Since their debut as Big Hit Entertainment’s rookie group at the beginning of 2019, Tomorrow X Together (TXT) has carefully been building an organic and captivating narrative universe around themselves and their work. The story of the quintet (made up of members Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai) started with their debut EP, The Dream Chapter: Star, and has continued with the other two installments of the trilogy – The Dream Chapter: Magic and their latest comeback, The Dream Chapter: Eternity.
Within TXT’s music videos and visual clips, there’s the official TXT universe and there’s everything else, but the two often feel connected. The +U or TU, the name for the TXT universe, spans much (though not all) of the group’s content. From music videos to VCRs to trailers, their work is interconnected in an intricate net of symbols and themes that echo back and forth. Together, they create one big story about five boys who are growing up, accepting themselves, examining their friendships, and navigating promises and betrayals. It resembles what BTS has done and continues to do in the Bangtan Universe, which has given birth to countless theories, a book, a webtoon and now an upcoming K-drama. That link might not be a coincidence, since there are fans who theorize that there’s actually a Big Hit multiverse, one where the +U and the BU coexist.
Of course, the +U’s themes are open to interpretation, and each fan will likely spot different details, but there are recurring metaphors present throughout its storyline — both in the “official” universe of labeled +U content and in thematic clips that might just find a way to fit into some of these larger stories. In celebration of TXT’s July 2020 Teen Vogue cover, we unpacked some of the blossoming world of TXT as told through their dynamic visuals.
The Dream Chapter: Star
“Questioning Film - What do you see?”
The foundations of the +U started even before TXT’s official debut with the five short Questioning Films that introduced the five members to the public. All of the boys are seen in an idyllic paradise surrounded by nature and flowers, with butterflies flying around and dreamy color palettes. The setting might be their “magic island,” that Neverland-like place between dream and reality that will be central to their story and their relationships in all later videos.
“Crown” Music Video
“Crown,” TXT’s official debut, is a carefree and colorful music video that might superficially look like a “simple” introduction to the five members but actually plants the seeds that will develop into the +U’s main themes, even though it's not an “official” part of the universe (the videos that are part of the +U are marked by Big Hit). The horns that are central to the song’s lyrics represent accepting what’s different about oneself until a flaw becomes a crown; there are looming shadows that last only a split second in “Crown” but will grow into the darker vibes and colors during The Dream Chapter: Eternity. Most importantly, with the neon effects and mixing of live action and animation, “Crown” sets TXT firmly within the fantasy genre, even as they explore real-word fears and difficulties.
“Crown” Debut Performance VCR
The short VCR that precedes TXT’s first performance of “Crown” tells the story that can be seen as pretty much the core of the whole +U, creating a solid foundation moving forward. A boy wakes up one day to find that antlers have sprouted on his head and he runs away in shame, laughed at and ostracized by society. He thinks he’ll be alone forever until he meets a boy with wings, who introduces him to three other boys, all with physical characteristics that make them different. This is where the essence of the bond between the +U’s protagonists lie, but that doesn’t mean that the bond won’t be tested and stretched before the end.
“Cat & Dog” Music Video
“Cat & Dog” was the second music video to be released during the Star era and it’s more performance-based rather than story-based, meant to show off the members’ intricate choreography and stage skills. But elements of the +U of course still pop up, from the cartoonish setting of the video to the sweaters the members wear, giving them a look that wouldn’t be out of place in Where The Wild Things Are.
“Nap of a Star”
Imagery from Where The Wild Things Are returns in “Nap of A Star,” though the strongest influence in this unique mini film feels like it comes from French director and illusionist Georges Meliès and his work in creating special effects in cinema in the 19th century. “Nap Of A Star” is longer and more complex than the other two videos, and the story it tells has more breadth and depth – it’s the same story of the boy with antlers told in the “Crown” VCR, but “Nap of A Star” goes deeper. The boys meet under a star before antlers start sprouting on Yeonjun’s head. They are then separated, each dealing with the appearance of their own specific flaws – oversized ears for Soobin, spikes on Beomgyu’s shoulders, a completely black eye for Taehyun and wings for Huening Kai. The boys do find each other again under “their” star but not before the looming and threatening shadow of a cat with mismatched eyes appears, introducing us to what looks like the real villain of the +U.
