My Devastating ‘Off Campus’ Season 2 Theory: The ‘Call Dean’ Twist I’m Predicting
What To Know
- The first season of Off Campus, which follows Elle Kennedy’s The Deal, dropped on May 13.
- Season 1 also began to explore Dean and Allie’s romance, which is the focus of The Score.
- This theory puts a twist on a devastating plot point from Dean and Allie’s book.
Ever since Off Campus dropped its first season, my mind has been churning with ideas. Season 1 stayed mostly faithful to Elle Kennedy’s The Deal, but also incorporated parts of Dean (Stephen Kalyn) and Allie’s (Mika Abdalla) story from The Score. Like the rest of the world, the Dean and Allie meal we were treated to in Season 1 is all I can think about. Naturally, this had me percolating about the rest of their book — and how the show could switch up some of their pivotal moments.
Needless to say, this has snowballed into my Dean and Allie theory that tweaks their “call Dean” moment from The Score. The scene, which occurs after Allie’s ex-boyfriend, Sean, cruelly shames her for hooking up with Dean, leads to a shift in Dean and Allie’s relationship. They’ve been keeping their hookups a secret, and at her lowest point, she only wants Dean. She tells Hannah to call Dean for her, and he races to her side.
Given what Season 1 has already done with Dean and Allie, I don’t think this scene can play out exactly as it does in the book. For one, Allie doesn’t seem to be that concerned with Sean (Riley Davis) by the end of the season. After a quick hookup with Dean, Sean shows up at her door and finds her dressed in lingerie. “You really can’t be alone, can you?” he says to her. This prompts Allie to slow down her roller coaster situationship with Dean and give them a “sexy homework assignment” to sleep with other people. Allie unknowingly sleeps with Hunter Davenport (Charlie Evans), a guy Dean has no love for at the moment. Dean, already so down bad for Allie, is in the middle of trying to tell Allie that he has feelings for her when Hunter walks in the door. Dean quickly deduces that Hunter is the guy Allie slept with, and a fight breaks out at Malone’s.
The Allie and Hunter hookup doesn’t happen in The Score. Dean realizing he wants to be with Allie exclusively has happened earlier than book fans ever expected. Given this turn of events, I think that the “call Dean” moment will be flipped into a “call Allie” moment.
Why? Because all roads lead back to Beau Maxwell (Khobe Clarke).
Everyone who’s read The Score is well aware of Beau’s fate. Dean’s best friend is tragically killed in a car accident while driving on icy roads. There’s no way that the series won’t tackle this core aspect of The Score, even though it’s going to hurt like getting 57 stitches ripped open all at once.
The show has already established a sweet bond between Beau and Allie after their joint car ride with Dean over Thanksgiving break. Dean also tells Beau about Allie, and Beau encourages Dean to tell Allie that he’s into her in a way he’s never been with any other girl.
Off Campus Season 2 is likely to turn up the angst with Dean and Allie after the Hunter Davenport cliffhanger. Dean’s feelings for Allie have put him in a vulnerable spot, and they’re both going to probably retreat and shut off their true emotions so they don’t get hurt. But Dean and Allie won’t be able to stay away from each other for long, and they’ll keep hooking up while denying that they’re falling in love. (Jealous Dean and Jealous Allie scenes are a must in Season 2.)
Enter Christmas break. Allie and Dean will spend a day together while they’re home, and he’ll meet her dad and learn about her mom. This day will be the first time since Thanksgiving that these two have been truly open with each other, and they’ll both be inching towards officially getting together.
Then, Dean will have to go back to campus for hockey practice, but he’ll promise Beau and Allie that he’ll spend New Year’s Eve with them in New York City, and they’ll ride back to school together. Beau, always an ally to Allie, will plan to use New Year’s Eve to get Allie and Dean together, culminating in a New Year’s kiss. He wants to see his best friend happy and knows that Dean is in love with Allie.
But, unfortunately, Dean gets caught up at Briar and doesn’t end up coming to New York after all. Beau and Allie spend New Year’s Eve together, and as he did with Dean, Beau encourages Allie not to shy away from her feelings for Dean. (Also, this is a way to really bring Summer into the narrative and establish Summer and Allie’s bond. Don’t even get me started on the bottle episode idea I have about Beau and Summer.)
And this is where it’s going to hurt. I apologize in advance.
Since Dean misses New Year’s Eve, Beau drives back to campus alone. Allie is supposed to go with him, but she winds up staying behind with her dad at the last minute. Just like what happens in The Score, Beau is killed in a car accident while driving on icy roads.
Dean is devastated over the loss of his best friend, and there’s even a brief moment when he first learns the news that he thinks Allie’s in the car, too. In the midst of his overwhelming grief, there’s only one person he needs: Allie. This is where the switch happens. Dean will tell Garrett (Belmont Cameli) to “call Allie” for him, confirming to everyone the depth of his connection to Allie. She’ll race to his side to be there for him.
This spin on the “call Dean” moment works to push the narrative forward in the show. Allie is one of the only people in Dean’s life who understands what it’s like to lose someone. Allie will also have been the last person to see Beau before he died, which deepens Allie and Dean’s bond. They’ll both acknowledge in the moment that they want to be together exclusively, but this won’t be able to stop Dean from spiraling as he mourns his best friend. The survivor’s guilt and believing that he could have prevented the accident if he’d just come to New York will eat at him. Cue more angst.
Even with a storyline shift like this, the show can still stay book-accurate when it comes to Dean’s arc post-Beau’s death. Dean’s unraveling will ultimately lead to Allie breaking up with him after he misses her play. Once he puts himself back together, he’ll have to win her back.
The happy ending for Dean and Allie will still happen, but my gut (just ask the Tell Me Lies cast how accurate my gut instinct is) tells me their journey is about to take some unexpected detours.
“Call Dean,” it’s time to meet “Call Allie.”
Off Campus, Season 1, Streaming Now, Prime Video
Off Campus, Season 2, TBA, Prime Video
