Sometimes I forget that the members of Super Junior are in their late twenties to thirties, and D&E‘s recent comeback, “B.A.D”, reinforces that. It’s easy to forget that the members have aged when they continue to play up the bad boy trope with finesse and perform complicated dance choreography with no issue like they did a decade ago. They did come close to breaking the facade with “Oppa Oppa”, and that was released nine years ago, when they were in their twenties… Anyway, I’m not here to discuss Donghae and Eunhyuk’s ages, but instead talk about my thoughts and impressions on their MV, “B.A.D”, so let’s get into it.
The MV uses practically every single bad boy MV trope you could possibly think of: shots of the duo sitting next to a sports car, sitting in the sports car, standing in the middle of an empty parking lot while a sports car circles them, or surrounded by a bunch of motorbikes… The only trope that was not featured was the duo smashing a bunch of objects for fun, but don’t worry, we have them smashing through a window to make their escape, so it all checks out.
As cliché as the MV was, it was still very entertaining to watch, even if it was mainly a dance MV without much story behind it. The only hint of a story was the scene of the duo making a deal with another gang, only to get tricked by said gang. They then escape by smashing through a window of a multi-storeyed building. The song itself is clearly more of a dance song as opposed to one that would pair perfectly with some deep and theory-filled plot, but the MV did get messier and messier as it went on.
At the beginning of the MV, double doors open to reveal the duo sitting on horses–-Donghae on a white horse and Eunhyuk on a black horse. We get close up shots of their faces, and another wide shot of them sitting on the horses. Immediately after, it cuts to the parking garage and the sports cars, and left me wondering, “What is the purpose of having the duo riding horses?”, and this thought plagued me whenever it featured the horses again.
The starting shot of the MV made the duo look very regal and royal, and for it to shift tones so suddenly was jarring. How the aesthetics fit the recurring trope was unclear and, very honestly, they could’ve done without the horses. Even the small plot that they inserted into the MV came out of nowhere–-the first half of the MV featured the duo dancing and singing with zero plot whatsoever and during the bridge we see them making a deal with another gang.
These may be very minor problems, but due to such small inconsistencies, the MV feels messy and directionless. If the purpose of the MV was to sell the idea that Donghae and Eunhyuk are bad boys, I personally feel that it would have been better if they stuck with one idea and ran with it all the way, as opposed to incorporating multiple ideas that are only done halfway.
MV visuals aside, “B.A.D” is a really groovy song. There are hints of retro influences in the track, and the duo singing “B.A.D bad, bad” repeatedly during the chorus definitely gets stuck in your head after the first listen. To me, it is a lot better than their previous release, “Danger”, which also featured the same bad boy trope. “B.A.D” is one of my favourite D&E releases so far, but it’s a shame that the MV it is paired with is messy and slightly jarring.
Despite the complaints, “B.A.D” is still entertaining to watch, and extremely fun to listen to. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be in an empty parking lot, spitting out some bars next to my incredibly expensive sports car.
YouTube; Images via SM Entertainment
