ateez is in a time loop theory:

this was created by me and @joongnation

so the backstory is that 6 of the members are trapped in a loop (from say my name to answer) while yeosang and yunho are outside the loop. yeosang can only communicate with the timekeeper (san). san resets it back to smn everytime. the loop is supposed to end with++

lightteez and darkteez toasting and combining forces then time resets. the last loop is what the mvs mainly show and thats when the war happens at the end. but the loop never ended with the war, its supposed to end with peace. now I'll explain that later. let's go to the members

seonghwa is the most hurt so he follows hongjoong obediently throughout the loop and only realizes he's evil during answer in the last loop.

hongjoong is the evil one who recruited each member to form his own army and gain power. and he persuades them with empty promises and dreams. he gets stronger each time the loop resets. thats how he captured yeosang in the last loop in smn.

and the in the mv you can at one point the cage was never there cause that took place in another loop where yeosang wasnt captured yet.

now yunho died in an accident before the loop began. thruout the mvs & loop he is there in spirit trying to help his lost brother (mingi) to not listen to hongjoong and to get him out of the loop. ++

yunho realizes the loop went wrong when he shows up in answer in a white suit (representing an angel) and sees the mess and stuff and is confused cause the war wasn't supposed to happen. he also sees the telescope mingi had in illusion. and now yunho is trapped in the present

yeosang is the only one who is outside the loop besides yunho. ye was there before the loop began but he had left during their journey when he realized hongjoong was evil. he used to be hongjoongs 2nd in command. because he left, he thinks he's the one who started the loop+++

so now he's trying his hardest to fix the loop and to end hongjoong, but he doesnt want to kill him. yeosang can communicate thru diff objects to get to the ateez members but in the other loops he only ever got ahold of san cause he was the time keeper. in the last loop++

he tries to contact all the members this time. and since he got trapped in smn, he is now able to enter the loop and out so he can help the members.

now this is confusing cuz his memory could be when the loop reset back but not to smn this time but to way far back which is why yeosang is looking up becuz he's trying to find the other members but cant becuz the loop broke so he doesn't know where they are

san is the timekeeper. hongjoong promised san control. control over his life, thoughts, & narrative thats why san's is the only ones who is in 3rd person. yeosang is also the one who tells him to reset time back to smn every time. but again, something went wrong in the last loop

mingi is the only one fully blinded and is now hongjoong's second in command. he is promised of power and fortune. yunho is the one trying to save him before his ultimate fall.

wooyoung is the one who saw yeosang trapped in smn, which never happened in the other loops so wooyoung realizes a lot sooner than anyone else. wooyoung is the one that starts the war when he disguises himself as darkteez & tries to ruin hongjoong's plans.

this didn't happen in the other loops thats why war broke out cause wooyoung wanted to fight back from the inside.

jongho is the peacemaker. he just wants peace from both sides. and he just wants everyone to come together to find the treasure. which is why he is always the one singing about them being together and such. he's lost and wants to follow his "friends"

this man could b darkteez san. he's the one who reset time back to the beginning before smn. the war and him is the one that broke the loop. hongjoong trained him to control the loop but he ended up overthrowing hongjoong instead. and reset before they went to find the treasure

now wonderland is the one where they all start to realize that hongjoong is evil. (except mingi and seonghwa) & they woke up from their illusion. which is why u can see the curtains from illusion in wonderland becuz they woke up and are no longer in the illusion.

also if u look at the lyrics in their songs. the other members beside hongjoong & mingi, they're unsure about everything. while mingi and hongjoong are confidently saying to take this journey.

also in wonderland, wooyoung escaped and mingi goes to check on him to see that he is gone and his mad and then chants "run run"

and in wave yunho is the only who didn't get a shot of him sleeping and waking up, because he can't, he's dead and only there in spirit

and in wonderland you can see that he's looking at the monitors almost like he's trying to control them from the outside

now that the loop reset to the very beginning. they're in a school uniform. and notice how yunho is the one far back and looking away, because he's not actually there.

notice how thruout the entire time they mention flames, fire, & scenes with fire? bcuz, now that the loop reset to the beginning, yeosang now has a chance to end it once & for all. by burning everything & everyone. which is why their faces r blurred. becuz they're all gonna die.

also in hala hala hongjoong is the only one without the special scene in the beginning. he just puts on the black mask because he's already evil. and mingi and hongjoong have a mic and bullhorn, because they're the ones leading them. also its red and red means evil or bad

also both of them here in say my name because they're both outside the loop

okay anyways i might add more or change this this thread when more stuff gets realised but let me know what u guys think on this