The Idol finale's hairbrush scene explained
The Idol spoilers follow.
After five weeks of running on vibes and vibes alone, not to mention the toe-curling dialogue that sounded like it came from the mouth of a horned-up teenager, HBO's controversy-steeped drama The Idol has come to an end.
From "the sick and twisted minds" of Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye (HBO's words, not ours), the show follows Lily-Rose Depp's troubled pop star Jocelyn as she attempts to get her career back on track following a nervous breakdown.
Enter Tedros, Tesfaye's rat-tailed nightclub owner, who weasels his way into Jocelyn's life and controls everything from her friends and household staff to her work affairs and music, all to 'help' Jocelyn restore her status as America's sexiest pop princess.
Yet, while Jocelyn had led everyone to believe she was being manipulated by Tedros, the finale revealed that Jocelyn has been aware of and using Tedros' machinations this entire time.
But if the finale has left you feeling confused (it raised more questions than it answered, to be fair), we're here to break it down for you and explain what that hairbrush scene really means.
The Idol ending – and that hairbrush scene – explained
In 'Jocelyn Forever', our glossy pop star is as done with Tedros and his BS as we've been since episode one. Despite her awareness of his manipulation, she was unsurprisingly creeped out to learn that Tedros had been obsessed with her long before orchestrating their first meeting.
After convincing Finkelstein (Eli Roth) to let her tour go ahead and asking Tedros' "people", who she claims are now her people, to open the tour for her, Jocelyn asks Chaim (Hank Azaria) to get rid of Tedros.
Chaim kicks Tedros out of the house and out of Jocelyn's life, but he goes a step further by requesting that Vanity Fair journalist Talia (Hari Nef) publish an article detailing his criminal past. Six weeks later, we learn that Talia's piece ruined Tedros' reputation, cost him the nightclub, and that the IRS is pursuing him, much to the amusement of Chaim, Finklestein and co.
The Idol's Tedros-free world is cut short though, because Jocelyn has left him an artist pass for the opening night of her world tour.
Clearly a shell of the all-powerful person he once was (or once thought he was, anyway), Tedros heads backstage and meets Jocelyn in her dressing room. There, he finds the hairbrush she claimed her late mother used to beat her with. The same hairbrush Tedros also beat her with with in some sadistic attempt to replicate her trauma and turn it into inspiration for new music.
While analysing the bristles, Tedros asks her: "Did you say this was the brush your mom beat you with?" and Jocelyn replies,"I did." Tedros then points out that the hairbrush is "brand new".
With that, Jocelyn gives him a knowing smile and Tedros comes to the realisation that everything she told him about her abuse was a lie, a ruse to make him think he was in control while she was the one pulling his strings and using him as inspiration for her music.
"Jocelyn is a very calculated and strategic person. She knows exactly what she wants and she'll stop at nothing to get it," Depp explained to Deadline. "Tedros was her muse and that she got what she needed out of him."
Offering some further insight into the big twist, Levinson added: "Throughout the season, Jocelyn has been searching for inspiration. She's looking to go to an uncomfortable place, and it's just ultimately looking for that next song, that next album. Tedros becomes the conduit for that creative unlocking."
At the end of the episode, Joycelyn brings Tedros out on stage. "You’re mine, forever," she tells him, before ordering him to stand off to the side. She has full control over him and, apparently, she always has.
The Idol airs on HBO in the US, and is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
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