Please let me preface this with the fact that,a lthough I love &TEAM and their concept and watched a bit of the survival show, I don’t know the members yet... expect for K, who other than the concept was the main reason I was interested in this group. I will do my best, but there might just be some ‘ahh yes this guy is doing this, this other guy is doing something else’ in this post.
My apologies to Lune who know everyone. I would appreciate any tips you can give me.
As with Bite Me, I was deeply disappointed by the lack of vampire content in this release, but I was happy with the amount of werewolf content.
This music video had a bizarre tone, though - it had the obvious serious and carefree moments of youth and werewolfhood, and that girl was back again - something that I appreciate because she links ENHYPEN and &TEAM. But I could not take the MV seriously when there were all of those shots of her just looking down at them dancing and them seriously dancing while looking up at her. I could not stop cackling - but I’ll point those moments out late, iof they didn’t stand out to you.
Alright, let’s get into it!
Lyrics
The song is pretty self-explanatory in name. It’s about those moments of youth where you stay out, late at night, together and watch the stars. I don’t really know if those moments exist often in real life, or if they are a figment of fanfiction and coming-of-age movies, but that’s a good chunk of the content of this song. It also has the nice little moments of falling in love that feel like fireworks... literally.
And there are the mandatory supernatural storyline mentions of magic and stars, and the mandatory werewolf mention of running towards your goal. A suspiscious lack of moon imagery.
They’re relatively plain and cliche lyrics, but this is when I remind you that, not only are cliches cliche for a reason, but also that werewolves as mystical heroes rather than monsters is a relatively new idea, and is only considered cliche and cringey because it became so popular in the Twilight era. So, let’s just say that the lyrics got the job done quite well, if in a boring way.
The MV
I love the room and the grainy filter they’ve put over the top. I hope this room isn’t supposed to contain 9 werewolf boys because that could create several issues.
I’m sure there are lots of references to the previous MV and to the webtoon. I ain’t paying for the webtoon (yet), so I don’t know those references other than the girl who shows up later, but I do know that the photos, calendars, and balloons remind me of the MV for ‘Under the Skin’- which had a Y2K theme and which focused on both time passing and a new chapter of life - literally, since K lost his mentor (?) but gained a group of friends.
And, there is of course the two high schools that the ENHYPEN and &TEAM members go to - I’m unsure how 25 year old K and 21 year old Heeseung (not to mention the other members in their 20s) got into these high schools.`But good on them, I guess.
I also have never really understood the obsession with having idols lying around asleep - the only time it’s made sense is if they’re in some weird dream state - like in TXT or ATEEZ’s storylines. And I’m prettty sure they aren’t in one here.
Anyway....
I love the unsubtle werewolf representation here. It’s also great because it has the running - which is both a werewolf thing and part of the lyrics.
However, with the grain, the fog, and the backlight, it really reminds me of Teen Wolf. And I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.
Not sure how or why the girl ended up with a gun but good on her.
However, we then end up with her chasing then on a bike, which definitely gives a sinister tone to the rest of the MV and to the previous shot of them running (which I initially assumed was joyful).
It’s also our first hint of the funky nonlinear aspects of this MV.
And the girl is pictured in warm light - like the sun, and like ENHYPEN. Which makes sense, since she, from my viewing of the MVs and related materials, seems to be affiliated with ENHYPEN, or at least with Sunghoon.
We get these flashabacks to happy memories of the boys and this girl, which is depressing in the hindsight of what we’ve just seen.
I love this shot. It’s short and snappy but obvious enough to get the point across. He’s against the red - ENHYPEN’s domain which the girl exists in. The gunshot looks like a firework, which was initially the joy of love and the times they spent together, but which now betrays him.
This kind of cinematography and symbolism is one of the main reasons I follow kpop.
Because yeah, they’re a jpop group but they’re run by a kpop company in the style of a kpop group.
And we get a nice flashback of what I assume is a party on the beach.
And of course boys being boys at the beach.
