aespa 에스파 ‘ep2. Next Level’ - SM Culture Universe | REACTION

this is one of the coolest things ive seen in kpop

[@milshaaddit6589]

The fact that they're gonna release Life's Too Short just days after this ep.2 aired is definitely such a genius move. Once again I am impressed with SM. They did a great job for this.

[@ae_holic]

They know what they do

[@boyyyo]

The narration of Winter's part relates so much. Haters throw hate on her.

[@asdkjgf]

It seems that each of the girls had their own battles with the Black Mamba that relate irl 1) Karina being buried by high expectations and wanting to not let anyone down & hate since predebut 2) Winter and the doubts for the talent that surrounds her 3) Giselle and the never ending mocking that she receives and having all eyes to her, waiting for her next mistake 4) Ningning and the hatred and dismissive comments she receive by being herself I believe episode 2 accurately depicts the life of an idol, including the expectations, difficulties, and hatred they endure on a daily basis.

[@syba08]

yesss exactly

[@Sarah-wf3xv]

Yes, and it's all illusions that the black mamba is creating them

[@markitandD.O.it1]

@@Sarah-wf3xv Black Mamba = Haters

[@syba08]

@@markitandD.O.it1 yeah

[@jisungiee7043]

This aespa concept is like an assignment you need to understand all but i love it, it's different to others girl group concept...

[@kawaiibear3304]

a curiosity for those who don't know that SM has an orchestra, they always work with different types of artists.

[@fajarkurniawan6623]

SM is another level

[@dinahgraham4964]

Next Level lol

[@liyahvalmonte6934]

the netizens were watching the next level mv and her savage fancam to leave malicious comments there it appears that black mamba is attacking each aespa member by their weaknesses... winter = rumors/gossips ningning = critisms/hate comments giselle = public attention/pressure karina = insecurities

[@Ladybugwaitingformrdarcy]

First of all aespa will dominate the metavers in the future it's funny how they added the SM mascot in there (the pink teddy dear) hhhh Theory 1- naevis and black mamba are an AI created not just from one person data but all ppl they r like twins ? Or two faces to the same coin? Naevis is the result of genuine feelings and the black mamba is the result of all the negative feelings on the net from pressure (like we saw it on Karina) harsh judgments (winter) media (Giselle) and cyberbullying (ningning).... 2- the NCT lore and aespa's are so connected and I love it so much the synkdive = synchronization of dreams in the dream lab / NCT universe (for those who want to understand more abt it u can check nctmentary).... hope for a crossover in the future SMCU episodes I'd love to see the members from both groups act tgthr it will be a blast 💜 💚 3- now I get it y the æs don't look like the members... the members sinkdiving makes and appearance that is a mixture of the ae and the real person and I find it genius 🤯

[@yoitsphulla5686]

Finally it answers on the question alot of people ask why their aes dont look like themselves

[@jtyhsgu1164]

the first one really make sense cuz for a moment i really thought Naevis is Black Mamba especially with that hairstyle

[@BlueJellyfish8]

Karina is awesome

[@roro3738]

best reaction so far.

[@lomengg]

Ace karina acting was 🙌🙌

[@Axlroze]

yashhh aespa’s lore is just so well planned~

[@k-pop6953]

I am speechless.

[@unstablemolecules]

8:43 it probably just wanted an autograph 😥 thank you for your reaction 🤗 aespa is taking lore to the next level 😳💖

[@arvian_05]

I can't wait eps.3 SAVAGE🤯.BOOM

[@sage4597]

I have a theory, the person who comes out of the slime at the end is the new members æ who winter was talking about in her radio interview

[@dinahgraham4964]

Pretty sure it black mamba cause she's on the poster at the bottom

[@sage4597]

Ohh maybe, we will have to see in ep 3 😂😂

[@derisyaher]

I like how fast you are XD

[@ivan45359]

Giselle is so iconic here

[@Gabriel-vb3lw]

The silhouette is from the post credit of the Black Mamba MV.

[@sarangfied]

I was shaking lol

[@rakhmath21]

I see money 😆

[@blacklemonaesthetic]

SM is the best company in Korea that's why

[@akuhappy3246]

Lots of money

[@cklambo]

Naevis bout to pull up

[@HienNgo-fy3sl]

Amazing

[@masdanar9321]

Ningningone i think is hate komen/emoji from netz

[@raniaal-ashqar7276]

❤️❤️❤️ dank

[@DIANABARROLI]

💜💜💜

[@bitchesstantheboyzrightnow7293]

aespa main slayers

[@midnightmirror4518]

They're tying up Black Mamba, Next Level, and Savage MVs in this SMCU episode! aespa is INSANE! 🤯

[@sarangfied]

the way everyone turned into Giselle was so fucking creepy

[@g-cellatwork5406]

I think it is a reference to deepfake technology, I mean it was in Savage and also her part too. I love the thought they put in incorporating elements such as cyberbullying and deepfake technology looming over the girls that reflects the dark side of technology. It may not now blatantly spell it but I would love Aespa to be the vessel of such advocacy.

