9 Key Details in “Eyes on you”
The most on-brand aspects of SEVENTEEN’s new music video!
“Eyes on you” is a very true-to-SEVENTEEN music video. Here are nine reasons why!
#1: The Format Changes
As the video unfolds, the chronology leaves some room for interpretation, and the pacing ranges from slow-motion moments to rapid montages. These are classic SEVENTEEN moves, as is the emphasis placed on a pivotal scene thanks to a mid-video change in the widescreen ratio.
#2: Returning Settings
A rooftop, a party with a DJ, what is seemingly a parking garage, and a subway car are all locations from previous SEVENTEEN videos that return in “Eyes on you.” Plus, DK stands with basketballs at his feet in a gymnasium in “Home” and does so again while in a locker room in “Eyes on you.” A school gymnasium has repeatedly been SEVENTEEN’s gathering place (for example, during the apocalypse in “Ima -Even if the world ends tomorrow-”), representing the ways they always find their way back to each other with items that are emblematic of their youth.
#3: The Close-Ups
At the beginning, the video includes a rapid series of close-ups of the SEVENTEEN members, which is significant both because of the focus on their eyes (a symbolic part of their story throughout the years) and because no member’s close-up is focused on more than the others. Showing the equal value placed on each individual member’s contributions to SEVENTEEN’s story remains a high priority. This is represented through another detail later, with the number 13 appearing in the number of likes on an Instagram post (specifically, 1,113).
#4: Shared Symbols
Like in the “Speak Up” and “LOVE, MONEY, FAME” videos, the members trade symbolic objects and places, showing that what matters most for their story is not what each member is specifically doing but the knowledge that each member does indeed have a key role to play. In “Eyes on you,” a situation associated with MINGYU in “Speak Up” and DK in “LOVE, MONEY, FAME” is associated with JOSHUA: riding the subway. Someone texts DINO a smiley emoji, the defining symbol for DK during the “13 Inner Shadows” era. Lastly, WOOZI’s flashback involves black umbrellas, which are JOSHUA’s symbol in “Cheers to youth” and JUN’s in “Ima -Even if the world ends tomorrow-.”
#5: Using Tech to Connect
Like in “Cheers to youth,” in which WOOZI attends a club meeting via virtual stand-in, and in “MAESTRO,” in which the group befriends and dances with the robots that at first seem ready to replace them, SEVENTEEN’s uses of technology focus on the ways it can connect people. This focus on positive potential is back: JUN and his love interest put their phones next to each other to digitally transfer their contact information to each other.
#6: Going from Day to Night
Like the “_WORLD” video, it is notable that the action in “Eyes on you” unfolds across daytime and nighttime. This shows how SEVENTEEN mean it when they say a circumstance is a 24/7 one! In “_WORLD,” the gates into “CARATLAND” are always open; in “Eyes on you,” the time to make precious memories together is always now. The companion albums YOU MAKE MY DAY and YOU MADE MY DAWN share this recurring “making memories together 24/7” theme.
#7: Feeling Each Other’s Pain
THE 8 and JEONGHAN both have cuts on their faces in “Eyes on you.” When THE 8 pulls up next to JEONGHAN to give him a ride, THE 8 appears to also have a bloody lip, which looks similar to the smeared red lipstick JEONGHAN wears in a key moment in the “Fear” video. These details represent both how the members feel each other’s pain and how they refuse to let each other go through messy moments alone!
#8: The Flashbacks
Several SEVENTEEN members experience what can be interpreted as either flashbacks or nightmares. Either way, the scenes speak volumes about what they all fear the most: the loss of loved ones. For S.COUPS, that loss is of MINGYU in a car crash. For WOOZI, that loss could also be of MINGYU, but whose funeral he attends remains unclear. HOSHI never has to discover what his greatest loss is, thanks to a friend helping him avoid a mental spiral. JOSHUA pulls HOSHI out of a crowded party just as it appears that HOSHI is about to have a flashback.
#9: Showing Up
As always, SEVENTEEN’s video shows the high value placed on being there for one another. Besides JOSHUA helping distract HOSHI from internal chaos and THE 8 empathizing with JEONGHAN and giving him a ride, DINO offers support to VERNON after VERNON looks troubled by text messages. VERNON looks stressed as he leans against a graffiti-covered wall (like the ones in his “13 Inner Shadows” video) in a blue-lit room, until DINO joins him. Notably, the SEVENTEEN members leave the main party and throw an alternative one in a blue-lit space. It is meaningful that an element of the space where VERNON felt lonely can then be associated in his memories with a fun time with his best friends.
Main Takeaway
The “Eyes on you” music video includes countless details that bring to mind previous SEVENTEEN eras, proving that the group’s core values remain the same. Simply put, they find meaning in life through embracing the power of connection. They continue to combat confusion, nerves, fears, and loneliness by cherishing each moment they have with the people they love, and they want everyone to experience that love - a value that they deem greater than all the “money” and “fame” in the world!
For a more personal take on how SEVENTEEN embrace the power of connection, revisit my essay below!
