Inception and Thanxx
What we know so far: (See final Treasure recap in Zero: Fever Part.1 (Part 1)) We are now in the prequel to the Treasure series in which we see how the boys get together in the first place. Yunho and his brother meet Hongjoong while watching street dancers at Han River. Later, after Seonghwa realizes that dance brings freedom, he and Wooyoung also meet Yunho and Hongjoong while watching street dancers. They work together towards a dream of being idols and help Wooyoung overcome his stage fright. Wooyoung had also befriended Mingi, who had cut himself off from the world, and invited him to join their group. Yunho invited Jongho after his injury caused him to having to give up his dream of being a basketball player. San met them at school and was invited to join as well. Seonghwa taught him to be free while Wooyoung helped him with his dance moves. Yeosang, who went to a different school than the rest of the boys, happened upon the warehouse one day and was asked if he knew how to fly a drone. That is how he ended up joining the group, but his parents were opposed to it. Everything fell apart when Mingi decided to leave causing him and Jongho to fight. Yunho's brother succumbed to injuries caused by a previous car accident and died causing him to isolate himself in grief. San's family had to move away agian, and Yeosang left due to his parents pressuring him. The warehouse was locked up and everyone was separated. That is when Hongjoong broke in and met Halajoong in a dream. He was gifted an hourglass and told about the other diminsion. The hourglass remained after he woke up and he used it to bring the boys back together again.
So like Wave and Illusion, the decision about the title track of Zero: Fever Part.1 was made through fan vote between Inception and Thanxx. I wasn't a part of this comeback but if I was, I would totally be team Thanxx. That means they both play equal and important parts in the storyline. At first glance they don’t really look like they connect well, but 15Kim does a good job in her second explanation video explaining how they are two sides to the same coin. I am going to talk about them simultaneously since, I think, that is how they are meant to be considered.
15Kim's Inception theory (reminder, most of this was covered in Zero: Fever Part. 1 (Part 1)):
My Takeaways
This music video is based on the movie Inception
Hongjoong running into himself and ending up in an empty space might represent going back into his dream after receiving the hourglass
Songs need to be watched in comebacks or series to answer questions we have about the storyline
Bookish Theories' Inception Theory:
My Takeaways
The Inception music video is a continuation of The Diary Film
WHAT!?! She incorporated information from Ateez and adjusted some of her theories! Now we can rely on her more for full storyline theories and not just fun facts and details. She is even calling them Halateez! This is GREAT!! Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming.
The goal of the Fever series is for Ateez to reunite in order to fulfill their dream of finding the treasure
Halateez is somehow responsible for the boys leaving for their quest in the Treasure series and this is further enforced in the Fever series
Halateez is another version of Ateez from a different dimension and interact with Ateez through their subconscious = implant ideas they need to achieve their goal
Halateez's intervention is conveyed through the use of fire in Inception by implanting the idea to find each other again because their friendship was how they found themselves and became the people they wanted to be
Hongjoong being lost in the dream while waking up in real life is a metaphor for being unable to move on (to not let go of each other until they are successful)
Mingi and Hongjoong closing the door onto themselves at the end of Inception indicates the success of Halateez's inception triggered in the Diary Film
15Kim's Thanxx theory (you will need to use the autotranslate feature in settings to change the subtitles from Russian to English. I have no idea why they are showing up this way):
My Takeaways
OMG KQ Entertainment sent her a signed album!!! I just CAN'T with that!!
Thanxx is a song were Ateez speaks to adults and say they want to go on their own way towards their dream but the adults claim they are on the only ones who know the answer
Neither of the Inception or Thanxx music videos have a clear narrative but if you consider the diary entries and Diary Film you can see the boys split into two camps. The ones who are going after a dream (Hongjoong wanting to be an idol, Wooyoung a dancer, Yunho fulfilling his brother's dream, and Jongho first a basketball player and later a singer) which is portrayed by Inception and the ones trying to escape the pressure of adults (Seonghwa's to do lists, Yeosang's parents wanting to control his extracurriculars, San having to move, and Mingi's family's poverty) which is portrayed in Thanxx
The hourglass is called a cromer
Bookish Theories' Thanxx theory:
My Takeaways
Thanxx represents the social pressure young people feel when adults try to decide their path instead of letting them choose for themselves
Fever is about youth as a state of mind and not necessarily age
4 main settings: 1. class in a school uniform, 2. school bus in regular clothes, 3. Moroccan location (once they decide to abandon the path most people will follow, their adventure will begin), 4. parade (prepping for the journey they will go on in the Treasure series)
Lyrics provide a statement of intent and and express their resolution of being their own person
Lyrics also explain the two sides of adults being unreasonable: 1. If young people don't know what to do, adult pressure them into making a decision, 2. If they have a dream they want to achieve, adults discourage them and put them down. Ateez says they will keep doing what they are doing no matter what society says
Here is the KQ Entertainment's explanation of Inception created to help fans during the voting period:
Making of Inception and Reaction Video:
They did a making of but didn’t talk about the lore at all. Jerks! They did do a music video reaction. Here are some of the connections they made:
Yeosang’s beginning scene with the feathers is connected to the birds flying around in his diary video. They reiterated that Inception is related to the Diary Film so the scenes are shared (which is obvious).
The ending scene, the other members didn’t know was shot so they said Hongjoong must have been lonely in that space. They also talked about “closing the door” at the end of the video.
So really, we didn’t get much from the making of or the reaction but it is probably because so much was provided through the diary film and booklet. Also, based on what Bookish Theories said, they did a reaction to their diary film. Since she already incorporated what they said in her theory, I didn’t go back to look for it.
KQ’s Explanation of Thanxx:
Making of Thanxx:
So Bookish Theories got a lot from the making of video that I also got (like the Morocco thing) but something neither she nor 15Kim mentioned was their camo pants in the last scene of Thanxx. Again, they talked to Seonghwa about the outfit (they seem to always go to him for the fashion questions) and he pointed out their pants. What you can’t see in the video since they are farther away is that the word, "Ateez" is actually a part of the camo. I may be reading into things too much, but go with me for a second. So far, Halateez has been in some sort of uniform (wether that be their black outfits with the mask and hats or, if the 15Kim is correct, their officers uniforms in Wonderland). What if these camo pants symbolize some relationship to Halateez as well? I agree with Bookish Theories that they are moving farther away from their school/student life and closer to their pirate life but what if that is also them moving closer to their Halateez futures? Just food for thought.
Now let's watch the music videos:
Final Thoughts
Inception and Thanxx, although at first glance, might not look like they go together, are the perfect pair to follow the Diary Film. In the Diary Film, we see short scenes of each of the boys' lives and get a glimps into their desires while at the same time learn how they form a group and also discover how they are broken apart. If you think about Inception and Thanxx as taking place around the same time, you can use Ateez's outfits and music video settings to see where things might fit in a timeline. The boys are in a school wearing uniforms throughout most of Inception so to me it seems like this takes place directly after Hongjoong turns the cromer (the hourglass) and and indicates Halateez's inception of Ateez. We then move into the school location with uniforms of Thanxx, where after Ateez has been "incepted" (could we make that a verb?) they start to slowly change from kids following their parent's paths to independent thinkers through Bookish Theories' example of Thanxx music video set changes and end up ready to start their jouney based on what Halateez placed in their heads during their inception.