The MONSTA X Music Video Universe (Part One)
A condensed summary of my notes on all things MONSTA X!
Note: I work hard on these notes and the corresponding episodes! PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THE INFORMATION IN THESE NOTES WITHOUT CREDITING ME AND MY NEWSLETTER/PODCAST!
These artist-specific “cheat sheets” breaking down music video storylines and symbols are usually behind a paywall, but this first part of my MONSTA X notes is free! For access to the second part, and to other installments in the series, you can become a paying subscriber, or start your free trial, here!
Corresponding podcast episodes:
Discography Timeline and Key MV Story Details
TRESPASS (May 14, 2015)
RUSH (Sept. 7, 2015)
THE CLAN, Pt. 1 ‘LOST’ (May 18, 2016)
“All In”
They wear all-white outfits as they run through the storm but wear all-black outfits in a different scene
Minhyuk finds Hyungwon in the tub, feeds him a blue flower
White flag
Soldiers confronted; Joohoney teases them; Hyungwon gives one a flower as a peace offering
Minhyuk sees Hyungwon’s beaten-up face after Hyungwon’s initial resistance to reveal the injuries
Shownu in elderly man’s hospital room, by his bedside
Joohoney hands a big, black bag over to Shownu while in an alley
Fire pit scene when Joohoney seems in charge
Whole building now on fire
Shownu returns to the hospital; the bed is empty, and he leaves a blue flower on it
Burning pile of money in front of Shownu
Kihyun limping
Shownu swallows the blue liquid while Minhyuk drops some in the tub
A giant blue orb emerges in the sky
“Stuck”
Some images that flash on the screen show the members sprinting down alleys again
THE CLAN, Pt. 2 ‘GUILTY’ (Oct. 4, 2016)
“Fighter”
Kihyun in the alley dragging bags behind him
Minhyuk and Hyungwon in the hospital
Mask thrown on Kihyun from behind; gets kidnapped
Room with blue flowers
I.M surrounded by teddies, playing video games (his character tends to be the most childlike)
Blue smoke behind hospital room door
Everyone except Minhyuk and Kihyun gather in garage; machine activation requires pouring gallons of blue liquid into it and playing video games with the attached controllers
Hyungwon takes one of two pills offered by Joohoney
Everyone runs down hospital halls, enters room of clouds and blue skies
The Clan, Pt. 2.5 ‘Beautiful’ (March 21, 2017)
“Beautiful”
I.M in a room full of gold, cash; holds a lit match
Shownu in a room full of plants
Hyungwon in a room with sand
Joohoney has a sword and watch (but Minhyuk has the watch later)
Wonho in the mail room
Shownu sees a blue flower, waters it with blue liquid
Everyone leaves their colorful rooms and walks down the empty, white halls together
SHINE FOREVER (June 19, 2017)
“SHINE FOREVER”
Road trip (but Wonho is left running behind the car, and I.M is in the woods)
Hyungwon is revealed to be the one who blindfolded Kihyun
Car flips over, raining glass
Minhyuk doesn’t see Wonho when he walks past the car; stuck in black-and-white flashbacks
Joohoney confronts Wonho; gets angry and charges at him; Shownu breaks up the fight only to take Joohoney’s place and punch Minhyuk
Minhyuk sits alone until the blindfolded Kihyun sits beside him, comforts him
Blindfold lifted at the end of the video
“Newton” (July 27, 2017)
The Code (Nov. 7, 2017)
“Dramarama”
Kihyun has a flashback to hanging out with Joohoney on the beach, before Joohoney’s car accident
Hyungwon knocks on Kihyun’s ticket booth window and slides the watch through the ticket slot
Minhyuk finds the watch left at a table
Hyungwon causes the rain to move in reverse (turning back time?)
