feel the rush

It takes a lot to shock us, but Troye Sivan’s big scene in the latest episode of ‘The Idol’ is truly jaw-dropping

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Image Credit: ‘The Idol,’ HBO

The Idol hasn’t exactly turned out to be the TV show of the summer like HBO clearly hoped.

Oh, sure, folks are talking an awful lot about the dark music biz drama from The Weeknd and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson… but they don’t have many good things to say about it.

The story of pop starlet Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and her toxic relationship with cult leader Tedros (The Weeknd) has been described as cringe, at best, and shameless, misogynist, smutty, and ill-conceived, at worst.

But the latest episode, “Stars Belong To The World”—also its penultimate, as there won’t be a second season—represents a possible turning point for the series, with a standout scene that just might convince skeptics to tune in. Or, maybe it’ll turn you off further. Depends what you’re into. *wink*

Spoilers ahead for all four episodes of The Idol thus far.

Image Credit: ‘The Idol,’ HBO

While The Weeknd’s performance really makes us wish he’d stick with music, the supporting cast has been turning it out for the most part. Troye Sivan, in particular, has been a real standout, proving once again that our preeminent twink pop star has some real acting chops.

In The Idol, Sivan plays Xander, a longtime friend of Jocelyn’s who works as her creative director. Up until the fourth episode, his job was mostly just to look concerned over Jocelyn’s intensely intimate connection with Tedros, but the latest narrative pivot takes Xander’s arc in shocking new directions. Literally.

Tedros overhears Xander singing in the shower (“Love Is A Losing Game”—an excellent Amy Winehouse song that Sivan has covered in the past) and is surprised by his pipes. Xander used to be a singer, too, but says he quit a couple years back after tearing his vocal cords.

Clearly, that’s not the case because Xander/Sivan sounds great!

Related:

Troye Sivan goes on a fashion warpath with a slew of head-turning lewks to promote ‘The Idol’

For twink fashionistas, Troye Sivan is The Idol.

What follows is a pretty distressing scene in which Tedros has Xander tied up—with Jocelyn watching—and puts a shock collar for dogs around his neck.

In short, Tedros doesn’t trust Xander, and, over the course of some intense shock-induced interrogation, gets him to admit that Jocelyn’s late mother once forced him into a contract that forbid him from singing, out of fear her might outshine her daughter. They also outed him when he was a teen.

In intense pain, Xander warns Tedros that Jocelyn controls everyone around her—even him. You can watch the clip below, but fair warning it’s a tough sit.

The Idol‘s been so hard to stomach because, up until this point, it’s felt like we were just watching a man coerce a young pop star into sex and abusing her influence for his own personal gain. But Xander’s revelation could flip the crux of the series on its head, implying Jocelyn’s been the one pulling the strings the entire time.

At the very least, it certainly sets up some intrigue and momentum for the finale—two things the show’s really been missing thus far.

But the main takeaway of the episode seems to be that Sivan can really act! Of course, that shouldn’t be a huge surprise considering he’s been doing it for longer than he’s been releasing music, but it’s proof he can handle heavier material just as well as he can lighter fare.

Here’s what folks are saying online in light of the latest episode of The Idol:

And what does Sivan himself have to say about it?

(We’re joking—that’s from 9 years ago. But, relevant!)

The finale of The Idol airs this coming Sunday, July 2. We’ll be tuning in to see how this all plays out, though we’re not entirely optimistic. Instead, we’re saving all of our hope for Sivan dropping his new single, “Rush” before Pride Month is up. We’re ready for your new era, Troye—bring it on!

@troyesivan

Pre-save my new single Rush 🤥🤭

♬ Rush

Related:

PHOTOS: 15 images of Troye Sivan serving his finest twink energy

Sivan will be hitting screens in the HBO series ‘The Idol’ in early June.

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