NOTICE: This was written on November 17, the day Magic Island's music video was released. Stuff is subject to change. <3 I have now watched Magic Island for the third time in a row. Once to watch it, once for theories, and once slowed down for theories. (Yes, I even braved watching it for a half hour on 0.25x for y’all. Yes, you’re welcome. Yes, it sounded very odd.) Now, it's time for theories. FIRST IMPRESSIONS I'd like to start with an overarching theory -- they know each other. You may be saying, "no, duh," but seriously. I think they all knew each other when they were much, much younger (kindergarten-ish, schoolwise). I think they used to play together, games with imagination and creativity, maybe even in a secret hideout-style place. Hence, Magic Island. I think something happened when they were younger, perhaps relating to the strange powers they have now. Something happened and they couldn't see each other anymore/weren't allowed to play together anymore. (Again, perhaps relating to the strange powers? Or maybe their make-believe play wasn't as make-believe as they thought?) But I don't think they remember WHY they had to leave, even after they meet again in what looks to be high school. I think Soobin and Yeonjun are the two that are remembering the most -- Soobin is dreaming and hearing things, and Yeonjun is seeing and hearing things. Now, with that out of the way, video analysis. This is liable to be all over the place because I'm not very good at organizing my thoughts, so you have been warned. So the beginning narration. (Fig. 1.1) It sounds like they've met before, but were separated. Also, notice the star--it's still whirring, whereas it isn't in NoaS (and then comes back on at the end). Fig. 1.1 - The narration...of the star? Of the cat? I have no idea. SECTION 1 - PRACTICE ROOM GHOST After that, Soobin...well, okay, y'all are gonna call me crazy, but it looks like he sneezes. In either case, he wakes up, and the lights on the subway flip on. Pretty self-explanatory (except why were they off in the first place?). Yeonjun seems to notice him getting scared awake, but doesn't do anything about it. (Kai seems to notice too, but I don't know if he noticed Soobin or Yeonjun.) Instead (as Soobin removes his headphones) Yeonjun texts the group in their chat about--what else?--a ghost. (Fig. 1.2) Beomgyu and Taehyun quickly chime in with their opinions on the matter. Fig. 1.2 & 1.3 - "Did you hear about the practice room ghost?" asks Yeonjun. Finally, Soobin enters the chat (literally) and messages that he had a weird dreams. Kai asks if he had another nightmare. Another. Nightmare. How long has Soobin been having nightmares? [SIDE THEORY: NoaS was in a very odd (but gorgeous) film style. Could it be possible NoaS was HIS NIGHTMARE????] Either way, he goes to respond. (Fig. 1.4) Also, just a note, it is currently 11:00, according to Soobin's phone. Not sure how this is important, but it's BigHit, so I made a note of it. I'm assuming 11am, not 11pm. Fig. 1.4 - "In my dream, we..." But Soobin backs it out. But he seems to have second thoughts, as he backs out the message before he can send it. As the conversation is seemingly forgotten, Yeonjun continues as if nothing has happened. Beomgyu is quick to suggest they go see the ghost and (despite Kai's pleading) Yeonjun agrees. (Fig. 1.5) Fig. 1.5 - I ain't afraid of no ghost! Fig. 1.6 - ...why do you need this, anyway? Yeonjun grabs a firestarter pack. (Fig. 1.6) Now, my question is WHY. Why did he need that thing? There was plenty of wood at the island, plenty of flammable things, they could've easily started a fire without it. Why did he take it? "Should we just go?" With these words, Yeonjun and the rest of the group head towards the same location on the subway. It shows a close up of the subway tracker (?) which says they're on their way to Cheong Dam. (Cheongdam?) They seem to be counting down, and when the buzzer-thing hits 2 left, a.k.a. ¾?, the world goes white and off we go!!! After a quick anime-style opening with lots of slo-mo wind and flapping clothes/hair, we see a very fast montage of images. And it all starts with Yeonjun opening his eyes. [SIDE THEORY: Are they not supposed to open their eyes? No one else does, and when Yeonjun does, odd things are seen, including a quick shot of a forest on fire. Can he see the future there???] Here’s a quick run-down of what’s shown, since it’s so fast: (Yes, I rewatched it in 0.25x, just for you guys.)
