Got some banger videos we checked out in this vid, let me know y'all thoughts on em below! Please drop a like if you enjoyed listening with me too! More content on Patreon, we're watching a lot there! Come kick it! www.patreon.com/a2r

My mind also immediately went to conversion therapy. But even if it's not about that exactly: it's definitely about institutionalisation and indoctrination. The trailer also adds a lot of context to that. The three main theories I've seen people throw around are that it's either about his horrific first few months in the military (he suffered from anxiety, panic and depression so much that he had to be transferred to public service work. Plus he was fucking stalked by his fellow soldiers who leaked info on him to every gossip site under the sun), about the trauma of being an idol as a child or about queer repression (conversion therapy). That last one could also tie into the military theory because the korean military does have 'sodomy laws' (you can literally go to jail for having consensual gay sex while sexual harassment usually doesn't get prosecuted at all). I feel like all of the theories make a lot of sense, though we will obviously never know for sure which one it is (that is the beauty of art though). I'm glad you picked up on just how dark and anxiety inducing this video is because I saw some people focus entirely on this being a sexy? video. When, yes, Taemin is fucking hot, but I feel like everything else about this mv is fucking bleak.

ooooh, i love your conversion therapy interpretation for taemin's mv! deeeeefinite themes of indoctrination, and being forced to conform. and then, giving into 'sinful' behaviour and the 'wrong' love, and the chaos, but also the salvation that comes from that. every time i watch the mv, i pick out new details.

taemin doesn't miss

Onepact is finally debuting on November 30 y'all. 5th Gen bout to be CRAZY

One Pact's pre-debut release have been so good! These guys have crazy potential as a group.

Bi know how to write lyrics

one pact's outro reminded me of skz side effects AND I'M HERE FOR IT!

ONE PACT!!

No one could be like TAEMIN TAEMIN is the different level forever. His vocal is so insane THE KING of kings

one pact uploaded another song! titled “RUSH IN 2 U” its a self made MV but its still not their debut song, debut is Nov. 30th!! i hope you’ll like it if you choose to react to it!!

One Pact 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

ah the english title for one pact’s song is Hot Stuff its in the hashtags for the video’s announcement tweet

Taemin discussed how he drew inspiration from the book "DEMIAN" by HERMANN HESSE, The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth. There's a quote that he recites: “The bird fights to get out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies towards God. That the name of God is Abraxas.” Who is Abraxas? Abraxas is Demian's solution to the problem of a God who represents an arbitrarily selected half of the world. Abraxas is a deity who serves to unite the entire world, the light and the dark, the godly and the devilish. He does not represent either; rather, he is the affirmation of both. So in the music video, Taemin is the egg, the bird and finally Abraxas (represented on his head with feathers). From the storyline in the video, it is shown how a group of young people are conditioned to a way of being and acting and finally to commit murder. Taemin is in this contradiction of feeling love and hate. He is in a place that conditions him how he should be, how to dress, how to feel. By loving another person he is committing a crime, because that is not what he was conditioned to do. But at the same time that love is part of something bigger, a kind of game since he wants to break from this conditioned world and love. Taemin is shown as two entities, the good and the bad, the one who loves and the one who betrays or maybe, the one who hates. He wants to do things his way, so there's a certain mischief and chaos in his way of being. Who can condemn him? He finally leads others in the institution so that everyone reveals themselves, destroying everything that trapped them and becoming the entity, Abraxas. (credits to whom it belongs).

I truly believe that "Guilty" is about everything Taemin went through in the military. Harassment, oppression, abuse. About how they are watched all the time inside, the abuse from the highest authority figures and who are the same ones who turn a blind eye to everything that goes wrong. There are times when he uses weapon signs and a prop to show how they are forced to use them... I think it was a way of exposing everything that he and many others suffer during mandatory military service.

The ending of Hot Stuff One Pact Reminded me of Side Effects-Stray Kids. I really liked your take on Taemin of conversion therapy I had a similar theory but he fell in love or someone fell in love with the military and he felt guilty. poison apple =sin 1000 secrets. It's very lgbt coded but can be interpreted in so many ways.

taemin is the best artist in the history of kpop, absolutely no one can match even 5% of everything this man can do and convey in a single music video. That's why he's my favorite soloist in this industry. A damn legend.

Banger videos! Taemin with vibes and the sick ass dancing, bi hitting us in the feels and onepact hitting hard with a banger song, tag really showing us he’s it, onepact announced their debut on 11/30

pleasee watch also ONE PACT's "RUSH IN 2 U" ☺️☺️ thank you for reacting to one pact!

