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rukakikuchi · 4 years

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Dreamcatcher “Scream” MV analysis and Dystopia storyline theory

Or…

How Gahyeon (unintentionally) messed everything up!

Okay, all joking aside, I do think that Gahyeon does play a focal role in the story for this latest comeback. And these are all just my theories based on how I interpret the story shown in the MV, so keep an open mind when reading!

So without further ado, let’s get right into discussion of Dreamcatcher’s latest comeback!

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With “Dystopia: The Tree of Language” opening up an entirely new storyline outside of the “Nightmare” series we had been following up until now, we must disregard what we have received from previous Dreamcatcher lore and examine the new possibilities for what could come next.

In the previous storylines we’ve gotten for Dreamcatcher, Yoohyeon was a focal role in the story of the “Nightmare” series.

She was the one who killed the spider in “Fly High” that led to everyone becoming cursed and was the catalyst for her eventual fall to darkness.

From “You and I”, to “Deja Vu”, Yoohyeon was a major focus of the story.

But now, it appears that Gahyeon is the one serving as the catalyst for what we see happen in “Scream” and might become the main focus of this new “Dystopia” storyline.

But before we talk about Gahyeon and her role in the story, let’s see what we can gather of this new world we see in the music video.

Welcome to Dystopia

The world we see being depicted in “Scream” is a setting unlike anything we’ve seen thus far in Dreamcatcher’s music videos.

While some videos had a few fantasy elements, notably “Deja Vu”, they primarily focused on horror/thriller themes and imagery (ghosts, curses, witchcraft, etc.)

But “Scream” has much heavier emphasis on the fantasy elements; specifically, dark fantasy, since it still contains the darker, horror concept that has been consistent with the group.

In the “Nightmare” series, although the girls are seen performing rituals and apparently dabbling in witchcraft, they were never actually called witches.

They were “Nightmares”, girls who were cursed by a strange dark force, some of them corrupted or possessed by this entity, to be trapped in a never-ending dream.

But in “Scream”, there is no doubt they are now a real circle of witches. We see the girls not only wearing matching robes that you’d see a coven of witches wear (and we’ve seen them wear before in “Good Night” and “Fly High”), but Siyeon and Yoohyeon actually release magic from within them.

JiU in particular seems to have a strong connection to the titular “tree of language” that appears throughout the video, several scenes of her shown in a temple that might represent the inside of the tree itself.

Considering JiU is the leader of Dreamcatcher in real life, perhaps she is the guardian of the tree, and gathered allies to help her protect it, thus forming Dreamcatcher.

In fact, if we look at the album story spoiler teaser...

We see two girls on opposite sides of the tree. A girl with white hair, who we shall discuss the identity of in a bit, and a girl with dark hair, who I believe is JiU.

In any case, the tree is clearly an important part of their world, and may likely be the source of the girls’ powers. But more than that, the tree is also connected to the power of words and language.

JiU actually said during their rooftop VLIVE: “When people say good things, the tree bears white fruit, but when they say bad things, it bears black fruit.”

Perhaps this tree actually holds ancient archives of every event in history, or that it holds a great influence over everyone and its presence is what keeps peace and balance in the world.

And JiU, as the guardian spirit of the tree, helps it bear fruit of good, virtue, and light, and protect the balance with the fruit born of evil, negativity, pain, and darkness.

The very first thing we are given at the start of the music video is this…

“One day suddenly the light did not come, People forgot how to say good things.”

This means something catastrophic happened that influenced the power of the tree of language, disrupted the balance, and thus changed everything in their world. People began to spread words of hatred to those around them, because something had corrupted the tree.

The world which was once a “utopia” became a “dystopia”, and chaos and war erupted everywhere.

And I think it was Gahyeon who did this, but why and how?

Pandora’s box opened

When they released the album story spoiler teaser, we were given a glimpse of the story that “Dystopia” is telling us.

We see a little girl, reading from a book as words seem to flow out from it. Perhaps this book is connected to the tree; it contains great power and influence due to the words written in it.

However, we then see a darkness within the book start to flow out and drain away the girl’s lifeforce. Eventually she dies, but from what we’re shown in the teaser, it appears she is either reincarnated as or possessed by something sinister.

(From this moment henceforth, we shall refer to this being as “the spirit of evil”.)

What if that book wasn’t meant to be opened? That whatever contents it held weren’t meant to be read because it could corrupt a person’s heart and unleash a great evil. (Think Pandora’s Box.)

More importantly, who is this girl supposed to be? Is she supposed to represent a younger version of Handong, who wasn’t present during the video?

Frankly, no, I don’t think that’s the case. Because we do see Handong’s presence within the video. There is one dancer who is wearing a full face mask, dancing with the girls, and clearly is meant to be for Handong when she eventually returns.

