Table of Contents
- What has happened thus far?
- What’s the BET?
- A Knights & Queen narrative continued
- Happily Ever After…is it really?
BET BET is the title track from NU’EST’s sixth mini album, Happily Ever After. As the song is supposedly the final instalment in a trilogy centering on a narrative of five knights and a queen, based on a Korean Manhwa, The Queen’s Knight, I thought it would be good to give a brief recap of NU’EST’s past music videos that are related to the main narrative.
Photo Credit: Takishima Kei
Prior to the release of the album, NU’EST created a website and uploaded mini-chapters of the story as teasers for their upcoming comeback. These teasers offer a great overview of the entire narrative and I will be referencing them quite closely. Takishima Kei, another NU’EST fan, has already provided a succinct summary of the story but I will be building on his analysis (I will put a link to his blog below.).
What has happened thus far?
The story of the queen and her knights started with Overcome, the title track of NU’EST’s fourth mini album, Q is. The highlight of the Overcome music video can be represented by “Chapter 4 Dawn merged into day”.
Photo Credit: Takishima Kei
The parallels between the chapter teaser and the music video can be observed from how the broken mirror in the illustration is reminiscent of the broken window in the MV. In the MV, the land of the queen and her knights is seen to have plunged into eternal winter and darkness. To understand the reason for this, we can look to chapter 1 to 3 of the teasers for answers. Based on the illustrations, we can infer that once upon a time, there was a queen who lived happily with her five knights in their kingdom. The queen then met a king and they fell in love with each other. However, something happened to the king and we can speculate that because of her immense pain and grief, the queen was consumed by darkness, as evident from the eerie forest setting and sense of foreboding we get from the third illustration.
Two prevailing fan theories have emerged that try to explain the never-ending winter and darkness we see in the Overcome MV:
- Winter and darkness will continue to spread throughout the kingdom so the queen has trapped herself in a separate dimension to prevent this, before the cold and darkness become too great for even her to overcome.
- The queen’s heart has to be filled with love for the winter to end but since the queen’s heart is filled with sadness, the people of the kingdom continue to sleep in darkness, represented by the dream world that we see. This ties in with the original plot in the Manhwa, The Queen’s Knight.
Love Paint, the title track of NU’EST’s fifth mini album, Canvas, continues this trajectory in which the knights are still trapped in their eternal slumber. This is represented by the fantastical elements in the music video and highlighted especially with the use of bright colours.
As I had mentioned previously, the narrative of the queen and her knights was supposedly a trilogy but I would say that there are a few side plots along the way in the form of NU’EST W’s works and Minhyun’s solo, Universe, which marked his return to NU’EST.
NU’EST W’s Where You At, Dejavu and Help Me continues the story of how the knights (minus Minhyun) are still trapped in alternate dimensions and resuming their search for their queen. Minhyun’s Universe adds on to this narrative as Minhyun was able to meet the queen in a different world but soon realises that he is separated from the rest of the knights and embarks on a quest to find them.
Meanwhile in another part of the universe, the rest of the knights are waiting for Minhyun, as seen from this ending scene of NU’EST W’s Help Me:
Finally, the story picks up again in BET BET, which depicts the other knights’ struggles before Minhyun’s return.
What’s the Bet?
Besides the title, BET BET uses a lot of betting imagery to invoke multiple levels of meaning. Here are the ones many fans have picked up:
- The Game of Chess
Baekho is seen to be engaged in a game of chess with the Dark Queen. However, it can be noted that they are not playing with each other face-to-face, but across the different dimensions as seen from the alternating shots of two kinds of chessboard. Baekho uses a metal one while the Dark Queen’s is made of glass. In line with the ongoing narrative, the chess game is a bet the knights are making with the Dark Queen. If the knights win, the Dark Queen has to let them escape from the dream world that they have been trapped in. If they lose, they have to stay in this dream forever.
