The Idol recap: WTF is this show doing?
“Double Fantasy” is a mashup of pop and porn aesthetics—and a lot of muddled nonsense
TV Reviews Hari Nef Talia
Can you build an entire series on vibes? Sam Levinson, of Euphoria fame, seems intent on bringing us along for a ride as we find out. With The Idol, the writer-director may be working on a more narrowly focused plot (we’re basically only following pop star Jocelyn and her relationship with mysterious manager/pop-star whisperer Tedros), but the very audiovisual sensibility of his latest series feels built less on narrative than on, well, vibes.
Some of those vibes ape and echo and refract music-video aesthetics. And others merely ape (and echo and refract and maybe merely reproduce?) the aesthetic of porn. And other, in true Idol way, do both at the same time. Indeed, there are some scenes here that all but demand we come up with a portmanteau that better captures what these disjointed scenes stitched together and recursively edited together drum up. (I’m going to suggest “Pornture” but we’ll get to that in a bit.)
Last we saw Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp, a blank canvas of an actress who nicely slots into the vacant hollowness The Idol demands of its leading lady), she’d been wooed by Tedros (Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd). Turns out that the two, after a bit of erotic asphyxiation play, had remixed her upcoming single, presumably to better match the whole “we need to know you can fuck” vibe Tedros had wanted from her. The young starlet, eager to take control of her own narrative and career has gathered her team and hopes they’ll warm up to the breathy NSFW-sounding remixed single she’d begun assembling (which, yes, was all moans; apparently the way to suggest you can fuck on a song is to merely score it with sounds recorded during sex?).
Unsurprisingly, everyone is stunned by the song but it’s up to her manager Nikki (the deliciously deadpan Jane Adams) to tear her a new one as she basically says, “No.” Actually, her entire monologue may be the highlight of an episode that soon unravels into muddled nonsense. That may be a harsh assessment considering “Double Fantasy” commits to bringing us into Jocelyn’s headspace as she struggles to successfully film the music video for a song she wishes she could disavow (only, you know, her management team would ruin her, if ever so gently; theirs is a velvet glove, after all).
After spending three hours with makeup (to cover up cuts on her thighs) and all but voicing her distaste at the sets (which she’d absentmindedly approved in a breezy montage meant to showcase how alienated she feels in her palatial home), Jocelyn has a hard time nailing the choreography to her satisfaction. Only, rather than this being proof that she wants to be a serious artist who wants to be perfect (anyone else get Black Swan vibes?), all her protestations come off, instead, as that of a pouty tantruming toddler who has no control over her emotions, let alone the physical demands of a highly choreographed number at a strip club.
The dizzying, recursive editing that characterizes The Idol keeps us from staying with the scene as it’s happening. Instead, conversations between her team (about her self-harm), with the music video director (rightly losing her patience), and even with Jocelyn herself (who breaks down in tears, her grief getting the better of her, as she tells Hari Nef’s Talia, who in turn feigns compassion), are all blended together. I will say this about the episode: The vibes are immaculate. We don’t just witness a music video being shot; it feels like we’re inside a music video…and witnessing Behind The Music and watching a Making The Video episode and also scrolling through a fancam, maybe, all at the same time. It would be hypnotic if it didn’t feel so schematic and, well, so basic.
Well, and that’s before, in the middle of that visual melange, Levinson drops a glimpse of what Tedros is up to: apparently electrocuting Izaak (Moses Sumney) as he practices his sex-fueled gyrations in the presence of a slew of naked young women. Here again is The Idol borrowing heavily from porn as an aesthetic, if not altogether a genre, and then revealing how closely it aligns with manufactured pop music. There’s a vacuity to this comparison (it’s tired already by 2023, no?): The shots of Jocelyn breaking down as she is clearly in no way emotionally nor physically fit for the demands of her shoot are immediately equated to those of Izaak hurting from Tedros’ electroshocks. Here is yet another well-worn trope: hurting for your art. But here it’s mixed with porn (and not, decidedly, pleasure): This is “Pornture,” which is presented as the way to make great pop music: “If you wanna be a star you gotta push through the pain,” is what Jocelyn and Izaak are being told (literally, that’s an actual line of dialogue from the episode).
Only, Jocelyn doesn’t actually push through the pain. Even after nailing a great shot (ruined by a lens out of focus, naturally), she breaks down and gets just enough pity from her team to cancel the shoot for the day. And thus the episode moves from a music video to…a home-invasion scenario?
That may sound like a stretch but the way Levinson shoots the arrival of Tedros and his entourage (which includes not just Izaak but another ingenue by the name of Chloe, played by Suzanna Son) makes one feel like this is truly a terrifying if inevitable move on the part of the (maybe Hawaiian) Tedros. Forlorn about the music video-mishap, Jocelyn quickly implores Tedros to come by (after he’s basically been negging her for days); and no sooner has he arrived than Izaak (working on Jocelyn BFF Leia) and Chloe (stripping down to take a dip in Jocelyn’s pool) make themselves at home, spidery minions taking over spaces they’ll soon claim as their own.
