They're lucky they never ended up with YG. Dreamcatcher Company treats them like family. To YG, they'd just be a commodity, exactly as they're depicted in the MV. As well, their next comeback is likely to be very different because they never do the same thing twice. They would also never have anything to do with YG especially after Dreamcatcher filed a lawsuit against YG for the underhanded business practices they employed during the Mixnine survival show. Dreamcatcher left the show part way through and I think the main reason was YG insisted on extending the contract periods from 3 months to 3 years. Since Jiu would almost certainly have been part of the group that YG was trying to create, that would have destroyed Dreamcatcher. After the competition was over YG cancelled the project because the agencies of some of the winners would not agree to the 3 year contract.

3:19 u nailed this one right on the spot!! its a bit hard to explain but they created a whole ARG story on twitter a while before the actual cb with the character 'ymenechra' (archenemy) so im not 100% sure what going on either but there is a CROWN that some ppl suddenly get obsessed with (u can see the zoomed on it too at 6:28) and later in a hidden USB file u can hear the members talking about luring their next victim (and Sasha (1:36), the one in the MV, who was the 99th victim, most likely got offed - since she disappears) idk whats up with archenemy tho?(she stopped tweeting too, right after going to an "interview") so next comeback might be us saving someone, since its going to be 2 parts for this one, and this one is where deukae is the villains themselves, though we dont know what the crown does, if its the effect of it that made them like this - overall its confusing but they put sooo much work into the storyline this time, i can only hope they post a summary later

In short, the meta thing is that the Dreamcatcher Company editor Shasha (who's editing on the Photoshop) is lured by a mysterious female serial killer ARG character nicknamed ymenehcra (Archenemy backwards) to "follow the crown". (Or more likely, it's a group of evil people.) An account created for conceptual purposes on the real world social media with that very name published that the crown "requires sacrifices" and that "the white carpet will turn to red, to look perfect", published the MyCo and many clues, and has even shown a pic of a crime scene (poor Shasha). In the MV, she leads Shasha to follow a crown drawn on a van, that leads her to a trap. As the MV progresses, Shasha loses it and she becomes obsesed, losing her touch with reality. In the end she even imposes a huge crown over the Dreamcatcher MV she's editing. The end of the MV is still not clear. It seems that she meets Evil Dreamcatcher in some kind of ARG setting, thus the lag in the frame rate and the impassionate look on the members faces as Evil JiU (or is it Evil Meanji?) removes her VR headset and Shasha collapses. In the previous Trilogy, Dreamcatcher explained everything in the very last moment. So we should probably expect the second and final part of this concept, for more. Oh, and did you notice that Evil Siyeon in a wig is the one sitting across Shasha at the DCC offices? This clue is hidden in plain sight, in typical DC fashion. So, is she Archenemy?

At first glance you could think this is about them being proud and happy with themselves, about confidence. I don't think that is it though. I have no idea if my theory is correct, but the fact that the album is called VersuS VillainS makes me think it is not this simple. So I believe this song is meant as a criticism of narcissism, vanity, materialism and also (maybe) the fast fashion industry. "OOTD" stands for "Outfit of the Day" after all, maybe useless instagram influencers posting videos of their outfit of the day, which also promotes fast fashion. The fact that fashion is moving ever faster is the most destructive industry to the planet apart from the fossil fuel industry. The Aral lake has all but disappeared because of the cotton industry for example. It would fit to the Villain image, and you can see in the MV that they are acting. It is shown in the scene where Yoohyeon and Handong are fighting, but then the camera is off and Handong helps Yoohyeon up. The main reason why I don't think it is about confidence or their own success is the line "Driving on the highway, drunken everyday, do you feel like a monster?" and the album title. That just doesn't fit. And there was the ymenehcra account posting about touching a crown is dangerous and other cryptic messages before the comeback. It could also be a big and well-hidden F*U to the Kpop industry, like the Nightmare arc probably was. The narcissism and materialism is definitely criticized here, and Dreamcatcher have been criticized a lot themselves because of their rock/metal concept, while other groups have been celebrated for using a guitar riff once in a song. And Handong standing in front of the camera with bruises all over her legs seems to be a comment on the merciless industry as well. The music is highly interesting as well. The Rock is dirty and distorted. The song structure is not what you'd expect at all, for me it is punk rock meets K-Pop. Not their usual spiel, but a very good progression. It takes a couple of listens to really appreciate it.

