A Pop Tarts & Rat Tales Recap:
The Idol’s opening scene sets the tone for MAX’s long-awaited new series from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. We meet pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) in the midst of an album cover shoot wearing a bright red backless robe with black lace appliques. She laughs. Flashes her doe eyes. Acts emotional complete with tears running down her cheeks before being sexy again. It’s reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests. If she can do all this on cue, it makes one wonder what else she’s capable of.
There’s a lot happening behind the scenes, and we’re quickly introduced to the pop star’s team. It’s not clear just yet what all their motives are, but they surely have their work cut out for them today.
Singer/actor Troye Sivan is creative director Xander. He’s concerned they’re glorifying mental illness in Joss’s post-breakdown state and questions whether she should be wearing her hospital bracelet in the shoot. He’s quickly shut down by no-nonsense Nikki (Jane Adams), an unfiltered label exec who proceeds to explain how “mental illness is sexy.”
Joss opens her robe a little more, exposing her nipples. The intimacy coordinator rushes in to shut it down. Joss is adamant she’s fully comfortable exposing herself. (Noted.) However, according to Joss’s nudity clause, side boob is okay, but areolas are not. It will take 48 hours to officially update it.
Simultaneously Destiny (Da’Vine Joy Randolf) rushes in to speak with Joss’s manager Chaim (Hank Azaria). They’re joined outside by Joss’s best friend/overworked assistant Leia (Rachel Sennot), the moral compass of the show (for now). A photo of Joss with cum on her face is going viral. The temporary solution is to hide Joss’s phone while they figure it out to avoid the pop star having another mental breakdown.
Joss demands Chaim do something about the pushy intimacy coordinator. Chaim locks him in the bathroom and gives someone $5,000 to keep the door shut so the shoot can continue. If Joss is the new Britney Spears, Chaim is her Larry Rudolph.
Publicist Benjamin (Dan Levy) tells the team the intimate photo is now trending on Twitter. To top it off, Vanity Fair pop culture writer Talia Hirsch (Hari Nef) arrives interview-ready, likely to ask Joss about the viral photo she doesn’t know about yet. Benjamin tries to convince Talia that the pop star has been focusing on her wellness since her mother died from cancer.
Post-shoot Joss goes upstairs looking for her phone tailed by Leia. She questions Leia about what the team’s been whispering about all day. Leia deflects and says the dancers have been out in the hot sun so she needs to get changed for rehearsal asap.
The most memorable (and brash) entrance is made by Live Nation exec Andrew Finkelstein (Eli Roth) in his cliché flashy red sports car. When asked for his ID, he pauses his loud Bluetooth convo to show security a Google Image results page instead. Inside he tells Chaim ticket sales for Joss’s upcoming tour aren’t selling, and this viral photo is going to make matters worse. The team tries to convince him Joss didn’t have a psychotic break, and she’s fine.
Joss heads outside puffing on a cigarette, decked out in a black micro-bralette and micro-mini set. Leia continues to run interference by instructing Joss to tell Talia she’s running behind and will talk to her later. When the two are introduced, Talia tells Joss she grew up watching her on Rock House. Unfortunately that’s the last we learn of the idol’s Rock House origin story for now.
Joss meets up with her dancers, including Dyanne played by Blackpink’s Jennie Kim who tells her she needs to come out to the club tonight. While Joss & co dance to her new single World Class Sinner, Talia points out that the choreography heavily references Britney. This leads Benjamin to call Joss and Britney’s traumas “unique, but ultimately universal.” The perfect sound bite.
Joss seems a bit lost on the dance floor, and her moves aren’t sharp enough. Her choreographer tells her to sit out the next run and watch how Dyanne does it. This is where we see the magic that Lily-Rose brings to this troubled character.
As Joss sits on the sidelines in her shades, smoking and half-watching the dancers, she’s also observing her team clearly keeping something from her. She quickly wipes away the anxious tears that have formed hidden beneath her sunglasses. When she rejoins the dancers, she asks Dyanne if everyone is watching. Of course they are. She closes her eyes for a moment, tapping into her pop star bravado, then leaves everyone in awe as she nails each good-girl-gone-bad dance move. She flashes a smile at her team on the balcony above and blows them a kiss, the illusion of a pop princess with her shit together.
After the dancing wraps, the team finally shows her the photo and tells her they’re investigating who posted it. Joss keeps a straight face before saying it could be worse and rushing off. Referencing other celebs with similar scandals, the team convinces themselves Joss will be more famous than she was before once this blows over. Joss enters her sauna where Dyanne is already waiting wrapped in a towel. She lights another cigarette, inquiring about that club Dy mentioned earlier.
Joss rolls up to the club in a vintage red Rolls Royce convertible, top-down, with Leia, Xander, and Dyanne. Outside they’re met with a crush of paparazzi. Inside keeping-the-rattail-alive club owner Tedros (Abel Tesfaye a.k.a. The Weeknd) spots her partying in the distance. He gives her a shout out on the mic and asks her to come dance with him.
The pair grooves to Madonna’s Like a Prayer. It’s fun, free, wild, sexy, and a little dangerous. Leia looks on fully sober, half-nervous and half-envious. Joss and Tedros start making out, and sneak off to a stairwell. As they’re about to hook up, they hear Leia frantically looking for Joss which stops them dead in their tracks. Leia returns to the dance floor where Izaak (Moses Sumney) appears and asks her to dance. She abandons her search for Joss and starts grinding with him, leaving one to believe maybe she was a bit jealous of Joss and Tedros after all.
