Spoilers ahead…

Moonchild
A lot of fans wonder if their favourite idols ever notice them amongst the large crowds; they create placards, scream, chant and sing to show their support. In this episode of Burn The Stage, fans finally get a glimpse of what BTS sees when they are performing: their thoughts and feelings towards their fans and the hardships behind knowing their true identity to their on-stage personas.

D+64 Bangkok, Thailand
The episode starts with V talking about his worries and troubles, just like the other members of the group, V has a lot of hidden characteristics that not many people realise. On screen he is the jokester, always messing around and being the big kid with too much energy – but the reality is the complete opposite. He has his own worries, his own fears and goals he wants to achieve, just like the other members and their fans. The opening of V trying to sing opera was a great bonus feature which shows his more playful personality trait, but also shows his more lonely and shy persona.

The group has already been to Thailand and talk about their first experiences and how they feel being back to perform. They mention that they are well rested and took a small break from their previous concert. Whilst preparing to go on stage the members join together to talk over any little imperfections and changes they need to make for when they go on stage, and because V needs to save his voice he asks that someone else does the shout out before their Danger performance. Laughter follows as Jungkook is chosen to take over as he never does any form of shout -outs as he gets shy and embarrassed. He completes his task and shouts with a big deep voice “Are You Ready!” with a big smile.

D+71 Jakarta, Indonesia
After another successful and stress-free concert, Jimin talks about his struggles and his lack of confidence in his vocals. His persona on stage and on TV shows is one of confidence, laughter and love, but the reality of Jimin is that he is a very complexed young man. He explains how he would practice his vocals through the day and night, causing more damage to his voice, but he’s determined to try and perfect his vocals in a short amount of time.

There is a moment where Jimin and Suga are travelling to the airport in the back of a car, and they are reminiscing their past. Jimin reminds Suga of the company’s attempts to turn Jimin into a rapper instead of a vocalist, and they laugh out loud about the results. Many fans know that Suga isn’t the most expressive when it comes to being soft-hearted or loving towards his members, but in a truly touching heart to heart moment he expresses his love for Jimins vocals, and explains his observations of Jimin working hard to get to where he is now. As time is goes on, we are seeing the true Suga coming out of his shell.

D+85 Hong Kong
Identity is a huge part of the K-idol growth, without an identity or a persona there is no selling power, this is something that RM talks about during a personal interview. He explains that there are differences between him on stage as RM and normal Kim Namjoon (his real name) who sits at home working on music. He exclaims that he’s an open book and tries to be as true to himself as was as to his persona. He doesn’t like to lie to his fans, but he has also invested a lot of time and dedication to creating his own identity as a performer.

Going back to the concert we can see that all of the members are working to their hardest, suddenly RM asks for help from the staff as he’s hurt himself. Sadly the person he was looking for (I suspect it was his manager/first aider) is not around and the next song is about to begin. Sucking it up he storms out onto the stage and performs their fast-paced and energetic song Spring Day. The song ends and we see RM limping down the stage stairs in pure agony, he realises there are only two songs left to complete till the end of the concert and decides that nothing can be done right now, so he stands up and gets on the stage one last time. What is truly touching is the fact he is walking and performing on the stage as if nothing is wrong and looking like he is enjoying himself. The fans, group and staff don’t have a clue that RM is in serious pain because his on-stage persona has taken over, he thinks about the performance and only the performance.

D+91 Las Vegas
A huge moment in BTS’ timeline is their nomination for the Billboard Social Artist Awards, The boys explain how they reacted when they heard about it and talk of their shock and happiness. When they are on the red carpet you can see just how nervous they are and how thankful they each were to be there, Jimin explains how proud he was of their fans for making it possible for them to live out a dream they never thought they would achieve. In their ending segment, there was another touching moment where they each talk of their dreams and goals into the future, RM tells the interviewer that the members don’t look towards goals of recognition anymore, they have that recognition, all they want now is to strive to keep their fans happy.

It’s a hard life being an idol, and whether your an old school fan of K-pop or a newcomer, there is no doubt that no matter which group or artist you follow, they will each have their own up’s and down’s just like BTS are showing through this series. Burn the Stage has opened a door to a realm that is shrouded in secrecy and delusions, and in doing so they have created a stronger bond with not only their fans but with people who don’t fully understand the world of a K-idol.

Related stories
• BTS announce “Love Yourself” World Tour including London show
• BTS: Burn The Stage – All Reviews
• K-Music Week In Review: BTS, Punch, Lee Hong Ki and more!
• US and UK clothing stores hint at stocking K-pop merchandise
• Why did K-pop’s BTS change their branding?