However, the significance of the game of chess goes deeper than that. The chess game is actually a metaphor for NU’EST’s own story in real life. Them going on Produce 101 is in fact their way of sacrificing themselves as pawns on the chessboard of fate. This is implied in the scene where Ren is in a room full of sculptures and the horse which is rearing its legs, a symbol of sacrifice in battle, occupies the position of the centrepiece.
NU’EST’s bid to earn the love of fans is the central bet in the music video and nothing says it clearer that the lyrics themselves:
This might be my only chance. You might regret it if you lose me.
NU’EST going on Produce 101 was thus their last chance to save themselves as well as their fans regrets and they succeeded. This MV shows the very happy ending they and their fans had been earnestly wishing for. Just like how Baekho won the game of chess with the Queen, NU’EST won their bet with themselves and their fans. This leads us to the next imagery:
- The Spinning Coin
Notably, there is a classic Inception moment here. In Inception, a spinning totem means that the dreamer is still stuck in his or her dream so a coin that has stopped spinning in the MV means that the knights have indeed won the game and will get to escape from their dream.
- A Dice, A Roulette and Betting Chips
Notice that the numbers ‘1’, ‘4’ and ‘5’ are emphasised. These numbers signify another win for NU’EST─They are now together again. They were missing one member (Minhyun) who took a hiatus to promote with Wanna One, so they were left with four (NUEST W) and now they are five again following Minhyun’s return.
A Knights & Queen narrative continued
With Minhyun’s return, all five knights are now inhabiting the same dimension as seen from this scene, which also establishes a continuity with Universe, as evident from Minhyun’s costume. Hence, this sets up Chapter 5 of the illustrated story mentioned above.
I will get back to Chapter 6 later and skip straight to Chapter 7. Basically, Universe details Minhyun’s long journey back ‘home’ to his brothers and Chapter 7 portrays the scene where the queen appeared in his dreams, allowing him to remember his past identity as a knight.
Building on Overcome, BET BET has lots of subtle clues into the characteristics of the knights that seem to mirror the members’ personalities in reality. Since the knights are all together again, it is easier to look into the distinct roles that each of them play in the overarching narrative. Therefore, I have included this section.
The Intelligent Knight: Aron
In Overcome, other than Minhyun, Aron is the only knight that was shown to have entered the dream world. He knows the truth about the knights being stuck in this dream dimension as a result of the queen’s curse. He is well trusted by the good queen (in white) as seen from her bestowing the gold locket to him, presumably to find her when she confines herself to the dream world and save the kingdom.
There is also a popular fan theory circulating around that Aron is actually the old man who was seen helping Minhyun to relive his dreams in Universe. If Aron was indeed the old man that we saw in that MV, how did he come to arrive at that particular dimension before Minhyun did (and as a result grew old)? The answer is in space travel.
Aron has always been closely associated with doors and moving from one dimension to another. This was evident in the Dejavu MV and also in Bet Bet. Here, Aron is surrounded by doors and in a blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment you see a reflection of the Utopia. Aron’s knowledge of the separate worlds is therefore illustrated.
In BET BET, Aron has his mouth tightly covered with lace. This once again reinforces the fact that he possesses the power of knowledge but is prevented from telling the truth. He cannot take action and has to get the help of others i.e. Minhyun.
The idea that Minhyun is his proxy was reflected in Overcome. As mentioned, the locket was given to Aron, but Minhyun was also seen holding on to the locket in his search for the queen.
It is interesting that the narrative should portray Aron as the intelligent knight. In real life, Aron is known among the fandom to be very smart. In fact, it was said that Aron was within the top 0.5% for the SAT in all of the United States. While this might not be relevant to the MV itself, it is intriguing to see how there is also a fine line between reality and fantasy beyond the MV.
The Conflicted Knight: JR
In the trailer for BET BET, JR was offered a choice between the red pill and blue pill by the Dark Queen. I will explain more in depth on what each of them means later but the thing to note here is that JR hesitates. The images of the calm sky, lightning and thunder, blazing fire and crashing waves represent the various emotions in JR’s internal struggle.
