BTS Merry Go Round Symbols: Decoding MV's 8 Classic Metaphors That Are Beyond What Meets The Eye - Carousel To Coffin

BTS has always used music videos as more than just a visual accompaniment to their music. And their latest track, Merry Go Round , is no different, turning a simple carousel into a potent metaphor for life, time, separation and reunion, and the emotional journey the seven members have shared. The music video is a story of surviving the endless cycles of life, finding comfort in connection through black and white visuals, hidden objects and references to RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook's previous work. Ever since the band dropped the music video on June 19, it has been subject to various interpretations from fans, especially in relation to its connection with BTS' previous Japanese single, Film Out, and the group's hiatus for military

service.While many theories are purely fan-made with no official confirmation from the group, the symbolism has encouraged ARMYs to search for deeper meaning in every scene. Here are some of the most talked about metaphors and how fans have deciphered them.

1. Endless Cycle Of Life's Carousel

The most obvious symbol in Merry Go Round is the carousel itself, which is going round and round all the time, and it looks as if it is going somewhere, but technically, it is always coming back to the same place. In the song, it is used as a metaphor for life. People are often moving forward, they are seeing things change around them, but internally, they can feel stuck in cycles of repetition, the same struggles, the same questions, the same tiredness.But the carousel is not only built as a symbol of sadness. Instead, BTS turns it into a reminder that even cyclical journeys can be filled with memories, growth and meaning. By the end of the MV, we learn that the building is actually a giant floating carousel moving across the ocean of nothingness, and the trip never really ends. It goes on into an unknown future.

2. Connection To Film Out, And How To Discover Your Home

Merry Go Round also draws similarities with BTS' 2021 song, Film Out. Doors were a big thing in Film Out. Jin was spotted playing with doors as the group broke up. The old house was a symbol of the passing of time and the family members drifting apart as they faced their next term of service in the military.Fans see Merry Go Round as a sequel to that story. In the new MV, the members are apart again, living life separately until they come back together at one point. They walk through doors, and they are reunited and tell each other what they learned apart. The idea is they might go their separate ways, but always come back to each other.

3. Doors Of Times, Choices, Reunion

Doors have been a recurring motif in BTS' storytelling, often representing transitions, choices, and new chapters. Merry Go Round has a lot of doors for the members. They view them as alternate timelines, possibilities, or separate journeys. One theory is that the open doors are a symbol of the members waiting for each other. That bond is there even when they are apart, and no one completely shuts the door.The imagery also ties into BTS' long history of using doors as symbols of opportunities created by themselves, implying that the members themselves opened every new chapter with their own hard work.

4. Seven Chairs And Suga's Missing Door Theory

One cannot ignore that the MV shows seven chairs, but only six doors in view. Many ARMYs connected this to Suga's military service, the only member who served through an alternative route, due to his previous shoulder injury, with a longer service period. Fans think that his chair represents his place in BTS, and the missing door symbolises his late arrival. This reading suggests that a member's position in the group is never lost, even if his or her journey takes on a different time line.

5. RM's Emotional Survival, Fatigue With Coffin

RM spits one of the hardest lines in the song: "My bed is like a coffin." The lyric is a metaphor for saying you're spent emotionally, not really dying. The bed, usually a place of comfort and rest, becomes a symbol of escape, isolation and being caught up in your own thoughts. The lyric captures the emotional experience of pushing through when you're mentally exhausted, a feeling that many of us can connect with during moments of doubt and transition. It also resonates with BTS' own struggles during their enlistment era, trying to balance personal exhaustion, responsibility and the desire to keep going.The coffin does not necessarily mean death, it can also mean an old self that is left behind. Merry Go Round follows this tradition of painful growth often found in BTS storytelling, suggesting that they might end parts of themselves and, through every experience, create new versions.

6. Suga's Room Depicts Weight Of History

Suga's part is one of the most scrutinised parts of the MV too. The room is dark. The wind blows hard. Storm and particles whirl. There's energy. Fans linked the visuals to his past symbolism in BTS videos, notably the burning piano in First Love and imagery in I Need U. Here, the particles are thought to be the ashes of pain and memories from the past, all that he has been through on his journey. The storm inside him is a representation of the internal struggles, stress and weight of past experiences that continue to haunt him.

7. Horse Of Freedom, Hope, Rebirth For Jin

Another significant symbol that recurs throughout the MV is the horse. Historically, horses have stood for freedom, movement, and the beginning of a new age. One can see the horse as a symbol of Jin, the first of BTS' members to finish his military service and return. Another theory is that the other members looking at the horse are reflecting their own hope of achieving that freedom and reunion. It also means waiting, with one foot over the barrier, the others on their way.

8. The HYYH Universe Theory

Some fans think that Merry Go Round ties in with BTS' HYYH (Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa or The Most Beautiful Moment in Life) universe. According to the theory, the carousel is a metaphor for the recurring timelines of BTS' previous stories.There has been a lot of connection of Jin with time and memory, and Jungkook is often depicted as the observer in the universe of BTS. Fans speculate that the members aren't breaking out of the loop, but learning to survive in it together. This scene of reunion is a kind of victory. It's not about stopping time, it's about enjoying the ride.Merry Go Round is possibly the most visually rich and symbolic music video in their body of work to date. It is a reflection of BTS' journey and points out that moving on does not mean leaving the past behind, but rather taking the past with you.