-OAT'S ASH MV BREAKDOWN-
[crossposted from bluesky | long post, approx. 2.5k words]
If you don't want to read this entire thing here's a very broad TLDR:
My interpretation of Ash is that it's about grief (for lost love, your past self, a loved one, etc.), the inevitable passing of time, the different ways people process grief, and finally acceptance.
Immediately Ash opens on San amidst a scene that immediately invokes the idea of trauma, injury, and/or some kind of loss.
We then have Seonghwa and Yeosang accompanied by photos of someone's retreating back - the who isn't largely important (though it very much seems to be one of them) - which tells us we're dealing with the past in some capacity.
The lyrics "flowers bloom and fall" tell us very early on that life and death are a cycle. Spring is a time of rebirth and rejuvenation while Fall brings decay and death. None of this is in a positive or negative connotation, it's just an endless cycle. Flowers may wilt but they will be born again.
"There is no eternal flame, nothing will stay the same" Nothing last forever and time comes for us all which is really the core of this MV if you don't want to get into the complexities of grief.
"Scooping up ash, kind memories of us" provides us with the cypher to know Ash = Memories, Past, etc.
This is where things get very interesting and a lot more complicated. If you look closely the Black Pirates/Halateez hover behind ATEEZ, obscured but very much there in the shadows. They only appear in scenes related to this funeral-like atmosphere.
As the sand falls from Yeosang's hand pieces of his hand begin to disintegrate and flow upwards - reinforced by the same happening to Seonghwa on a more severe level.
This could be an implication that the white-clad ATEEZ are memories themselves and this song is meant to grieve who they used to be.
The sand in the Cromer also often flows upward during dream transitions/travel.
"Like sand in an hourglass" does not seem like something they'd add carelessly.
"Even if we can't go back, the wind still blows" further reinforces the idea that time is ever-moving. You can't go back and life, the world, the people around you, will continue a forward momentum.
Mingi's "I can't forget you, I can't catch you" implies chasing the past.
He clearly struggles to do so because it's an impossible ask. The past is set in stone, it cannot be changed but only remembered.
As Mingi returns to the grave site something approaches quickly behind him - you cannot run from the past/loss.
This is also where I believe we begin to see perhaps little hints of the different ways people process grief/loss (again of the past, a past self, loved one, etc. I believe all can easily apply.)
Mingi can't forget and he tries to return to the feelings he held before his loss.
"…yearning alone and turn to ash," reinforces his earlier lyrics "days reduced to ashes…scattered time" which essentially is saying feelings turn to memories but memories are fragile and can be lost to time.
The duality of San in this scene implies opposing forces; past and present.
"I'm dancing in the ash" could be interpreted as "I'm losing myself in memories" which can be a good thing and a bad thing. This music video plays with a lot of mirroring concepts and this is def a reinforcing visual.
Rewind a bit back to the beginning we see Jongho place down 3 white carnations in front of a dual-flamed candle.
Carnations are an incredibly common flower used at funerals and white in particular embodies respect, remembrance, and a farewell.
In Korea specifically, carnations represent the month of January which very much could be another tie in the new beginnings and rebirth, tying back to "flowers bloom and fall."
A dual flame candle, however, means an inability to move forward. Jongho is unable to move past his grief/loss.
Confessionals can be a place people go when they're desperate to reconcile with a big event, like the loss of a loved one, and where they may go to seek guidance. It's very likely this is showing Jongho's method of coping as looking for advice and guidance on how to move forward.
You could also read into this confessional as Jongho feeling remorse - which isn't uncommon in grief, especially complex grief. I, myself, had to seek therapy for the amount of guilt I felt after the passing of a loved one, so I don't believe it's out of the realm of possibility but could be a massive projection
Anyway, back to present. "It's still here, your touch. You're not here, this hush." This could be saying "I can still feel how I felt back then, in my memories of you, but you're no longer here. So basically reinforcing the idea that Jongho is struggling to move on.
"Even if the shape changes, forever, smoldering love" So this could be Jongho saying "Even if things change those memories are still very special to me and the one thing I know will stay forever if my love for you."
Someone may be gone, but your love doesn't disappear with them. It's yours to keep.
It's no surprise this might be my favorite part of the MV. Wooyoung gets such interesting moments and I eat them all like a meal prepared by a Michelin star chef. (KQ writers I love you, call me 🤙🏻)
If you guys saw my Wooyoung's relationship with fire post you know I'm a slut for shape language.
The circle of ash is so very intentional. Circles represent truth/answers/etc. What's happening here is we see Wooyoung almost furiously searching through the ash (memories) for answers. Sometimes when experiencing loss we become frustrated trying to find the "Why?" Why did this have to happen? Why now?
The way Wooyoung is processing grief is trying to find that why and at the end of his search he finds a photo of himself, burning away into ash.
This is why I believe this song is more than just the loss of a loved one but can also be read as a grief for who you used to be.
We all have moments we look back on think, "I miss who I was then." It comes free with your yearly subscription of aging, unfortunately.
We recently learned "Now this house ain't a home" was written with the thought in mind that home isn't always a place but a person.
With this in mind it's entirely possible ATEEZ wanted to play similarly with the concept of grief. Each of the boys have certainly experienced loss, especially in the last few years, but there are losses we grieve for without even realizing, and it's kind of beautiful to acknowledge that as well.
Yeosang my sweet angel. Of course his scene makes so much sense.
Yeosang is surrounded by unlabeled drawers overflowing with the very photos of a retreating back shown in the beginning. Some people compartmentalize to process trauma and Yeosang very much seems the type to do so.
Sometimes you need to sort things in your head for them to make sense and sometimes you need to store them away for later, for when you're fully prepared to deal with the resulting feelings they invoke. It's both healthy and unhealthy depending on your approach, but trauma tends to be like that.