The colours red and blue symbolise his choices一the red pill (harsh reality) or the blue pill (fantasy). At one point, the sky shift into a purplish red, denoting that the lines between the two choices are already blurred in his head (red and blue makes purple) and his struggle is so intense that he cannot tell which one he should choose.
Compared to Aron, JR’s mouth is loosely covered which means that he is not as impeded by his inability to take action but rather, he is still deliberating over his choice.
The fact that JR is the conflicted knight comes as no surprise. Fans of the group are well aware that JR, who was appointed the leader of NU’EST at a young age, had to contend with burdens that even the other members can never fully comprehend, especially when the group was not doing well initially after their successful debut. As the leader, he is also tasked with making important decisions for the group, thus explaining why he was the one given a choice by the Dark Queen.
We have already established that BET BET details NU’EST’s struggles for a happy ending and the later part of the song foreshadows that happy ending.
In this scene, JR rests his back against a pool of water and the background that is reflected is filled with a calm blue scenery and blooming flowers. This foreshadows his eventual choice 一an idyllic and carefree fantasy. His choice was also foreshadowed with the crashing waves imagery. The crashing waves can also refer to Atlantis, mentioned in:
“Oh in the swaying, rough waves. I keep looking for the hidden Atlantis.”
According to some fan theories, Atlantis is the utopia that the knights have been searching so hard for. The fact that the crashing waves appear during JR’s inner turmoil sets up the audience’s expectations for his ultimate choice.
The Strong Knight: Baekho
During the game of chess with the Dark Queen, Baekho exudes a self-assured confidence that is very much representative of his character as a knight and his image in real life. He is always the one wielding a weapon. First, the sword as seen in Dejavu:
Then in BET BET, he is seen to be carrying a cane:
Compared to JR and Aron who both have lace coverings, Baekho’s face is not covered and he is the one with the strength to fight back against the Dark Queen (in a game of chess). The Dark Queen sees him as a threat and devises plans to stop him. Baekho is thus hindered by another factor which I will explain at length later. Again, it is not surprising that strength is the defining trait of Baekho’s knight character due to the similarities with his image in real life.
Out of all five boys in NU’EST, Baekho possesses the most muscular physique, perhaps almost unrivalled by the rest of the K-pop industry. Furthermore, Baekho’s last name ‘강’ or ‘Kang’, means strong in Korean.
The Lost Knight: Minhyun
Next, we have Minhyun, the lost knight. In BET BET, he weaves through the maze of blue and white curtains, trying to reach the Dark Queen. He eventually finds her in the throne room.
Remember, in Overcome, Minhyun was the only one who was shown to be journeying across the white snow to come face-to-face with the queen. He is thus the wanderer and explorer among the knights. However, with any kind of travel, there is always a chance of getting lost.
I am sure it is pure coincidence but on hindsight, I thought about how it seems predestined that Minhyun was going to be the one chosen to promote in Wanna One. In Overcome, which was released in 2016, a year before the second season of Produce 101, he was the sole wanderer. Then in 2019, this wanderer has returned ‘home’, a place with his members. Hence, the time Minhyun had spent away from NU’EST can be thought of as him having gotten lost on his search for the queen.
While Minhyun, the knight, is prone to getting lost, he is not without support. Just like how Aron gave Minhyun the locket in Overcome, Aron channels resources and the power of knowledge to aid Minhyun in his search for the Queen as well as to find his way back to the rest of the knights (the old man), as seen in this scene:
Photo Credit: Takishima Kei
The Turbulent Knight: Ren
This brings us to the last knight, Ren, who has his eyes covered by lace. One theory is that this is to signify how he is blinded by fantasy and is unaware of the truth, that the knights are all stuck in a dream world. If we refer back to the Manhwa, The Queen’s Knight, Ren represents Rieno in his weakest state. In this state, Ren is extremely susceptible to exploitation and manipulation by the Dark Queen and she does use his weakness to influence the strongest knight一Baekho. This is evident from the way Ren tries to cover Baekho’s eyes with his laced hands in this scene:
Photo Credit: Takishima Kei
The reason why Ren is portrayed as the confused knight is not difficult to guess. In the fandom, Ren is known to be an angel with the kindest soul. There are many reports of him sympathising with good causes and he even takes time to participate in them. Like we all know, people with good hearts are always the ones most vulnerable to evil because they are just too kind to understand people’s bad intentions. Ren is thus a knight who has to be protected at all costs and the fact that he is also the ‘maknae’ or youngest of the group further reinforces this.