And teenage shennanagins. Is this flower supposed to be a dandelion? in which case - I looked it up, and a dandelion is apparently a symbol of hope and healing. So, since it’s being dropped we can reasonably assume that those things are now gone.
Here we have the happy fireworks.
And here some not-so-happy fireworks/lights.
Lmao I love how everyone’s just looking cool.
The pyjamas the boys are in also suggest that they are out of their element and have been suddely disturbed from sleep - you know, by something like someone trying to murder you?
Cute memory with the flowers. And related to the &TEAM theme of collecting and preserving memories.
Dang he’s got a lot of memories.
And this is where I let everyone know that this is only the first 30 seconds of the MV.
FRECKLES.
Lune who are better than me, who is this member?
Okay these flowers are different from the one that was dropped, but nonetheless bring us into the world of memories. This makes me think that the vampires have powers like teleportation and flight, while the werewolves have powers like telepathy and literally being able to store and protect memories. A very interesting concept, if it’s what HYBE are going for.
Here we have the hands connecting - the opposite of them coming apart earlier, and a reflection of when K met the boys in ‘Under the Skin.’
Nevermind the werewolves can fly too it seems.
Just wolf things.
And notepad - a way to store memories!
Thy literally have every way possible to store memories - cameras, photos, albums, notes, calendars, balloons and mementos. I love it.
This is the scene I can’t take seriously. I love that she is passively observing them, and that they are showing their passion. I also love that the ground has been turned into mud - presumably by the mist and damp, and by them dancing so much. But I can’t take it seriously that they’re all possibly fighting for the love of this girl, and fighting against vampires, and the way they do this is to dance together in a group while giving her a dramatic stare. I literally had to pause the video and take a break to laugh when I first saw this.
Second-hand embarrassment, I guess.
Anyway I’m glad they had fun.
I like that she smiles while dropping the flower - showing that she destroys their hope and love knowingly - but that whoever it was that dropped it out of the members was limp and without hope - she made him drop it.
Also love the creepy subtlety of her plucking a petal.
I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of this scene is, but I love that they’re in their pretigious high school eating their food and there’s just... a wolf.
Memories!!!!!
And we enter the memories! Which are basically the embodiment of youth.
Epic transition that;
Looks nice
Is more than a little sinister
FIRE
Warm tones aka vampires
Brings us back into the memories
Is done in an easy way to understand despite being so fast
Nice.
I see that your life is a tad tangled, K. That’s unfortunate.
He’s got brithday cake trauma.
Mandatory wolves having fun scene.
Mandatory sports scene since they play sports. And nice imagery of them fighting for the ball (aka the girl).
Wolves being wolves.
Haha you did this to yourselves, what are you so upset about?
I also like the contrast of the happier meadow scene and the darker, grittier fight/sports match. And how, while fighting each other, they managed to lose the girl.
Mandatory &TEAM water scene.
Mandatory being sad and reflecting on the past scene. But why would you bend the memory - you’re supposed to protect it?
Okay first, it’s a beautiful shot.
Second - you know what I said about them preserving memories in many different ways? They literally brought the flowers home!
Okay, that’s creepy. And it’s creepy not only because it defies gravity, but also because, since it defies gravity, it seems like it has been sucked from him - like a piece of his soul. And you know what sucks people’s souls out? Vampires.
I love the transition from the murder fireworks to the happy fireworks.
And now everyone gets to be sad because they were betrayed and are being hunted.
NOOOOO who made freckle boy cry????
And more happy firework foreshadowing... even though the things that it foreshadowed already happened in the MV.
Gosh I love nonlinear narratives.
Honestly still a little bit confused about the sleeping. There are a few possibilities - that they are kind of dead after the events of the actual MV, and that the sleeping is a representation of that, or that the girl has lulled them into this state of vulnerability, which is why she approaches slowly and with her hands behind her back - a show of dishonesty.
I see an exposed neck that would be perfect for a vampire to sink their fangs into.
Wonderful shot, very woolfy. I’m just not sure why the music cut out so suddenly when the video did - I’m sure they did it on purpose but it doesn’t communicate much and seems like a mistake.