Your interpretation is really good. Conversion therapy! Others are like "he fell in love in the military" or "he's a twisted cheater". I think about how it is basically forbidden to have any kind of romantic relationship as a Kpop idol. That is one of the best things about great art -- it is like a Rorschach test, open to many interpretations and meanings. The more I watch the MV the more I think it is in the vein of great South Korean, art house cinema, in which life is full of pain, everyone is compromised and there are never happy endings (Poetry, Mother, Parasite). I would not be surprised if Taemin and the director storyboarded an entire, complicated movie plot in preparation for the MV.

Finally a B.I reaction. Thank you

Teamin is Taemin. Just with the first word you know it. B.I every time is different. You never know what you get next.

onepact is crazy! can’t wait for their debut!

B.I is the best... As always ❤ u should go to his concert, he was wild... 🔥🔥🔥

I saw b.i in London and he's amazing live ❤

I'm here because B.I 😍 Thank you for your reaction, Loved song has the sad lyrics but the melody has vibes and the chorus so catching

Taemin said the concept came from a book he had read, 'L 'Erotisme by French philosopher George Bataille. Bataille expressed his direction to explore complex emotions.

Taemin with a 6/8 time signature is perfection.

Taemin is incredible. I’m with you - the video is gorgeous and haunting. I’m unsettled when I watch it.

Don't we agree that taemin is the best performer ever? the industry waited 2.5 years to appreciate real art. The MV is the best I have seen in all the music releases this year. the direction, the acting, the choreography, vocals absolutely everything was pure perfection and overwhelming at the same time. Guilty has displaced some of the releases I had as favorites. Taemin really shocked me once again. and he is the BEST soloist ever

Taemin the king is back, 👑

ONEPACT❤❤❤❤

so excited for one pact's official debut on november 30th!! thanks for reacting to them

Taemin's amazing body movements are especially great ❤🔥

Hanbin always 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

LOVED is so good i actually cried cuz the lyrics hit me hard😭 not only is he an amazing producer, songwriter, performer, rapper but also a VOCALIST!? That’s just so unfair!! also anthony have u checked out ‘Seoul (such a beautiful city)’ by H1-KEY? i highly recommend you this one + i’m curious what’s your thoughts on the newly debuted gg YOUNG POSSE

Taemin has talked about the literature that inspired this concept: Erotism: Death and Sensuality by Georges Bataille and Demian by Hermann Hesse. Love that Taemin decided to do things his own way with his own colors. I don't see anyone else doing this concept, or even the way in which he does it. Just stunning! Great reaction,

Freaking love your reaction on Guilty. It's mind blowing!!🤯🤯🤯

loved your taemin reaction and the conversion therapy take aswell as when you mentioned the military bc i totally saw the themes of repression, institutionalisation, etc. and picked up those same vibes !!

Taemin is the most immersive and visceral artist i know in the kpop world. in terms of everything he brings to the table. no one can compete with him in artistry, emotion and performance. i loved guilty from head to toe, he is truly the KIng of Kpop. the album is my favorite of the year. have you listened to it?

I had the honor of hearing the song live at his concerts in Hamburg and Cologne before the release and it is so amazing. His performance is also so good with the song. 💕🔥😍😍 Live it hits differently 🙈

you're my absolute favorite reactor to watch. i really be in my room talking to you and exchanging theories about mv's with you even though you cant hear me😂

You get Taemin, you feel him. Genuine, sincere, "initiated" Taemin reactors like you inspired me to make a GUILTY MV explainer that will show you things Taemin really wanted us to see, and hear, and feel, in specific ways. Check it out and make up your own mind!

Here for B.I his lyrics always top tier

SHINee was my first K-Pop group back in 2009, and Taemin has never failed to impress. His solo work has grown into this perspective challenging art, and I love watching other people examine it. I think you're 100% correct on the themes in "Guilty." A lot of comments have pointed out that it's clearly about control, indoctrination, and institutionalization. And, I know people don't always like to harp on if a concept is queer or not, but I do think there's a nod (at least) with the belt of keys Taemin is wearing. A ring of keys is a common way lesbian characters have been identified to queer viewers throughout media history. Even if the MV is depicting multiple ways of controlling others through medical practices and isolation, I wouldn't ignore that detail. I don't think Taemin includes things for no reason.

