Favorite things about Off Campus after a few rewatches:
Garrett, Logan, Tucker, Dean and Beau hooking with girls doesn’t diminish them as men and it doesn’t change the fact that, at their core, they are good guys. This is perhaps my favorite part of the show. It has a very FNL approach to jocks - just because they’re young and having fun, it doesn’t mean they’re incapable of being kind.
Garrett and Logan’s conflicts have nothing to do with his Logan’s crush on Hannah. I am so glad they never went there. Their issues are simply lack of communication.
Girls aren’t competitive with one another - I LOVED that they made Kendall a sweet girl. You never see that on TV. I love that Kendall didn’t take anything out on Hannah because she knows Hannah didn’t do anything to her.
The boys genuinely love each other. They genuinely trust each other and support each other.
Dean’s interest and laser focus on Allie is believable. She’s not a Mary Sue, she’s not a manic pixie dream girl. She can be “annoying”, she’s direct, she’s feisty. She’s all over the place. she fucks up. She doesn’t know what she wants. She’s hot and cold. She’s moody. She feels real. That’s why when people complain about the changes to her character I am baffled. I love that she went ahead and slept with Hunter. It makes sense for what she’s going through. It’s not left field. Show Allie isn’t as ashamed of being sexual as Book Allie is.
There’s a lot of discourse regarding how unrealistic it is that Dean wanted to give up on his lifestyle so quickly.
If it was book Dean… that would make more sense. But, show Dean is more fleshed out. You can tell he’s an intelligent guy an insightful guy and also, after the fire pit convo, you can clearly see that he does want to be loved and wants to be in love - but has accepted the fact that women only see him as a hookup due to his reputation.
Thing is, there are people that you click with and people that you don’t no matter how attractive they are. He just connects with Allie on a different level-she caught his eye at the Photo Booth and during the party and finally peaked his interest during the fire pit convo. I like to think they stayed up all night talking about random things and bonded even more, which makes it more reasonable that Allie called him as soon as she broke up with Sean.
My favorite thing: he essentially said “Do your thing, and then come to me. I’ll be here.” And it didn’t feel like a gross, dirty, proposition. It felt like a real offer to help, in the only way he knows he can help her.
I love that they both feel comfortable with one another. There is romantic and sexual tension but there’s also a true enjoyment of each other. The way he never takes his eyes off of her, not just because he wants her but because he’s genuinely fascinated by her, is perhaps the highlight of their interactions.
The apartment scene was so beautiful because it is obvious that she’s there to hook up with him - but they enjoy each other so much as people, that they don’t feel the need to rush it. They spend the afternoon actually hanging out and connecting. Allie completely disarms him and makes him feel completely safe, and does it in a way that is very subtle. She’s so gentle with him. Usually in these conversations there tends to be more bite between the characters to enhance their sexual tension- but in their case, it’s more like, loving nibbles. Just enough bite, but also very gentle and caring.
It makes sense that he would want to focus on that connection entirely, especially because he knows that she wants a true connection as well.
The conversation between Hannah and her mom and Allie and Hannah have got to be two of the most beautiful scenes I’ve seen TV. My favorite thing was Allie telling Hannah that yes, she got raped, and yes a part of her will be a little damaged because of it and that’s OK. You don’t have to “get over” the pain to be yourself, you don’t have to erase your trauma, because you can’t, but you can learn to live with it.
Hannah and Garrett - they are friends first and lovers second. That makes them so likable. Usually the main couple can become boring once they get together, but seeing them together during the Thanksgiving episode and after was so comforting. Like a warm hug. I actually enjoyed their interactions because there’s a true friendship underneath.
My favorite thing is that Garrett starts becoming interested in Hannah, not after she looked HOT as a bunny - but because of the energy she radiates. He didn’t have the epiphany because he became sexually attracted to her. That is, perhaps, the best part of their season.
Anyway, love this show, love how sweet it is and how feel-good it is - even with some cringey things going on, still love it. It’s so rewatchable.