Minhyuk goes back to the alley, and Kihyun goes back to the road where the car accident took place
Kihyun convinces Hyungwon to turn back time to pre-crash
I.M takes Minhyuk’s hand and they run; flashback to them as little kids playing in that same alley
Minhyuk poofs to the bus stop and sees the watch face is now broken
“Spotlight” (Jan. 31, 2018)
THE CONNECT : DEJAVU (March 26, 2018)
“Jealousy”
First images seen: motorcycles riding in circles in the big garage, an elaborate painting, a movie projector
Closeup images to take note of: a frayed piece of paper with a message on it, an empty bird cage, two of Minhyuk, a target image, the paper message again but set on fire (which eventually triggers much larger flames)
Kihyun and Shownu both seen (in separate settings) looking at a half-full glass of water, holding it up to light; closeup on that water glass later when it’s beside black chess pieces
Kihyun holds a playing card, then at the piano holding something (lighter?), then seen looking defeated and slumped over below the painting
Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment: the two Minhyuks turn to look at each other from their separate platforms as they move further and further apart; black abyss below them grows wider and wider as their rocks move apart
I.M in the driver’s seat of a car, writing down notes with a gold pen
I.M tries to make a phone call
I.M and Joohoney literally face each other as the motorcyclists circle around them
Piece (April 25, 2018)
“Livin’ It Up” (Sept. 12, 2018)
Take.1 Are You There? (Oct. 22, 2018)
“Shoot Out”
Kihyun in a room with lots of white mannequins, then seen in front of rows of stairs
Joohoney wearing undone handcuffs; raises arms and causes rocks to levitate around him
I.M in an office, looking at playing cards (face-up on top: a moon image, then a card saying “Envy” with image of a snake, then a card saying “Wrath” with image of birds)
I.M drops the snake card in the trash after setting it on fire
Hyungwon sits on a throne; lets a handful of gold pills slip through his fingers to the floor
Wonho is on a stage in an empty auditorium; later in an empty gymnasium; then in jail with clouds of smoke behind him
Minhyuk is surrounded by tree branches; blood drips off of them
Shownu back in the garage, where he lights a match (note that his box of matches says “Wrath” on it)
Shownu, Wonho, and Joohoney get in a room together with plants and TVs scattered throughout it
Black-and-white image of all the members walking towards something together; later revealed to be walking up a staircase to who-knows-where
Closeup of “Pride” card that features stars on it
Keep in mind MONSTA X’s logo by this point resembles a sideways hourglass
“Shoot Out (Japanese Version)”
Minhyuk and Kihyun spend the most time together
I.M glitches in and out of scenes; later seen in a dark room where he angrily kicks a chair away
Hyungwon and Minhyuk are in a blue-lit, narrow room that looks kind of like the back of a truck
As he is in the Korean version of the MV too, Wonho is the last man standing
Take.2 We Are Here. (Feb. 18, 2019)
“Alligator”
Minhyuk in a room with roses
Kihyun surrounded by chalkboards, math equations
Shownu in the room full of mannequin halves (note: they were NOT just halves last time); lights a match from the “Wrath” pack again
Black flag in flames
Hyungwon releases plumes of green smoke while standing on a ledge; later in a room full of clocks
Phenomenon (Aug. 21, 2019)
“X-Phenomenon”
Rapid-fire closeup images: Shownu and I.M at target practice, the “Dramarama” tunnel setting, white curtains, members glitching in and out, “With Us?” written on the wall
“Livin’ It Up”
Closeup images to take note of: water droplets, someone dragging a chair behind him, all the members upside-down, a cloud of green smoke
Wonho sits in front of a wall plastered with pages (notes, diagrams, images, etc.); holds the device (in a separate scene) that emits the green smoke
Joohoney is by the TV set again, then in an alley that has red smears on the walls
Hyungwon in the tub, holding a device that emits yellow smoke; turns the dial on a small TV set, triggering an eclipse of sorts
Kihyun and Minhyuk stand together, Minhyuk holding something that emits blue smoke, Kihyun holding one that emits yellow smoke
Kihyun and Hyungwon seen looking distraught, leaning against metal fencing
I.M holds a device that emits pink smoke; back in the office later
Neon sign behind them all says “Shangrila” and has a cloud of yellow smoke behind it
FOLLOW - FIND YOU (Oct. 28, 2019)
“Follow”
Closeup images to note: gold gears turning in a grandfather clock, a sliver of a moon
Dance inside the image of a sundial
Balls of fire rain down at the end
Wonho in the setting with the rain moving in reverse, while surrounded by curtains
Kihyun is also somewhere where the rain moves in reverse, where time might be moving backwards
I.M in a red room crawling with giant snakes; eyes eventually glow like he’s become a snake himself
Joohoney is the only one to wear a face covering; the only one even partially trying to conceal his identity
Bird’s-eye view shows all the members going up the staircase together
“Find you”
Starts with another car crash, this time with Hyungwon in the car
Quick closeup image of water droplets again, ripples of water
Note that Hyungwon wears the time-traveling watch during the crash
Hyungwon is home alone post-hospital visit until the members show up to sleep over :)
Seems notable that they play video games together, something they used to have to do as part of their job filling up those gadgets, but now they seemingly just do it for fun
Closeup, gone-in-a-flash sequence of images: the watch, Hyungwon plunged into deep water
Hyungwon goes into an office, retrieves the watch and turns back time; next image actually shows him less free, though, and back underwater
The members wake up, notice Hyungwon’s absence, try calling him to no avail; worry when they see pills and the half-full water glass on the counter
More gone-in-a-flash images: getting pulled into the alley and running away again, the moment Kihyun asked for Hyungwon to turn back time post-Joohoney crash, Joohoney in the ticket booth, a scene from “Fighter” ft. Shownu and Wonho
Hyungwon drops the watch and sinks away from it while underwater
The rain resumes moving in reverse
Keep an eye on your inbox for part two!