Taemin❤

So proud of Our Taemin Boys 🥰💖🫶👏 They deserve the Best ! This album IS a real mastepiece🔥🔥🎁

“Look at ouuullll yawwlll” 😭😂

i love your theory!

This one is such a masterpiece cz the more i try to link lyrics with mv the more it makes sense, it's deeper than you think it is at first, really well thought and acted and expressed and danced and singed 🤯. This is the doze of art i like to see more of, vocals plus choreography plus story plus style plus cinematic theatrical techniques.. The whole album is 🙌🏻, definitely worth a reaction.

💎 What can we say other than THE KING IS BACK!? I absolutely love how deep Taemin’s songs and MVs are…they aren’t just entertainment or for clicks/views, but he tells a story. He wants to make people THINK and question and reflect. This isn’t something one can watch and then move on. His concepts are intellectual and personal. 💎 Regarding the song itself, his haunting whispers with the beautiful runs on top give me chills…the rap section was unexpected, but fit perfectly and suited the song more than I’d have imagined. I loved how the song switched gears in unexpected ways…there are certain formulas that most kpop songs follow, but this moved in ways I’d never imagined it would and it’s perfect. 💎 As far as the choreography…holy freaking moly. I KNEW it would blow my mind…of course it would-it’s Taemin! With that said, I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t some of his best work to date. It’s provocative without being slutty. Not only that, but you can SEE him being jerked around without any hands on him at all. Around the tenth time watching the video, I happened to notice some of what the background dancers were doing (it’s hard to peel my eyes from Taemin!). There are some genius moves that add to the overall look of the stage…some possibly inspired by breakdancing and some quite acrobatic. I can’t wait to see how it plays out on stage! 💎 All I can really say besides the King has returned is, if loving Taemin is a crime, I’m “G-U-I-L-T-Y … Who's gonna punish me?” 💎

I thought Taemins video was about a conversion therapy camp as well, I feel seen lol

King.

Taemin is on another level

ON SHIT WAIT CONVERSION THERAPY UR SO ONTO SMTH I DIDNT EVEN THINK OF THAT 🔥🔥🔥

thank u for the reaction! maybe you can watch the trailer before the full mv of Guilty released! It does help a little with the story!

One pact

It should be studied how tame in is managing to level himself up 16 years into his career. I agree with you in terms of how the themes feel for the envy and some of the other comments have mentioned how it can tie into multiple things so I definitely think it's intentional. B.I people need to stop sleeping this song should be a massive hit I don't care if it's a pre-release. Onepact clearly not playing any games they debut on November 30th. I'd never heard of their company but clearly they're putting efforts behind them as well as trusting the members skills.

Pardon the RIDICULOUSLY long essay. As a queer person who kind of finds queerness in everything, I really liked her interpretation and kind of felt those vibes from the beginning. "It's giving me gay conversion camp vibes" I told my husband after the first trailer. Of course, I don't want to project anything unnecessarily but it makes a lot of sense to me. I also get the whole military trauma aspect as well as being taken advantage of by the industry as a child, especially. There's also the book Erotism by Georges Bataille that the director recommend he read in preparation for this comeback which I want to look into more. It seems to be about the intersections of sexuality, religion, death, the sacred and the profane…..basically his whole deal. And the quote by Herman Hesse that he's mentioned in interviews even before enlistment from the book Demian. "The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas." People think that the feather crown is a nod to Abraxys, which is supposed to be a heretic god, both God and Satan, without a binary. At the beginning he's wearing Homme Girls boxers (he's actually worn them before and they're HEAVILY featured in his album photo book) from the beginning. It could mean some sort of secret queerness kept under wraps. Then he graduates to a denim skirt but still with a cross necklace, perhaps still trying to convince himself that he could return to the comfort of conformity, and finally, a skintight floral "feminine" look. Coming into his own personal expression, claiming it after the flaming arrow hits the target. To go further down the rabbit hole, my queer headcannon saw the brief scene in the hallway walking in on something forbidden, which he quickly left at 1:24. The person on the left is the person in the long sleeves featured at 2:05 . Some people read it as young Taemin, with old Taemin looking at himself as a child, which totally makes sense. Except when I first saw it, I read it as an androgynous girl and was kind of confused about her significance. So I could be completely wrong but I read some queerness into that brief scene as well. Or it’s just Taemin looking in on his younger self in early sexual experimentation. In the original trailer, there were a bunch of kids playing in the creek. Some were male and some female, but they were indistinguishable from each other. I even didn't clock it until someone else mentioned it. But once they were in their uniforms, there was a clear delineation where the girls were now wearing skirts, enforcing the gender roles they were previously unconcerned about. I'll also mention that content warning for racy talk. There's also a brief moment with the scene in the bunks with someone holding the head of someone with a baseball cap in front of their groin. With the military theory, he ended up having to leave the military proper and go into the public service sector for the rest of the time due to extreme anxiety and depression. There's been documentation of idols (G-Dragon is a good example) being treated extremely badly by other members, even as much as trying to take photos of them in the shower and such. It's entirely possible he had a traumatizing time in there on top of his preexisting mental health conditions. Especially as someone who has been sexualized by being beautiful and feminine since he was literally a child in the industry, this may have made him an even bigger target than just being an idol. So one interpretation of this MV is referencing the invasive nature of an institutional (military) setting. Medical examinations, forcing violence, having a hand help him him hold up the gun to shoot it as seen in the trailer, bunks, etc. With this theory, he would have to walk a fine line because it would be criticizing the South Korean military. Then there’s the theory of being an idol from basically childhood and the ways he had been taken advantage of. There is literally a KZfaq video entitled “The Sexualization and feminization of Lee Taemin” chronicling the way adults have been creepy and inappropriate to him since the beginning. The bunks like trainee dorms, looking back on his old self. The early loss of innocence, but ultimately coming out empowered by the end. Throughout the MV, he danced in an especially tortured way after depicting memories of invasive manhandling which tracks along any interpretation. There’s clearly a story about someone vulnerable and their journey to self discovery and purging themselves into their empowered "final form." Whew. I didn’t mean for this thesis to come out like this in your comments but here it is.