Anyway.
Conclusions
It seems to me that the &TEAM storyline is kind of like a K angst-fest.
The MV had a sad lack of vampires, although it did allude to them wonderfully. It did a great job of telling a heart-wrenching nonlinear story, and had lots of great moments. The only thing that I felt was out of place was when they danced while staring at her. Other than that, a top-tier MV with simple but effective storytelling.
And werewolves whose mission is to store a preserve memories of all forms is a unique take on the genre which I hope that HYBE will continue to lean into.
Here it is. The dual comeback. Actual wolfy things going on. I love it. So of course, you would expect ENHYPEN to be super vampiric, right? Wrong... I'm super disappointed.
Anyway, I'm disappointed in ENHYPEN's creative team, not in &TEAM and their comeback. So let's talk about the wolfy half of our supernatural duo.
I will say, I tried to learn everyone's names and faces, and although I know all of the names, I'm in that period where I'm getting stuff wrong (probably), so please be nice to me and correct me if I get someone's name wrong.
As far as general thoughts - well really, it's more of the same. I like how there were more wolfy things here. I was especially a fan of the 'wolf's jaws' choreo, but we'll get to that.
&TEAM lack the explicit storyline that ENHYPEN do - we get the girls, we get K being traumatised and becoming the leader of the pack (fitting considering his irl story), and we get them doing wolfy things and having fun in high school (cough, K in his mid 20s, cough), while both hunting and being hunted by the girl and ENHYPEN. Snazzy.
So let's have a look at what goes on in this one, while trying to be less stressed about how it fits into the storyine and more interested in how it uses cinematography in general, and symbols etc to tell a story.
We open on K in this wondrous rocky environment which reminds me of the set from ENHYPEN's 'Sacrifice.' There is a full moon (wow, who would have guessed a werewolf story would have a full moon) and a bloody sky (wow who would have guessed that a vampire story would have a blood red sky).
I do think it's a bit interesting how fake the rocks look. I mean, obviously they are fake, it's a set. But HYBE has the money and dedicaton to concept to make them look real if it wants to. I think this is another case of songs like 'Sacrifice,' 'Film Out,' 'Nap of a Star' and so on - it's supposed to look fake because it's some alternate supernatural realm. The gardens in 'Nap of a Star' and 'Film Out' look fake because they're Magic Island, and the landscapes in 'Sacrifice' and 'War Cry' look fake because we're in some drunk-on-fantasy alternate universe.
Anyway, K also has this pendant with a circle and a fang/claw. Very wolfy.
So he puts it on and... I can only assume ascends to some kind of wolf godhood/leadership.
I mean, the fur coat screams 'power and leadership,' so unless the costum designer seriously lost the plot, I imagine this is what they are trying to communicate with this costume design.
Absolute genius shot, marry me director. Do you want to know all the things this shot does?
Is dark and creepy
Becomes almost monotone in the lighting - very Gothic
Lighting creates shillouettes of the members - so they in those positions, look like crouched creatures of prey stalking the audience
Lighting also highlights the ceiling - emphasising that they are underground, in the shadows (thus not trustworthy) and the room they are in, which mirrors ENHYPEN's previous cinematography.
The room also contrasts ENHYPEN, who are often shown in oppulent places - literally the peal-encrusted ballroom from 'Bite Me.' This is a common visual trope to show the difference between vampires and werewolves - luxury vs bare-bones, oppulent vs down-to-earth, godlike vs realistic. It's part of the vampire-werewolf fantasy which has been communicated wonderfully through just one shot of each group
Anyway. I like it, as you can tell. It's creepy, wolfy, AND it does some storyline heavy lifting.
I love this close up on K's eye to transition to the next shot. He has blue contacts, which leads nicely into the blue of the next shot. The red of the sky around him also leads into the red of the bridge. It can also be seen as either a manifestation of his new power or a vision of the future he is given.
Yet again, we get more running from the boys. The bridge looks like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which.... guys can we please stop being American? Do you really want to be American?
