‘The Idol’ is Misunderstood: Episode 2 Review

Last week, the first episode of “The Idol” dropped and it proved to be much different than what critics were making it out to be. The second episode develops much more on the meaningful narrative that lies within the otherwise overly tainting aesthetic of superficial L.A. personalities.

In episode 2, we see Jocelyn working on her music video at the studio with the record label present for it. Throughout this process, there is a  dispute between Jocelyn and her label regarding the music video’s vision. The directors and producers keep making Jocelyn repeat her dance routine for the music video and Jocelyn is dissatisfied with every take. It gets to the point where Jocelyn has a mental breakdown. During all of the chaos on set, the record label reps are expressing frustration with Jocelyn’s demands and behavior towards them. Towards the end of the dance routine, Jocelyn is bleeding from her feet due to the uncomfortable heels she was wearing for her music video outfit.

The first half was essentially giving viewers the visual of what it’s like for a high demand popstar to give a music label what they are looking for. The amount of repeating the same thing in order to get the perfect shot and the pain that comes with being treated like a circus animal were all disheartening to watch. The scenes of Jocelyn and the executives on set were opening my eyes to the reality of entertainers being abused in their respective industries.

The second half is the one that I didn’t quite enjoy. Of course, the part of the episode that includes Tedros. Tedros is invited to Jocelyn’s house after the video shoot. When Tedros comes, he essentially brings his cult with him in an effort to infiltrate Jocelyn’s environment. There’s clearly an ulterior motive on Tedros’s part as he uses members from his cult to manipulate Jocelyn into letting her guard down. Jocelyn and Tedros get uncomfortably intimate (at least the viewing experience was uncomfortable) and it ends with Tedros offering to live with Jocelyn in order to finish her next few songs.

This episode was better than the first episode but only by a slight margin. I think the first half did a great job of emphasizing the painful struggle of entertainers who have to bend to their superiors’ demands. What I don’t like is how much sexual content there is for a show that doesn’t really need it in order to tell the story at hand. 

I give episode 2 a rating of 7/10.

Noumaan Faiz, (he/him) is a journalist and entertainer from Hayward, CA who covers culture and entertainment.

Edited by Nykeya Woods