You are spot on with your analysis and I only want to extend with the 3rd layer that is not directly explained in the video. That explains some shots not directly explainable. OOTD has at least three layers - Superficial, Satirical and Story layer. The first is the most obvious which is the self-empowering, confidence boosting "we are beautiful, successful, rich and famous" kind of message. JiU calls herself Venus, a goddess and being literally "drop dead gorgeous" at the end.. And it is just soo over the top :D But the thing is they deserve it and could actually do it, but it is just not them. On a satirical layer this song is a huge middlefinger to the music industry in general and the superficial beauty where everything is all about the looks, everything staged and edited. The soundscape and parts of the M/V mimic generic girl crush concept sounds (what you do not really hear in the other 70+ songs DreamCatcher has) and the M/V redraw parts of other M/Vs (Yes, I agree with you, Mostly YG). Posing with cool Cars and Motorcycles (Siyeon - Sua), doing commercial and product placement (Gahyeon), just posing looking fabulous with high fashion (Handong and JiU wearing Dior), making fake drama for more views (Yoohyeon) etc. The rap section is told from the perspective of an idol how many of them act after getting some fame. And for all the previous pictures they empathize that those are fake, and show how they actually look from behind the scene. Handong with the bruises, JiU like a boxed product, the Yoohyeon drama that ends right after the cut and the behind the scene footage and rendering shots for the other three. They also incorporate really short cuts to ensure we do not take them seriously, like the face Handong makes, Yoohyeon burst into a laughter throughout the final chorus, Siyeon laughing etc. Also the "Look at my necklace" (that she is not wearing), "look at my black dress" while wearing street fashion... Now for this satirical layer they had to adjust a bit their delivery and this is what makes this track different and this is why many who love the Dreamcatcher signature sound complain. First they wanted to not just look but to sound a bit like a traditional K-Pop girl crush song. And those filters and distortions and tuning that make a not so great singer sound good actually take a bit away from parts as we can hear their natural voice less as normally they do not use it since they are such great singers and do not need it... Also they deliberately used lifeless robotic delivery through the "OOTD this my fashion shut up no more question", like OOTD is the only thing that matters, they have no opinion about anything else, do not ask them about anything else as this is the robotic answer you get. In the final chorus they are almost laughing while singing to highlight the sarcasm. Also the overly playful mocking tone of the "I am only doing better". All in all ppl complaining about why the track is different most probably miss this layer. And finally there is the story layer where OOTD is the 1st part of a duology. Dreamcatcher members here are the villains who lure poor Shasha (the protagonist of the video, working as a video editor or graphical artist) into some kind of an augmented reality experience looking for the "crown" (aka fame, success whatever). The analogy I think is the follow the white rabbit from Matrix (along with many other Matrix style references throughout the M/V). And to appeal to Shasha they play the role of being great and rich and successful aligning with the narcissisms of the satirical layer. The story starts when Sasha searches for Dreamcatcher videos and stumbles upon the mysterious Dreamchat where Archenemy (spelled backwards, the 99th victim of Dreamcather) tells her about the power of the crown that she should be looking for luring her into this VR game. She follows the crown (drawn at the back of the truck) and at the end finds it but falls a victim of Dreamcatcher becoming the 100th sacrifice hence completing the crown. JiU even refers herself as Nephthys who is actually the goddess of death, decay, and darkness, mother of Anubis and Shasha falls when JiU "places the crown" on her head. This lore is not in the video, there were some external clues to put together this part.

