The third episode of The Idol sees Leia getting alarmed by Tedros taking control of Jocelyn’s life. The episode is now streaming on Max.
Recap
Once Tedros moves in with Jocelyn, they grow even closer than before, much to Leia’s dismay. She complains to Chaim about Tedros taking charge. Additionally, he gets angry if another man even looks at Jocelyn.
Tedros not only fires a staff member but also tells Leia that he is in charge now, which scares her. Jocelyn is happy with Tedros and impressed with his knowledge of music, so she does as she is told most of the time, even if that means firing her staff members.
Chaim and Destiny come to Jocelyn’s house to meet Tedros. They are suspicious of him, but they do not object to Tedros being with Jocelyn, as he claims that he is bringing popular people from the music industry to help Jocelyn make three songs in two weeks.
Chaim buys Jocelyn two weeks’ time and stresses how important it is that she delivers the songs that she is promising. Chaim and Destiny pretend to like Tedros, but they do not trust him and think that Jocelyn is in trouble.
Jocelyn admits to Chloe that she never speaks the truth in her songs because she is scared of letting people see her vulnerable side. On the other hand, Dyanne shoots the music video that Jocelyn could not shoot.
Tedros talks to Jocelyn’s creative director, Xander, who agrees that Jocelyn’s creative direction is not the best. Xander has great ideas, but they are often rejected by Jocelyn or the label.
One of his ideas is that they should use Jocelyn’s personal photograph that got leaked on the internet as her album cover, and Tedros likes it.
Tedros’s friends tell Jocelyn that Tedros does not allow anyone to say no, so they do whatever they are told. Jocelyn does not agree with the logic behind the idea, no matter what Tedros’ friends say.
Jocelyn has dinner with all of them at her house and thanks Tedros for teaching her how to enjoy life again. Tedros tells her about Xander’s idea, and while Jocelyn is not opposed to thinking about it, she is not too keen to start the scandal again.
Even when she says that the picture is humiliating, Tedros pushes her to use it and take risks. He also pushes her to talk about her mother in front of everyone, even though she is not comfortable doing that.
Jocelyn tells them that her mother used to hit her frequently, sometimes even for something as small as smiling. Tedros blames the people around Jocelyn for not speaking up, but Jocelyn believes that it was more complicated than that.
Now that her mother is gone, Jocelyn feels that she is stuck because she does not have the motivation that she used to get from being hit. Tedros then tells her that he is going to turn her trauma into inspiration.
He sends Leia to her room and hits Jocelyn the way her mother used to hit her in front of everyone. He asks her to push through the pain. Jocelyn believes that he is taking care of her and thanks him for it.
Review
- Tedros finally becomes the manipulative figure that the previous episodes suggested. It is easy to see why and how he is able to control Jocelyn, and by the end of the episode, she comes to believe that he is taking care of her even when he hurts her.
- This episode succeeds in making the audience uncomfortable. It is no surprise that Tedros’s actions are problematic, but the way he dominates and controls everyone around him makes his character truly unsettling.
- The managers coming face to face with Tedros was the only scene that was remotely light in this episode. Hank Azaria and Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s dramatic flair makes the whole scene amusing.
Also Read: The Idol season 1 episode 2 recap & review: Double Fantasy