The Dream Chapter: Magic
“9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)” Music Video
“Run Away,” clearly draws its inspiration from the Harry Potter saga, and it might be positioned in the middle of “Nap of A Star,” though it doesn’t have the official +U marker. In it, the boys meet again after their separation but don’t yet remember their past together, and so they rediscover their “magic island." The whole song talks about escaping reality in favor of dreams and fantasies, with a light-hearted vibe that’s somehow undermined by what the video shows us. For example, there’s a lot of focus on fire in “Run Away” – from Yeonjun setting fire to his book using his glasses to the boys’ school actually burning up at the end of the video. According to YouTuber XCeleste, fire might be a symbol of teenage angst and of a conflict the boys can’t overcome yet. If Star’s main themes were acceptance and friendship, Magic is about escapism and daydreaming – but there’s a nugget of tension in both, and that’s where the darker concepts in Eternity can be traced back to.
“Magic Island” Music Video
Like the Pevensie siblings, the boys of TXT are carried by a train into their own personal Narnia, their “magic island.” It’s the ultimate escape from reality, the thematic backbone of this era, and a continuation of the discovery they made in “Run Away” when the trapdoor opened at the bottom of the pool. As soon as they start to play with fire, though, the island revolts against them – their mysterious enemy, the cat with mismatched eyes, appears again and takes the form of a train that runs the boys over. And when they surface from the chaos, they see that the island is on fire. According to YouTuber Bookish Theories, the cat represents the darker parts of themselves (exemplified by all the odd characteristics the boys have in “Nap of A Star”) the boys have to accept. They still aren’t capable of doing so in “Magic Island,” which is possibly why the island “punishes” them and why the cat is able to haunt them, planting doubt and fear among them and threatening their friendships in the process.
“Angel & Devil” Music Video
There’s clearly a pattern in the three official music videos TXT puts out during each era – one is the leading single, so it sits right in the middle of storytelling and performance. The other two are at the opposite ends of this spectrum, one being completely dance-based and the other exclusively storytelling-based. “Angel & Devil” is the former, but it’s interesting to note that the concept is already transforming from the one used in “Cat & Dog.” “Angel & Devil,” with its grittier and sharper moves, transitions us into the moodier vibes of “Puma” from Eternity.
The Dream Chapter: Eternity
The Dream Chapter: Eternity Concept Trailer
The concept trailer for TXT’s latest EP set the tone for the comeback, like every good trailer should do. And it’s a poignant change from the carefree world of the first two albums, though again, this one isn’t labeled as +U officially. In the video, the members are in a dark room they can’t leave, and they seem estranged from each other, so much that when Soobin gets trapped in a glass cage the rest of the members aren’t able to see him. The cat with mismatched eyes appears here as well, meaning that it’s probably the one to blame for all of the boys’ troubles, the one stirring the conflict rising among them. Altogether, the trailer communicates themes that crop up on Eternity: Loss, separation, chaos, and fear.
“Can’t You See Me?” Music Video
The lead single for Eternity talks about the aftermath of the unravelling that took place during “Magic Island.” After the fire, the members’ relationship is strained and full of resentment, as summed up by a recurring phrase in the lyrics:“My friends don’t understand me anymore.” The same feeling is expressed through the music video, where Soobin and Yeonjun seem to work in separating the members from each other (even though the concept trailer makes it clear that it’s the cat maneuvering them). The whole setting hides grim undertones under the façade of normality; underneath, a sensation of uncanniness and uneasiness lurks.
“PUMA” Music Video
Of the three performance-based music videos, “PUMA” is the most somber and feral. The song deals mainly with their rise in the music industry and what that climb to success has meant for the members, their lives, and personalities, but following Bookish Theories’s idea it could also have themes that echo those of the +U. Just like the puma in the song is both a victim and a monster (since it’s trapped in a cage, but letting it out of that same cage might be dangerous), TXT's characters are both angels and devils. Embracing their “monstrous” side, exemplified by accepting the antlers that grew on their head, is an act that’s both freeing and scary and one they can’t fully do yet, and that’s why the cat targets them and why the star (which represents their good side) has stopped shining on them. As a whole, it continues their extended metaphor for growing up and dealing with the challenges of adulthood.
“Eternally” Music Video
The mini film starts in a practice room, an element that already appeared in “Magic Island” where the boys discuss the possible existence of a ghost in the practice room mirror – a ghost that, according to Bookish Theories, could be an embodiment of “their” star. From the relative normality of the practice room the video takes a sharp turn into the horror genre, lifting elements from Alice in Wonderland and Christopher Nolan’s works, as each of the boys confronts their own fears and flaws, the aftermath of the magic island burning, and their estrangement from each other. The sadness of the situation and longing for the happier moments gone by is reflected in the song's lyrics, where the boys sing “my heart sank into a maze of memories” and “this darkness that swallowed the scream / growing gap between you and me.” An official +U contribution, this epic short film indicates that there are many worlds yet to be built by Tomorrow X Together.
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