So glad to see you back, the new album is amazing, the title track is so different but also so Dreamcatcher touching the controversial topics like Toxic Confidence and Narcissistic behavior plus the fake celebrity life style, but the rest of the album is sooooo classic DC. Your movie look amazing and very relevant to today situations, hopefully will be a great success.

There is a deeper meaning behind this song! It's about narcissism :))

You got the sense of everything even before watching it. I love your analysis everytime. They're always on point. I really really liked this cb as well. And the satire accompanying it

Now we need Paul Leach x Dreamcatcher to collab in the future. Maybe for a horror/ thriller short film with all 7 members as main cast...that would be awesome...:p

dreamcatcher \:D/ congrats on your new film and I knew you'd find some time in your busy schedule for the girls ;) the theme of the album appears to be revolving around the superficial, vanity, narcissism, etc. another song on the album 'shatter' has a medusa theme and if you know the lore behind that... so you are right, it's clearly satire but the target isn't exactly clear. it could be how the entertainment industry puts a false face on reality. it could be how people care too much on the exterior instead of what's inside, already a recurring theme in their discography. or as you mentioned yg, it could be a shot at kpop because the first time they do girl crush, it turns out to be satire :D

Omfg your take on the meaning of the mv is SO on point!

what a loyal InSomnia! T_T

Theres some lore that's not explained yet with "The Crown" and Ymenacra that seems to be a fictional character in this video, you can see at some frames where there's a chat going on and the phrase "Do you believe in the power of the crown?".. Maybe we'll see more of the lore in their next combeback :)

I must say that the trailer looks very interesting. Definitely interested

HE'S BACKKKKK

There is so much in the video to catch your attention that they manage to squeeze a lot of the lore in right under the viewer's nose. For example, with the room Handong is in with the bruises, you can actually see the camera in the mirrors in certain shots. JiU is actually in a display doll box. We have Dami acting tough but break the 4th wall to show it's fake. The zoom ins of Siyeon actually show her watching the monitors. The VFX also go in and out through the entire video. Whoever is behind the scenes is picking the photos to share of them and making notes about how their personalities should be, almost as if they are putting together an idol group themselves. So it's definitely a commentary on the superficiality that has become entertained with fame in our culture. Even with the lyrics, there are certain lines that give like clues as well, like during Dami's rap, she is listing things like bad attitudes, egos, drunk driving, etc. not so much as something cool, since the last line questions "Do you feel like a monster?" A lot of the lyrical clues bounce back and forth between the Korean and English lines, so unless someone is looking up translations or can understand both languages, it's easy to miss the lyric continuity. And thanks for reacting to them! I enjoyed your commentary on the video.

Ha, the movie fits perfect with the song, very on-theme and it looks really good! Great analysis as always

Hello Paul, so glad to see you again (: I always wait for your reactions, you see the details I don't and use the right words to explain yourself. So cool you went to their concert!!! As you said, Siyeon is a monster on the stage 🐺 (her nickname 'wolf' suits her well). Saludos desde México ❤. I almost forgot, you look great with your OOTD.

Congrats on your new film, Paul! I'm gonna watch for sure. I knew you'd drop a reaction and I enjoyed your analysis a lot, as always. Take care!

His outfit 🥺🥺 so cute!!

Have to recommend a recent debut: Kiss Of Life. They debuted releasing 6 mvs: 4 solos, the b-side and finally the title track. There’s a storyline connecting all the mvs and it’s very cool because to me it looked like if kpop was a Netflix series. Plus, the girls are really good. Nice seeing you releasing videos again. Best of luck with your new movie too! 🔥

Good to see you back!

5:55 I really love how Dami slides in powerfully on "Fuck outta my way".

