The first episode of the HBO original, The Idol, introduced us to a star musician named Jocelyn, who was wanting to make a comeback and revive her career. She was still dealing with the trauma of losing her mother, but she was not ready to surrender to her circumstances. Her crew believed in her, and they knew that she would overcome all the challenges that came her way and that her life would once again be back on track. Jocelyn met a guy named Tedros, and though she felt that the encounter was a lucky coincidence, the reality was that Tedros had pre-planned everything. So, let’s find out what the real intentions of Tedros were and if he was actually the guy he was portraying to be.
Spoilers Alert
What Led To Jocelyn’s Emotional Breakdown?
Jocelyn and Tedros had created a remix version of her song, “World Class Sinner,” and though it was not completed yet, she wanted to show it to her team to get their approval. Jocelyn was very excited to make her team listen to her remix because she felt that she had actually created something that would take the entire music industry by storm. Her team, on the other hand, had no clue why they had been summoned so early in the morning. Nikki was clearly not happy with the state of things. She knew that Jocelyn had to get her act together before it was too late. She was relying on the release of this song, and she hoped that ticket sales for the concert would increase after that. Nikki almost instantly told Jocelyn that her remix version could not be released, and the conversation between them did not go down well. Nikki lost her temper because here she was, trying to revive Jocelyn’s career, and she just expected her to be a little bit grateful about it. Nikki reminded her how she always had Jocelyn’s back, even when she made a mockery of herself publicly. Jocelyn didn’t like the tone in which Nikki was talking to her, and according to her, she was not at all appreciative of the efforts she had been trying to put in after her mother’s death. Nikki told her right up front that she should stop coming up with these weird suggestions and instead, focus her energy on the upcoming music video. Jocelyn left the scene feeling angry, frustrated, and helpless. Nikki knew that her mother’s demise had shaken her from within, and as much as she empathized with her situation, she also knew that to maintain her credibility and stay relevant in the market, she had to put in the work and deliver before the fans forgot her.
Jocelyn reached the set, and it took her hours to cover the bruises she had on her body. Jocelyn was suffering, and her mind was so cluttered that she was not able to focus on anything. She was on the verge of breaking down, but somehow, she was keeping her emotions at bay. Jocelyn became very finicky about each and every dance step, as she wanted it to be executed in the perfect manner. The director, Nikki, and other people from the music label were losing their patience because in every take Jocelyn had some or the other problem.
After several attempts, Jocelyn was finally able to give that one take that was perfect, but unfortunately, that didn’t get recorded because of some technical glitch. It was clearly not Jocelyn’s day, and the poor girl just couldn’t control her emotions any longer. Jocelyn felt paralyzed, and she broke down in front of everybody and started calling out for her mother as if she were hallucinating. Her makeup was smudged, and she didn’t have any energy to go through the entire ordeal all over again. Jocelyn was a very insecure person, and she felt guilty for wasting the time and money of the people on set. She felt that if she didn’t deliver, then Nikki, Chaim, her fans, and everybody else would abandon her, and she would merely cease to be a “has-been.” She did want to try, but her mind was not supporting her, and ultimately the shooting had to be stopped and postponed to another day.
Jocelyn was not wrong in thinking that she would be replaced because the cutthroat competition in the entertainment industry meant that the music labels didn’t want to waste their time and money on a person who couldn’t get them the desired returns. Jocelyn was suffering from clinical depression, and the amount of pressure she was putting on herself was clearly not helping her cause.
Was Dyanne Trying To Take Jocelyn’s Position?
Dyanne portrayed herself to be Jocelyn’s well-wisher, but the reality was very different from that. When we first saw Dyanne in the first episode, we perceived her as a warm and hospitable person who was also encouraging Jocelyn to do better, but eventually, we came to realize that she had some other vested interests in maintaining a close bond with her. Dyanne was close to Tedros, and she had intentionally taken Jocelyn there as Tedros had asked her to do so, for some apparent reason. In The Idol Episode 2, Dyanne’s dance moves had caught Nikki’s attention, and she got to know that Dyanne was an exceptional singer as well. Nikki offered Dyanne to sign a contract with her music label, as she had some strategy in mind and probably wanted to find a replacement for Jocelyn.
Dyanne was a bit surprised at the sudden offer, and she told Tedros about it. Tedros asked Dyanne to tell Nikki to negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract with him. We also came to know that Dyanne was in a romantic relationship with Tedros, and his closeness with Jocelyn was making Dyanne a bit jealous. We still believe that Dyanne didn’t know what Tedros was up to, as there were a lot of things that he kept hidden from her. Creating a buzz about his club was not the only reason why Tedros wanted Jocelyn to visit his place, and there were many other things that he had on his mind. Maybe Dyanne actually planned on taking Jocelyn’s position, and it could be possible that she and Tedros were plotting and scheming together. Maybe she was intentionally making sure that she overshadowed Jocelyn’s performance in the music video because she knew that there would come a time when Jocelyn would have a nervous breakdown, and Nikki would look for a kind of replacement, who her music label could bet on.
Is Tedros Trying To Hijack Jocelyn’s Life?
Jocelyn had tried reaching out to Tedros, as after their first meeting in The Idol episode 1, she clearly fell for him. She wanted to be around him, and his not being available was making her even more restless. He said that he had been busy for a couple of days, or maybe he was just ignoring her on purpose, but whatever he was doing was clearly working in his favor.
Tedros told Jocelyn that she should think about firing the people on her crew who were not aligned with her vision. It felt like he was trying to alienate Jocelyn from the people who had her back and then make a move when she was in her most vulnerable state. It was not a coincidence that Jocelyn had landed in Tedros’ club in the previous episode of The Idol. It was a pre-planned setup, and Jocelyn fell for it. Chaim and Destiny had come to know about this mysterious club owner that Jocelyn had been meeting lately, through Leia, who told them whatever she knew about Tedros. Chaim and Destiny were both worried about Jocelyn, and they even tried having a talk about it with her. Chaim, for the first time in The Idol Episode 2, lost his temper, but only out of concern for Jocelyn. He really wanted her to become the world’s greatest artist, but he knew that the way she was going, people would start giving up on her.
Tedros finally came to meet Jocelyn, but not alone, as Izzak and a girl named Chloe tagged along with him. Leia took the opportunity and asked Izaak who exactly Tedros was and where he had met him. To her surprise, Izaak told her that he had met Tedros in a church when he used to sing in the choir.
Izaak said that, though it didn’t look like it, Tedros was a very religious man, and there were many other facets of his personality that no one knew about. We got to know at the end of The Idol Episode 2, that Tedros ran his own music label, and he had signed Izaak back in the day. Tedros gave Jocelyn validation like nobody else did, and maybe that’s why she felt so happy being around him. He was clearly playing with her mind, and he wanted to use her for some purpose. Tedros told Jocelyn that they should create more music together and that it would be easier if he shifted to her place, at least for some time. Jocelyn partied the entire night with Tedros and his gang, and once again, they shared an intimate moment.
Tedros was already in a position from where he could influence Jocelyn’s actions, and he was evidently trying to get even more involved now. In the upcoming episodes, we might see Tedros move in with Jocelyn, and we will get to know what kind of impact it has on Jocelyn’s life.
