Warning: this article discusses sexual assault and contains spoilers for Off Campus season one.
If you haven’t been watching Off Campus, what have you been doing? Seriously — do you even go on TikTok?
We’re no strangers to a viral TV obsession, whether it’s Beef or Netflix documentaries like Should I Marry a Murderer?. We’re also well acquainted with successful book-to-screen adaptations, from Bridgerton to The Testaments. And yet nothing quite prepares you for the frenzy surrounding Off Campus.
The new Prime Video hit is based on the Elle Kennedy book series of the same name, and season one centres on aspiring composer Hannah Wells and hockey star Garrett Graham. Yes, each Off Campus book follows a different hockey romance, and honestly, we couldn’t be more excited.
The premise is classic chaos: Hannah agrees to tutor Garrett on the condition that he enters a fake relationship with her to get the attention of her crush. However, in a truly shocking and completely unforeseen twist (wink), the pair fall in love along the way.
But do Hannah and Garrett actually end up together in Off Campus? And what happens in the books? We need answers on our new favourite couple.
Do Hannah and Garrett end up together in the Off Campus season 1 finale?
Okay, buckle up, folks.
Midway through the season, the emotional gut-punch fans of the book series saw coming finally arrives. It’s revealed that Hannah’s intimacy issues stem from a traumatic assault in high school, when she was date-raped by the mayor’s son, also a hockey player. Meanwhile, Garrett’s strained relationship with his abusive father, a former hockey star with impossibly high expectations, has left him terrified of becoming a “monster” himself.
Things come to a head on the ice during a high-stakes game between Briar U and their rival school, captained by Hannah’s former attacker. He makes crude comments about Hannah, which sets Garrett off. The match spirals into an explosive on-ice brawl, leading to Garrett’s suspension and temporarily pulling the brakes on his relationship with Hannah.
In the aftermath, Hannah begins to reclaim her voice, writing a song about her trauma and healing, while Garrett confronts his own fears and realises he can love hockey on his own terms, separate from his father’s shadow. He knows that he will never become abusive like his father.
Eventually, the couple find their way back to each other, stronger than before, finally able to choose love without fear. (Cue all the tears).
And then comes the line that seals it all: “I meant what I said before, you should be with whoever you want to be with. But… I really want that guy to be me.”
Did the Off Campus TV show almost have a different ending?
According to Mika Abdalla, who plays Hannah’s best friend Allie, the first season of Off Campus almost had a completely different ending. In the version that never aired, a huge hockey team brawl erupts after Dean discovers that Allie slept with rival player Hunter Davenport (Charlie Evans).
“A very different ending was originally planned for this season,” Abdalla reveals. “Watching the boys film that fight was crazy. It was really fun and also horrifying!”
When asked why the original ending was changed, Levy remains deliberately coy. “That would be a spoiler because we might get to it at another time,” she teases.
Uh oh, sounds like trouble is brewing for Allie and Dean…
Do Hannah and Garrett end up together in the Off Campus book?
There are quite a few deviations between the Off Campus books and the TV adaptation, so it’s only natural to wonder whether the couple’s outcome is one of those changes.
In the novel, Garrett’s father manipulates Hannah into breaking up with him by threatening to cut off financial support for Garrett’s education if they stay together. This differs from the series, where the pair split after Garrett attacks Hannah’s rapist, Aaron Delaney, during an ice hockey game.
Either way, the pair ultimately find their way back to each other, because they simply can’t stay apart — swoon.
In the book, Garrett tells Hannah that he doesn’t need his father’s money to continue his studies. In the TV show, he comes to realise that while he was wrong to beat up Aaron, he is not his father, and he can pursue a relationship with Hannah long-term without following in his footsteps.
Hannah and Garrett do, in fact, end up together in the first Off Campus novel.
Do Hannah and Garrett stay together for the rest of the Off Campus book series?
The following Off Campus novels follow different couples. The Mistake centres on hockey captain John Logan and newcomer Grace Ivers, The Score focuses on Hannah’s best friend Allie Hayes and playboy Dean Di Laurentis, and The Goal follows John Tucker and lawyer-to-be Sabrina James.
However, given Allie and Dean’s storyline in the first season, it wouldn’t be surprising if the show opts for a Bridgerton-style reshuffle and shifts focus to them in Off Campus season two.
Either way, while Hannah and Garrett appear throughout the series, it’s only in the final Off Campus novel, The Legacy, that we discover how their story ultimately ends.
Set after graduation, The Legacy finds Garrett now playing professional hockey alongside his college friends. Hannah, meanwhile, discovers she is pregnant with his child.
Initially, Hannah keeps the pregnancy secret, worried about raising a baby alone during hockey season. But after experiencing cramps, she eventually leaves Garrett a voicemail confessing the truth, prompting him to rush her to the hospital. Thankfully, both she and the baby are okay.
At first, Garrett is furious that she kept it from him and even compares her actions to his father’s. But beneath that reaction is his deep fear of becoming a parent like his dad. Once he realises this, he apologises to Hannah, who then suggests they get married.
Garrett later surprises her with a proper proposal — sob. He also records an interview exposing his father’s abusive behaviour, choosing to break the cycle publicly.
The novel closes with an epilogue in which Hannah and Garrett discover they are expecting twins, a boy and a girl. A happy ending after all!
Now let's go find some TV shows like Off Campus.
Watch season one of Off Campus on Prime Video.
