Unsurprisingly, The Idol ending has left people talking, but not necessarily in a productive way.
When the Sam Levinson project debuted at the beginning of June, viewers were quick to criticize the over-sexualized content, the quality, and everything in between. So when The Idol finale, titled "Jocelyn Forever," aired earlier than expected on Sunday, July 2, everyone had a feeling it would cause a stir. Then came the plot twist.
“I think it turns it on its side and, hopefully, did what it needs to do in terms of shocking people, which I hope then made all the other stuff worth it,” Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays Jocelyn's manager, Destiny, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Well, shock it did. Here's what transpired, and how fans feel about it all.
*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*
'The Idol' ending, explained
The Idol ending saw the roles completely reverse as Tedros (The Weeknd) was the one left trying to get back into the good graces of Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp). Though he had been exploiting the pop star—and set his sights on her with the help of Jocelyn's rival and his romantic flame, Dyanne (Jennie Kim)—Tedros was ultimately the one groveling.
The club owner, whose real name in the series is Mauricio, was dragged from the starlet's mansion, though his posse was welcomed to stay and perform with Jocelyn as an opening act on her new tour. He was given money to stay away from the singer and even witnessed her having a romantic encounter with her ex, Rob, whom he tried to set up. The real kicker is that the Vanity Fair profile that was in the works earlier in the season ended up not focusing on Jocelyn at all—it exposed "Tedros" and all of his dark misdeeds.
All of this led up to Jocelyn taking the stage at SoFi. Tedros had gained VIP passes to get in touch with the star by using his real name, though once there, he was warned by Destiny that she would not accept any bad behavior. Then, The Idol hairbrush scene in all of its infamy resurfaced when Tedros asked if the brush on the singer's dressing room counter was the same one that her mother had abused her with. It wasn't, it was brand new, something Jocelyn acknowledged with just a smile.
Was this questionable scene proving that Jocelyn had made up this abusive story and that she didn't need trauma to help her feel inspired as an artist? Tedros ultimately followed Jocelyn on stage, where he's introduced as the love of her life, and instructed to leave the stage as she geared up to perform.
Fans react to 'The Idol' ending and plot twist
Was Jocelyn really the one who had been manipulating Tedros the whole time, and for what purpose? If she didn't need this abusive material to inspire her art, why keep Tedros around?
Not only were there a bunch of questions left at the end of the fifth episode but some plot holes, according to the fans. Plus, there were missed opportunities, like a deeper storyline for Dyanne and Jocelyn. Here are a few reactions to the wrap-up via Twitter:
i can't help but notice similarities between the ending of the idol (with the young woman being a master manipulator and the older creepy man her victim) and Maddie's backstory in euphoria about losing her virginity to an older man as a young teen https://t.co/ctDha0VmNDJuly 5, 2023
Yeah I didn’t really like the ending of the idol but at least she got her lick back💅🏼July 5, 2023
the more i think about it the more i like #theidol's ending with jocelyn being a kind of villainthe problem was the journey getting to that ending hahahaJuly 5, 2023
Because I’m an optimist, I’m looking at the end of The Idol and saying that I believe that Abel was tryna make the point that the slimiest people or ppl willing to be foul for success ultimately win.But that ending was SHIT and left way too many storylines open. Trash.July 5, 2023
Just when I thought the finale was getting better , the ending happened! Despite the excellent acting from #Rachelsennot and #lilyrose #TheIdol dipped. And, what was the need to cast someone like #Jennie and waste her like that? The show had so much potential but unexplored.July 5, 2023
According to Randolph, the series concluded just the way it was supposed to.
“It’s not just, what do you think of this man doing this thing to this woman? It’s taking back the power for women in the sense of, that girl knew what she was doing,” she further revealed to THR. “I think it’s clever and I think it gives a great setup for what could be moving forward.”