[@sarangfied]

@@g-cellatwork5406 true

[@ly_yurae]

I always get goosebumps from the beginning of the minute to the end watching this they are so cool😭👍

[@milshaaddit6589]

For real 😭

[@jaenab-cp6sy]

Not gonna lie, giselle acting is so coolllll

[@jenolicksyourlips6008]

Finally a person reacting with the will to learn, enjoy your reaction so much. Thanks youtube to recommend you so that i can subscribe you. Thankyou for your reaction as well, aespa is the evolution

[@dinahgraham4964]

I always view the ae as there inner selves, like a conscious. It can encourage and at time bring you down with negative thoughts but if you follow your hear (the butterfly) you'll be OK. Karina = is battling feelings of self worth. Winter = public Opinion. Whether right or wrong the public has an opinion about who you are and they don't care for the truth. Giselle = Media Attention. It's blinding; and the media is basically faceless people who can destroy you in a second with the wrong information. Niggling = Online bullying that can cut like a knife. The whole sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me. Words can and they do in the virtual world.

[@lewisidaho]

karina - black mamba showing her ae the generalization of the media forcing her to look "perfect". ningning - the emojis shows how toxic the social media is and the trolls are shown and throwing hate comments. winter - targeted for fake news *shown that people talked about how she's not nice* giselle - getting deepfaked by paparazzis and using her image and identity to troll online. i'm loving how real they got, this is the reality that the idols (but the whole people online in general) have to face

[@j2_zero]

The difference of scenes and their nightmares turned into different artforms reminds me of Madoka Magica. Especially the moment it turned dark.

[@chaosdanger679]

It remind me of the artwork of ito junji.. so creepy

[@karinaaespa6799]

winter = rumors/gossips ningning = critisms/hate comments giselle = public attention/pressure karina = insecurities it appears that black mamba is attacking each aespa member by their weaknesses Black Mamba representing aespa haters behind their computers. Your nonsense, baseless and offensive comments and reactions can hurt them

[@syba08]

EXACTLY SLAYY

[@uniquerose5493]

I find it interesting that Naevis was voiced by miss Ningning

[@aerishines3807]

GISELLES PART THO

[@sarangfied]

the evil ae Karina sounds like siyeon from DREAMCATCHER

[@anz9807]

Ningning has her finger cut and a drop of blood falling down is talking about all the unpleasant comments against her because of her nationality as being Chinese. (U can actually hear the word 'Chinese' in the background) In fact she face a double-side bullying from both China and Korea. I guess in Kpop its 'natural' to have inequality for foreign people, but in China some people are being even more mean, they call her a 'fat pig' and always say things like 'Why do I need to like her just because she is Chinese?' In Korea people are just naturally disliking her, even though she trained in SM for more than 7 years, leaving her parents at a really young age.

[@hawklegsmanuel4906]

Best reaction so far

[@twylainavani]

The mirror part gave red velvet’s psycho vibes 😅

[@sarielsalim9439]

THANKYOUUUUU 😭😭😭😭

[@Tmj0245]

I feel like Winter has something hidden. Look at the lyrics in many songs when it comes to her part it's out of the theme from others. Also she is kinda different from others in many things. In savage MV, in her high note part where the glass shattered it feels like the expression of the villain's pain.

[@most.]

The worst part is we'll probably wait for a year and a half for the episode 3 😭

[@coljay-ir6os]

It's coning this Feb. 22! Finally!

[@califrag8]

That was the "Hallucination Quest" they sang about in Savage. Hope you watched to the end to hear Naevis say "they're in danger" as that's leading into ep.3 that Mr. Lee said wouldn't take as long. After all, this ep. 2 was taped in November '21 as they clarify in the 'Behind' for ep. 3.

[@Tmj0245]

They should come back with 2 concepts like red velvet to penetrate other target groups that's not really into kwangya. It could be real world concept and kwangya concept.

[@Short_Round1999]

I swear man, Winter’s “Wow, so cool” comment is the cutest thing ever and it sounds like a perfect catch phrase for her

[@amanifiorentina1911]

looooove your reaction. your analysis was on point, i totally agreed with you about the strong message, this storyline is sending about their past (when karina debuted, she got pressure from a lot of people) & the effects of the hate spread on social media

[@ジゼ教]

navis黒幕なのでは？？

[@melodies_memoryofexy1006]

Seriously💎🔥