Ateez Fever Road Epilogues
What we know so far: (See final Treasure recap in Zero: Fever Part.1 (Part 1) and the Diary Film recap in Zero: Fever Part. 1 (Part 2)) Ateez gathered as friends and spent time together in a warehouse where they sang, danced, and hung out. They became each others' support systems and encouraged each other to go after their dreams and escape the pressure the adult world was placing on them. A series of events occured and the warehouse was locked up and everyone was separated. That is when Hongjoong broke in and met Halajoong in a dream. He was gifted a Cromer (hourglass) and told about the other diminsion where Halateez is from. The Cromer remained after he woke up and he used it to bring the boys back together again. This could have possibly happened through an inception where Halateez placed thoughts inside the boys dreams and ignited their desires to unite again. They grew from school boys under adult control to wanting to shirk off that control and follow their own path.
Ateez Fever Road is an adventure reality show Ateez filmed between Zero: Fever Part 1 and Zero: Fever Part 2. There are 8 episodes and each episode has a prologue and epilogue related to one of the 8 members. They are filmed like the Diary Film. I found someone who put all of the prologues and epilogues together in one video but they didn’t have English subtitles and you NEED them. Since I don’t know how to video edit like the GenZ people on Youtube, I have linked a playlist of all of the shows. You do not have to watch this whole series in order to follow the storyline but I highly recommend it if you have not already done so. Some personal favorite parts are "7 makes 1 team no 6 makes 1 team", San having to eat carrots for the ASMR challenge, the screaming in silence challenge, Wooyoung's blindfold excursion, Mingi in the fountain, and San being the spy.
I know I typically show my "research" before adding the content, but since these epilogues are not music videos, and I don't know how many people have seen them already, I am going to list them first.
Hongjoong's Time:
My Takeaways
First of all, Hongjoong's hair is EVERYTHING! He needs to wear it in they style more often. Sorry, it needed to be said
The boys are standing around him in the same formation as the end of the Diary Film
I like this line, "Our hideout is where our dreams were connected and hid us from the adult world"
The cromer has brought the boys back together again
Yeosang's Yearnings:
My Takeaways
Yeosang breaking his violin is what allows him to escape where he was trapped. This is a metaphor for escaping his parent's wishes for him and becoming his own person
Yunho's Dream:
My Takeaways
Yunho has gotten through the worst of his grief and is ready to be with the members again
Hongjoong has helped him the most due to his resemblance to his brother and their shared dream
Did I mention Hongjoong's hair?
Seonghwa's Liberty:
My Takeaways
Love this line, "The music in my ear will be my one and only plan in life because it's what we want"
Good job, Seonghwa, for escaping your rut! I also noticed that he said, "From now on I will plan what I want to do" which confirms that the plans he was following originally were not his own
Jongho's Dispair:
My Takeaways
Woah! Suicidal ideations are no joke. I am glad Yunho was able to show Jongho a better way. I think it had to be Yunho because of the grief he was going through over losing his brother.
Mingi's Wound:
My Takeaways
When Mingi said he was "running recklessly, avoiding people", I think he was talking about literally running from those who were chasing him but saying even more that he was figuratively running away and avoiding the members
Well now we have a confirmed reason for the fight: That Mingi said their time was meaningless. We also now know that the fight didn’t destroy everything completely if Jongho was willing to help Mingi get away from the people he was running from
Jongho being the one to save Mingi from those who were chasing him speaks to a change in heart Jongho had in regards to Mingi's hurtful words. That probably came after Yunho saved Jongho from his suicidal ideations post fight. This is important because their fight was one of the key events that fractured the group so Jongho saving Mingi is a way to rebuild their relationship and the group as a whole
Wooyoung's Fair:
My Takeaways
Poor Wooyoung, his stage fright came back when the group disbanded
The members coming back for him allowed him to stand up again, find his true self, and "complete the word 'us'"
San's Fever Road:
My Takeaways
I started this video because Ateez spent this how earning pieces to the puzzle that reveals how the cromer works: "This changes its function according to the changes of the moon. When the crescent moon rises, it can deliver messages through dreams. When the full moon rises, it can move dimensions." This means Halateez was able to talk to Ateez through their dreams (inception), that is how Halajoong moved from his dimension to Hongjoong's in order to give him the cromer, and that they can use the cromer to travel themselves.
San left his family to be with the members and was the last piece of the puzzle that made the "we" of Ateez
Bookish Theories' explanation:
My Takeaways
Ateez are the missing pieces that must come together in order to move forward
The prologues of each film remind us of their separation by showing the members in front of a cracked mirror like the cracked dimensions in the Diary Film (I didn't link those here since they did not provide any new information) and the epilogues give us insight on how they made their way back to each other.
Hongjoong can see himself bringing the group back together with the Cromer and they don't see him
The full moon rising at the end of the show indicates they are about to travel dimensions
The moon in Illusion was a crescent, meaning Halateez could have been talking to them in their dreams during that music video as well
Wooyoung's identity depends on their unity. "It is essential to make them complete and unlock their true selves"
Final Thoughts
Ateez Fever Road shows us how the boys gather back together again after they are separated. The Cromer was used to send a message in their dreams (in Inception) that allows each of them to overcome what was holding them back and join the group again. So in terms of timeline we see the Diary Film, Inception (cromer sending messages to the boys to follow their dreams again), Thanxx (the boys escaping the pressure of the adult world to start their journey), and Ateez Fever Road (how each member actually came back to the group). With the inclusion of the full moon, Ateez is now ready to turn the Cromer again and journey to Halateez's dimension. I look forward to them doing that in Zero: Fever Part. 2.