For much less than what is said on The Idol, several artists and personalities were canceled. But Sam Levinson and The Weeknd were so childish in the aggressiveness of the parade of absurdities they put into the series that it was just rubbish. They see it as bold and defiant, but it’s crass and simplistic. The shame of others for actors who before that had some credibility is immense. Glad it’s over.

It wasn’t for lack of warning from Lily Rose-Depp that at the end of the day, Jocelyn was the “great villain” and that she would be manipulating everyone to… I don’t know her goal. She already had an album ready and a tour assured, but she wanted to change her sound and the record company wouldn’t allow it. She went to the street, met a criminal, opened her house to a group of lost – but talented – and ended the season filling a stadium, destroying the life of the ex-boyfriend who had betrayed her, teaching her current one a lesson, and getting rid of from the only person trying to filter anything out, her friend and assistant Leia (Rachel Senott).

Had it not been for the recognized – now questionable – talent of the series’ creators, the noise would have been inaudible. But that they want to try surfing as harbingers of toxic male culture is one thing, it’s another for a platform like HBO to make room for it. And money, because no one worked there for free (and they should, because it’s just shameful through and through).

If we try to ignore the worst, there are still a series of doubts about what they wanted to tell. The evil trio (Hank Azaria, Eric Roth, and Jane Adams) were all screaming offended that Jocelyn publicly rekindled her relationship with Tedros… why? Nothing changed for them while he was on the circuit. Since Destiny (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) was knowing and supportive, does that mean she broke up with Chaim?

None of that matters much. Jocelyn, as Xander (Troye Sivan) warned, is the boss. When we started The Idol, she was reeling from losing her mother and being publicly cheated on by her boyfriend, Rob (Karl Glusman), seeming to be in a vulnerable state, and she was being protected, and pampered because she was in pain. Dyanne (Jennie Kim) accepts the suggestion of her boyfriend, Tedros, to take Joss to his nightclub, but when the singer arrives there (not knowing that it was all a setup), she starts an abusive and “dangerous” relationship with him, leaving Dyanne jealous and sad. Having done nothing but be professional, Dyanne ends up being identified as a replacement for Jocelyn, something the star did not expect to happen. When she finds out, her strategy changes: she pretends to approve of Dyanne, enlists Rob to humiliate Tedros, and breaks up with the ‘bad guy’. However Tedros, with the help of Xander (an enigmatic being in all of this, to put it in the simplest way), plants a slander accusing Rob of rape, ending his career on account of a photo and a post in less than 24 hours. Was it a message about how Lily’s father was treated by Disney? Wow, nobody picked it up, right? So subtle.

Returning to The Idol, Leia had been feeling trapped and scared in a sick environment like the one surrounding Jocelyn for some time now. She had business interests like everyone else, but apparently, an ethical boundary that no one else has. When she realizes that Jocelyn, though innocent of her ex’s blackmail, does nothing to help him, she gives up. And no one missed her, least of all cruel Jocelyn.

Tedros’ arc was even shorter. A criminal with a six-year prison sentence refuses to accept half a million dollars to get out of Jocelyn’s life, accepts being publicly humiliated, having his project usurped by his girlfriend, her record label, and her manager (yes, even Destiny stole from him the group of talented misfits he assembled). That is, he was the great ‘victim’ of a universe even more rotten than his. And like any fan, he agrees to go back and submit to the star, with a scene mimicking Succession (she reaches out to him, and he reluctantly accepts), only to underscore how badly HBO can get it wrong immediately after presenting us with something so superior and deep.

The soundtrack, as said before, is the only thing left from The Idol. Goodbye Jocelyn, may brushing continue to be his inspiration.

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