r/offcampustv

Okay, yall chill it wasn't that bad.

It had the off campus spirit that we all know and love. It was steamy, it was sexy, it was emotional, it was dramatic.

Yall have GOT to remember that some of the books over lap in time line like we find out more about Beau's death in tuck's book but he actually died in dean's book. To make it flow better as a tv show, there was going to be overlapping in the show.

It made me giggle, laugh and cry. I thought they did an amazing job. I screamed wayyyy too loud when they mentioned summer. I LOVED that we got to see more of the boys interactions with each other as group because i dont feel like that brotherhood was always that solid in the books. And I think some of the changes they made were necessary to bring it up to today's world.

Solid 8.5/10 for me, will be going right back to episode 1 so that can be updated because I sped through that shit.

I LOVED THIS FREAKING SHOW, yes there were changes from the books but I think everything flowed smoothly tbh. I’m actually obsessed with when good things come out of tv adaptations seriously feeds my soul 🤗🤗

I know people are unhappy with how much Dean and Allie were featured in s1, but I have to give them their flowers. They had amazing chemistry and a great dynamic. I found myself liking some of their scenes more than Hannah/Garrett (which I know is what upsets people.) still, just want to give them praise because they have DELIVERED!

I get the people who like the show and I am happy for them. But why every time sometimes takes a valid critism of the show, we get called as miserable and saying "it's an adptation, not a play by play" when adaptations are supposed to have pivotal moments from the book atleast to a certain extent. Maybe it's just me?

The show was fine. If you watch it without being a book fan, I’m sure you’d like it, but as a book lover, especially of the deal, it was so disappointing to see so much of the important dialog missed. I feel like the show did not capture the essence of Garrett or Hannah or their connection 😭 I wish the show runner who did tell me lies would’ve picked up off campus. They did it SO well and I feel like I needed it to feel more realistic and less like a show if that makes sense. I honestly feel like they created a whole different show and slapped the off campus title on it. We missed out on so much.
Overall it was fine but I waited for this for so long and I can’t help but feel like the wait was for nothing 😭 I guess I’ll stick to my book Hannah and Garrett.

So, I couldn't watch it until later today after work. I still went looking for spoilers earlier today, because I wanted to know what to expect (and what NOT to expect), so to not be caught off guard. I think it helped because I ended up going into it with very low expectations... and I loved it.

Am I disappointed some of my favorite scenes didn't make it? Yes. Some changes I'm not a huge fan of. But the cast (and their chemistry) killed it. There's a lot of heart in that project. The show is very addictive.

I'm very nitpicky with adaptations, especially with books I love. No, it's not as faithful as a show like HR (which is the exception, not the rule, really), but it's also not straying completely from the source material like Bridgerton did (I'm still scarred from that, that show is fun, but it barely has anything to do with the books at this point).

So yeah. It's more faithful than I expected for that kind of adaptation. One thing I love is that the sideplots are all related to the leads from the books, not some random OCs nobody cares about. So that's pretty refreshing too.

I'm not dismissing the criticism of the changes, though. These are completely valid and I get them. I'm just relieved I managed to enjoy the show as it is.

Now, I'll be on my way to gif the hell out of it!🫡

Why did they have to change thingsssssss the scenes that were actually in the book were so good like so good!!! Im alittle sad it wasn't bad I just expected like more spot on

I actually enjoyed this. My complaints are as follows:

-Garrett in the books LOVES hockey. It’s everything to him. And him not caring about it in the show takes away part of his drive-which is part of why Hannah loves him
-Jules was annoying and pointless, sorry.
- Phil should have been way more of a dick
-I wish the Halloween scene was a thing since it was pivotal. Garrett Waiting so long to tell Hannah about her dad defeated how they originally got together
-not happy about dean and allie but not mad either. I liked their scenes overall!
-Garrett and Hannah lacked chemistry. Dean and allie had ITT
-campus hands off rule: this I will not default from. It should’ve happened right. Really missing that charm from Garrett in this scene which makes him insufferable and loveable. I could say that for the whole show though-he needed to be more annoying/endearing towards her
-I also feel like their get together scene could’ve been more powerful, I didn’t feel like they were obsessed with each other yet
- the first kiss scene should’ve been with dean. They did NOT have to change that. That is my worst complaint
-if they were gonna do dean and allie, allie should not have slept with another guy. That literally defeats the whole purpose of her being in love with dean and a “nester”

Overall: 7/10

OKAY, I refused to log in to Reddit and read through everyone else’s reactions until I had collected all of mine in one place. This is not a review as much as it is a loose collection of all my thoughts. Do not read below this paragraph if you don’t want spoilers. There will absolutely be spoilers.

