u/AdSingle9510

I keep seeing this narrative on Twitter that the fandom is “preying” on the actors’ lives and harassing their partners, and honestly, I have not seen evidence of some massive harassment campaign. Some weird comments, yes, they should not be there. But, most of what I see are edits, shipping, and the usual fandom behavior that has existed since the beginning of television.

These are professional adult actors. They knew this show would be huge, already had an intense fanbase, and would create this behavior online. That comes with romance-centered franchises and attractive casts, this is not new, a lot of them have been around media a long time, they are professionals, they know this. I am sure their teams prepared them for this.

Their partners also have agency. They could go private, limit comments, or step back from public engagement if they wanted to. Instead, many are actively participating online and also gaining huge platforms and followers from the attention. If they are not complaining, why are people in the fandom being the actual parasocial ones creating fake narratives?

Of course fans should be respectful and not cross boundaries. But acting shocked that people ship attractive co-stars in a massive romance fandom feels unrealistic. Stop spreading exaggerated narratives that only create unnecessary tension between fans and the cast!!! THANK YOU.

I feel like when they were fake dating, they actually had more intimacy. Holding hands, Garrett always being near her, cheek kisses, nicknames, little touches, all those tiny moments that made their relationship feel alive. Once they actually started dating, except for the sex scenes, they suddenly acted more like friends than two people deeply in love.

There were so many moments where the emotional tension was there, but something was missing physically and emotionally. Like when Hannah tells Garrett that the guy who assaulted her was a hockey player. That is such a huge, vulnerable moment for both of them, and I was waiting for literally anything!! A hug, him holding her hand, a face caress, him pulling her close. ANYTHING! Instead they were just nervously standing in front of each other. Meanwhile these two were fake dating two episodes ago and comforting each other more naturally then.

Or when Garrett is spiraling because Hannah is not answering him and they finally see each other in the green room. The entire episode builds up how anxious they both are, and then… nothing. No immediate hug, no grabbing each other, no emotional release. It honestly made me more anxious watching it because the payoff never came!!!!!!

Even during the breakup and hockey storyline, Garrett feels strangely detached. Book Garrett would have looked destroyed seeing Hannah after the breakup. He would have been emotional and conflicted. Instead the vibe was almost “yeah we dated I guess, anyway bye.” And that is crazy considering how obsessed and emotionally intense he is supposed to be. Dean and Allie had more visible intimacy at times, and they were not even together.

From episode 4 onward, Garrett slowly fades in terms of how visibly in love with Hannah he feels. The chemistry is still there (crazy chemistry), but the relationship stops feeling emotionally physical, if that makes sense. They replaced a lot of the small affectionate moments with angst and sex, and the balance just felt off.

And don’t even get me started on the breakup storyline because that was a mess too. I actually think they could’ve made the “hands off” law healthier and more modern without stripping Garrett of his personality or making him feel emotionally disconnected from Hannah. Here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OffCampusSeries/comments/1te4z7n/the_hands_off_law_scene_came_to_me_in_a_vision_we/

Ok guys, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how they could’ve made the Hands Off Law storyline more “green flag” without completely stripping Garrett of who he is, and I think it all comes down to one thing, they forgot Garrett is supposed to be witty, playful, cocky, and a little immature (newsflash, college students ARE immature and they are learning!).

In the first few episodes, they actually nailed Garret, he had a bit of an attitude, he teased Hannah, he had that sarcastic charm. Then suddenly he became overly serious all the time, and it felt like they watered down every messy, emotional, teenage part of him in the name of making him “healthier.” Let's not forget!! They are 19-year-olds. They are NOT supposed to have life figured out. They are allowed to overreact, to panic, make mistakes, say the wrong thing, and then learn from it. That’s literally the point of these characters and these books, we are reading about them growing up and learning about life and its ups and downs!

I actually think they could’ve kept the breakup almost exactly the same while still making Garrett sympathetic and emotionally intelligent.

WHILE I WAS SHOWERING THE HANDS OFF LAW WOKE SCENE CAME TO ME:

Garrett spirals after learning more about his dad & Cindy during thanksgiving, he has his hockey issues, and ofc the Delaney fight. He panics because he’s terrified of becoming his father, in that moment of fear and panick, he breaks up with Hannah, saying something like:
“You deserve better. You should find someone else.” This IS Garret, he is protective and emotional!!!

Then Hannah, heartbroken but still sassy (because Ella literally describes Hannah as sassy), and also knowing Garrett is making a mistake by breaking up with her, being strong about it, says something like:
“Okay fine. I’ll date more guys if that’s what you want.” And Garrett, trying to act mature about it, not angry but definitely broody and clearly dying inside, says, “Yes, I think that would probably be better for you than me.”

