The Idol recap: Is this parody or an utter failure to parody?
“Daybreak” gives us yet another artsy porn scenario that's elevated by nothing but a prestige budget
TV Reviews Hank Azaria
Chekhov’s hairbrush.
That was my one note when I finished watching the third episode of HBO’s The Idol. And, in a way, the absurdity of such a concept speaks to, well, the sheer absurdity of Sam Levinson’s latest series. For two episodes, we’ve been introduced to Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), a wayward “bad girl” pop starlet who, reeling from the death of her mother and following a slew of NSFW controversies, has inexplicably been seduced by Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye), a mysterious club owner-turned-music producer who’s keen to give her a new sound. A raunchier sound, in fact.
And yes, in this episode, “Daybreak,” that ends up involving a hairbrush. If you’ve seen (or read about) anything remotely concerning The Idol you perhaps know what kind of scene such a prop ends up in. Yes, a sexual one. Yes, a slightly discomfiting one. One where Jocelyn and Tedros (yet again) play out the kind of dom/sub dynamic that is clearly central to who they are as a couple which, to the series, is indicative of a wider commentary on women’s agency, men’s sordid desires, the music industry’s own vacuity, and, 0h, yeah, a larger statement on the value of trauma (sexual or otherwise) in creating worthwhile art.
But I’m skipping ahead to the end (oh if only I could’ve fast forwarded the entire episode just as easily). We begin instead with Tedros, who’s installed himself in Jocelyn’s home, taking his new ward shopping. Which, okay, sounds fun. Only, as Leia (Rachel Sennott, the series standout) notes, this shopping trip is odd—and not just because she had to drive safely while Tedros went down on Jocelyn in the backseat of her convertible. Well, that surely added to the oddity of it all. But mostly she’s concerned that Tedros is slowly taking over Jocelyn’s life and home. After all, he’d summarily fired Jocelyn’s personal chef for arguably being too handsy with his girl (all while wearing a ridiculous satin robe!). As with every other interaction he has with Jocelyn this episode, Tedros weaponizes ideas of boundaries with the men around her in order to seemingly empower her (but only to do his doing).
Leia’s feelings are clearly valid; she’s nothing if not a perfect audience surrogate. But they fall (mostly) on deaf ears even when that shopping trip to Rodeo Drive ends with a quickie in a changing room (“Make me take it, daddy!”—a line that, on its own would be cringe had it not followed a gay panic-driven foreplay) and a lurid jerk off moment (“You can’t cum inside me,” Jocelyn helpfully reminds Tedros) that’s weirdly played for laughs.
So sex romp and shopping done, Jocelyn and Tedros (and Leia) return back to her palatial home where they have to confront Hank Azaria’s Chaim and Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Destiny, who are rightfully worried about Tedros’ influence on the not-so-ingenue artist. Talking around and above her, it’s clear the adults in the room have reservations about Tedros but won’t show their cards just yet (smart!) even if that means leaving Jocelyn with Tedros as they work on new music (less smart). Because, surprise! The music industry runs on hits and Tedros may well get one (or two or three!) out of Joss just yet.
Of course, for Tedros, getting good music out of Jocelyn will require…how shall we put it? Uh, psychologically breaking her and remaking her in his own image. That’s mostly the job of Suzanna Son’s wily doe-eyed Chloe and Moses Sumney’s sinewy seducer Izaak, two of the rat-tailed would-be music producer’s wards who chip away at Joss’ own sense of self. Chloe gets tasked with asking her about her mother (while a close-up of a hairbrush fills the screen!) and hears about how hard it is for Joss to be as vulnerable as she needs to be for her art: “The more you let people in, the more reason they have not to want you anymore.”
It’s all pretty shallow in that way where you don’t ever know whether it’s parody or an utter failure to parody. That it’s later followed by a jam session in the recording studio where Izaak and Chloe explain how Tedros has helped them understand that they need not say “No” to anything lest they deprive themselves of new and necessary experiences and what you have is the set up for what becomes the episode’s piece de resistance: a muddled and muddied scene of consensual S&M that involves Tedros becoming Jocelyn’s caretaker (after her mother) and beating her with a hairbrush (just as he mother had) so as to motivate her to make better, more honest music.
If it all sounds kind of ridiculous and in keeping with the vapid tone and tenor of The Idol, well, you’d be correct. Indeed, even the conversations these characters keep having about how artists are born to weaponize their own trauma to create impactful art (the main example being Led Zeppelin’s “All My Love”) feel so empty that it’s hard to take them seriously. Especially when they’re presented with such pompous self-importance; that final scene, with its chiaroscuro lighting and moody The Weeknd song (“All of me,” he coos, “take all of me”), feels like yet another artsy porn scenario elevated by nothing else than an HBO prestige budget.
And so, three episodes in and Tedros has finally inserted himself into Jocelyn’s frame of mind, goading her into seeing their imbalanced power dynamics as something she’s to thank him for—this, she believes, is what will make her a serious artist. One who, like Robert Plant (in Tedros’s teachings) would gladly take on her own trauma in the sake of her artistic ambitions. It’s all quite tired, yes, and rather tepidly presented. Seriously, whatever draw Jocelyn is supposed to find in Tedros is more than inexplicable: It’s nonexistent.
