Off Campus is an American television show based on the popular novel series of the same name written by Elle Kennedy. The show follows Hannah Wells, a music student at Briar University, and Garrett Graham, a student athlete who plays on the men’s hockey team and is a top NHL prospect for the Boston Bruins. To get the attention of her crush, Hannah begins a fake-dating pact with Garrett, who agrees to the ruse in exchange for tutoring. The two unexpectedly fall in love as they help one another navigate family pressures and past personal traumas.
Throughout the show, viewers witness the strained highly volatile relationship between Garrett and his father, hockey legend, Phil Graham. Having lost his mother to cancer at a young age, Garrett faces toxic pressure from Phil to follow in his footsteps.
The family tension comes to a head over Thanksgiving dinner, where Garrett introduces Hannah to Phil and his new fiancée, Cindy. Though the dinner starts smoothly, the facade of normalcy drops when they all reach across the table to say grace, revealing bruises on Cindy’s arm and hands. This sends Garrett into a panic, triggering a painful childhood memory of watching his father berate his mom from behind a cracked door.
Portraying domestic violence on screen can be difficult, but Off Campus navigates these heavy themes (amongst others) with surprising care. Here’s what we think the show got right when it came to capturing some of the complex realities of intimate partner violence.
Abusers may hide behind charm and success
- In the show: Phil Graham is a wildly successful hockey player who people and fans adore. Garrett’s friends recognize that Phil might not be the warmest father and is often hard on Garrett but tend to dismiss or downplay Garrett’s negative feelings for his dad.
- The reality: This dual personality is a common tactic among abusers and serves as a powerful tool for gaslighting survivors. Because the community only sees the charming, supportive public persona, a survivor who tries to speak out is often met with disbelief, minimization, or suggestions that they are simply overreacting. This isolation makes it incredibly difficult for survivors to trust their own reality or seek help.
The complexities of leaving an abusive relationship
- In the show: After witnessing the bruises on Cindy’s arms, Garrett and Hannah immediately decide to leave the house. Cindy follows them into the driveway, where Garrett implores her to walk away from his father, sharing that he watched his own mother suffer through the exact same behavior. Instead of leaving, Cindy defends Phil, insisting that Garrett doesn’t understand and that Phil is actively working to change.
- The reality: While it is easy for an outsider to demand a survivor just “pack up and leave,” the reality of untangling oneself from an abusive partner is complex. In fact, a survivor’s risk of severe harm or lethality often escalates dramatically when an abuser senses they are losing control or when a survivor decides to leave.
- The reality: Cindy’s defense of Phil highlights a painful truth: abusive relationships are rarely entirely bad all the time. They are deeply intertwined with love, history, and hope. Phil’s promises to “be better” reflect the reconciliation phase in the cycle of violence. An abuser will often apologize, make excuses, or show genuine remorse after an incident occurs. The survivor desperately wants to believe this behavior change is permanent, but unfortunately, the cycle inevitably resets.
The emotional toll on family and friends
- In the show: Throughout the season, we see Garrett struggle with intense anxiety and triggers as Cindy chooses to stay with his father.
- The reality: Watching a loved one navigate an abusive relationship is an incredibly heavy, draining experience.
- In the show: Hannah provides support for Garrett, helping him cope by anchoring him in happy memories of his mother and encouraging him to set boundaries and focus on what he can control.
- The reality: Friends and family don’t need to be domestic violence experts to provide meaningful support; basic validation and helping someone set healthy boundaries can go a long way. At the same time, it is vital to remember that professional resources exist for a reason. Gently offering to connect someone with an advocate or therapist is an excellent way to ensure they have the right tools for healing.
- In the show: Hannah reminds Cindy that she deserves safety and that resources are available if she wants them. Even though Cindy does not leave Phil by the end of Season 1, seeds of support are planted.
- The reality: In the world of advocacy, letting a survivor know they are not alone and that resources exist is important as isolation is exactly what abusers rely on.
Witnessing abuse is a form of trauma that shapes a child’s adult relationships
- In the show: Garrett’s intense aversion to becoming like his father, his initial fear of vulnerability with Hannah, and his immediate, visceral panic response at the Thanksgiving table illustrate how trauma triggers can manifest in adult children of abusers.
- The reality: The show accurately portrays that witnessing abuse leaves long-lasting psychological scars and if unaddressed, could lead to the cycle of abuse continuing in future generations.
While television and movies often strip the nuance from stories of abuse, Off Campus captures the complexities of domestic violence well. It accurately portrays that abusers can be beloved public figures, that leaving is a dangerous process rather than a single choice, and that allies need support too. We are encouraged to see a popular series tackle this difficult topic and others so thoughtfully.
Did you watch? We’d love to know what your thoughts!
The Second Step provides free, trauma-informed services for survivors of domestic violence throughout Greater Boston and beyond. We are dedicated to ending the cycle of abuse with our wraparound support, including safety planning, legal services, housing stabilization, support groups, and community education.
If you or someone you love needs support, The Second Step is here. Call 617-965-2538 or email info@thesecondstep.org to be connected to an advocate.