I Had A Thought. Ive Had A Growing Theory For A While And I Was Watching ATEEZs Say My Name MV Again

I had a thought. I’ve had a growing theory for a while and I was watching ATEEZ’s “Say My Name” MV again and I noticed something that kind of made everything click. I know there has been some confusion as to what ATEEZ’s concept and story is and maybe this’ll help some. Mind you this is a stand alone theory for Say My Name for right now. So it doesn’t really take “Treasure”, “HALA HALA” or “Pirate King” into account. I have some ideas for how they’re all connected but I’ve got nothing solid yet. I added a bit about “HALA HALA” and its connection to “Say My Name” at the end without really realizing. Oops?

Before I thought that maybe they had like a “2 souls, 1 body” or a possession type thing going but now I think its a touch more serious than that. It’s because of what I saw while re-watching the MV. In the beginning of the MV we see Hongjoong walking through a room holding a trumpet of some sort. His footsteps seem to echo and thunder and there is this odd high pitched whine/screech that cuts in and out constantly. These sounds continue throughout this scene. Hongjoong lifts the trumpet up in a careless manner to stare at it but it seems as if he’s not really looking at it. Like he’s staring though it. There’s this odd slightly warped zoom effect focused on him before it suddenly cuts to the trumpet then back to him but closer up. The camera begins to pan down slowly but the movement is stutter-y and choppy. His facial expression is very odd. Like he’s not there at all but there’s also this weird feeling beneath the surface that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. An eerie feeling, where I’m all tense and waiting for the jump scare, for the storm I can feel building beneath the surface to finally hit. Then it cuts to the trumpet hitting the ground harshly, like it slipped from his fingers suddenly. This scene, THIS ONE SCENE TELLS IT ALL. What I think happened? Hongjoong and the other boys have split personalities and Hongjoong was disassociating in the beginning. Now mind you I know very little about Multiple Personality Disorder. So I could be wrong. But from my understanding the only way to cure oneself is to reabsorb the other personality that split off from the host/origin. But what if that fragment is evil? What if that fragment scares you to the point that you can’t even look in the mirror anymore for fear of seeing it? What if that fragment is so strong that the boys struggle to retake control and need outside help to do so? Like, oh I don’t know, SAYING THEIR NAME!? There are three other scenes that also make me think this might be the case. I’m going to describe what I see/feel that makes me think this way and let you guys decide for yourselves if it backs my theory or if it maybe points to something else.

First up is the room that we first see San in. There is mirror in front of him and he’s walking toward it. He seems to regard his reflection carefully, warily. He seems to be waiting for something? Then it cuts to his reflection in what appears to be a shattered mirror on the floor. His gaze here seems slightly surprised? Or startled maybe? Then it cuts to him sitting on the floor with is back to the intact mirror. His posture seem careless but there is this obvious smallness/tenseness to the way he holds himself. Its reflected more clearly in the mirror. He seems afraid but he’s trying to hide it. We cut back to this scene a little later and San is slowly looking up to the ceiling and there’s this sort of epiphany like feeling accompanied by this sense of dawning calm coming from him.

Second is the scene where Seonghwa, San, Hongjoong, and Wooyoung are looking at their “shadow-selves” through glass panels. At first they are carefully regarding their other-selves. But as the scene continues a cockiness washes over them and the begin to goad their other-selves. Its fairly obvious that they are trying to get a reaction, possibly a fight from their other-selves. But they are the twisted fragments in this scene. The ones in black are the hosts that have been beaten back to the point of forgetting who they are. Which is what their attire suggests, an unknown identity. The twisted fragments take joy in their victory over the hosts and mock them repeatedly. Perhaps the fight was too easy? Enough to make one wonder if the hosts are really beaten. We flick back to this scene again and the hosts haven’t so much as twitched. If anything they seem to stand taller, prouder. Wooyoung seems to sit back and there is this look of shock on his face. As if he really can’t believe what he’s seeing. Although this scene could also be flipped on its head. The ones in black are the twisted fragments and the boys are trying to get the fragments to fight to that they can reabsorb them. We again flick back to this scene but its just Seonghwa this time. The black figure pulls off his mask to reveal that he is also Seonghwa. But neither of them seems surprised? In fact their reactions are kind of blank, waiting almost.

The third and final scene is at the end. The lights overhead are flashing and the scene constantly flickers back and forth. In some the boys stand before us. In others the black figures stand before us. This scene to me seems to be the climax or final fight if you will. The boys and their twisted other halves are fighting a very vicious and desperate fight for control. And they are repeating one phrase to us repeatedly as they fight for that control, “Say My Name”. The question is, do you know the boys’ names? Or have you only ever known the names of the twisted other-selves?

Also the song itself is a conflict in of itself. The beginning and the in between is very soft and calm. But the pre-chorus is very chaotic and crazy. And the actual chorus is very dark and almost angry. The song constantly flips between these three themes. The in between/beginning seems to represent the boys. The pre-chorus seems to represent the fight or the disassociating. And the chorus represents the twisted other-selves. Ah, I realized I’ve been using the word ‘twisted’ a lot instead of ‘darker’ or ‘evil’ to describe the other personality, huh. I think that has to do with what “HALA HALA” brought to light for me. At first I did think in terms of ‘darker evil half’. But “HALA HALA” happened and it changed my mind. “HALA HALA” seems to be from the perspective of the twisted half and there is this very unhinged and crazy tone/undertone to it. As if Wooyoung with blood smeared all over his mouth in a twisted imitation of lipstick wasn’t enough. But this is just what I think. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right. We may never really know for sure in the end.

this was so much longer than i expected oof