Spoilers ahead! If you haven’t finished Off Campus, I go into the plot a bit so be warned. Also, if you haven’t binged the entire series, what are you even doing with your life?!
If you’ve clicked in, you’re probably one of the many, many obsessed fans of Amazon Prime’s hit show Off Campus. Although at the surface, it may seem like a typical romance, viewers are praising how refreshing the show is because the guys are multifaceted — credited to the fact that the book that inspired the series was written by a woman. It has even started a trend on social media with women expressing how much they enjoy male characters written by women.
Although the characters aren’t perfect, they don’t perpetuate negative or toxic stereotypes. For example, the show’s star, Garret (played by Belmont Cameli) has casual sex with multiple partners but he’s always open from the very beginning that he’s not looking for a relationship. Typically, this kind of character would be deceitful, untrustworthy, disrespectful, and selfish especially towards women — think Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. A character like this would also get away with lying or manipulating women to have sex with him. Instead, Garret is honest and upfront — the total opposite.
Off Campus is different, some may argue that it’s unrealistic however, even men are applauding the show’s representation of men that actually express their emotions, are upfront about their intentions, and prioritize women’s sexual needs and safety.
Social media is blowing up with praise for the main character, Garrett, but there’s one character who’s actions need some attention too because it’s subtle enough to miss if you’re not paying attention (I can’t blame you because there are so many steamy scenes that can be so distracting and… anyway let me get back on track) but I think it’s worth applauding.
I’m talking about Logan (played by Antonio Cipriano). Throughout the series it becomes apparent that he has been crushing on Hannah (played by Ella Bright) for quite some time. And although they’ve met numerous times before she starts hanging out with Logan’s teammate Garrett, Hannah doesn’t remember meeting him. During a conversation, Logan mentions to Hannah that he fixed her car once. He also tells Garrett that she’s waited on them a bunch of times at a local restaurant she works at when Garrett is shocked Logan knows her name when he’s trying to figure out who she is.
Although Hannah and Logan become acquainted with each other, and he’s crushing hard, he is in the friend zone.
It’s not an uncommon trope, however what’s different is how Logan never acts as though Hannah is rejecting him and more importantly, he doesn’t make her responsible for his feelings.
When I was in high school, it was typical for a boy to be angry about being friend zoned. Sadly, girls were usually villainized for not being open to dating a boy who secretly had a crush on them when he finally revealed that he played the part of a supportive friend waiting for her to take notice. Society perpetuated the idea that nice guys should always get a chance.
It may not seem like a big deal, but someone not being romantically interested in you doesn’t always have to be seen as rejection, especially when they’re not giving you mixed signals or false hope. It also doesn’t always need to be personal and Off Campus finds a organic way to play out this scenario between Logan and Hannah that’s refreshing.
What do you think?
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