#*analysis

uhh all undercut

So, we’re all familiar with this shot of JJ punching the ground. There’s been a lot of theories that say maybe they lose Kie in this scene and that’s why he’s angry/upset - which I definitely thought possible because during the legendary hug, they’re wearing the same outfits.

But this time around, I noticed the scene immediately before we see the shot of him punching the ground is the exact same scene. It’s hard to tell because everything moves so quickly, but it’s not two scenes cut together, it’s one.

We can see JJ in the back, in the same position he’s in in the closer shot, and also we can see that Kiara is completely fine and present. So, that’s not what JJ’s upset about.

i’m not sure if that was the intention that they consistently be in constant sync with each other while they were shooting/editing/putting the video together, but it’s definitely something that comes across in the final product. most of the time when i’m analyzing something i don’t assume that it’s 100% intentional, but intent doesn’t matter because it means that it’s something i can extrapolate characterization from and make use of. 

the more frame by frame breakdowns of the mvs i do (which i do a lot, lol) the more i notice that ghoul and jet seem to have a knack for nonverbal back-and-forth in very critical moments. right here they aren’t even looking at each other.

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they seem to have an innate sense for it, though i’d guess that some if it has to do with the high-adrenaline lifestyle they’re in. in the zones, you have to be ready to draw your weapon at a moment’s notice. the other distinct moment is the one you mentioned, when kobra is being...potentially threatened? we don’t have enough of the context to know if that’s the case or if this is just the two of these guys shooting dead pegasus employees for kicks, but again it speaks a lot to how well they work together that they don’t have to glance at each other to confirm that this is what they’re doing. they have the same thought, and they act on it at the same time without any distinct cue from either one of them.

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in general, the fabulous four are super in sync with one another without needing to do a lot of verbal confirmation, but jet and ghoul in particular are a highlight for me, in part because one of those moments is so climactic and says so much with very little. they don’t so much as exchange a word to each other in SING when ghoul shuts the door behind jet. 

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jet stops and runs back for the girl almost at once, but only needs a glance back at ghoul. this is a high-stakes, intense moment for both of them as characters. they’ve just lost their leader and the kobra kid. poison was cut down because korse is sneaky and determined, and kobra died because he was pissed that poison just got downed and he ate heat rampaging over it. 

but jet and ghoul keep their cool. they do not panic. they don’t rage like kobra did. they’re down half their crew, but they still have a job to do, and they’re still going to do it.

so jet trades one look at ghoul. ghoul doesn’t need to gesture, doesn’t need to shout. they just look at each other for half a second, if that. it’s a very tiny moment, but it communicates a lot - because jet only needs to glance to ghoul once, and that’s all the confirmation he needs about what ghoul intends to do.

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between one breath and the next, they’ve made a plan and acted on it. and that’s part of what makes this moment super poignant to me. because unlike the case with poison (surprise attacked) or kobra (understandably driven to rage and grief in an emotionally-charged moment), jet and ghoul go down on their own terms - terms that they make with each other mere seconds before it all happens.

they have a very good system of communication, basically, and it’s one that’s almost entirely nonverbal - we wouldn’t hear them if they were talking to each other in any of these scenes, but they're definitely not talking in any of them either. there’s just no time for that. they’re just very fucking excellent at doing this entirely nonverbal back and forth with one another, even when shit is at its very lowest, even when death is imminent, even after they’ve just watched two of their own die.

again, was this 100% intentional on the part of the video direction? who knows! probably not, but it’s fun to analyze anyway. poison and kobra have a natural seamlessness in how they work with each other, which lends itself well to the common consensus that they’re siblings (something i 100% accept because i love me some good sibling dynamics), but ghoul and jet also have a super interesting dynamic to me. there’s a lot of innate trust there, i think - there would have to be, for you to trust someone to watch your back like that! a lot of the mvs are just visual storytelling at its finest, because they manage to pack a lot of information into a select handful of shots, including group dynamics like this one.

to me, my main takeaway from this (aside from the fact that jet and ghoul exchanges are some of my favorite ones to write) is that, in order for the fabulous four to function as well as we see them in the mvs, they eventually reach this point of unconditional faith in one another. no matter how different they might be as people and no matter the disparity in their potential backgrounds, no matter how long it takes to reach that point, we have jet and ghoul acting with this fluid synchronicity that’s at such a polish that they don’t even need to talk to each other.