The Idol – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Jocelyn Forever

What is Jocelyn’s “defining show” in the finale?

Episode 5, the final episode of The Idol’s season 1, begins in Joss’ house. She fills the room with her angelic voice, while Tedros sits in the corner like a vampire. He is sleep deprived, high on substances, and is a fraction of the confident man he once was.

Joss is functioning like we haven’t seen her before. She is running the show without Tedros now and is doing quite well. The biggest thing on her agenda is her World Tour, which hangs in the balance. In a tense moment, when Tedros tries to participate, she asks him to leave the house permanently. She lets the artists stay back but wants him gone. Joss also mockingly tells how Tedros begged Dyanne to bring her to his club for fame.

Joss visits the offices of the Magistrate to present her singles to Nikki and the team. The next day, Andrew Finkelstein calls early in the morning to inform her that he is coming to visit. That gets Jocelyn excited. She knows she will have to put on a lifetime’s show to convince Finkelstein to put the Tour back on. Nikki will also be there, alongside Chaim and Destiny. Jocelyn prepares the artists for her act and once again disregards Tedros.

What is Tedros’ plan to get back at Jocelyn?

To get back at her, Tedros asks Xander to interrupt Joss’ plan during the meeting. This might be Xander’s only chance to impress and make something of himself. Tedros also instructs some of the girls to dress provocatively and to act in such a way so as to impress the producers. Despite his wanton state, Tedros still seems to have quite a hold over them like Joss never can.

Fink and Nikki arrive with Joss’ managers. Rob, Joss’ ex-boyfriend who spent the last night with her, keeps calling Joss but she doesn’t pick up. Leia does pick up his call to reveal Tedros’ sinister plan. Sophie, the girl who sat on Rob’s lap for a photo, has gone out and claimed he raped her. She even claims to have witnesses. This would destroy Rob’s career and send him to jail. But Leia is unable to confirm anything from Xander or Jocelyn as she looks around helplessly.

The meeting starts off with high tensions. Tedros confronts Nikki, insults her, and cusses her for having no vision. She takes it like a champ. If the execs don’t have a thick skin, who will?  Bianca, one of the performers, dances up and down over Fink in a tempting way, confusing and stirring him. There is absolute bewilderment in the room as Fink keeps asking for Joss and even calls it a “clown show” at one point. All of that stops when Chloe takes to the mic and mesmerizes everyone. Joss finally descends the stairs and convinces Fink to sit through her planned show.

Izaak and Ramsey follow Chloe and the mood suddenly changes. Everyone at the visiting party – except Destiny – is amazed by the surreal talent of the artists. Chaim and Destiny try to convince Fink that Joss had a part in grooming and nurturing these artists. But Nikki knows Tedros could have been behind it. Despite his rudeness, Nikki congratulates him and offers him a position to scout musical talents for her. Following, this, Xander sings George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” which gets everyone up on their feet.

Ending Explained:

This happens in the backdrop of Joss’s outcasting of Tedros after she learns that Rob has been accused of rape. She tells Chaim to get rid of Tedros at any cost. In his slick and emphatic style, Chaim warns Tedros that he is like the hunter from “Little Red Riding Hood” who will “eat him for breakfast” if he doesn’t leave Joss alone. He gets his men to put him in a car and offload him from Joss’ life. He even offers Tedros money to disappear but Tedros does not take it. Joss puts on a spectacular, raunchy show for Fink, which convinces him to put the Tour back on.

Why does Leia leave Jocelyn’s house?

Joss is over the moon and so are the artists who will be touring the world with her. She takes a moment to process Tedros’ removal from her life but quickly gets over it. We also see Leia leaving Jocelyn’s team and putting a note for her on her bed. Leia feels the place isn’t right for her and that her morality and ethics are quite different from the groups. She has been harassed, threatened, and treated like garbage since Tedros’ arrival. She has had enough. Joss had a chance to put things right by making a statement for Rob, whom Leia called a good guy before. But she didn’t.

Joss also convinces Nikki to halt Dyanne’s release of “World Class Sinners.” Joss has considerably more leverage as of now and Nikki is only chasing the money. Although Dyanne understands it, she surely does not accept it. In the aftermath, Joss spends her time training, practising, and preparing for the Tour. She does all of this alone, not surrounded by anyone except professionals to help her get better. Chaim convinces Talia Hirsch to write a story about Tedros’ crimes as the final nail in his proverbial coffin.

How does The Idol end?

We have a time jump of six weeks, after which, we learn that Joss’ Tour sold out in three weeks, which is a record time for her. Fink, Nikki, and Chaim celebrate their victory. They are also over the moon for having signed unknown artists for next to nothing. Together, they would earn the label and Chaim millions. Joss also dropped three new singles in this time, all major hits. The team have also been able to book an entire stadium for one of Joss’ performances.

Tedros lost everything. His dark past as a pimp came to the front. He lost the club and now the IRS is after him as well. Nikki does acknowledge that Tedros was the one responsible for finding the artists.

We see Tedros arrive at the stadium and a pass is left for him at the gates under “Mauricio Jackson.” Destiny warns him; “If you ever hurt her again, I will kill you.” Joss meets him with warmth and fondness, confessing she has missed him. The success she is tasting now wouldn’t be the same without his presence. Tedros asks her if the hairbrush in his hands is the same one that her mother used to beat her with. She says yes. But what puzzles him is that it is brand new, indicating that Joss lied about the abuse she suffered at her mother’s hands.

Joss takes everyone by surprise when she arrives on the stage. She introduces Tedros as the “love of her life” and kisses him in front of everyone. Chaim, Fink, and Nikki are blindsided by this revelation. Even Tedros is shocked.

The Episode Review

Was Joss using Tedros all this time? Her newfound clarity in the final episode of The Idol was confusing, bewildering, and completely inconsistent with the rest of the show. I mean, isn’t that too much of a jump from what we saw in the previous episodes? The acceptance of Joss’s fate will not come easily. The jarring change in everything that had been established hitherto cannot be justified. The foundation for this just does not exist through the first four episodes.

Are we to accept The Idol was a story about a struggling artist looking for inspiration all this time? Was Tedros supposed to be the “talisman” to bring her out of her rut and arrest her “musical menopause?” No, it is far too convenient given Joss’s characterization until now. Why did she cry out for her mother in front of everyone if the abuse was not real? It only degraded her chances to get the Tour!

The finale is extremely disappointing and even though the ending might give some people warmth (those who rooted for Joss), it is not in the least bit satisfying. But then again, we didn’t really expect that of The Idol anyway!