i saved this until i'd watched it! honestly, it was more reassuring to me than anything else. for a while there in chapter 2 he seemed pretty disconnected from the other members, and so it was reassuring to me to hear him admit that that was true and give some of his reasoning behind it. it makes a lot of sense to me that he might have some version of post-trauma processing he has to go through after working so hard for so long with bts, especially in the kind of uniquely high-pressure role that he had in the group. i don't think namjoon is someone for whom filtering his feelings and speech comes naturally, so i can imagine it was really hard to speak for the group for so long, and to have to be so media-trained and toned down and diplomatic.

but overall, my impression is that being part of bts is hard for him, but i didn't get the sense that he wants to quit or that he's not on board with a 2025 reunion or anything. things can be hard and also good and worth doing! and i also think that things will be different in 2025, and that's how i interpret the whole "everything has an expiration date" thing. realistically, bts is probably past the peak of their fame as a group, and even when they do come back in 2025, i don't think it will be a return to the 2+ group comebacks a year, constant promotion, regular touring kind of thing they'd been doing prior to enlistment. i think that era of bts is over for good, and that's how i interpret the "expiration date" comment -- just as like, that hectic peak fame era had and has an expiration date. and a lot of the stuff namjoon has been saying in chapter 2 reads to me as being a little nervous about what that's going to look like and feel like, and whether people will stick around and continue to support them. (we will! we are!)

i'm sure that they'll tour when they get back, i'm sure that they'll continue to make albums as a group and do occasional group content like bon voyage or in the soop, but i think when they reunite it'll probably look more like what shinee's been doing recently, where they get back together for things once in a while but also do their own solo stuff and sometimes get together with a few members, but not the entire group. and i think that's what namjoon was alluding to with talking about how it'd be neat to do subunit albums. i think that kind of schedule will give them each more of a chance to take extended rests when they need to, and to have a bit more freedom to pursue new artistic directions, just like they've been doing in chapter 2. i also honestly think that it'll be nice for them to be less extremely mega-famous than they have been. if things slow down a bit, and the eyes of the entire world aren't on them expecting them to represent the entirety of kpop and their country, things might get easier. and it might be easier for namjoon to be the leader in that kind of environment too, in a bts where everyone has had individual experiences and learned new things from their solo time and their time enlisted. i think they'll come back invigorated and inspired and more able to support each other after having had those experiences.

i also want to say: i know everyone gets SUPER nervous and freaks out a little on the tl any time a member of bts admits that they hadn't been communicating as much with the others (like after that taekook convo on in the soop), and i feel that sometimes in the fandom there's a bit of idealization of this dynamic of constant emotional communication and intense closeness as the Best way to have a healthy relationship or whatever. but i think the kind of closeness that jimin modeled in the minimoni music thing is also SO crucial, and is equally a healthy relationship. the way he said "yeah, i could see that you were having a hard time, and i could feel you pulling away a little, but i also didn't feel like i could broach that with you or like you'd be able to talk about it in the moment, so i kind of watched you and waited." that's really important!!! people aren't always going to be ready to talk about what they're going through, and sometimes talking about it isn't going to be helpful in the moment. like, sometimes YOU don't even know what you're feeling, and you won't be able to explain it to another person, and trying will just be frustrating or alienating rather than helpful. "talking it out" isn't always the solution!! sometimes people do need to be allowed to have some time to process their feelings and to make sense of things before they can really re-engage. and having friends who are going to be understanding of that and who will be confident enough in the strength of the relationship to allow you to pull back a little without taking it personally is really important. it's really comforting to me to see them being able to do that. they're very special!