Near the beginning of The Idol’s fifth and final episode, “Jocelyn Forever,” a bunch of music executives smushed together on a couch to watch a 20-minute-long, glorified middle school talent show. They were all confused. And as they stared in bewilderment at the naked, dancing twentysomethings, I, too, wondered what in the world I was watching. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, as the last four episodes of this series have been almost equally confusing as this mess.
Last week, viewers of The Idol were shocked to learn that the show would be ending with five episodes. Other outlets had reported the season would be six episodes; however, HBO maintained with the fact that this was always a five-episode-long series. I beg to differ. After seeing this finale, it could be presumed that there was, indeed, a fifth episode, and this was supposed to be the sixth. Because when this episode begins, all of a sudden, everyone—including Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp)—is against Tedros (The Weeknd).
What happened to the sentiment from Episode 4, where Jocelyn was literally torturing one of her closest allies (Xander, played by Troye Sivan) because Tedros told her she should? We’re missing a puzzle piece here. Joss was slightly annoyed at Tedros for splashing Leia (Rachel Sennott) with some water and inviting his ex, Jocelyn’s old back-up dancer Dyanne (Jennie Kim), to her mansion. That’s not enough to fuel the spite Joss has in this episode, though.
“I think you should go. You’ve served your purpose,” she tells him a few minutes in. Later on, completely agitated with Tedros, she calls him “a fucking con-man and a fraud.” Call the cops on him, Joss! If you want Tedros to go, he’s on your property. The fuzz would gladly see him out.
Instead, Joss furiously preps for a meeting with Live Nation rep Andrew (Eli Roth) and record label exec Nikki (Jane Adams), along with her co-managers Destiny (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Chaim (Hank Azaria), who are visiting to make the final call on whether or not Jocelyn’s tour will still happen. Tedros tells his “family” to whip out the ass and tits—they might even have to “suck dick” if they want Andrew to stay.
Joss is in on this madness Tedros is promoting. She wants members of the cult, like Chloe (Suzanna Son), Izaak (Moses Sumney), and Ramsey (Ramsey)—you cannot convince me “Ramsey” was a real character in this show when she had maybe 45 seconds of screentime—to sing little songs and dance little dances to impress all of the big music biz people. Joss wants them to open for her tour together, though they’re all single acts, as if they were a twisted version of Boygenius and this were Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
So Chloe, Izaak, and Ramsey each sing full songs, all wearing nothing more than a Speedo, while giving lap dances to Andrew and Nikki to impress them. As they perform, the execs all have separate conversations among themselves. All this hubbub makes the scene chaotic and disorienting. Nikki confronts Tedros (about nothing, really) while Moses shakes his butt at the crowd in the same way families at the zoo jangle car keys to try to get the attention of penguins.
And, my biggest question: Why in the world is Mike Dean still here?
The entire scene climaxes as Xander, who has a fraught relationship with Joss after her mom forced him to sign a contract saying he’d never perform professionally in her presence, sings one final song for the crowd. As he does, Jocelyn tells Chaim to pay Tedros “whatever it takes” to kick him out. Chaim tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf—don’t ask me why—before police arrive to escort Tedros out of Joss’ mansion. Finally.
The music execs love these performers. They applaud Tedros—sadly, he’s not present for their admiration—for finding such a talented bunch. I’m not too well-versed in the music industry, but I can’t imagine it’s that hard to find a few good singers with nice bodies. It’s the making them a star, creating hits, and maintaining a public image that’s the hard part. The show itself has implemented this message through Dyanne’s storyline. So why are they so in awe of Tedros, who simply made a cult while being completely talentless?
As if the mess surrounding Tedros, the talent show, and the music execs weren’t enough, The Idol adds one more layer to the chaos. Joss’ ex-boyfriend, actor Rob (Karl Glusman), has been accused of rape by Sophie (Sophie Mudd), one of Tedros’ cultmembers. In the last episode, if you’ll remember, Sophie used Xander to get a photo with Rob, claiming she was a “big fan.” They did nothing more together than that one photo.
This woman is lying because Tedros has forced her to lie—all a play to win Joss over—but what a nightmarish storyline this is. By including this false rape narrative, creator Sam Levinson has empowered all Hollywood power players who deny the allegations of victims. He has given power to abusers. Though Rob himself is not an abuser in the show, to say that this is a thing that happens—women falsely accusing men of rape for personal gain—is a nasty message for The Idol to send. It is abhorrent, misogynistic, cruel, demeaning, immature, and, to top it all off, pointless.
After Joss gives a stellar performance to really prove that she’s ready to tour, Andrew approves everything. Things are looking up for Joss. Nikki cancels Dyanne’s single, which would’ve ripped “World Class Sinner” out of Joss’ hands, and sets her full attention on Jocelyn. Frankly, I would’ve loved a bigger catfight between Dyanne and Jocelyn. Dyanne’s final look, glaring at Nikki as elevator doors close on her, is barely enough to satisfy me.
Six weeks later, everything seems to have solved itself. Jocelyn is ready for opening night at a sold out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, with a quartet (including Xander) opening for her. Chaim has paid off Vanity Fair journalist Talia (Hari Nef) to write a lengthy exposé on Tedros instead of a profile on Jocelyn. Leia has quit as Joss’ personal assistant.
Everything is right in the world. Until Tedros shows up at SoFi Stadium, where VIP passes are sealed with his name on them.
After an entire episode pushing out the abuser, Jocelyn welcomes him back into her life. She is happy to see him. She brings him around SoFi before leading him to his private box. And as she starts the tour, she invites the “love of her life,” Tedros, to join her on stage. An entire episode seems to be undone, all so Jocelyn can now be the captor holding Tedros captive. Though the music business scenes were gripping in this final episode, by inviting Tedros back into the mix, again, Levinson’s series has opted to embrace abuse, as if it were something to play around with, like a pawn in a board game
“You’re mine forever,” Jocelyn whispers to Tedros after introducing him to her fans. “Now, go stand over there.”
The Sam Levinson of It All
Sam Levinson, who has already drummed up quite a bit of controversy thanks to his past works like Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie, is the creative “visionary” behind The Idol. Here are the moments we thought really show the audience the man he is.
-The only thing that indicates the vibe of Tedros has changed from Episode 4 to 5 is his hair. The rat tail is a mess. Truly, The Weeknd’s performance was so bad that they had to whittle his “acting” down to a hairstyle. The frizzy mess made me chuckle—we get it! He sucks.
-Another odd pop culture joke from Andrew: “Are we at fucking Hunter Biden’s house?” he asks as the performers put on their talent show. “What the fuck is goin on here?”
-I don’t even understand this interaction in the slightest: “Wait, you are a cunt?” Tedros asks Nikki as they have a random powwow in the middle of the talent show. “Yeah,” she says, “but I can be your cunt.” What? Take the word “cunt” out of Levinson’s hands. That word is for women and women only.
-When Nikki finds out about the allegations against Rob, she announces it to the room. “He raped a woman,” she says. Everyone is shocked, a chorus of “what”s and “why”s follow. Her answer to those questions is, simply, “Well, he raped a well-endowed woman.”
Read more of our coverage of The Idol HERE.