Power of the Dark Queen
In contrast to the knights, we have the Dark Queen who is the antagonist of the MV. In this section I would like to explore how the Dark Queen derives the power to keep our knights in the dream world. For this, I would like to look at the unique colour of her drink 一 purple.
Throughout the MV, there is only one other moment when we saw this colour. Remember the purple background behind JR mentioned earlier? Therefore, the power of the Dark Queen can be said to be fuelled by JR’s conflicting thoughts. In urban legend, purple is also closely associated with poison. If that is not enough to convince you of the ominous meaning behind the colour purple, I would like to bring back this iconic picture of Ren in NU’EST’s Good Bye Bye.
For this MV, Ren is seen to have vomited a purplish pink flower. This is a reference to a fanlore of the Hanahaki Disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It is thus clear that purple has often been accorded a negative connotation in NU’EST MVs.
In the context of BET BET, this past reference provides another interpretation for the Dark Queen’s purple drink. As purple can mean a one-sided love, the Dark Queen deriving power from the drink can also mean that the Dark Queen is feeding from one-sided love. Whose one-sided love? If you have knowledge of NU’EST’s tumultuous career, the answer will come to you rather instantly. The one-sided love belongs to NU’EST. In other words, the Dark Queen is not capable of reciprocating love from NU’EST. Just what is the significance of the queen in the narrative? I will elaborate further in the next segment.
Happily Ever After…is it really?
As Minhyun approached the Dark Queen, the roulette spins into a portal that looks uncannily like the universe.
After which, he enters this room where he has to take a gamble and make a choice. The layout of the scene is neatly divided symmetrically into two halves and this is reminiscent of Chapter 9 of the illustration.
So what is up with all these choices that JR and Minhyun have to make? If we go back to Baekho’s chess game with the Dark Queen, since Baekho won the game, they should have been able to escape the world of fantasy.
Yet, the Dark Queen has one last trick up her sleeve. Instead of allowing the knights to leave the dream world immediately, she offers them a choice between the blue pill and the red pill.
To explain the significance of these two pills, many fans have used a quote by Morpheus from The Matrix. I find it a very apt reference that can be used to understand the situation in the MV and so I will attempt to use it for my interpretation as well.
Morpheus says:
“You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
Basically, if one were to take the blue pill, he chooses to remain in his fantasies. Conversely, if he takes the red pill, he will be shown the harsh reality. As we can see from the scene where Minhyun enters the blue door, NU’EST chooses the blue pill.
As a result, the end of the song brings us into a fantastical world, also known as Utopia.
In this Utopia, JR is reading a blue storybook and Baekho is drinking blue juice.
The MV also lingers on the ending of the blue book, which is as follows:
“In the utopia, green plants and insects welcomed the five knights.
And they lived happily ever after…”
The rehashing of the bright colours and vibrant greenery in this world reminds us of the fantastical world of Love Paint. Thus, the knights are still stuck in a world of their dreams but this time, it was by choice.
Though it is a dream, it is still significant. If we interpret the knights’ choice on a more meta level, this dream can be compared to the boys’ dreams of becoming popular idol singers. As we know, NU’EST did not achieve this dream in the early stages of their career (hence the need to make the bet). Them choosing the blue pill and remaining in a dream, can then be read as them choosing not to give up their dreams of being idols.
In the MV, this choice turns out to be a good one because it led the knights to a happy ending, one where Minhyun returns to the group and “insects welcomed the five knights”.