THAT is where the show needed to lean into Garrett’s personality instead of watering him down, and this is very college-teenage coded.

The we needed scenes of him regretting it instantly, missing her, looking miserable, stalking her. But also respecting that he fucked up and that HE was the one who told Hannah to date more. Deeply not wanting it to happen, but still allowing her that space.

So he tells the guys: “Just don’t be assholes and date my girlfriend. I know she’s gonna go out and try to date people to prove a point because I fucked up. I can’t just go ask her to get back together, but I also don’t want her to go and date people just to prove a point and feel bad about it.” Again, the OG reasoning. And we get Garret being sure of himself, and protective-ish, without making him controlling.

Then the rumor gets twisted into “Garrett Graham told everyone not to talk to Hannah,” which is EXACTLY the kind of college gossip that would happen, specially with the instagram gossip new plot. In between the locker scene and the gossip spiriling, we could have gotten the "How many guys" and "Happy New Year. Happy Birthday. You remembered" ICOOONIC lines.

Then Hannah storms into the locker room furious, says her piece, and Garrett finally gives us the ICONIIIIIIIIIC: “How was your break, baby?” And when she accuses him of telling people not to date her:
“Of course I did" and then he looks around the room and says "well, not like THAT.” AGAIN very Garret of him. Funny, sure of himself, protective, cocky, etc.

And from there, you we still have the healthier conversation:
“I don’t want to become my father.”
“I wasn’t scared of you, Garrett. I was hurt that you left.”
“I know. I fucked up. I acted in the heat of the moment. I regretted it instantly, but I also knew I couldn’t dump you and then immediately demand you come back. I didn’t want you to regret doing something just to prove a point either.” BLAH BLAH BLAH

That would’ve kept the emotional maturity while still preserving the actual personalities and age of these characters, and, in my opinion, one of the most iconic scenes of the book. This could have happened instead of having the deep dive-ish into Logan, and SUE ME, Deanallie, or even better, take out the wasted minutes on Allie and Sean,lmao.

Instead, it feels like they took all the sharp edges, humor, possessiveness, chaos, and chemistry out of Garrett because they were afraid audiences wouldn’t see him as “healthy” otherwise.

I think flawed, emotional, protective, slightly immature 19-year-olds are part the story, and there is nothing wrong with that. They are learning and they are allowed to make immature mistakes. Garret was acting too serious for who he was in the first 4 episodes.

Overall, I DID love the series ❤️

EDIT: This post is NOT about the actors, is about how they portray the character.

I’m genuinely nervous about Prime producing this show because they’ve already fumbled two MMCs that were supposed to be top book boyfriends. Conrad (TSITP) and Garrett Graham (Off Campus) were meant to be broody, intense, emotionally messy, and EXTREMELY in LOVE GONE OBSSESSED with the FMCs. Instead, Prime watered them down into emotionally flat, borderline uninterested men in the name of making them “healthier” or more palatable.

Us as readers do not fall in love with these characters because they’re perfectly adjusted or green flags. We love them because they’re obsessive, protective, a little toxic sometimes, emotionally intense, and completely IN LOOOOVE with the FMC. That tension is literally!!!!!! the appeal of romantasy and book boyfriends in general.

And before people twist this, nobody is saying real relationships should look like fantasy romance. But fiction is allowed to have heightened emotions. Xaden works BECAUSE he has possessive, jealous, slightly unhinged moments while still deeply respecting Violet. There’s a difference between abusive behavior and the kind of intense devotion readers actually enjoy in fiction. Prime already failed twice at translating that energy onto screen, replacing chemistry and obsession with blandness. I’m scared they’re going to do the exact same thing again and strip away everything that made Xaden our unhinged for love shadowdaddy compelling in the first place.

… I’m disappointed. The book feels like one long, exhausting extension of an extra chapter from book one rather than an actual second installment. For a sequel in a trilogy, the pacing is incredibly slow.

The romance barely exists. We’re a book and a half in and it still feels like nothing beyond a vague crush. The interactions between the FMC and MMC are weak, generic, and emotionally flat. Then suddenly there are random flirtatious moments that feel awkward and completely out of place because these characters are not close enough for those scenes to land naturally.

The MMC also feels underdeveloped. His entire personality seems to revolve around being “scary,” while the FMC is constantly whining and refusing to accept her power. At this point, the friend group dynamic is honestly more interesting than the main romance.

There have been like 5 battle scenes that feel almost irrelevant to the plot. They could have used those chapters to delve deeper into the Romance. It reads mostly like a Fantasy battle book rather than Romantasy.

What confuses me most is that this is only a three-book series. If book two is moving this slowly at 41%, I genuinely don’t know where the third book is supposed to go.