Spoilers ahead….

I Need you

Taking things back in time, Suga explains how he likes to be alone. He likes to feel relaxed and to have his own personal space. He explained how in the beginning he was really stressed and how each member of the group had their disagreements and troubles with sharing a small dormitory. Members Jhope, Jimin, V and Jungkook also expressed their feelings at the very beginning of their career. Obviously, when you place seven strangers together in a closed area, there will be some discrepancy, but they also explain how they all got a lot closer and how they became family by being so close with each other 24/7.

D+246, Taipei, Taiwan

During his personal interview, V states that the oldest member Jin got the most out of their concerts this time around and shows a funny clip of him pulling hearts from inside his t-shirt. Jin may be the oldest member but he is also extremely romantic in his ways and extremely childish compared to many other K-pop groups. Jin doesn’t play the “Eldest member” card and give his all on the same level as the others. He respects them all as individuals and just wants to work towards his own goals.

Jin talks about how, as a child, he looked up to his dad and originally wanted to be a salaryman just like him. He then watched a drama and said he wanted to become an actor, but was picked up by iBigHit and realised his dream was to become a singer. Whilst explaining how his dream grew the older he got, the other members all comment about how well he is doing now compared to when they started out, both in singing and stage presence. Seeing how happy he was when he could see his own improvement truly shows why they work so hard. There is a touching moment near the end of Jin’s segment where he explains that, “Having good friends, making music for a long time, and giving concerts is all I dream of now.”

The boys gather for food and drinks to celebrate the last tour day in Taipei. They finally get to relax for a few days and decide to mess around and talk about their favourite parts of their tour, all whilst drinking champagne in their comfy clothes. It’s funny because when you look at them around the table, they look like a group of school friends who are having a sleepover. Then you remember what they have been through so far to get to this point, and your respect for them grows. There is a cute moment where they mess around with Jimin saying he isn’t a party animal and likes to go to bed early, to which Jimin explains he just left to go to the toilet and had some playful words to say.

D+259 Macao

Things take a turn for the worse as Jimin is seen to be in bad shape. His muscles are cramping and he is extremely tired from all the working out, dancing and strain on his body. Staff and group members are doing their best to look after him and cheer him up, but he seems disappointed in himself once again for being ill.

No matter what words are said to Jimin, he sadly gets worked up and begins to shed tears. Once again we see that his confidence has been shot to the ground and this leaves him very vulnerable. It’s a side that fans never see from him as he hides it very well. He explains to the interviewer that he can’t be on stage to dance as it would look awkward and could potentially take the attention of the other members and the performance, thus not giving the fans a great experience.

The concert goes on as planned, and Jimin can be seen in the background trying not to bring attention to himself and looking forlorn sitting in a chair. He explains how upset he is as this is the finale of the tour and they have all worked really hard to get to this point. Something that is apparent throughout this documentary is that each member, no matter what their health, all they think about first is their fans. This could be seen as endearing, but at the same time, it’s horrifying to think that they would put their own health and safety at risk to perform for fans.

D+289 Seoul, South Korea

The last concert preparations are happening with the members practising as hard as they can. None of them expected to be holding an encore concert on their home turf to celebrate and to add closure to the very last part of their Wings tour. Keeping true to their morals and ethics, the members are hands-on with particular aspects of the concert and make sure they all have a say in music, production, stage, and style.

Looking happier, healthier, and calmer, they set out onto the stage for the last time for the Wings tour. After a full year of ups and downs, the group has never felt more thankful for their fans back home than they did at that moment. It sounds strange to be more thankful to their fans in Korea than in other countries, or for the fact that they are more relaxed. But it’s home, it’s the last ever Wings show, and they are celebrating. There is a completely different persona and vibe amongst the group on the stage in Seoul to that of their international concerts. Jimin explains how different he felt both in confidence and in progression with his own solo song. He can finally see that he just needs to do his best and the fans will love him for it. He was finally able to have fun. As a final stand and a show of appreciation to the fans, the members say their tearful thanks on stage, all of them getting choked up and expressing their personal journeys, their thanks, and their dreams for the future.

As a documentary series, it has been a complete rollercoaster of emotions, from awe, heartbreak, worry, laughter and love. There was not a moment where I thought, “This could have been better”, as this documentary is already something completely out of the ordinary for the Korean music industry. It was a huge step for both iBigHit and BTS to step forward and say, “This is the real us”. No makeup, no scripts, no time to get the right answers together. It’s raw, honest and completely immersive.

This series is one that could be shown to non-K-pop fans who don’t know anything about BTS and it would still be completely educational for what all these artists truly go through. They bring a normality to the celebrity life and show that they too have their own emotional and mental health problems. They also judge themselves, push themselves and hide when things aren’t going great just for the greater good of the people they love.

Hopefully, the boys are able to achieve all the dreams they set themselves from this series and know that their fans will be there every step of the way to support them. They were brave and took a huge step in bringing mental health and the real struggles of being a K-idol to the forefront of the industry. Hopefully, this has also opened the door for others to follow.

With the announcement of their European tour coming later this year, maybe we can expect a second season from BTS? Even if it’s just to see what a difference a year can make.

Below are some of the quotes that feature at the end of the video; a nice way to end the series and to say thank you for joining me on this journey with BTS: Burn The Stage.

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