Off Campus Recap Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4

This recap includes mention of rape and sexual assault, which some readers may find distressing. 

My A rating here is mostly because of how a specific part of the story was handled, and though I don’t give it too often, I feel that Off Campus deserved it. I don’t think we are necessarily lacking in stories about the interior lives of women, but for a show to do it well, to capture a delicate tonal balance, to exercise sensitivity without preaching, hats off. Whereas the first couple of episodes merely hinted at Hannah’s trauma, the third and especially the fourth episodes addressed it – with safety, with the comfort of a friend she trusted, with frankness and without judgment. 

Garrett isn’t a realistic depiction of a college star athlete, or even a regular male? Neither is Aragorn, but for a very long time, he was the man of my nerdy dreams. What is fiction if not a dream? There is room for the realistic and the gritty, the stories that tackle darkness and almost suffocating daily despair. There is also room for light, to show that this is how one wants to be treated, to be loved, to present a place where your heart can rest. To aim for romance is to insist that life be more than bland existence. To aim for romance is to insist on joy.

And what is more romantic than a man who sees you, truly sees you? With Hannah’s patient help, Garrett got the grade he needed to be able to continue playing hockey. But, that was only half the deal. The other half was Justin, and Hannah was still mortified at Justin seeing her Justin playlist and thinking she was a deranged fan girl. Garrett wisely advised her not to text Justin back, and instead took her (and Allie) to karaoke night at Malone's.

At first, Hannah refused to participate in karaoke; she reasoned that it was no fun doing karaoke sober, and she did not drink in public. Garrett gently asked if she wanted to drink. He promised to look after Allie, who was drunkenly spiraling due to the deteriorating state of her relationship with missionary devotee Sean, and to guard their drinks with his life. Freed from the pressure of being on guard for her safety, Hannah happily experimented with various drinks, until she found her drink. She also got on stage and sang Cherry Pie, the same song that was playing when she walked in on Garrett performing oral sex on a girl in his bedroom when they were supposed to be studying. Garrett was driving the girls home when Allie realised she left her purse at the already closed Malone’s, which happened to contain their keys. Garrett took the girls to his house instead, and after gently depositing Allie on the couch, he followed the trail of clothes Hannah left up the stairs and into his room, where she waited wearing only his hockey jersey.

Hannah tried to have sex with Garrett, and because the show is insistent on being a safe space, Garrett gently but firmly told her no. Hannah slept under the comforter whilst Garrett on top of the comforter with only a thin blanket over him; it’s these small details that make me really like the show. The following morning, Hannah woke to a message from Justin inviting her to come over to work on her song whilst his roommates were gone. Hannah made Garrett coffee, made sure he was fully awake, then asked for her final favour – that he give her an orgasm.

Hannah told Garrett something she has not told anyone at the university, not even Allie – when she was in high school, she was drugged and raped. She said she had a good therapist, and that she was not fragile. However, though she could orgasm on her own, she has not been able to orgasm with a guy. She figured that if she could finish with a friend like Garrett, she might be less nervous about hooking up with Justin. There was careful, sensitive frankness in the writing of this scene, and in the performances of the actors, which I truly appreciate.

Garrett tried to play it cool, but Hannah’s request weighed on him, and he ended up seeking the advice of the one person who has had more sex than him – Dean. Since Garrett kept Hannah’s secret, Dean assumed Garrett was asking for advice because Hannah was a virgin. Dean actually gave good advice – trust, consent, foreplay. 

Hannah arrived at the appointed time wearing a short, tight dress that belonged to Allie. Because Garrett was the perfect fantasy, he asked if she would be more comfortable in something else, and gave her a shirt. He turned around to give her privacy whilst she changed; even when she said he didn’t have to, he was about to see her naked, he replied, ‘Yeah. But not until you want me to.’ The man took Dean’s advice to heart. 

He asked Hannah to pick a song to set the mood, which she mocked, but she picked one of his most played songs – Baby Now That I’ve Found You by The Foundations. He started dork dancing, and Hannah joined him, smiling, laughing, relaxing, shedding the nervousness that she arrived with. Even when they finally came together, he looked at her lips for long moments before he kissed her, tenderly at first. He lifted her, so that she was the one leaning down and kissing him, until he laid her gently on the bed. 