If we do a side-by-side comparison of these two scenes in the MV:
Photo Credit: Takishima Kei
We learn the identity of the Black Queen. The Black Queen represents the people whom NU’EST had tried so hard to appeal to during their years of struggle, including when they were making the bet (on Produce 101). Remember, it was only a one-sided love on NU’EST’s part. While the Black Queen i.e. the people whom NU’EST appealed to, received love from NU’EST, she was unable to love them back. However, in the photo of the Utopia, the throne is still present but the Black Queen is not. In her place, we see fireflies around the members.
Photo Credit: Takishima Kei
These fireflies represent L.O.Λ.Es, NU’EST fans, those who are able to reciprocate their love. As a side note, NU’EST fans are also known as pink fireflies because of the impression they made on Ren, who said they look like pink fireflies as they wave their lightsticks during NU’EST concerts. NU’EST thus made a good choice as they are now surrounded by people who love them. Moreover, because of the fans’ love for NU’EST, they can also be read as the good queen whom NU’EST has been searching for since the Overcome era.
However, is this happy ending real or just too good to be true? There is evidence to suggest the latter. This is where I will talk about Chapter 6’s illustration and its parallel to this scene in BET BET.
The mirror (and glass) is associated with the Dark Queen and her power. This could mean that her power can be a catalyst for some trouble or catastrophe that is brewing, as depicted in Chapter 6 of the illustrations.
Also, we have not seen what will happen if the knights choose the red pill instead and this unseen ending may lead to the scenario depicted in Chapter 8 of the illustrations. In fact, we know of the existence of this alternate ending because there is a scene in BET BET where Baekho holds the red book in his very hands.
YouTube user, 폴리 Ch.polly, provided another reading that offers a more meta interpretation of this alternative ending. She said:
“To fans, or even singers, while pledging eternity, the relationship between fans and stars is neither guaranteed nor enforceable.”
While NU’EST has chosen to be with their fans in Utopia forever. The very nature of Utopia itself, based on Thomas More’s definition, is that it is both a ‘good place’ as well as a ‘no place’. It is a good place that cannot exist. Therefore, while NU’EST swears unconditional love for their fans, the very nature of the relationship between fans and their idols is that of a fragile bubble that may one day burst.
Yet, fans of the group will know that the group has always traversed the paths less travelled. The continued existence of the group till today can even be said to be a miracle in itself, so who is to say NU’EST and their fans cannot be together for a very long time? Perhaps, that is truly their goal, to turn this fantasy into a reality.
With NU’EST still active as a group, there are many stories still waiting to be told. In fact, NU’EST recently announced another comeback later this year, so we might see an alternative version of this story, one which might not have a happy ending. Yet, I will not be surprised either if they decide to leave this story as it is and fans will never find out what happens in the red book. One reason is BET BET is supposed to be the end of the trilogy and it will be weird if they do build on this material again. Another reason is, just like we never know what happens to the prince and princess after ‘happily ever after’, NU’EST story is meant to be left in Utopia till the end of time.
To conclude, Bet Bet is a powerful song made all the more meaningful by the numerous easter eggs for fans who are already familiar with the whole queen and her knights narrative as well as NU’EST’s real life story. Most importantly, the BET BET MV is notable against the backdrop of K-Pop music videos, as it defies expectations that K-Pop MVs are without a sustained narrative6.
REFERENCES:
- MV Analysis by Takishima Kei:
- MV Analysis by Twitter user @nu’venteen:
- Bet Bet Review by KPOPREVIEWED:
- MV Analysis by YouTube User 폴리 Ch.polly:
- Fan Explanation of the Hanahaki Disease:
- Kim, Suk-Young. “The Many Faces of K-Pop Music Videos: Revues, Motown, and Broadway in ‘Twinkle.’” Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 49, no. 1, 2016, pp. 136–154. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12382.
https://kpopreviewed.wordpress.com/2019/04/29/bet-bet-nuest/
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