As for where The Idol goes from here…your guess is as good as mine. Will she have a hit single, packaged with her infamous NSFW viral photo? Will she slowly find herself alienated from all those around her as Tedros becomes her sun, moon, and maybe her entire galaxy? Will we get more insipid meditations on pop music, superficiality, and the importance of being “honest” in one’s art?
Stray observations
- Need a gif of Rachel Sennott’s Leia rolling her eyes in slow-motion while driving ASAP.
- I can’t be the only one who really can’t process any kind of on-screen shopping on Rodeo Drive without immediately thinking of Pretty Woman. (Might this be a subtle nod to that film’s treatment of sex work? Are we meant to think of Tedros as a modern day Edward and Jocelyn as a kind Vivian?)
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph deserves the world. That’s it. That’s the observation.
- I will say, Tedros’s pronunciation of “carte blanche” made me audibly snicker.
- When will Dyanne (Jennie Kim) and Jocelyn’s paths cross again? Also, why were we shown but denied more of Jane Adams’ deliciously deranged Nikki?
- Sam Levinson sure loves himself some crossfades. He may have perfected the frenetic neon-tinged editing that characterizes Euphoria but he’s more enamored with this other technique here which stresses a kind of continued simultaneity, a way to bridge scenes and moments in a way that echoes (pun intended) a music video aesthetic (while also, it must be noted, visually calling forth a movie like Vertigo where another young blond woman gets refashioned in a certain man’s eyes—and yes, that’s as far as Levinson will get me to compare him to Hitchcock, don’t worry).
- If you enjoy Troye Sivan’s acting here (which is actually quite striking even when he’s in scenes that make me recoil in secondhand embarrassment), may I recommend Three Months?
45 Comments
Hopefully this is the final nail in the coffin of pretending that Sam Levinson has anything interesting or even worthwhile to say (which somehow hasn’t happened despite him writing and directing an absolute navel-gazing turd like Malcom & Marie). I like Euphoria but it’s carried entirely on the shoulders of its incredibly talented cast who manage to elevate what is at best an edgier, prettier The OC.
I honestly hate myself for watching this show. After about 5 minutes into this episode I had had enough and went to turn it off. But I didn’t. I am hoping this show ultimately has something to say other than serving for The Weeknd to live out his salacious creepo fantasties. I hope I am wrong, but I kinda feel this may be his genuine personality based on his own music and what is being presented in this show.
The Weeknd played himself as quite the lecherous dickhead in Uncut Gems and admitted it’s because he was just like that back then (due to the film happening in a very specific timeframe in 2012), so you might not be wrong about this.
Yes, because people only play characters with their actual personalities. Super smart take. Are you a toddler?
I guess a “scene” involving a Mars bar is just so 1967.
Depp’s cheekbones are very not-real, correct? There’s photos of her from when she was younger, and she had fantastic cheekbones, but they don’t mound out from her face like these fantastic cheekbones do.I think she’s incredibly pretty, so it’s boggling that she’d get this done, so young, when she was already flawless.I guess it fits the character?
No one on earth gives a shit about your judgmental opinions on others looks
You don’t care very intensely.
It’s just another troll who somehow keeps getting ungreyed. Ignore or delete.
Wait, so we *shouldn’t* ignore or delete the weirdo making dumb assumptions about someone’s appearance? I don’t know about this Lilnapoleon but jjbenedictis can stuff their gossip rag bullshit.(jebus christmas, I dislike the woman’s nepo baby nonsense and defensiveness of this train wreck show so I hate defending her but come the fuck on with this “Oh, she must have had cheek implants” or whatever.)
I have no idea. I don’t have any commenting experience with jj… whoever.I’m indifferent to what they’re saying about a starlet’s cheekbones.‘Commenters’ who log in merely to harrass other commenters is, however, abusive, so I’ll call that out. And Lilnapolean is a major offender. Take up the cheekbone issue with the OP if you like.
Look, I’m just sayin’ — great cheekbones either way, but there’s more there now.
there’s nothing judgmental about questioning unnecessary body augmentation
She got her dad’s cheekbones. Literally, he cut them out of his face and inserted them into hers.
Are we sure Amber Heard didn’t somehow steal them in the middle of the night because that’s the kind of dumb shit people believe about the two of them?
Do you have anything to back that up besides rank speculation?
She’s basically her mother’s doppelganger, so probably not.
The show almost has to be satirical, but it’s clear that Levinson and The Weeknd are playing things absolutely straight (even though I wouldn’t be surprised if they see the reviews and later come out and say the absurdity and campiness was all intentional ala Mommie Dearest).
It’s unintentionally campy in a way that we haven’t seen since Showgirls, and I’ve resigned myself to recognizing that the only enjoyment I’ll get from the show is seeing just how campy it inevitably becomes.
Honestly, the entire scene at Valentino was nearly “No wire hangers” levels of untintentional camp, and whenever The Weeknd gets annoyed and looks at someone, I immediately think of the worst examples of blaxploitation movies where a pimp is trying to intimidate someone much, much bigger than they are.