It was when he started moving the kiss down her neck, and his hand was on her thigh, that she started hyperventilating. Garrett recognised the panic attack, and he said they should stop. Hannah tried to continue, but she could not. An important detail is that as they spoke, as Garrett gently reassured her, he stayed close but he did not touch her. Then, he suggested one last thing, but only if she were willing – that she give herself an orgasm, that she show him, and he would show her. 

If one did not watch the show and only found out there was a scene like this, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a naughty scene. It was sexy, sure, but it was also full of tenderness and trust. Hannah’s trauma made her unable to fully trust, to let go. Garrett trusted her and she trusted him and they came together, not quite lovers, but with a deep friendship solidified by intimacy. 

Even if he did not quite know it, Garrett caught feelings before Hannah did, but Hannah has been having her Justin dreams interrupted by thoughts of Garrett. When they were at the kitchen eating, laughing, casually chatting, for a moment, it looked like they had a chance to explore what they were beyond friends. But, Garrett’s phone started beeping with snaps from his fan girls, and the moment was broken. 

After Garrett’s teammates convinced him he needed to tell Hannah how he felt, he showed up at Allie’s production of Drunk Shakespeare, where of course Justin attended as well. Garrett had a chance to apologise to Kendall, but before he could find the words for Hannah, Hannah told him Justin told her he wanted to ask her out. Garrett ended up doing a night time practice on the ice whilst Hannah stayed behind talking to Justin.

For too long, Hannah held Justin up as an unattainable ideal, but that was over. She tracked Garrett down to the ice, went up to the broadcast booth with her keyboard, and started singing Baby Now That I’ve Found You. Garrett heard her and ran up. And that was how the episode left us, with these two friends and almost lovers, looking at each other, breathing heavily. 

As I usually do, I am writing these recaps as I watch each episode (in this case, two episodes), but I am seeing a fair number of tweets in my timeline talking about how they keep rewatching Off Campus. I haven’t done it, but I can certainly understand it. Beyond the thrill of a love well done, there is also comfort in the respect and attention that Garrett almost instinctively provides Hannah. It’s a fantasy. And that’s completely fine. 

Rating: A

Strays

🌸Allie told Sean she got an agent, which was a very big deal, but he was not excited for her. He did not think there was a future in her dream of acting, and he thought she would join him in Vermont after graduation, where he would work for his father’s insurance company. Beyond their sexual incompatibility, Allie knew that they wanted different things, and so she broke up with him. But, she has done this before, multiple times, only to beg him to take her back, so Sean did not take her seriously. Sean loved her, he paid attention to even the littlest things like her chapstick running out, but it was disturbing how he was not hearing her when she was doing her best to communicate with him.

🌸To be fair, Sean did know Allie, and he was right about her usual pattern following their breakup. This time, however, Dean, who was mesmerised by Allie at his party, was around. He could barely take his eyes off of her during Drunk Shakespeare. Later, Allie decided to call someone on her phone she labeled Do Not Call.

🌸Logan was struggling with his Hannah crush, and Jules called him out on it. 

🌸Beau and Dean’s hazing of Tucker involved making him take care of a fruit, except every time he screwed up (like allowing Dean to eat the fruit), it would get replaced with something bigger. It was a very funny gag, but it also made me think who amongst the boys constantly carried the fruit replacement. 

🌸Hannah’s teacher thought her song, with Justin’s lyrics, was an improvement to what she previously brought to class, but that he could not hear her from it. 

🌸Garrett’s teammate Bertie cut through his suffering by correctly identifying that he was into Hannah. When Garrett decided to tell Hannah, it was sweet how supportive Dean was, like, right move, good for you. 

🌸Garrett's commitment to not remembering Justin's name was hilarious. On the first episode, he called him Jacob. Here, he was Jordan.

You can access Recap Lab's full coverage of Off Campus via this link.

Episode 3 Title: The Orgasm

Episode Teleplay: Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson

Episode 4 Title: The Breakup

Episode Teleplay: Cheech Manohar

Episode Director: Samantha Bailey

Original Release Date: May 13, 2026

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