The Bangtan Theory: Blood Sweat Tears Analysis

"He too was a tempter... he, too was a link to the second, the evil world that I no longer wanted to have anything to do"

- Demian, Hermann Hesse.

Blood Sweat & Tears is one of the most popular songs BTS has released and won them their first Daesung award. Daesung is the greatest award one can win at the MAMA awards and it is a great honor that any artist can win. After this era their popularity skyrocketed.

There are many of visual components that are important to the story line. Firstly, one must understand the setting of the video, which is a museum, and that all the boys are together. This was the goal of the boys and they finally reached it. However, their troubles do not end here. One of the concepts of the video is a European style with their outfits matching it, almost as if they were royalty or at a higher level than any mortal. Additionally, the previous music videos are important to watch to understand that this is after they all went through purgatory.

Jin is seen staring at this painting. The painting is called the Fall of the Rebel Angels. This is a connection to the boys because they are also considered "fallen angels". You can see that they are fallen angels because at the end of the music video V is seen with black lines in his back meaning he lost his wings and Jin kisses a sculpture that is supposed to represent a fallen angel but then his own face cracks, meaning he fed into this temptation. Temptation is a reoccurring theme throughout the album and the other videos.

Unlike the rest of the boys, Jin is more isolated and this is like all the other videos where he's isolated. He is the odd one out, but in a positive light. In the Bible, Lucifer (Satan) is the fallen angel because he rebelled against God. Lucifer is then kicked out and promises to lead believers astray. Basically, Jin is "God" and he is witnessing all these events happen and V is Satan.

In the novel Demian, the character Max tells Sinclair about this "God" named Abraxas. Abraxas is the God for those Basilidians, a fourth century religion that is not very popular and it is very difficult to find anything on it. In the reaction stream that the boys had, Jin is referred to Abraxas and this proves the theory that Jin is that "God" in the music video story. This is further proved when the boys had their feast in the music video and Jin is at the top. Additionally, Jin is the oldest and in Korean culture ancestors are important and those who died are still considered part of the family.

Another important part is the fact that Jin is between two arches, one black and one white. Usually white represents innocence and black represents darkness which leads to people being able to assume that they are the entryways to heaven and hell. Jin decides who goes where, or at least that is what is supported by some ARMYs - the fans of BTS.

Additionally, there is a scene where Jin hosts or is the head of the dinner that they have. He holds this grail, which is referenced in the song, and almost drinks out of it but gets distracted by something else.

Going back to the boys as a whole, the first lyric and the title is, "(my) Blood, Sweat, and Tears." and it relates back to the Basilidian religion. Basilidians are known for sacrifice and in the song they want to give everything up for this person they're singing about which in this case is Jin. This relates back to the other videos and rationalizes why they all decided to join Jin. Jin is their "God" and they feel lost without him, so they decide to die. The boys are seen in new pairings, which is most likely because of the fandom and who they ship together, but also they are seen alone.

V is seen on a balcony ledge alone in black stripes. This imagery is important because V is agreed to be Lucifer for the entirety of this video. The stripes represent his darkness which is connected to Satan. Later in the video we see V fall off the ledge and this connects to him giving up his loyalty to Jin. The background of this scene is the painting of the Landscape of the Fall of Icarus. Anyone who knows about Greek Mythology knows that Icarus flew with his wax wings and against the advice his father, Daedalus, gave to him. Icarus did not listen and had the unfortunate, but expected, consequence of death. V didn't listen to Jin and ultimately he fell to his demise.

We can see V falling multiple times throughout the videos. Not many fans note this but it is interesting that each time he stands, V ends up falling. This makes it clear that there is a connection, maybe not so strong but a connection, to V and the Fall of the Rebel Angels and Icarus.

Jungkook is the youngest member of BTS. That being said, seeing Jungkook on a swing in the music video and tasting a strange liquid strengthens the allusions to the Bible. Many people claim Jungkook represents gluttony, which is one of the seven deadly sins. He indulges too much and this is one of his own faults. He is also shown as selfish in the music videos because he misses his members because they all were needed for a specific purpose whereas those who are not wouldn't miss their members because of that. He feeds into the temptation of sweets but he is not the only one. All of the boys have their own connections to the list of deadly sins.

Suga represents Sloth. The examples given are laziness and lack of feeling. This is supported by the video and the lyrics. One prominent lyric is when he raps, "All my blood, sweat, tears, and my body mind and soul. I know that they are all yours" which proves he knows that this person (Jin) hold all these parts of him and he doesn't really care about it. Many people believe that Suga is a cold-hearted person and this theory supports that. However, this is only his character in the video not in real life.

RM represents Greed. This is supported by the use of absinthe and the smoke released from his mouth. He is hungry for material items and held onto those things the most in this video. This is a spirit that contains 50-80% alcohol and is very strong. Many other writers including Hemingway have used it in their writing and the drink's hallucinogenic impact is known as an archaic way to inspire creativity. RM's real personality has a slight connection because he is the top producer at their company and all the songs they release must go through him. This is one of the ways he connects to this sin.

JHope represents Wrath. Previous songs support this theory because he is upset he couldn't keep up with his mother or members and he feels angry that he is left out most of the time.

He is seen as self destructive as well as abusive with his medications and the disorder he never treated. There are two important motifs in this video that connect to JHope; arrows and the Pieta by the artist Michelangelo. Arrows represent defense or protection. The sculpture behind him is very important because it is Michelangelo's depiction of Mary and Jesus Christ after what is known in the Bible as the Crucifixion. This relates back to the story line of JHope trying to protect his mother even after she left him and the fact that he is the personification of Wrath.

Although V's character is quite complex, many fans agree he represents Lust. Throughout the video he has an intense desire for power and this is seen with him covering Jin's eyes. Satan is often connected to all of these sins but most of the time people connect lust with the devil and the Bible talks about how one shouldn't lust and what might happen to them. V tempts the members or at least Jin to do something he shouldn't do which relates back to lust.

Jimin represents Envy. He is seen desiring for the things that the other members had. In a way, both Jimin and JHope have similarities in this but they are also constantly connected. Neither member had parents and they were abandoned for a long time. They both envied the other members because they too wanted a family. In the end they became their own little family to patch this hole in their lives.

Jin represents Pride. He excessively admires himself in the music videos. This is seen as early as the prologue when he keeps looking at pictures of himself and later when he has his own Narcissus moment, almost falling into the water while staring at himself. In the older videos prior to the prologue he also is shown as arrogant and values himself more than anyone else. In real life, Jin is known as "Worldwide Handsome" and makes a big deal about his appearance. He too had to pay for this.

These allusions to the Bible and stories of Greek Mythology are strong and prove that they are dead. They are now reunited with Jin and sacrifice themselves by giving him their blood, sweat and tears because they care about him. Love did not end at death but there are moments that prove that they could have saved themselves and prevented themselves from going through this trauma.