- Honestly, overall, I loved it. And before I let myself get too in my head about accuracy as compared to the books or concerns about how they are setting themselves up for future seasons, I need to admit that there were multiple scenes where I cried. Like full on bawled my eyes out. I’m not a crier. I was sad when there wasn’t anything more for me to watch. That means that the cast and crew behind this show did something right. Maybe not everything right, but they captured something that made me feel. So at least from me, kudos.

- Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli literally fell straight out of the books. I will forever picture their faces when I think about Hannah and Garrett now. I thought they did such a great job in their roles. So, so, so pleased with both of their performances.

- Just overall LOVED the casting :) The writing had a few clunky moments, but the actors really made the most of all their scenes.

- My biggest gripe with the whole series is the product placement. I appreciate that they at the very least tried to work whatever ad buy they have with Liquid IV into the plot as a story about ad campaigns and college athletes, but I really could have done without it. It came up in multiple episodes and was so obvious that it was a paid advertisement. It took me out of the story more than any plot deviation did.

Now to get to the plot deviations… yes, there were a lot. Let’s break it down. I think I understand the reasoning behind most of it, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t have questions.

- Let’s start with how they’ve set the stage for Allie and Dean’s relationship next season, and how they basically got a full episode this season. The Score is a dense book. In my kindle The Deal 333 pages, The Mistake is 286, The Goal is 340… The Score is **464.** I think that’s part (not all) of the reason why so many of us like Dean and Allie the most out of all the couples. When we all first read this series, we literally got to spend more time with them and their relationship, which meant more little vignette’s with them and their specific banter. BUT “Call Dean” doesn’t happen until page 338. You literally could have read the entirety of any of the other books in the series before you get to the moment in the Score where Dean and Allie officially get together. When they move on to next season (assuming it’s going to focus on Dean & Allie… which let’s be honest that seems to be the case) they HAVE to have established Dean and Allie’s fling and how they’re both feeling about it as we ENTER the season or we’d end up missing out on so much of the book. 

- Okay, so now let’s talk about Dean and Allie deviations. Yes, glad we got the Winston moment, even if it didn’t land as hard as it could have. Funnily, the writers clearly understood the importance of Dean and Allie’s Thanksgiving trip to New York and how it moves their relationship forward, but then skimmed past a lot of what made it important in the books (Allie’s dad, and him challenging Dean on being unserious and not good enough for Allie.) The return from the Thanksgiving trip is also the catalyst for “call Dean” so if they make space for that very important scene next season they need to find a new catalyst. Not the end of the world. 

- I think giving Allie a friendship with Joanna Maxwell is smart. It’s going to make the Beau of it all land a lot harder when that hits. It will also more clearly juxtapose the different ways people grieve and make Allie’s wake up call to Dean seem more earned if say…. Joanna can make it to her play, but Dean can’t.

- Hunter Davenport I haven’t quite figured out yet. Keeping an open mind before I speculate too much. If nothing else, establishing him this early as a bit of a player only makes the celibacy and Demi hit that much harder if we’re lucky enough to make it to their season?? Maybe??

- Now let’s talk about all the Hannah and Garrett changes. A lot of them are summed up by Allie’s line in reference to the non-hands-off law. It was a version of “we don’t want him to do that, that would be problematic.” And herein beautifully lies the crux of translating romance novels to screen. As romance readers we likely all are very accustomed to our MMCs being protective and possessive and also emotionally intelligent and vulnerable. We are also probably used to tropes, and what some people might consider problematic tropes at that. And still we read. We read and we are used to the behavior of men in these novels even when it might set an example that would actually be problematic in real life. But we know it’s a book and we enjoy it anyway. Here’s the thing, tv watchers, are not necessarily romance readers. Readers are likely going to have slightly better developed critical thinking skills. We are sharing this world of tropes that we all are very comfortable swimming in, but we’re strong swimmers and we all know our favorite depth of water, and how to tell how deep it’s getting. A TV audience doesn’t, we need to give them metaphorical floaties before we put them in the pool. Making a story that heavily discusses consent and different forms of abuse widely available to audiences who don’t share the level of familiarity that we all have with the romance genre comes with a lot of responsibility. They needed to make Garrett way more scared of his strength and how he presents himself. They needed to make healthy lines of consent abundantly clear to young audiences watching (and they WILL watch). They needed to show that there are consequences to violent actions, and a lot of the changes they made seem to have been made with this idea in mind, and thus, I am at peace with them.