Beomgyu is the first to look out the windows/doors as they all slowly make their way to the front. (Soobin removes his headphones again.) Kai seems to be struggling to see and then Yeonjun walks out the door into the outdoors. There are many weird shapes in the fog, specifically to his left. I saw one that looks like a person, one that looks like people in a boat on the water, and one that looks like a building of some kind. There may be more. (Fig. 1.8) And that’s pretty much the end of Section One. There’s still a lot to get through, so hold on to your hats! Fig. 1.7 - What is that thing?! Fig. 1.8 - Is that the girl from the lake? SECTION 2 - SECRET ISLAND We finally reach the MUSIC part of the music video! ...But not right away. No. First, there’s a very pretty shot of a valley in the forest with purple flowers covering the floor. There’s a twisted, gnarled tree and a telescope nearby as well. I may be seeing things where they don’t exist, but I swear I can make out the letters J and F on the tree’s trunk. (Fig. 2.1) Fig. 2.1 - What could this mean? Soobin tries to get reception, but his phone beeps at him, telling him there is none. (NOTE: It is now 12:58.) He’s the only one that seems concerned with the phone--though the others have theirs, they’re still in their bags, and they’re busy admiring the sunlight and the scenery. Here’s the music now! Kai is messing around in the plants, managing to catch a red dragonfly. Some of the lyrics in this part seem relevant as well: “Even the stars are asleep tonight,” “And a little secret began on the secret island,” “remember? The song of your and my star,” etc. Soobin checks his phone again, but it runs out of battery and dies. (NOTE: It is now 5:54.) Suddenly, his ear starts ringing and he looks behind him, but there’s nothing there. Meanwhile, Yeonjun is starting a fire. In the middle of a field of flowers. Bad idea, I know. Tell that to him, not me. He pulls the party-fire-starting-thing out of his backpack and starts the fire, burning his hand in the process. [SIDE THEORY: This video is a prequel to Run Away MV. The burn is just barely still visible in the RA MV.] He calls the others over and they seem to have a lovely campfire in the middle of the day. (Fig. 2.2) Fig. 2.2 - But is everything truly as happy as it seems? Nothing is quite as it seems, as a few moments later Yeonjun either sees or hears something. (NOTE: Lyrics: “And when darkness calls me again.”) Something starts ringing, similar to the way it did for Soobin. He looks towards the bushes suspiciously, but after a few minutes, he slowly turns back to the group. He doesn’t seem convinced that there’s nothing there, but he lets it go. (NOTE: I noticed that whenever we get these weird POV shots, there are these odd lights in the camera. (Fig. 2.3, 2.4, 2.5) These are just a few examples.) Beomgyu, the little troublemaker, pulls out some sparklers and fireworks out of his backpack and passes them out. And that’s it for Section Two. Fig. 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 - Why are these weird lights popping up, but only on certain shots? Could they be to show we are seeing things from the cat's point of view? SECTION 3 - CASTAWAY This is where stuff starts to get messed up. First, the boys throw off their school uniforms to reveal more normal clothes underneath. Then they light the sparklers and get a-playing. During it all, however, Soobin seems distracted/melancholy. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the ringing starts up again, along with some more weird lights, and the final appearances of the girl at the lake. (Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3) (NOTE: Is she walking towards the lake or away from it?) The music is very triumphant, but Soobin doesn’t seem happy at all. One of the shots shows Beomgyu throwing a lit lantern-type-object into the bushes. (That's important!!) I think he was aiming for the water, but, well, he missed. And that’s all for Section Three. Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 - More POV lights? More of that creepy girl? No thank you!!! I was this close to stopping watching. Seriously. SECTION 4 - THE PRICE OF A PROMISE Probably the freakiest title, not gonna lie. Nothing is good here. At first, everything is calm. The boys are sitting around the fire. Beomgyu and Taehyun are...roasting their shoes… Yeonjun tossed his jacket on top of the telescope. Kai fell asleep (or is at least dozing) on Beomgyu’s lap. Somehow, Soobin’s phone is now charged, and he’s messing on it. (Fig. 4.1) Fig. 4.1 - Why are you two roasting your shoes like marshmellows? And, Soobin, please inform me as to how you charge your phone in the middle of nowhere? Because I would love to know. Fig. 4.2 - Great job, boys. C'mon, let's get out of here. There’s some more weird lights shots and a little more ringing. Suddenly, Yeonjun turns around and is the first to realize that they have set the forest on fire. (Fig. 4.2) After staring at it for a few minutes, they seemingly decide to get the heck out of there. Eventually, they reach a set of train tracks. There’s this really weird noise in the background that sounds almost like a young girl’s voice, along with a pair of glowing lights--one blue, one green. [SIDE THEORY: I believe that whatever this is has manifested itself as the evil cat in “Soobin’s dream” a.k.a. NoaS MV] They turn yellow after a moment, before turning into a train, barrelling down the tracks at top speed. (NOTE: Out of all the boys, the only ones that seem to be able to hear the weird voice are Yeonjun and Soobin.) (Fig. 4.3) After a few seconds of intensity, the train crashes headlong into Yeonjun, who is standing dead center in the middle of the tracks. This launches us into the ever intense train scene. Fig. 4.3 - Who are you?? And what the heck do you want from them? Most of this scene is difficult to see, as it is fast and it’s oddly filtered. I’ll do my best to recount what happened similar to the traveling scene from earlier. Here we go.
Fig. 4.4 - Um...are you guys okay? Fig. 4.5 - Oh. Apparently not. SECTION 5 - ETERNAL NAME This one is relatively short. There’s a dragon flying across a thunderous sky, with what look to be comets or something streaming down. (Fig. 5.1) Then, there is another narration segment. In the middle, it pauses to show the +U symbol, before continuing with two last lines of narration. (Fig. 5.2) And that’s the end of the music video. Fig. 5.1 - What is this supposed to mean!? Fig. 5.2 - Remember whose name? What name? FINAL THOUGHTS
This is definitely thirteen and a half intense minutes. This is not something I would just put on if I wanted to watch a music video. But if you’re looking for some theories? It’s a gold mine. I hope all MOA (and even non-MOA) enjoyed the video! Our boys’ acting was absolutely brilliant! Soobin really seems to be a natural actor to me, Hueningkai as well. I’m excited to see where they go with this. I love that they’re not really taking the traditional school concept, it’s more of a sci-fi/fantasy concept. I’m very surprised and pleased! Keep up the great work, BigHit and TXT! MOA, love you! Fighting! <3 <3 <3 - Ilona O'Connor
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AuthorI'm just a tiny ARMY and multistan that wants to contribute. <3 Archives
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