Oh, but that’s all backdrop to yet another (intentionally?) unsexy sexual episode between Jocelyn and Tedros where she asks him to yet again tie up/blindfold her and boss her around. Again, that blurring of agency comes through here: Is she submitting to Tedros or is she thinking she’s in control because she’s chosen to submit? Those would be interesting questions were they not framed by laughable dialogue like “Show me how sexy you are” and “Make that throat wet for me.” Is it the point that these moments are so unsexy? That the audience can see right through Tedros’ hollow seduction? Maybe. But that just leaves those gratuitous moments of sex-as-empowerment feel equally hollow.
The fact that it all builds to Jocelyn basically agreeing to letting Tedros move in (how else will he help her revamp her image, her music, her entire life?) which is scored by Chloe’s stripped down song all about a broken family, means I’m yet again wondering WTF this show is doing. It’s a train wreck, yes. But I wish it were at all an enjoyable one.
Stray observations
- Okay, calling Troye Sivain’s character “Sarah Lawrence” is kind of genius.
- Also, I want to know everything about “Heartthrob Rob,” don’t you?
- Will I spend every recap just praising Rachel Sennott? Likely. But then, her reading of “I like the breathing in it” was the one moment I actually laughed out loud in this episode.
- For a show that really doesn’t want us to think this is a riff on Britney Spears’ career, that music video shoot sure had plenty of “Gimme More”/“Make Me” vibes. Also, Levinson can’t, in earnest, tell Jocelyn she’s the American Dream and not expect me to complete the line (“since I was seventeen, don’t matter if I step on the scene or sneak away to the Philippines…” from “Piece Of Me”).
- The Idol nails, better than anything else, the way Jocelyn’s team manipulates her into thinking she has agency; the way she feels in control even as she remains disempowered at every turn. This may be a wholly nihilistic vision of the music industry but that rings very true.
- The plot thickens! I forgot to mention how Dyanne (Jennie Kim) is about to get her big break after she wows Nikki, who wants to sign her. Only, in a TWIST I did not see coming: She’s working with Tedros! Who, we all know is like a cult leader, yes? Isaac all but calls him that when he notes he’s “godly.”
- One thing I unabashedly enjoy about The Idol? Its synth-y albeit incredibly pompous score.
- My hope is that everyone who enjoys Suzanna Son’s end of the episode moment will seek out Red Rocket, easily a more engaging and fascinating exploration of porn than whatever The Idol is offering up.
46 Comments
Some of those vibes ape and echo and refract music-video aesthetics. And others merely ape (and echo and refract and maybe merely reproduce?) the aesthetic of porn. And other, in true Idol way, do both at the same time. Indeed, there are some scenes here that all but demand we come up with a portmanteau that better captures what these disjointed scenes stitched together and recursively edited together drum up.“some scenes look like porn music videos” was all you needed to write here
Weren’t the 1980’s great?
This guy thinks so!
There was only one music video that correctly aped the aesthetic of porn.
paid by the word, obviously.
Just here for the boobs.
Sir. Please. If you’re going to make this statement, please spell it properly.Bewbs.
Knobs.
Move along. Not much to see here. Move along.
The focus on the industry, Jocelyn’s team, and making the music video, was excellent this episode. Depp gave an emotional and layered performance. This would be a great show to watch! Everything with Tedros is disgusting and eye roll inducing. He is an oily creep with a rat tail. It is not at all believable to me she would be interested in him. With cult leaders there is a magnetism and charisma. Even as an outsider you can point to what draws followers to them. Not with this guy. The “sexy” stuff is so unsexy and male wet dream. I do not see an authentic female sexuality here at all. The aesthetic of this show is music video (cool), porn (gross), horror movie (weird).
counterpoint -this is the NXIVM dude:
Keith sold himself as a genius and I can buy why that attracted people.
I can assure you as a male that the “sexy” stuff in this show bears no resemblance to my wet dreams. It is profoundly unpleasant to watch. In fact, if someone chose to produce a version of this show edited for network TV, I might be more willing to keep watching.
Good to hear. I find the sex scenes deeply uncomfortable and gross.
You know a show truly sucks when just reading descriptions of it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I’d honestly rather watch Tucker Carlson’s Twitter videos.
You may be in luck! The Knowledge Fight podcast is seriously considering coverage of Tucker’s Twitter videos. They’ve already covered his first episode.(For anyone who doesn’t know, Knowledge Fight is a podcast that investigates and breaks down Alex Jones/InfoWars. It’s quite addictive.)
Well, hello there fellow wonk.
This episode was super gross. Really feels like it’s just trying to present a story about a pathetic crazy lazy who is saved by a cool sexy vampire while doing just enough to have plausible deniability like “no it’s satire it’s about the industry and The Weeknd’s character is bad actually” if called on it. The sexual scenes with him this episode just felt like we were watching his and Levinson’s fetishes. But at least Hank Azaria is doing a funny voice.
So instead of this why don’t you recap Silo since that’s actually good?Yeah I’m gonna keep harping on it.