WOW! That movie trailer is WICKED! Awesome stuff, I really hope it does well! Dreamcatcher has been my Ult Group in all of K-Pop for a while. My musical tastes are pretty spread out, I give anything at least one listen (I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, anyway). I really just can't help but come back to this awesome group. They do EVERYTHING and they do it REALLY WELL. DC literally have SOMETHING for EVERYBODY, so that level of variety fits with my wide range. BUT THEN, come to find out that they are NICE PEOPLE and they work for a NICE COMPANY (more of a 'Giant Chosen Family' environment than merely a place to work). Nobody deserves to be successful and world-renowned for their skills more than somebody who is NICE. Good people deserve as much success as they want or can handle. These ladies are HARD WORKERS and despite being looked down on and even sabotaged in Korea for their Rock and Metal genre and melding other genres together, they hung in there and stuck with it because they know how great they are and they know how much greater they can eventually be. As true professionals should, they really strive to constantly improve. Of course they don't talk about themselves that way, they are not actually divas (they easily could have become like that, but so far they have not fallen into that trap). JiU even still gets embarrassed when she gets called gorgeous. I love that she is so down-to earth and her influence really shows in the rest (especially the younger members). As individuals, they are positive influences in multiple ways. They care about each other and it shows; their camaraderie is legendary at this point. They LOVE their fans, knowing exactly where their support comes from (two separate fan songs with music videos strongly point in that direction) and they never fail to show that. They listen to their fans when the fans tell them what works and what doesn't or when fans have concerns about them (like when Gahyeon's dieting came up; it started by hate comments because she was still young when she debuted, but they fat-shamed her. She started her diet. The company had nothing to do with that, she did it on her own. While she was at it, the inches started disappearing at an alarming rate. The other members and the actual fans got a little worried for her, which was brought up at a variety show. She answered everybody and satisfied everybody who was worried; she is healthy and happy now). They also remember specific people who show up at multiple concerts. These ladies are just AWESOME as far as Human Beings go. There are just so many different things about this group that could be pointed out but this post is too long already. lol :)

bros back into it

Thanks for the reaction

Cool OOTD man

Omg are you backkkk??

Paul! It's always great to see you. I love hearing you explain what we're seeing and why it's effective (or not on a few rare occasions). PS. That trailer is sick. I'll have to keep an (Odd)eye out for that. I guess I'll have to follow you on IG too get more details. 😁

Welcome Back !!!!!!!

aespa 'Drama' MV 🔥 Red Velvet 'Chill Kill' MV 🔥

I just knew you will be back when DC comeback drops

Hey! I remember you!! Of course, you being absent for so long, also meant you were working on a film!... So congrats. The trailer looks pretty good! Where will it be coming out on? PS: If you are going to do any more MV reviews, might I suggest charming videos from Modhaus groups: TripleS, or ARTMS. Any MV from there you might also like. It's all good.

Congrats on your fifth screenwriting venture!

Hey welcome back. Congrats on the upcoming film release.

7:40 You right !

Hey there! I've been wondering, "Where's Paul??" - I've also wondered what you think of the SHATTER dance video? it's not full of dramatic acting or CGI, but damn - it sure looks good!!

With YG they wouldn't have got to be Dreamcatcher.

great way to explain about the video production work. oh I can’t wait to watch the movie. but I didn’t see the date of release. Shutter is very good song . Grease John Travolta that all

Dreamcatcher make comeback more YG than YG debut their new group 😅 which is crazy how dreamcatcher can shade that company in beautiful sarcasm way, technically They shade rest of the big 3 too👌🏼😘

My dude! Missed ya

Yes, it has YG-ish elements. But tbh, i didnt think abt that at all. Dreamcatcher has established their foundation strong enough not to be compared with any groups. But since u mentioned it, yeah, kinda 😅. Also u said it, it has deeper meaning. Not Dreamcatcher if it's not deep. But no one is sure abt the story until the next comeback i think. It is 2 part story. We just wait and see. Good luck with your film. Looks good.

Will we be getting a Bon Voyage reaction?

What