In regards to Hongjoong, we see him walking across damaged pages.
Now in the Golden Hour Part 1 diary we learned Hongjoong began to lose some of his memories of their time with the Black Pirates. These pages could be a reference to that since it seems this MV has several nods to lore.
If we want to keep things in the moment and on theme with grief it still applies as a loss of memories as well as possible retracing steps over damaged and fading memories
"Even if you wash faded clothes, it'll just continue to wear off" No matter how hard you try to scrub things away and move on it stays a part of you, stains your heart in a way that may not hurt but still lingers. You can't pretend it isn't there.
So perhaps, Hongjoong damaged those pages himself in an initial effort to forget, because sometimes moving on and refusing to acknowledge what has happened - while not sustainable - can be easy in the moment when processing grief. But eventually, you will have to return.
"There is no sadness, there is no pity, but I continue to pretend, I don't want nail marks on my parting hands, because I loved you." Kim Hongjoong do you know I'm in love with you and your way with words?
This could be read as "I want to look for the good we shared, I don't want this parting to hurt [us], because my love for you wasn't something regretful or worthy of pity."
We know Hongjoong loves playing with his words, though, so "But I continue to pretend" can bring an extra element to this.
"I don't want to pretend [that] I don't want nail marks on my parting hands, because I loved you." I don't want to pretend that I don't want you to leave a mark. Leave it, so I have something to remember you by, because I loved you so dearly. I don't want to forget you.
A tough act to follow but whoa hey here's Yunho! Apparently he was also in the car with San. We have to keep lore Yunho away from cars, PLEASE, haven't they done enough? (iykyk)
"Spilling memories" while grasping his head, Yunho either has a concussion (likely) or recounting his memories is something painful for him (probably) but he's "dancing in the ash", losing himself in these painful memories likely to come to terms with them. (I wish I had more to say, I'm sorry Yuyu)
This next part might actually be tied with Wooyoung's and a future Yeosang scene for my favorites.
"I'm dancing in the ash, I want to hold onto the past, unacceptable fact, even if I can't see you, my love for you, accumulating ash."
I'm lost in my memories, forgetting them would be unacceptable to me even if I can't see you. In honor of my love for you, I'm holding onto these memories.
And for Seonghwa being lost in his memories is truly driven home by the imagery of his broken boat.
He's adrift in a sea of his own memories as well as his grief. His boat is broken, stranding him here in the center of it all. If you look very closely, the photos even undulate like calm waters.
The boat is an important narrative tool here beyond emphasizing Seonghwa's lost state.
Boats in media can often be used to symbolize emotional exploration and personal discovery; the subconscious attempting to deal with emotional issues/transitions.
A sinking boat, however, represents anxiety and a feeling of being overwhelmed.
Seonghwa is afraid and overwhelmed by his despair.
And suddenly, we have Yeosang dressed in black, perched on rotting theater seats. In front of him is the funeral procession, everyone's backs facing him just as in the photos we've seen throughout. For some reason, he's on the outside looking in, an observer rather than a participant.
"The you in my memories never ever fades, the color of the world is getting gray, in my heart, forever, you stay" Even when things are hard, no matter what, I have my memories of you to look back on and find solace.
This tells us exactly why Yeosang is here, dressed in black.
Surprise! This entire time we've been very (very) loosely following the Kübler-Ross model for grief. This model claims that those experiencing a sudden loss commonly experience:
1) Denial [Mingi]
2) Anger [Wooyoung]
3) Bargaining [Hongjoong]
4) Depression [Seonghwa]
5) Acceptance [You Are Here]
Yeosang has accepted that he's experienced a loss but that's okay, at least he will hold those memories fondly in his heart to remember them by.
And we pan to all of ATEEZ in black, total acceptance of the past. And guess what? No more Halateez. Huh. That's suspicious, that's weird.
It's almost like this was a goodbye to them, like the group needed time to process their loss since they were so forcibly ejected back into their dimension. They didn't have time to say goodbye, to process, and suddenly that era of their life has ended and they're left adrift.
But hey, what about spring and fall and death and rebirth and all that? And whose hand is that at the end?
It's Mingi, reborn from the ash and continuing the never ending cycle.
Things may not stay the same, but there's unknown potential in new beginnings.
Very unfortunately, there really isn't a lot to say about San in this MV. The shoulders in the photos we've seen seem approximately wide enough to be San but the face seems very intentionally obscured and truthfully, as I said before, I really don't think the 'who' matters metaphorically.
Regardless, San shone in his singing and dancing, and knowing his propensity for self sacrifice it's incredibly possible he is the one they're mourning and Yunho's pain is - once again - a case of survivor's guilt.
Again, I believe this really only matters for surface level storytelling.
Throughout the entirety of this music video the group has been isolated, each member in their own sort of liminal space in their subconscious.
Loss can feel incredibly isolating and while seeking help from others (friends, family, therapist, etc.) can certainly lighten the immense emotional burden, it is still something we ultimately have to face (internally) alone.
It is, frankly, one of the hardest things you will ever do.
Now to ease us out of this heavy MV here are a few of the tombstones shown throughout, engraved with lyrics. They're nothing too significant, but still fun!
I truly hope you enjoyed this insanely long break down.
The concept/consequences of grief are something I love to turn around in my head like a Bethesda loading screen and this music video truly fed me well.
Thank you so much to Ele on Bluesky for requesting this, it really meant a lot to me to see that my insights and thoughts are valued, more than I can say 🩷 I hope this met everyone's expectations!
(if there are typos/errors everyone mind their business and let me know if you'd like to be added to (or removed from) my lore tag list!)
🏷️ @vampirehwa @thirstkanaphan @takitakidancetillthesunriseyea @sparklyeyedhimbo
