Medusa MV Reactions Part 2
Anyway I'm not going to lie, I thought this was Sangwoo's grave... :o
This reminds me of the Cicada ARG.
I also find it interesting that the Medusa place is a carwash - with water (duh) which could be used as a mirror to stop Medusa from turning you to stone. We could also see the TV screen earlier as a way to stop her turning you to stone - hence why the boys just got... brainwashed? De-brainwashed? Whatever it was.
Omg Medusa's drug dealing water now!
I love the travelling motifs like cars, petrol stations, hotels etc, but I just cannot suspend disbelief enough to think they got such a nice car without stealing or murder.
Why does he look so fascinated lmao?
Bain got to water his plant! Or did he....?
Yeah how about no he didn't?
Dude my jaw dropped when I saw this shot. The MV could have ended with Bain recycling his water bottle, but this one shot recontextualises the whole thing. As you may know, since I stan JUST B, I am a massive fan of time loops and nonlinear narratives. And if there is one thing to take away from this MV - it's that in Tick Tock we saw the butterfly effect happening - and now they've done something that butterfly-effected them into a timeloop dream state. I would say 'like idiots,' but this happens to a lot of people apparently, so they're just regularly stupid.
This also creates a lot of engagement in the MV because we now wonder - how do they get out? Which is the dream? Are they both the same reality or not? Is this real or not? And so on. I think I've offered good hypotheses in my analysis but the only real way to get an answer is next comeback... which... I mean, since this one took 11 months we have no clue when the next one will happen, if at all.
I loved the song, anyway.
Let's look at the lyrics!
Yep, so straight off the bat there's a lot of imagery of violence, suffering, conflict etc - talking about predators, starving, killing, etc - and also division - they are divided, either from each other or the rest of the world.
Then there's the fixing of the division - through the rain that washes the memories away - ironic, since there's no water in the MV - and then the connection - riding high beside you and throwing your old memories away, breaking your painful past to come out new.
I like how they say 'in the darkness, you're my Medusa' - in classic JUST B fashion, with insane depth. Medusa could be beautiful, she could also be ugly. But whatever she is, she is dangerous, and this is reflected in the MV - the rain is supposed to bond them to their Medusa and get rid of the division - but there is no rain - it's all in their head - they are being deceived by her and in the end end up with nothing - no water, no love no nothing.
Not going to lie, with the whole 'drop the pain on me' and 'I'll break the thorny barriers around your heart,' they sound a little masochistic. Mind you, this is something we've seen before with JUST B - probably related to the trauma of DAMAGE.
I like how JM's bridge-postchorus thing is distorted too - shows the effect that Medusa has on them. Also, how they then literally say 'I can't look away,' like, yeah, you can't, you're literally stone, my guy.
Medusa also recontextualises the 'don't break down' at the end - because they are stone, they can literally be broken and shattered.
So - conclusions about the lyrics. As always, they are amazing and have some hidden meaning. However, I think they really shine with the MV, rather than by themselves, as lyrics like DAMAGE do. Medusa is on paper, a lovesong with some potentially sinister meaning. But the MV takes that gothic, sinister nature up the the next degree. Not only is there no rain and no water, only desert and suffering, but there is also no sign of love or relief from this suffering. There are also wonderfully amazing moments like the line 'You're the medusa in my darkness,' - suggesting a saviour - while Bain is literally crying over not having water - hence, no saviour. It reveals how the boys have been blinded to the dangerous nature of their situation, and it's quite frankly amazing how the MV contradicts the lyrics of the song to tell a story. 10/10.
An amazingly Gothic story, as expected from JUST B. It carries on both from the 'JUST B' series and from Naneun, continuing the story while also creating it's own self-contained and intriguing story. It leaves us with many questions and a few potential answers, and uses the juxtaposition of lyrics and video to further show the themes of the story in an amazing way. Could it be better? Sure. But I'll always have my own directions I want the storyline to go and they won't be the ones BlueDot takes. It's still a very solid addition to their discography and I know I'll be playing this song on repeat for ages, singing my heart out like Geonu.