Tesfaye is already claiming that the sex scenes are supposed to be cringey. There was a feature about it five days ago. https://www.avclub.com/the-weeknd-the-idol-hbo-sex-scenes-bad-on-purpose-quote-1850539667
I sprained my eye muscles rolling my eyes so much at The Weeknd’s “BRO IT’S MEANT TO BE BAD BRO! I WAS BEING IRONIC BRO!” bullshit.
Yeah, that was the very short extent of it. I don’t think he even had enough narrative sophistication to call it “irony.”In fact, you’ve inspited me. Here’s the quote: “There’s nothing sexy about it,” Tesfaye says of the scene. “How ever you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters. It’s all those emotions adding up to: This guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here.” I don’t know wtf “this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here” is supposed to mean. Maybe because I feel like sh*t today, but I’m concluding that Tesfaye is an entitled idiot.
You… you think that Showgirls, directed by Paul freaking Verhoeven, was UNINTENTIONALLY campy? Jesus…So, basically, you know nothing about Verhoeven and have no idea what bgg you’re talking about. Got it!
I can’t wait until we get creator’s commentary track on these episodes, where The Weeknd and Sam Levinson explain how brilliant they are while audibly masturbating.
I feel similarly about Rodeo Drive shopping scenes although it makes me think of Mighty Ducks 2 not Pretty Woman.
Whatever floats your…duck, I guess.
were those kids traficked?
I’m starting to wonder if this show is like later seasons of True Blood where it’s just sexy trash for sexy trash’s sake with some lazy social commentary thrown in to excuse its existence. Is the real satire that this is marketed as prestige drama?
I’m sure once the Weeknd and Levinson catches wind of that criticism they’ll totally inform that that’s what they were totally going for all along. For real. Honest. Trust me, bro.
Spare us any more recaps. No mas.
Have you met Sam Levinson and The Weeknd? This is absolutely dead serious. You can 1000% tell that this show was written from the male gaze, their gaze. The male fantasy in her outfits and scenes are so dead obvious. If this were the 80s-2000s, this would be straight up Skinemax softcore porn. The sad thing is that Lily Depp getting exploited. She takes on a role and gets these two creeps, especially The Weeknd who wanted a girl like her so they could actively write in the most outrageous scenes. They could and should’ve portrayed her as a lesser-known star that had met a manager/writer/producer, that would boost her career under his awful terms. Instead, she’s already on top when she meets Tedros, so what are we watching here than other than for excuses for Tedros to show that he’s some kind of big player? And how much did they pay Dan Levy, Hari Nef, and Hank Azaria to be in this crap? Especially Azaria with that goofy accent?It’s more disappointing that after the highs of Barry, Succession, and even Euphoria, this is what HBO’s got now and that they green-lit this.
This just makes me yearn that we might see Amy Seimetz’s original vision. The series was reportedly 80 percent complete when she left/was sacked, and they started all over.
did she write any of it?
It reeks of that performative view of sexuality that’s like a schizophrenic mix of puritanism and liberalism that seems to all too pervasive:“She’s hot! And she’s getting her tits out! And we all get to stare at those tits! Because those tits are hot, right? But isn’t it BAD we’re staring at her tits! Isn’t terrible that she got her tits out! That WE made her get her tits out! I want you to know that I didn’t want to make her get her tits out! But I had to, because I need you to know that girls with FANTASTIC tits like we have out in this show are being EXPLOITED like this all the time! There’s a message! Tits! Titties! Gazoongas! Sweater puppies! Chest hams! Chesticles! Top bollocks! Jugs! Milk bags! Mammaries! Dirty pillows! But remember…bad. Bewbs are great and arousing, but you’re wrong for liking them and being aroused by them. And it’s incredibly wrong they’re being used like this.”
Yes, because I’m sure you’ve met them. And im.also sure that super rich and famous The Weeknd cant get attractive girls to do what he wants on his own and thus needed this show in order to fulfill those fantasies. Super smart take. The show is awful and The Weeknd sucks, but holy cow are the comments here amazingly stupid…
I don’t know but I definitely don’t need to watch anything by Barry Levinson’s son ever again
Never put it together that they were related. Also, in looking that up, I discovered Levinson is directing a film written by Nicholas Pileggi in which DeNiro plays two different competing, real-life mob bosses, which is… certainly a choice to make. Wonder if the studio tried nabbing Scorsese but lost him with the “Austin Powers meets Goodfellas” elevator pitch.
Still, look at all the chemistry they don’t have together!
My guess is that the Pretty Woman allusion is deliberate what with the line (paraphrasing) “Do you have anything in this store as beautiful as her?” Tedros and Edward have differing reactions to the salespersons’ responses though!
Is this the real life? Or is this parody?
I don’t subscribe to this channel, so please tell me how Tedros says “carte blanche.”
Cartay Blanchay
Lol
Lmao The Weeknd is Canadian, how did he fuck up a common French phrase that badly?
They literally used a line right out of Pretty Woman, when Edward asks the sales guy if they have anything in the store as beautiful as Vivian. Tedro asks the same thing. This show is so cringe, it’s ridiculous.