Taemin😊🎉

Taemin is art ❤

King Hanbin 👑

Taemin is 🔥🔥🔥

Every MV adds to my Taemin "fallen angel/Lucifer" theory 👀👀

King of all kpop soloist, the jesus of kpop✨

Taemin came up with this idea from a philosopher who's book he read. ( don't know the name of either.) But the premise is a trip down memory lane. If being a child raised in a shelter with others and being trained and conditioned by any means necessary to cause harm to others until Taemins character became the alpha male and takes over everything and eventually breaks free. Choreography was done by bass and casper. Fun fact about Taemins body physique these days. He's been trained in the gym by his member Minho. That's why he's got the body he has now.

Taemin is art

my king taemin is finally back :’)

“the bigger the pain the sweeter it remains”

I love the analyse you gave on Taemin's MV , it's so interesting and I wouldn't be able to do that tho I study cinema so I kinda feel bittersweet about it ahah

Taemin ❤❤🎉

taemin never disappoints for me

taemin amassou

💜

TAEMIN 🤌🔥

I prefer Advice but Guilty is fire too. Taemin’s discography is insane though. Rizzness on his new album is crazy as well. I highly recommend you listen! Fingers crossed 🤞🏼 Taemin does a world tour next year. Or a 2 month residency in Vegas..🤷🏼‍♀️

you need to watch the trailers it explains the video

I guess it could be about the mental repercussions of being in the military and living your everyday life as a tool for a fight between governments in which you have no voice, spending all your time and energy learning the most efficient ways to kill people you do not use. nor do I want to hurt (could the phrase "loving you is a crime" be about having empathy and compassion for the "opposite side" in the war) and the loss of childhood and innocence it would cause. We see Taemin looking very anxious while holding the gun at target practice and even taking it out on himself through self-harm (because of guilt??) he (or someone else I can't say) then sets the target on fire at 5 :20, possibly as a rebel?? Throughout the MV there is also a theme of everyone being in uniform or boring clothes, so this is juxtaposed with super expressive outfits like Taemin in a skirt which could be a commentary on how the military steals your self-expression and sense of identity, since you have to wear a uniform, shave your head and follow orders. The first scene is quite indicative of both the loss of childhood (children's photos drawn on the wall) and the loss of self, as Taemin is sitting in a room full of colorful clothes while wearing a very simple outfit. This is just my theory, I have no intention of speaking for Taemin, especially when an anti-military concept would be very controversial and would result in a lot of hate for him. That hurt expression is unforgettable. It's a strong shock and stimulus. Taemin was the first K-pop artist I was exposed to (and became obsessed with) and he became my first prejudice (now ult) for exactly this reason. Always with you, Taemin. 🫰😍

Taemin❤