, we see Eric drink and do drugs as a toxic coping mechanism.
Eric is internally struggling to let this unhealthy attachment to Claire go. Despite the change in environment, he still hasn’t found a way to deal with the trauma of losing a loved one. Instead of addressing his issues, he just keeps on running away from them, bottling all his feelings up. He is chasing the adrenaline rush he had while dating Claire. He is trying to fill this void by trying extreme things like getting on the hood of the car even despite it being driven fast. This feeling of intoxication basically blinds him and keeps him completely stuck in the past. He talks about her to the people he knows, constantly revisiting his memories with her. The reason why he leaves after Sandy mentions therapy is that he is willingly stuck in this toxic cycle of not accepting the reality of the present- which is the fact that he may never get to see Claire again. What happens next is something we will only find out next season; till then, you can re-watch ‘The Teacher’ Season 1 on Hulu!
