i just watched the mv for merry go round and. i'm even more devastated. the mv just compliments the harrowing narrative of being stuck in the same circle, not being able to get out. while usually merry go round is a fun ride, painted colorful, this merry go round represents the dark side of repetition, hence the black-and-white color. they started off with the "you never walk alone" sign on the merry go round (also reminds you of the same sign in spring day mv). someone on twt pointed out how in a carousel though it's spinning repetitively, you never spin around alone. it carries hope and reassurance first before showing more of emotional turmoil and desperation in the next scenes. and then they show each members being stuck in a room until they pass through a door and meet each other. but then as someone comes, someone else goes. now we know that merry go round is basically about how they feel during their millitary service, and so it's clear what those scenes portray. but i also think it's also universally relatable how in life people just come and go. sometimes we're the one coming, sometimes we're the one leaving. onto the scene where jimin stares at a shadow of a horse and then on the other side seokjin does the same, i found the interpretation interesting that the horse shadow portrays freedom they can't reach. also someone else pointed out that while horse symbolizes freedom, in carousel horses are there as displays and as amusements, just like living as artists with fame. (the way people came up with these interpretations?? i'm so amazed) it's also portrayed in hobi's part: running horses paintings are on the wall while camera spins around him. i like yoongi's scene so much. i feel like it deeply represents loneliness as well as the dark, turbulent thoughts that come along with it. also people interpret the flying papers as newspapers, connecting it to what he went through in august 2024 (god i'm still mad and heartbroken about that). but he's still standing straight. he's so strong. he's so strong. and then in namjoon's part, he's sitting on top of a coffin, aligning with his verse, "my bed is a coffin, perhaps my world is huge amounts of caffeine." NOW let's talk about this particular lines bc UGH this is why he's my favorite lyricist. he talked about developing insomnia during his millitary service and these lines scream about it. to say that one's bed is their coffin?? and then rhyming coffin with caffein oh god. his world, his millitary world, pressured him a lot that it becomes his caffeine, causing him difficulty to fall asleep. and they end it with the merry go round spinning beneath the prison-like-building, where all the members were stuck at?? not only were they trapped in a place they couldn't get out, they spun around a repetitive life. it's a masterpiece. i love how it evokes so much interpretations in the community. i love how despite this being their personal experiences, it's still universally relatable. this is truly the essence of art.