Paul Keelan
Paul Keelan currently resides in Phoenix, AZ with his wife and cat. He has toured the continental US multiple times as a bassist playing rock jams, lived / traveled / taught abroad for over five years (primarily in Asia), and watched an unhealthy amount of movies. When not writing about cinema for 25YL and Letterboxd, or working on his travel novels / novellas, he spends free time reenacting imaginary montage sequences as he records, edits, and cohosts the spectacular sports movie podcast Cinematic Underdogs.
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in EpisodesThe Idol Season Finale Recap and Analysis: Is it “Jocelyn Forever” or Jocelyn’s Swan Song?
The following recap contains spoilers for the season finale of The Idol, Episode 5, “Jocelyn Forever” Editor’s Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist. Episode 5 of The Idol, “Jocelyn Forever,” takes […] More
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in Episodes
The Idol Episode 4 Recap: “Stars Belong to the World” Flips the Script & Power Dynamics Entirely
The following recap contains spoilers for The Idol Episode 4, “Stars Belong to the World” Episode 4 of The Idol, “Stars Belong to the World,” opens with a montage of day laborers—the housekeepers, groundskeepers, and security guards who keep Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) palatial mansion from becoming a cesspool. The sheer manpower on display indicates the […] More
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in Episodes
The Idol Episode 3 Recap: “Daybreak” — Seeking a Substantive Thesis on Artistic Authenticity Beneath the Pulp
The following recap contains spoilers for The Idol Episode 3, “Daybreak” “Daybreak,” the third episode of HBO’s polarizing The Idol, zooms ahead with Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and Tedros (Abel Tesfaye) getting down and dirty in the backseat of a convertible. Leia (Rachel Sennott), Jocelyn’s increasingly distraught assistant, is driving—relegated to a proverbially disgruntled third wheel. […] More
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in Episodes
The Idol Episode 2 Recap: “Double Fantasy”
Aptly titled “Double Fantasy,” Episode 2 of The Idol is all about mirrors, substitutes, and double-crossing. Leaning deeper into its erotic thriller undertones, and slipping intermittently into soap opera territory, the episode ramps up the melodramatic narrative quite a bit. There are still promising signs of multilayered storytelling, but glimpses of genre artifice lurk just […] More
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in Premieres
The Idol Premiere Recap: An Honest Aesthetic Exploration
Tilted “Pop Tarts and Rat Tales,” The Idol’s highly-controversial series premiere opens with a tight, claustrophobic shot of Jocelyn, played by Lily-Rose Depp. She is being directed by an unseen photographer to emote and follows his dictates (“pure sex,” “vulnerable,” “emotional”) by morphing her mien with mesmerizing accuracy. Immediately, we are welcomed into a world […] More