Back in the stairwell, Joss and Tedros actually have a serious conversation about pop music. Joss admits she thinks it’s superficial while Tedros points out that Prince sang pop music with substance. He explains how pop is actually quite powerful and allows artists to say what they want. After admitting they’re in like, he tells her, “You got the best job in the world. You should be having way more fun.” “I’m trying,” she responds.
Post-club Joss stumbles into her house alone. She chokes herself as she masturbates on the couch. While many will argue this scene was unnecessary, it just adds another layer to her image. Pop stars can be sad and sexual. Relax.
The next day Joss finally sits down with Talia for the Vanity Fair interview. When Talia asks if her deceased mother ever lived in her mansion, Joss’s open demeanor quickly shifts as she becomes silent and lights a cigarette.
Throughout the interview the recorder gets paused several times.
Off the record Talia reassures Joss that she genuinely admires her. On the record Talia brings up the viral photo and suggests Joss fuck up the guy who leaked the photo. Surprisingly Joss asks, “Revenge is empowerment?” to which Talia replies, “It’s human I think.”
Joss mentions that her team used to tell her to comment on things, and now she knows when she’s “just being hustled.” Talia pauses the recorder once again and says her editor’s been on her case to get Joss’s response about the leaked photo. Joss turns the recorder back on and states, “We all have to answer to somebody.” Talia then asks who Joss answers to. Interestingly she responds “God” while looking into the distance continuing to puff on her cigarette, leaving one to wonder how sincere this response is. Not revengeful and only answering to God? This almost contradicts her image.
Later Joss watches Basic Instinct with Leia. She asks her friend’s opinion on the new single. Leia says it’s amazing, while Joss feels it’s embarrassing. Joss tells Leia she wants to invite Tedros over. Leia’s totally against it. She doesn’t like his vibe and finds him “rapey.” Joss puts her head on Leia’s shoulder, and Leia reassures her things will be fine.
They turn back to the Basic Instinct scene where Sharon Stone’s Catherine Tramell is explaining suspension of disbelief to Michael Douglas’s Detective Nick Curran. As the scene ends, Catherine tells Detective Curran the detective in her book falls for the wrong woman and she kills him. The inclusion of this scene feels purposeful like the writers are foreshadowing something about Joss and Tedros’ relationship. Who’s really the power player here, the creepy club owner or the coquettish pop star?
Of course Joss doesn’t listen to Leia and invites Tedros over. As the gates open, he appears in the shadows like a sketchy vampire dressed in all black. Leia opens the door, and Tedros kisses her on the cheek. Instantly she’s uncomfortable AF and nervously escorts him into the living room.
As Joss gets ready and smokes another cigarette, Tedros also gets ready. He plays a few notes on the piano. Pours himself a drink. Sniffs the pillows while Leia secretly watches him from the doorway in a mix of disbelief and horror. He then goes to the bathroom where he does coke and practices saying “Hello Angel ” way too many times in the mirror. (Rapey vibe indeed.)
Joss finally makes her grand descent in the same bright red backless robe from her photoshoot the day before. The duo drinks and smokes. Leia suddenly appears and awkwardly reminds Joss she has to be up at 7am before leaving as quickly as she came in.
Joss then takes Tedros to her downstairs studio. She needs someone to tell her the truth about her new single, and she feels he’s enough of an asshole to do so. (Her words, not mine.)
As the song plays on the speakers, Joss starts taking off her strappy heels. Tedros comes over and kneels down to do it for her while she lights up yet another cigarette just as the lyric “So get down on your knees and get ready to become my bitch” plays. The perfect placement. Also, a hint of the power dynamics.
The camera angles also clue us into who holds the power. Tedros is filmed from above and Joss from below, the ultimate power shot. At this moment, the ball is in her court.
Joss stops the song midway, assuming Tedros hates it. Surprisingly he likes it. As she becomes more vulnerable and we learn it’s the first song she’s recorded since her mom died, the power dynamic starts to shift.
Suddenly Tedros is shot from below while Joss is shot from above. He now holds the power.
This is further emphasized when Tedros’s only note about the song is more so a challenge. The way she sings “I’m a freak” isn’t believable to him. Her vocal performance sounds like she doesn’t “know how to fuck.” He references how believable Donna Summer was on Love to Love You Baby.
Side Note: One has to wonder if that line was written before or after MAX announced their Donna Summer documentary. It’s either a clever subtle promo or wildly coincidental.
Tedros runs an ice cube down Joss’s leg then tells her to get up. She needs to block out the world and not care what anyone thinks about her. He proceeds to pull her robe over her head and tie it around her neck. With her face fully-covered, he suddenly pulls out a knife and tells her to open her mouth. Where is this headed? Thankfully he just cuts an opening for her mouth and says, “Now you can sing,” as the first episode comes to a dramatic close.
Much has been said about The Idol. Mainly that there’s too much nudity and the show’s being provocative for no reason. This criticism is far from surprising. People often take issue when women, especially female artists, are sexual and wear revealing clothes. This just makes Jocelyn a believable character in the present day pop world and adds to her dark femme, chain smoking mystique.
Interestingly, a lot of other shows were first panned for being too provocative and controversial when they first aired. The O.C.. Gossip Girl (the OG series). Skins. Euphoria. So The Idol’s in good company.
Apart from the initial shock value, it will be interesting to see how the story and characters develop in the coming weeks and how the power play between Joss and Tedros evolves. If the previews are any indication, we’re in for a wild ride this summer.
Catch up on The Idol on MAX.