So when I saw him being chased by the ice, I thought it must have been one of the vampire powers, but I did some digging and it doesn't seem that any of ENHYPEN have ice powers. So I thought, perhaps it's Sooha, the girl - I think this because we have seen her around ice a lot - an easy example is ENHYPEN's Dark Blood concept trailer. But I could be completely wrong, and it could be something random, another party, or even just a random werewolf curse.
Sooha?!?!?!?!
Y'all, this is Nicholas, right? I'm not going crazy, right?
Anyway, the blue/white/silver eyes are a pretty self-explanatory mark of werewolfhood.
Considering how unfazed he is about the cold, perhaps the snow is a werewolf power? Especially since we see them all dancing without any distress in the snow. It could have been either overused or turned against them separately at the start when they had to run away from it.
Either that or the shot was purely and only made to make Nicholas look cool and there's no deep meaning...
Yuma you're a very pretty guy but this is scary please go away.
That said, I find it interesting that they chose to go black-and-white for this shot when the rest of the scene, including the rest of Yuma's part, is quite saturated. To create emphasis and irony about him saying 'my blood' while all the blood red from the previous shot drains out? Possibly.
'War Cry' werewolf moment #4.
Okay maybe the director just likes this kind of thing and how it was used for coolness in MVs like 'Guerrilla.'
I do find it interesting, though (wow what a surprise, I find everything interesting), that the nice pristine monotone is broken by bats and weird... musculature? Viscera? In Fuma and EJ's part. Or at least, I did find it interesting, until...
...it was used to add context to and make a nice transition into the next shot, showing that Harua was the one running from the ice, AND that it is no longer there.
Suspicious.
But he's still running anyway, so I will assume he has reason to be scared.
'War Cry' werewolf thing #5 and also an obvious 1) transition towards wolfhood (he jumps towards the moon), 2) loss of a safety net (jumping away from the bridge) and 3) a leap of faith (duh).
Y'all, this IS the best shot. This is the one that instantly made this MV a 10/10... okay, not really, but it did a lot of heavy lifting. This is the moment we finally get explicit werewolfdom, and is also just generally great.
It's action-packed, it's scary, and it places Harua/the wolves in a position of power over us the viewer - as they should be. Even better than that, it perfectly transitions into the next shot with the wolf-jaw choreo.
Just don't look too close at that CGI...
This is the transition I'm talking about. And Maki's hair looking a little like the fur of a wolf in the background is also stellar.
Give yourself up to wolf-hood. Worship K.
HELLLLLLL YESSSSSSSSSSSS
The angle, the claw hands, the chaos of the shadows and the bridge beams. Yas. This is why I watch kpop.
I know &TEAM are jpop but they're kpop adjacent run by a kpop team so... yup.
'War Cry' wolfiness #9.
Omg I am so sorry for this screenshot but it shows the water-bending things they're doing, which is the important bit.
'War Cry' wolfiness #10.
#11.
#12 what a cool shot. This whole scene is wondrously done except for the weird crotch-povs on K earlier in the scene. Which I did not include for obvious reasons (ahem, asexual ahem).
YESSSSSS #13.
#14 and also there is now fire and broken glass - destruction and possibly a battle with ENHYPEN.
Or Sooha.
And that is my image limit for this post so see you in part 2!
&TEAM’s first album, released 14th June, 2023, in conjunction with ENHYPEN’s album Dark Blood. The second album in their ‘First Howling’ series, named after the survival show that created them - The Howling.
&TEAM’s first ‘album’ and debut, released 7th December, 2022. The release included four tracks and introduced the group to the world. After 2+ years, we got ENHYPEN’s brother group. And did we get an ENHYPEN cameo? No. Did we get werewolves? Not really. It was definitely a storyline letdown, but just because I felt let down by the storyline, didn’t mean I felt let down by the songs and the debut. I don’t know all of the members of &TEAM yet (despite watching the survival show, lmao), but I’m here for K and for the werewolves and I wanted to say that I love it.
