Hello hello,
My lovely people! Our waiting is over!! “Off Campus” is finally here and I’m not gonna lie, I’ve watched it in one sitting, 8 hours straight, after work. I finished it at 2 am, having to wake up at 6 am to go back to work, but guess what? Best decision of my year. I really liked the show but in order to be able to give you a nice review ( for each episode ) I have to rewatch it! I had no intentions to do that ( a total lie ) but I have to… For you!
Because I’m a responsible ( most of the time) adult, I can’t do more than one review per day, so stay patient, my loves. Base on the first book ( The Deal ) of Elle Kennedy’s book series “Off Campus” the first season of the tv series follows Hannah and Garrett’s story. Two different people who will have to form an alliance in order to complete their goals.
These review series will be full of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the series yet ( and you hate spoilers ) save this article and come back later. If you finished it already ( like me ) or you don’t mind being spoiled, prepare yourself because this is gonna be a rollercoaster.
The main story follows the book, and it’s all about “girl likes boy” and “boy doesn’t even know girl” and of course, I’m not talking about our main lead Garrett, but about Justin Kohl. The beautiful major in music that Hannah has a huge crush on. He sings with his band at Malone’s, where Hannah and Allie, her best friend, are working part-time between classes. Hannah, also works for the campus’s ice hockey team.
Our little story begins when she cleans the locker room, unaware that the team’s captain Garrett Graham is still there and takes a shower. Something is not happening in the book, but no one complains. They have a small awkward moment and poor Hannah runs away. During a class that the two share, Garrett fails and finds out that “Mona” ( because he thinks that’s her name, dude… ) got an A+, he tries to convince her to tutor him.
He needs the grade so he can keep playing hockey, but she couldn’t care less. Being a classical music major, Hannah has her own problems. Such as her scholarship being taken and now she has to take part in the “POP Showcase” so she can have a chance to win another scholarship and be able to continue studying there.
I would like to say my deepest thank yous to whoever thought to put the boys’ workout routine on the damn first episode. Souls have been saved ( and minds taken ). We start seeing really early that Garrett has some huge issues with this legend ex-hockey player dad, because all Phil Graham cares about is hockey and he gives zero shit about his son.
My girl Hannah has a really awkward conversation with Justin and Garrett is right there, front seat, starting to understand that he may have a shot at getting the tutor girl after all. During a game, Garrett loses his temper because of his dad and tries to get it together. He leaves the locker room to take a break and finds the most unexpected thing ever. Hannah, who is dancing alone. After she saw someone from her past, she almost had a panic attack and went there to be alone. But Garrett, seeing her being like that, feels completely free and immediately he feels better and relaxed and wins the game.
After that, Garrett starts looking for her everywhere and he tries finding her on Instagram. Until he asks Logan, his best friend, and he informs him that her name is actually Hannah. At this moment, we can see that John Logan himself seems to have a crush on the same girl ( what a mess and a little bit different from the book ).
Garrett helps Hannah get Justin’s attention and he finds the opportunity to share his idea with her. She will tutor him to pass the class and he’ll help her with Justin ( and he’ll pay her, of course, as well ). Hannah isn’t so sure, but seeing that Justin indeed can’t stop looking at her, she has no other option. He leans on Garrett and says with full confidence, “Deal.”
The first episode was absolutely amazing! I almost choked myself with my pizza when he said to her, “Only you get to look at things you shouldn’t?” I mean, okay Garrett… ( h o t ). I love that he started calling her Wellsy immediately when he learned her last name. I’m a sucker about nicknames between couples and it made me really happy.
The flashbacks about their pasts started early and I’m glad about that because you can see that something is off about both of them and ( because I have already finished it and I know things ) I appreciate that they gave more depth to their backstories. Warning: Phil Graham was a terrible person, and maybe he still is ( you’ll find out later ).
The cinematography was out of this earth and the scene changes were totally on point. I adore the relationship between the boys ( Garrett, Logan, Dean and Tucker ) and the one between Hannah and Allie. I’m just glad that they managed to give us those two beautiful friendships.
Another big plus of this series is the excellent soundtrack. With “Dancing with Myself” by Generation X and “Bitch is Back” by Elton John being my favorites from episode one.
My favorite side characters from this episode were Hannah’s friend, Dexter, who is a sweetheart. Kendall, Garrett’s… whatever,… and Hannah’s professor.
It was a great premiere! And even if the story is not a 100% copy from the book, they made me adore this adaptation already!
It’s a 8.8/10 from me.
Let me know what you think about the first episode in the comments below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to never miss an update from us!
xx pixie