Which is the road less traveled by??? (Reacting to SKZ Side Effects Teaser)

[@GolyenHighway]

This is the first split in their journey. We can see the decisions made by the two sets of members. The bus driver is extremely similar to the Authority figures who SKZ were trying to disrupt in Miroh. For a bus driver, he is heavily awarded & seems to be more military than public servant. (Some version of this man will be seen at different points in SKZ videos. Even those not in the direct line of the story.) SKZ were leaving Miroh in order to find another way forwards. But the ticket that the one set has is a one way ticket, and it is given to the Authority to travel in comfort. So this set decided to not fight, and join the easy way of least resistance. At the end we see the members left behind as they refuse the easy path. This is the start of multiple dimensions & journeys. Even though we follow one set. And we need to take into consideration what colours mean to Koreans, as we see three main colours used here. -Yellow represents holiness, wealth, authority, fertility, warning. It is the center of the cardinal directions, and represents the element of Earth. -White represents purity, innocence, rectitude and temperance. It is also associated with patriotism. It is the West in the cardinal directions, and represents the element of metal. -Black represents death, darkness, formality, dignity and rules. It is also associated with infinity, intelligence, and creation. It is associated with mastery & the ending of a cycle. It is North in the cardinal directions, and represents the element of water. Since we see the white/silver cart with a bouquet of black balloons tied to it, we can assume that these symbolize the end of that chapter. Possibly also their innocent enthusiasm. And with the way the music is at the end, we can assume that the yellow is for warning. It seemed idyllic & holy in the beginning & then changed.

[@oolola]

I love the cultural color analysis you're offering here -- that's fascinating and makes a lot of sense. I'm kind of taken by the transcultural conversation there that's happening with the Robert Frost Yellow Wood where here yellow has additional associations that Frost probably wasn't thinking of. That's so cool! Hmm, I'm kind of sad about the SKZ group taking the bus -- I was thinking they were going to continue the fight within the belly of the beast, not that they'd decided on an easier path. But that does explain why in Side Effects we then stay with the group that chose to set up camp in the Yellow Wood. Thank you always for sharing your analysis -- I always enjoy reading them so much!

[@liri100000]

5:03 안녕 고양이~ 7:32 드디어 팬들앞에 나가려는 skz..(하지만 불안하다) 10:47 가면쓴 악당과 타협하여 버스에 오르지만 모든것을 남겨두고 떠난다. 하고싶은 음악을 기약하며.. 제가 느낀 감상문입니다~ 번역이 잘됐으면 좋겠어요~

[@oolola]

Oh, I love this interpretation! That makes a lot of sense to me -- that it's about compromising in order to be able to make music and meet their fans, and that's why they have mixed feelings about getting on the bus (or going to the Yellow Wood in the first place...)

[@katjalovesmusicals4337]

What I have always loved about the poem....is the title. And its significance. The title is not the road less traveled on, it's the road not taken. So does it say the protagonist took the road less traveled on or did the protagonist do what everyone else did...take the easiest looking road and is now saying that may have been a mistake and is trying to sort of rewrite his own narrative? The title also conjurs uo images of looking at your life's choices and wonder what would have happened if you had taken the other road. And that, for me, is something I have always been interested in. Small decisions that are actually a fork in the road and depending on what you do, everything after that point is totally different. When I saw that split screen and the bus driving off and two different outcomes...I had your reaction. The bus looked nice enough, but the creepy tattoo...looks gangster (hold on to that thought) and the creepy smile on the driver's face is sickening. Something is NOT right with that choice. But in one line they choose it anyway. Love the ideas by the previous comment. Very valid. I think its how a lot of these videos work, there is a small story in them that is about themselves and there is a little piece of a puzzle in the big story line (which never really is cleared up ...ever hahhaa). Love your attention to detail. And I am really curious to see how you analyse this after you have caught up and know what we all know now...or still don't know really, but have all the available information. Oh and hiya, cure cat!

[@oolola]

Yes, the bus choice seems much more fraught! And of course for each group, the choice they didn't take is the road not taken -- for one group it may also be the road less traveled by (maybe that's the yellow wood group, who seem to be taking the harder path)? But they each make a choice that will significantly change their path -- and now that I've watched Side Effects, a central point of that MV seems to be that the path you take in turn changes you... which makes so much sense considering the poem in this light! Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts and hints :) They always give me new perspective and make me excited to keep watching!

[@katjalovesmusicals4337]

@@oolola yes yes yes about the notion that those paths also change you. Omg you are going to have fun with that, going on.