Philosopher

Main Theory: The Two Realms

I would like to start off by reiterating that this is simply my reading of the BTS universe. These theories could very well be wrong, and regardless, they are always changing and evolving. I want this to be a collaborative book where we can all talk about our theories together instead of trying to point out those who we believe are wrong or right. Without further ado, onto the theory.

~~~

There's a large focus on duality throughout the BTS universe. Good and evil, spring and winter, life and death, Heaven and Hell, the sun and moon (if you've been following the BTS Twitter lately) Taehyung (okay, this was a joke, but not really, if you catch my drift). In the Wings short film, it is confirmed that there are two realms that exist within the universe. I believe each boy exists within each realm, or possibly that two realms exist within each boy (except possibly a couple exceptions, but we will get into in more individualized theory). Regardless, there are at least two versions of each of the members (possibly more, but again, we will get into this in more individualized/ plot focused theory).

The first realm I like to call the Child Realm. In this realm, they are the child of Omelas who is being tortured so that those they love (the other boys, love interests, family, ARMY, etc.) may continue to live in paradise/ utopia (Euphoria ;)). One concrete example I like to show this is in the Spring Day music video where Jungkook is seemingly going in the opposite direction/ separated from the rest of boys. He seems lost. However, when the camera pans out at the end of the video, we see that the other boys had been on the train with him the whole time. Each had taken that journey before (or at some time as I believe time may be screwed up and may not work linearly). This shows the sacrifice of each boy--of the child--living out their worst fears so that those they love may continue to live in a feigned paradise. (If you haven't read The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin--a personal hero of mine--I recommend it from both a personal standpoint and from the standpoint of the person writing this theory. I read it in school, but the story is also available online as a free PDF. It is known that the BTS universe was at least partially inspired by this short story and Namjoon has recommended/ discussed it in the past).

The second realm I like to call the Piper realm. This realm works closely in conjunction with the other. While in the story, the child of Omelas doesn't get to choose their position, I believe in the BTS universe their child realm self chooses to sacrifice themself (the lyrics of Singularity highly hint at this, and omg it literally started playing as I was typing this sentence). The Piper realm is the version of themself that leads them to sacrifice themself to the torture. It may be their personal doubts, the pressures they feel, guilt, etc. However, I believe this realm could also be what leads the NEXT generation of the child to sacrifice themself. For example, in Blood, Sweat, and Tears we see Taehyung both sacrifice himself (jumping off the balcony) and lead Jin to fall (which may be the lead in for sacrificing himself or symbolic for that).

There are many other literary and biblical references throughout their music videos/ work. I believe many of these are symbolic or simply allusion to help clue us in. On the most recent album, Love Yourself: Tear, there are many mythological references (such as the labyrinth in "Love Maze", Pluto and Eris in "134340", etc.) The space and mythology themes seem to be hinting at larger truths about the universe and I will unpack these more as I work on this book more.

In my opinion, the "Fake Love" music video feels like mythological trials to me. Such as, the Trails of Hercules, which were meant to kill or torture him, but which he ended up enduring and living through. This seems to allude back to "Magic Shop" and may allude to the fact that the child of Omelas, despite the torture, never seems to die. A new child simply takes their place. This is a stretch though, and I will acknowledge it as such.

Also, the line between these two realms, the place where they meet is where much of the contention takes place. It's messy, it's sometimes visible, and to some--it's crossable. But, we will get into this later. ;)

So, that's pretty much for my overarching theory. I think this is the main idea behind the plot and what exactly is going on. I feel this one is fairly solid and is rooted in quite a bit of evidence. However, my individual theories are not. I'm still unsure about many of the boys' roles and how exactly they fit together. However, I will write what I know about each of their characters, the popular theories surrounding their characters, what I believe, and what I'm still questioning/ unsure about.

This also may shed some light on my own writing, as Follower and its universe was largely inspired/ based on the BTS universe. However, my ideas about the universe has largely shifted since I began writing Follower. I will write more about the specific things that inspired Follower and its universe at the end of Outro: Paradise where I go through all the Easter eggs with you all.

Anyway, that's it for this first theory. Let me know if you want clarification, what theory or character you want me to touch on next, etc. Feel free to disagree with me (although please do it politely), I would absolutely love to have long winded conversations with you all about the BTS universe.

As we get into the more character/ music video theories, we will get more into the plot aspect. I'm still fuzzy on the plot (although, to be fair, we haven't gotten the entire plot yet), but I have a few concrete ideas.

I hope you enjoyed!

I'm here to save you, I'm here to ruin you

Alyce