Is the show different from the books? Yup. 100%. We knew it would be. But looking at how they handled the underlying heart of this story, I’m hooked, and excited for season 2.

Okay walk with me here. I think instead of looking at each season as being for one couple only, we need to start looking at it as a season for only one couple’s endgame. I’m factoring in Louisa Levy’s confirmation that each season is one semester, the relative ages of the characters, and the way they handled Dean and Allie this season, which for the record I loved.

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced this is how it’s going to be laid out:

Season 1 - Fall Semester
- Hannah and Garrett endgame
- Dean and Allie build up

I think at this point they don’t have any other choice but to do Dean and Allie for season 2. They can’t stretch it across two more seasons now that the conflict has been laid out. It’s also been established that Dean is a senior, so really, it has to be them next.

Season 2 - Spring Semester
- Dean and Allie endgame
- Grace and Logan build up

The summer between Logan’s mistake and the groveling is pretty important to Grace and Logan’s story, especially Grace’s character development. It would make sense for them to introduce her next season, build them up like they did Dean and Allie and then leave them unresolved until season 3.

Season 3 - Fall Semester
- Grace and Logan endgame
- Tucker and Sabrina build up

Well… it takes 9 months to have a baby, so they’re going to need a full academic year to build Sabrina and Tucker.

Season 4 - Spring Semester
- Tucker and Sabrina endgame

Curious what you all think! Not taking into consideration any of the Briar U characters at this point because the Hunter Davenport thing was such a curveball that they could take it anywhere. And by anywhere I mean please lord bring us Jake Connelly.

Belmont and Ella were honestly perfect in my eyes for Hannah and Garrett. I was all in and fully invested….my only critique with them regarding the chemistry was gawd damn babes where was the tongue?

I’m clearly nitpicking to hell but I love a good kiss and that wasn’t doing it for me.

…..also small side note, kind of hate that imo the steamiest 🌶️ Garrett scene was with Kendall….

….also smaller side note…kind of hate that the best kiss was Hunter and Allie….

He nailed it as John Logan omg! I have never seen him act before and wasn’t expecting much but his acting was brilliant! He stood out a lot to me along with Mika as Allie in the way they embodied their characters.

I’m not even a big Grace and Logan fan but I’m already excited for their season because I think he’s one of the main boys who’s really able to pull his weight in the acting department ! The one intense scene he had with Garrett in the locker room was brilliant and I found myself to be quite blown away by his scenes!

Finished the series a couple hours ago & all I have to say is Mika EMBODIED that role! She was fantastic and an utter standout throughout the series… standing ovation from me 👏🏻

As a book reader I loved this show! I thought the changes made sense and only added to the show. I do however have some thoughts that I am curious if anyone else agrees with me on. I also didn’t follow the pre-premier press so if some of the things I mention were mentioned please say so.

1. can we please get the girls better clothes in s2? The amount of denim on denim both Hannah and Allie wore was overkill. 😂

2. The NCAA striping the team of all their wins because GG was an “ineligible player” was dumb. No committee would make that serious of a decision (that impacts the whole team) off of a social media video and no further investigation. Also, if Briar U is supposed to be a top hockey program in the country there would be official athletic employees at the school flagging the video and bringing it up to Jenson before the season started. Lastly, it was weird the NCAA had that video in their back pocket just waiting to use it and used it in the middle of the season, although I suspect GG’s dad played a role in this.

3. I have mixed feelings about the Jules character. My main concern is why would a sibling of a hockey player (and the sibling relationship seems pretty close knit) leak rumors about their own friends. They hang out with the team all the time and the account just seems like it would cross a lot of players boundaries. Maybe they will expand on this in S2 I’m just confused how anyone would be comfortable hanging out with the person actively running a gossip page about you and your friends.

Overall, I still loved the show and agree with the 8.5/10 rating most people seem to be giving! Can’t wait for S2 and beyond!!!

When they had the fundraiser has anyone else noticed that the name Dean mentions as one of the winners is Grace Ivers???? I almost thought we might see India for 2-3 seconds somewhere 😂. I know that she basically only found out a couple of days ago, but one can dream.