When we are first introduced to hellevator we get the sense they are feeling trapped. It’s evident in that they are separated and look very unhappy. They then meet each other, they feel better as they are seen having fun together but there is still sense that somethings not right. They still feel the need to escape which is when they discover the Hellevator. It seems as though some are afraid as they don’t know where it will lead, but when Han takes the initiative and goes first they all seem to follow. They don’t know where they’re going but it’s almost as if anywhere is better than where they are now. It then leads them to an open field over seeing the city. Now this might be a stretch but it’s almost as if the city officials spotted and captured them bringing us to District 9.
It’s just as if they been “brainwashed into the same system”. Everyone’s the same, the white clothes,the living arrangements, the scanning procedure in the beginning infers us that something is wrong. They realize this and that’s when Chan distributes the little paper to each of them. They meet up and create their own district 9 and plan to escape. We see this when they hop on the bus and begin changing becoming different and crashing the bus into fence leading to their escape and bringing us to My Pace.
We see them finally breaking free being themselves and having fun. They even “destroy” the camera showing that they no longer wish to be restrained. They’re going there own pace and feeling free but they still feel as if somethings not right leading to I am you.
We see they’ve created their own space. They’ve go their own hang out they’re still having fun but it’s obvious they’re still thinking about the city. More importantly the people in it. “I see myself in you” is a great way of showing this. They see themselves in the city people. Being brainwashed, feeling trapped, they know how that feels and now they feel it’s up to them to save the others as well as we see they are now at the entrance of the city bringing us straight into Miroh
They’ve finally figured out what to do. They need to save the city and make everyone free. We see this as they overtake the dictators speech. They are revolting against system telling everyone it’s ok to be different and destroying the hierarchy and maybe even becoming the new leaders as we can see they are the ones behind the podium at the end.
So where does Side Effects come in?
Side effects is the what if video. What if they didn’t go back to the city? What if they solely focused on just running away? I say this because at the very beginning they are in the hellevator again. We see them stop at the city but instead of going in and being the saviours they continue eventually ending up at yellow wood. The what if. They have 2 choices: ride the bus to the new road or go their own path. We see the split screen and how their choices effect everything. If they had taken the bus yes it would of easier but notice how the driver was the same dictator from before? If they had taken the bus they most likely would’ve ended up right back at the facility brainwashed again never to be free and trapped again. So we see the other path. The harder one. They set out together on their own bus trying to escape and finding the new road as seen on the map. Of course this path is harder as we see tensions rising, everyone’s on edge as they could be caught at anytime. Which is why Hyunjin was probably so cautious especially when Seungmin started taking pictures. They were trying to escape from being watched so cameras had a negative connotation and he most likely feared it could get them caught. Which they almost do because at the end we see the bus from the beginning and they immediately know somethings wrong. Which is why they start running. They’re running away again, away from everything the bus and the man represent and on to find their new path. When the scene comes back at first it’s just Hyunjin lying down, most likely catching his breath, as soon the others come and help him up and they start walking leading us to believe they outran the dictators. We also see how the key is now in the lake, forgotten. This could be 1 of 2 things: They have finally found the path they want to go on or maybe they want to approach the situation differently than miroh?