They completely ignored The Diplomat, which is a fucking awesome show. Excellent political thriller, some great interpersonal moments (granted, it gets a little rom-com sometimes…), plus you’ve got Keri Russell making her supreme “What the FUCK is going on?” face every five minutes. Tightly wound and tightly written. But, admittedly, there’s little chance for clickbait screencaps like in the title shot of this recap – sorry, no teenaged Hollywood nepobabies showing copious underboob (and no chances for self-righteous finger wagging for watching it). Although there is Keri Russell forcing Rufus Sewell to sniff her armpit, if you’re into that sort of thing. Hey, I’m not here to kinkshame.
“The young starlet, eager to take control of her own narrative and career has gathered her team and hopes they’ll warm up to the breathy NSFW-sounding remixed single she’d begun assembling (which, yes, was all moans; apparently the way to suggest you can fuck on a song is to merely score it with sounds recorded during sex?).”Hey, it worked for Serge Gainsbourg.
Levinson is a dirt bag who serves up dirt bag esthetics for wanna be dirt bags. His shows have all the same value and enjoyment as watching weekly episodes of bed bugs, Syphilis, stomach aches, and pus stained rags for an hour.
After the first episode I decided I was never going to watch this stupid fucking show. But I am going to relish every recap.
I already knew I would never watch this bloody thing but I don’t think I’ll be tuning in for any more recaps either. Although, I think I hate recaps. I want reviews. Why does someone need to regurgitate the whole storyline?
I watched the first episode to see if the critics were too harsh. Came out thinking they let this show off easy. If one more person defends it to me on the basis of “aesthetics” I will puke. Dialogue was terrible, acting was spotty enough that I noticed it which rarely happens, and I came away thinking that there’s no big idea driving it. I never think about these things with a show because I’ve watched a string of shows where the showrunners were confident and smart, but I genuinely think they just threw a bunch of micro-ideas regarding pop and fame in because they had no thesis they were driving toward.
The entire genesis of this show is so fucking stupid and basic. “Hey, maaaan. You know… musicians? Like… A popular musician could… like… start a cult.”No shit, you waste.It’s all the more infuriating for Tesfaeye’s deeply, PAINFULLY earnest desire to move into narrative performance despite containing the outward-facing emotional depth of a thumbnail. (I’m not saying the guy isn’t deep. Maybe he is. But he hasn’t shown a bit of it. And I suspect he’s someone who conflates a willingness to passionately but ignorantly converse about a deep subject with actual depth. You know, a real fucking Joe Rogan type.)
I suspect he’s someone who conflates a willingness to passionately but ignorantly converse about a deep subject with actual depth. You know, a real fucking Joe Rogan typeLol. Envision the sweat beading on his forehead with the effort.
Without the context, lines like “(maybe Hawaiian) Tedros” just land better.
WTF isn’t this show doing? Va-va-va-voom! *sproing sound effect*
Va-va-va-gina!Sorry, I feel bad about that. *shows self out*
Such is the first stage of repentance. As penance, say three Hail Marys and two Hello, Dollys.
O COME All Ye Faithful!
Because I’ve still got it stuck in my head from Friday’s Painting with John, all I have to say is POTATO! Nonsense, just like this show.
Rachel Sennott is so good, this series feels like a wasted opportunity because I’d really love to see something like this, but from her perspective.
The Idol strikes me as a poor man’s Pearl.
I feel like this creator saw a picture of Kate Moss during his childhood, and decided to be the leading producer of what I can only quantify as “heroin fuck” television.
I just want to know if she lit a cigarette in literally every scene this time around.
so… did the cuts on her thighs imply that she broke the glass she was humping? This episode basically hit the same beats as the first one: – Joc gets handled by her team- Joc chokes herself in sexy, man-gazing way- Joc licks wounds from being handled by team with creepy Tedros in what seems to be sexy way, but is creepy AF- audience takes shower to feel clean again
god damn i love porn. nothing takes me to a place of calm, pleasurable oblivion like a muted montage of MILF’s riding some dude while I oil up and stroke my raging hard on. I can’t WAIT to get off work.
I liked it. Does that say anything about me? Am I just super European? I don’t know, but I’m watching the rest of it and nobody can stop me.
Wait.. this isn’t the new Idol reality singing contest from some country called The.
Finally watched Shiva Baby. Pretty good.
The Weeknd is somehow doing the impossible thing of not giving any believable acting performance yet also blatantly telling the world he’s really a creepy sexual predator IRL.
I am loathe to leave any comment, because it will only encourage more recaps of this show, but… It is really hard for me to tell whether Depp’s flat, vacant performance is a deliberate acting choice or a lack of ability. It’s hard to tell because I have no idea what, if anything, this show is trying to say. Right now, it’s a hot mess with some interesting supporting characters.
But her last name is Depp… she must be able to act, right? Or maybe she is the exact opposite of her dad who can only overact at this point.
“Lily-Rose Depp, a blank canvas of an actress who nicely slots into the vacant hollowness The Idol demands of its leading lady” Wow. Cancel culture at work at its finest.