So at the very least, we can assume she is also with the others as a member of Dreamcatcher, perhaps using the mask to hide her true identity.

And although we don’t see her, it’s very likely she will be incorporated into the story once she returns, so we’ll only know what Handong’s role in all of this is once that happens.

So for now, let’s just assume this little girl is someone else entirely. We see the girl is with Dreamcatcher, but they all appear sad when she dies.

They clearly cared about her deeply, but I just can’t figure out the relationship quite yet. Was she someone they were teaching magic to, or was it more of a familial bond, like a little sister?

We get these shots of JiU and Yoohyeon in the snow (which is often used to symbolize death), as well as shots later on of SuA in a black dress and umbrella. This shows all the members are in mourning over the little girl’s death.

However, I think Gahyeon takes the girl’s death the hardest. She doesn’t want to accept the fact that she’s gone; she wants to bring her back.

This leaves her vulnerable to the spirit of evil’s influence, as it lures her into the tree of language.

JiU can sense that something sinister has awakened, and hurries to try and stop Gahyeon, but as we see later, she didn’t make it in time.

When Gahyeon reaches the center of the tree, she finds a glowing crystal with strange symbols and a purple mist surrounding it. I think this represents the heart of the tree and source of its power.

Perhaps, under the influence of the spirit of evil, Gahyeon believed she could use the power of the crystal to change the events of the past and bring the girl back from the dead. But that’s an impossible wish, one that could never be granted.

And the moment Gahyeon touches it, it shatters and that’s when everything starts to go awry.

The inside of the temple represents the inside of the tree turns red, meaning it’s now starting to become corrupted by the spirit’s influence.

The purple flames that surrounded JiU (which represent the tree’s power) are red as well.

Strange red markings start covering the walls.

And a red burst of magic energy is unleashed from the tree. (Even the leaves turn blood red).

This is even reflected in the dance shots, as we see the girls dancing in a room lit up in red light, and choreography itself, as in the second chorus, Gahyeon stands at the center while everyone circles her and points at her.

So what happens now that the spirit of evil has corrupted the tree?

Seeds of evil

Although she might have had the best intent in mind, Gahyeon’s attempt at trying to revive a lost friend caused more bad than good. Because of this, her friends end up falling victim to the spirit of evil’s influence as well after it corrupts the tree.

During the first chorus, we are given a sequence of images:

Siyeon’s eye opening...

A vortex of dark purple clouds...

Siyeon walking through a forest covered in thick purple fog...

A black-and-white starry vortex...

SuA in a black dress, mask, and umbrella...

Another vortex of clouds, this time red...

The shot of the red hallway (look above).

Back shot of SuA’s umbrella...

And finally, a back shot of Gahyeon, though at a tilted angle. She’s in the same hallway, but this time it’s all white, meaning it was before the tree got corrupted.

Speaking of SuA, we also get a shot of her running through that same hallway, while being chased by a dark shadow. I believe this to be a result of the tree becoming corrupted by evil, and is now spreading to corrupt the girls.

SuA tried resisting it, but it clearly overpowered her.

Yoohyeon could sense there was danger, too, and tried to find her friends.

Now, as the darkness of the corrupted influence begins to erode the tree and spread to the girls, their memories become affected as well.

We are given shots of Gahyeon and Dami in black and white. I believe these are false memories of the two being implanted in the girls’ heads; a fake Gahyeon who spreads hurtful words, and a fake Dami who spreads lies.

This leads to Dreamcatcher breaking up.

JiU is trapped in the tree of language, Dami feels betrayed by her friends suddenly turning against her, while SuA goes to fight in the war.

Gahyeon feels immense guilt for what happened. Meanwhile, Handong goes missing (evident by her mask being left on the ground).

However, not all hope is lost.

Siyeon and Yoohyeon both feel deep down that their memories must be wrong, so they each go searching for answers on their own.

Siyeon searching through the thick fog is symbolic of her searching through her own memories, trying to find out what really happened, while Yoohyeon just wants to reunite with her friends.

So… What’s next for “Dystopia”?

The next chapter

This section will mostly just be predictions for how the next comeback will expand upon this new storyline.

Like mentioned previously, I believe that Gahyeon will play a big part in the story, as we saw her act as the catalyst for everything that went down in the video.

And as for Handong, there’s a chance that her inclusion following her return could add an interesting twist to the story, depending on what they decide to do with her role.

I also believe this new “Dystopia” storyline will continue to focus heavily on the dark fantasy aspects, and hopefully the next comeback can expand on this new world.

All we can say for now is... This is just the beginning.

I hope you guys enjoyed this analysis!

Until next time, sweet dreams! 🌙😴

#Dreamcatcher #KPop #Music #Theory #Analysis

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