This post contains spoilers for The Idol episode three, “Daybreak.â€
A veil of secrecy has been shading The Idol, the new HBO jawn from Sam Levinson. The show has been mired in controversy, with accusations of exploitation and “sexual torture porn†coming from its production. Now that the show’s half over, we’ve seen what British GQ called “the worst sex scene in history,†yet further allusions to the Paul Verhoeven oeuvre (Verhoeuvre?), a lot of getting eaten out in a convertible, and, yes — more smoking (Jocelyn cig count: three, a record low). But more questions arose as the show went on. Questions such as:
➽ What does Vulture’s Nate Jones want from me?
➽ Do Tedros & Co. know that “Daybreak†is the name of a reggae-adjacent song by Harry Nilsson, about a remorseful vampire? And that the song was part of his film project, Son of Dracula, in which he played the titular role and Ringo Starr played Merlin?
âž½ You mean to tell me these next two episodes will have NO sexy personal-chef content?
âž½ Did Valentino pay for that product placement? Did it know about the jizz-wiping?
➽ What’s the weirdest place you’ve accidentally run into people fucking? For me, it was the bathroom of a novelty/joke shop.
➽ Does Tedros know that Jocelyn is faking her orgasms? Or will he convince himself that she’s coming all the time, like Tom Sandoval did in the early days of his relationship with Ariana Madix?
➽ Why didn’t Chaim and Destiny tell Leia they believed her? What purpose does that serve?
➽ Who is keeping an eye on Nikki and the breach-of-contract lawsuit she’s going to create by giving Jocelyn’s whole album rollout to Dyanne?
➽ Follow-up question: Really? We’re spelling it Dyanne?
➽ Troye Sivan, how can you ask, “When was the last truly fucking nasty, nasty, bad pop girl?†when Charli XCX’s verse on “Welcome to My Island†came out earlier this year?
➽ Who the fuck is coming up to Joceyln and saying, “Your music saved my life,†and can I give them an Apple Music gift card?
➽ Will Jocelyn respond to John Early’s “be yourself†material?
➽ Is it really the best idea to castigate Xander and Leia for not intervening in Jocelyn’s mom’s abuse, then re-creating that abuse? I mean this from a strategy standpoint for Tedros. Won’t they want a do-over and try to save her this time?
➽ I heard this was going to be the episode that introduced Elizabeth Berkley’s character. WHERE IS SHE?
âž½ Whose dog was that in that one scene? Was it supposed to be there?