Just one month ago, the world had no idea what to expect from HBO’s The Idol—only that it starred The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, and that people were mad at it. Were we ever so young? The Sam Levinson-created series has been courting controversy—both of the marketing-generated and unintentional varieties—ever since. Yet somehow, it’s reached its penultimate episode without fully justifying what all the noise was even for. Despite regular exposition and backstory dumps, a lot of questions about the series and its musical sex cult remain. With next week’s finale imminent, here are the most pressing queries The Idol has yet to address.
Several key people in Jocelyn’s orbit have been largely MIA since the premiere. Where did Dan Levy go? Or Eli Roth? Or even Hari Nef, whose Vanity Fair reporter only appeared as a floating Zoom head while interviewing Jocelyn in the show’s latest episode? For a series with only five episodes total, The Idol sure knows how to shed cast members. Speaking of which: who were the actors presumably ousted after the show’s change in creative direction, including Elizabeth Berkley and the late Anne Heche, meant to play?
Will we ever see the Rolling Stone scene that The Weeknd posted in response to an actual exposé about alleged behind-the-scenes issues on the HBO show? Perhaps that VF piece doesn’t go so well for Jocelyn, prompting her team to pursue another publication?
What more is there to discover about Tedros’s controversial hairstyle? As The Weeknd warned GQ earlier this month: “You’ll find out more about the rattail later on.” The time has come—where are our answers?!
While on the subject of Tedros: who is running the nightclub he operated his cult out of before migrating to Jocelyn’s megamansion?
And what, exactly, comes of the “record deals” Tedro makes with his musical followers? Do they perform exclusively at his unnamed club? And how would Tedros, who appears to have no real standing in the music industry, know actual producer Mike Dean, who has worked with the likes of Beyoncé and Madonna?
Who is responsible for all of the security at Jocelyn’s mansion? Save for one quick shot of highly-armed men on the perimeters of her property, we hear no explanation of how they got there—or if they were always there. Also of note: what is it like to work for Jocelyn, a job description that seems to include ripping dildos off walls and scooping cocaine back into baggies? Perhaps the personal chef who was unceremoniously fired in episode three is priming a tell-all?
And the intimacy coordinator who was trapped in a closet for several hours in the premiere is headed straight to DeuxMoi, right?
Jocelyn and Leia’s (Rachel Sennott) makeup line, Half Magic, sounds familiar. Is it real? (It is, in fact, the name of the Euphoria makeup team’s actual products.)
What is up with Hank Azaria’s accent? Does he using while defending The Idol against controversy?
Although all of Jocelyn’s inner circle is being dismantled by Tedros, her childhood friend-turned-creative director is receiving the brunt of the abuse. But why is Xander (Troye Sivan) to blame? Jocelyn alleges that he silenced her about her mother’s physical abuse; Xander claims that Jocelyn’s mother forced him to sign a Little Mermaid-esque contract forcing him to never sing publicly. But who is telling the truth about their dynamic?
And what’s Chloe’s (Suzanna Son) deal? The happy-go-lucky, piano-playing cult member who is most definitely underage could be the key to exposing Tedros. At one point, Jocelyn’s manager Destiny (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) advises Chloe to “stay observant—if it feels wrong, it’s wrong.” It’s unclear what she’ll do with that tip.
Who leaked Jocelyn’s NSFW photo? It could be her newly-reintroduced actor ex-boyfriend Rob (Karl Glusman) or Jocelyn herself if she’s as manipulative as some have claimed. But will we find out either way?
Who is Sophie? At one point in the show’s latest episode, a bikini-clad woman introduced by Xander as his “best friend” sits atop Rob’s lap for an increasingly intimate photo for a reason that has yet to be revealed. So… what was up with that?
How much of Jocelyn’s “new sound” will we get to hear? So far, the show has played us “World-Class Sinner,” the single now in the hands of Jennie Kim’s Dyanne, in various sexed-up iterations. But could a concert sequence showcasing the new songs be coming, as suggested by footage of Depp performing in character at The Weeknd’s shows?
And finally, will someone die? “I think we should kill this motherfucker,” Destiny not-so-jokingly suggests in response to Tedros’s invasion of Jocelyn’s life. But will anyone actually follow through, as the first episode hints?