Monsta X: The Clan Pt. 2

Explanation

Sorry that this is a day late! Hopefully, this will clarify any questions that you have about the story (if not then comment your questions and I'll try to answer as soon as possible).

Characters:

Wonho and Changkyun: These guys are perhaps the simplest characters of the seven individually, but their relationship is the most complex. At first, both of them blamed their involvement in burning the church on each other. However, as Wonho explains in Chapter 8, they had both learned to slowly take responsibility for their actions. This development in both of their characters is what finally makes Wonho reach out to Changkyun for assistance and causes Changkyun to answer his call. Of all characters, these two are the only ones who seem to make some sort of improvement or step in the right direction.

Shownu: Shownu isn't as much of a prominent figure in this story compared to the first book, but still holds some symbolic meaning. His imprisonment and his final liberation (shown in the M/V with him being "knighted" by Jooheon in the boxing ring) show the differences between life under the oppressive Capitol and the free life they once lived. Under the Capitol's influence, Shownu loses trust in those who he most cared for, such as his father's ideals and his friends.

Kihyun: Kihyun is having an increasing desire to bring a change to the group or do something that would help the situation, after years of remaining a useless bystander. However, he soon realizes that the members don't appreciate his individual methods. Instead, he's slowly decreased the empathy that he has in order to become more like Minhyuk, who's power and prominent role in the group is admirable to Kihyun. Kihyun attempts to imitate Minhyuk's personality and is only able to do so because of his growing desire of power, that's been culminating likely since the start of their friendship. Now that Minhyuk is away, Kihyun has the perfect opportunity to take his place.

Jooheon: Jooheon is the most complex character of the seven. Throughout the book, we see that while the members stuck at the Capitol view him as a traitor who works for the government, the others see him as a hero who's undercover. Neither side is confirmed nor denied to be completely true, as they are both the truth. While Kihyun, Wonho, and Changkyun insist that Jooheon has to act as a government official, Jooheon becomes far too submerged in the role as he's caught in the Capitol's brainwashing. In the end, it doesn't matter to Jooheon which side he's on as long as he's on the top. This kind of power-hungry behavior was present since the first book. However, he still holds guilt on betraying his friends, as shown in Chapter 21. His mind and brainwashed ideas from the Capitol conflict with the heart and morals that he has, which is why Chapter 21, written in his point of view consists of constant back and forth and reassurance in his thoughts. It's also why he describes giving drugs to Minhyuk and Hyungwon as a hazy and unclear process. In the end, Jooheon is neither a traitor nor a hero, but a morbid combination of the two.

Minhyuk: Minhyuk hasn't changed much since the first book because there was no reason for him to. His utter dependence on Hyungwon makes the current situation much more insufferable for him; Hyungwon is right before him and yet refuses to acknowledge or love him anymore. In a twisted way, this was Minhyuk's torture. He starts to realize the severity of his actions on Hyungwon and gives up all efforts in reconnecting to him, as he now knows that their broken relationship can never be fixed. In final acceptance of the broken relationship, Minhyuk has lost his last "lifeline" and now sees no reason to live any longer.

Hyungwon: Now that he has found the source of his suffering and effectively cut it off, Hyungwon has changed his life for the better, despite his dire situation. While he at first was willing to love anyone that remotely cared about him, that became less of a priority. In the hospital room, which lacked any sort of love or care, Hyungwon realized how ridiculous his fears of loneliness were, as he found it to be better than a toxic relationship. Now that he's independent, Hyungwon gains a new hope to continue life and start it anew.

The Gummy Bears:

There are many ways to interpret the gummy bears and various teddy bear references that appear through the music video. When Jooheon presents Minhyuk and Hyungwon a purple and blue gummy bear, I related it to the movie the Matrix, where the protagonist is given two pills. One wakes them up and introduces them to reality, while the other keeps one in an imaginary/fake world.

In this case, I decided that Hyungwon would choose the pill of a fake world while Minhyuk chose the pill of reality, which, in this situation, meant death. This is because Hyungwon has no obligation to Minhyuk any longer and his priority is to maintain his own happiness. This can only be done by entering a dream-like state, as he hasn't lost hope yet.

Minhyuk on the other hand, has, as stated in the character descriptions above, lost the one reason he has to live which is Hyungwon. Rather than fool himself into thinking that his love can be fixed, he finally accepts his toxic personality and the outcome of it.

The Ending + The Time Machine

As we know, the ending of this book shows that Wonho has succeeded in building the time machine in order to go back to when things were all right in the world. However, it's unclear whether or not the machine worked because Changkyun says that it was never the answer at the end of his chapter.

The final chapter of this book, which was meant to be read from any member's perspective (hence the "???"), explicitly states that it had worked but again says that "it was not the solution."

In the final chapter, we see that the members continuously go back in time to the same point in time in a never-ending cycle. Wonho builds the time machine, they go back to the past, and time continues normally until Wonho builds the machine again. This concept of time being an endless cycle is presented in the prologue.

I recommend you reread the prologue again to see the main ideas of this story again! they were foreshadowed since the beginning :)

Have any questions about this explanation? Comment them and I'll try to answer! Thank you so much for your support on this story.