Prequel

This page includes analyses about Stray Kids' lore that are up to personal interpretation. When contributing to theories, add links or credits, unless they are your own.

“	They say people are born different But why does it feel like we're all the same?	”

Prequel
Information
Cast	Stray Kids
Span	2017-2020
Release(s)	Hellevator (Nov. 1, 2017) I am NOT (Mar. 26, 2018) I am WHO (Aug. 6, 2018) I am YOU (Oct. 22, 2018) Clé 1 : MIROH (Mar. 25, 2019) Clé 2 : Yellow Wood (Jun. 19, 2019) Clé : LEVANTER (Dec. 9, 2019)
Theme(s)	Youth, identity, self-discovery, unity, rebellion
Symbol(s)	Elevator, reed field, broken compass, double moons, keys

Prequel is the name given to the initial in universe storyline of Stray Kids.

Spanning Stray Kids' predebut single and first six albums, the story traces the group's journey to discover who they are while fighting forces that try to keep them locked in an established system. The storyline eventually ends with the release of their first studio album GO LIVE in 2020.

Despite the release of a highlight reel video, grey areas and fan theories are still going.

Highlight reel

“	They say people are born different. But why does it feel like we're all the same? Us, brainwashed into the same system. They expect perfection. So how can we be different?… A sign, an omen, a… a GLITCH. The world took me away from myself. We decided to get out of here and find our true selves. We went towards a small light… with YOU. In order to advance forward we threw ourselves into MIROH. We ran around the unknown city without any hesitation. Many nights have passed. But nothing has changed. We turned our backs on the world, and chose the road not taken. Sometimes our choice came with consequences. In those times we shared our fears and helplessness, and also relied on each other. At the moment of choice, they thought of their own comfort, we thought of our own way, and so different moons came up with different choices. When we stood in front of the door that day, thinking about the shadow of the moon on the other side, the wind blew. We contemplated about the key we held in our fists. We thought it was the answer, but it was a trap. We think about the road we took. The moment we let you go, the two moons overlapped, becoming one streak of light. The shining light brought back our true selves. Perhaps it was us all along that could have turned the moons into one. In a singular world, GO LIVE.	”

Content

Release	Title	Type	Date	Link
Hellevator	"Hellevator" M/V	Music video	Oct. 7, 2017
I am NOT	"I am NOT" Trailer	Trailer	Mar. 5, 2018
	"District 9" M/V	Music video	Mar. 26, 2018
I am WHO	"My Pace" M/V	Music video	Aug. 6, 2018
	"Voices" Performance Video	Music video	Aug. 15, 2018
I am YOU	"I am YOU" M/V	Music video	Oct. 22, 2018
Clé 1 : MIROH	20190325	Trailer	Mar. 5, 2019
	"MIROH" M/V	Music video	Mar. 24, 2019
	"Victory Song" Performance Video	Music video	Apr. 8, 2019
Clé 2 : Yellow Wood	"Clé 2 : Yellow Wood" Trailer	Trailer	Jun. 3, 2019
	"Side Effects" M/V	Music video	Jun. 19, 2019
Double Knot	THE FINAL PIECE 2019	Trailer	Sep. 29, 2019
	"Double Knot" Prologue Video	Trailer	Sep. 30, 2019
	"Double Knot" M/V	Music video	Oct. 1, 2019
Clé : LEVANTER	"Astronaut" Prologue Video	Trailer	Nov. 8, 2019
	"Astronaut" TRACK LIST	Image	Nov. 10, 2019
	"Astronaut" M/V	Music video	Nov. 13, 2019
	"Clé : LEVANTER" Trailer	Trailer	Nov. 27, 2019
	"Clé : LEVANTER" TRACK LIST	Image	Dec. 1, 2019
	"Clé : LEVANTER" Prologue Cards	Image	Dec. 1, 2019
	"Levanter" M/V	Music video	Dec. 9, 2019
GO LIVE	Stray Kids : Prequel	Highlight reel	May 31, 2020

Detailed account

This section is a stub. Help Stray Kids Wiki by expanding it.

[...]

The path that Stray Kids went in "MIROH" ended up, despite their confidence, to be a more difficult one that they expected, which leads them to try and choose another path.

In "Side Effects", Stray Kids is offered a choice by accepting (or not) a one way bus ticket "To New World", which ends up creating two timelines : one where Stray Kids hopped on the bus for an easy, comfortable path, and one where Stray Kids decided to travel by themselves on the harsher "Road Not Taken". Considering the sketchy look of the driver and the lion emblem (identical to that of the city of MIROH) on the bus, it seems that bus-Stray Kids were trapped and will be just taken back to the controlled world they originally came from.

[...]

The storyline seemingly comes to an end with the trailer of GO LIVE, as we see the two moons previously shown in "Levanter" colliding in one while, as shown in the highlight reel, the world starts moving again in unison with a pounding beat. This might be an image of how all the timelines explored throughout Prequel collapsed, leaving only the reality where Stray Kids run freely without angst. It is also made clear by the fact that GO LIVE means the rebirth of the group through the hanja 生 meaning "birth".

Images

• Clé : LEVANTER

• Tracklist
• Prologue Cards

I wanted to protect them. But all I could do was stay by their side.
Were the keys we had searched for so long not for new doors, just for walls?
In the place we reached past the moon, there was suddenly an ear-splitting noise. With my head down, I could see the hyungs covering their ears in pain.
The moment I lifted my head to find where the sound was coming from, the broken compass pointed clearly in one direction.
A new door.
Will the Clé we've been looking for for so long be waiting on the other side of the door? I felt like this would be the end to our long journey.

We only thought about the key in our hands once we arrived at the door. Blindness, poison, they were nothing but desperate traps on our path.

There were things we believed would help us forget it all, if we could get them in our hands.

An emptiness withering away our hearts.

An hollow desire.

An anxious sigh.

But we wandered because we could not forget a single thing.

We raised our heads and looked at what we've become.

Struggles stacked up with every step we took; they were hardships, but not downfalls.

We took the long way around to try and find more.

The wind is rising. Now I can finally let go of this desperate trap.

Trivia

• The story Stay Kids go through in Clé 2 : Yellow Wood is inspired by the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.
• The broken compass is still Stray Kids' main symbol and is featured on their light stick.
• Some fans think the storyline is tied to the newer SKZ universe, due to some similarities in character developments and the theme of parallel universes.