NCT 127 The Lost Boys Review: The South Korean mini docuseries is a 4-part Disney+ exclusive featuring the 9 members of the K-pop boy group from SM Entertainment. NCT 127 is the Seoul-based sub-unit of the otherwise long roster of the boy band that comprises of 20 members. With ‘127’ in the sub-unit’s name referring to the longitude coordinate of Seoul, the nonet includes Taeyong (leader), Taeil, Johnny, Doyoung, Yuta, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan.
The first two episodes of the series premiered of Disney+ and Hulu on August 30, 2023. The “neo essays” have been directed by Pak Jayil, with creators Cho Youngchul and Yim Pilsung, under the banner of Mystic Story. Each episode delves into the life stories of 2-3 members as they all take a minute to pause and reflect on their global success since their debut in 2016, while also opening up about their childhoods and the journey to this point in never-seen-before exclusive interviews and other artistic footage.
NCT 127 The Lost Boys Review
Beginning the series by whooshing past all their album releases and achievements so far, the premier episode attempts to establish the group and its members’ identity as a whole, and why they’re such an impactful presence in the K-pop sphere. First, taking a comical detour by asking American citizens, who may not be aware of the group’s name, about what they think NCT 127 is, the director’s lens then pans back to the members themselves, the best group of people to answer the question.
Mark calls their music “trendy yet futuristic”, Taeyong almost thinks of themselves as “alien”, and Johnny calls them the Avengers, knowing the depths of that cringy comment, yet understanding that it is the best way to convey the meaning of their existence and the coming together of the band despite them individually coming from different lives and backgrounds.
But all that buzzing fanfare surrounding the group was drastically halted when the pandemic procedures were called to action – cutting off their connection with their fans on the stage. The members then relay how they’d just come back with the song Kick It, which has also now become one of their top-charting signature tracks directly synonymous with their image and name in public.
This then brings into picture the idea of how K-pop is often put on the same pedestal as the concept of perfection set up by the work culture these artists are situated in, further tying up with how their purpose and validation are also fuelled by their in-person interactions with their fans during tours and concerts.
Openly divulging these artists’ anxieties, insecurities and vulnerability tied with the thought of being forgotten, the initial discussion panned out in NCT 127 The Lost Boys Episode 1 also questions the two-way celeb-fan parasocial relationship and the never-ending hustle and workaholism normalised by their labels. After conducting a talk session about the common critiques of this work sphere, the docuseries does a 180 and starts creating a new genre altogether with visual treats of stylistic meta-plays and whatnot.
For performance-oriented artists such as the NCT 127 members, their docuseries takes shapes much like their own neo and out-of-the-box group identity. As soon as they’re asked about their childhood, it’s not just the members whose eyes well up with tears, but the same will happen to you as the viewer.
Just as the title of the documentary incorporates a literary allusion to Peter Pan‘s story, these artists also detail their stories of the past and their eventually found brotherhood with each other. The sense of loneliness and lostness that pervades each of their stories is emotionally palpable, and the documentary does a tremendous job at humbly grounding their narratives while also humanising them in the most engrossing way possible.
Though it first starts off as a usual interview-driven channel, the episodes start to switch pace and their storytelling tactics. The group talks casually about what it means to be a part of a team and seamlessly transitions from their extended chapter as a unit to the members’ respective attempts at reclaiming their lost childhood. Use of illustrations, animations and dramatised re-tellings of the past slip in, adding an interesting shade to the narrative, ensuring that the series has an equally “neo” tone as the group it’s focussing on, implying that it will never bore you out.
Also read: My Lovely Liar Episode 11 Preview: When, Where and How to Watch!
Many old NCT fans may already be aware of how Mark landed his first audition, but its visual re-enactment makes you wonder if some stories really are destined to happen a certain way from the start as if a higher sublime power is writing them for us. In Mark’s case, this goes to even greater lengths owing to his deep-seated faith in God, and that’s exactly how his story is also kicked into action, with him talking about how he sees “destiny … as one of the works of God”.
The same stitching up of narratives is carried out for Haechan, and then Yuta and Taeil in NCT 127, The Lost Boys Episode 2. The storytelling mood of these episodes is very dreamy, innocent and pure, but they also remember to ask bigger questions about their existential crises. Most fans have always had trouble settling with the idea of how to situate Mark and Haechan as fixed group members of several groups or units. But here, for the first time, the documentary deep dives into another one of the former crises – on a more personal level, making him question his real self, artistically or even in terms of his belongingness to a place, nationality or even friends.
The transitions from one member’s story to the other one are personally and affectionately carved. Mark and Haechan’s stories especially hit harder, knowing that they had to jump into this straining journey in their younger years, causing them to be mentally stuck at that same age of 14, as mentioned in the latter’s narration.
It’s this very aspect of the series that I think can easily appeal to non-fans of the group, too, because it essentially allows the members to start from scratch as well, dipping into a therapeutic session of sorts and reclaiming their lives. The whole approach is different from the common stereotypes of seeing a musical artist drive from one venue to the other, taking long car drives, thus presenting a well-established artist now at the top of everything. The Lost Boys does that too; at least, it begins with the same image, but then it takes a detour and unfolds a touching story of not only renowned artists but actual people behind those artistic masks.
Starting off with the youngest members pays off because within a second of that switch in tone and dialogue, the series pierces your heart. Most importantly, if you’re already a fan of the group or even K-pop in general, then this would be a pleasingly surprising introduction to artists whose identities aren’t just restricted to being singers or dancers on stage, but also full-fledged entertainers who’re more than often portrayed as jokesters (Haechan’s part hits home here) in their own variety series and other such content, meant to relieve their fans off stress.
Thereafter, Yuta and Taeil’s stories provide rather calmer chapters than that of the first pair, in turn reflecting the kind and reliable pillar-like foundation set by the elder members.
NCT 127 The Lost Boys: Final Thoughts
The documentary is a must-watch piece (for at least K-pop fans), and The Lost Boys is actually a lot like the group it’s representing. You’d think it to be just another regular series, but it takes you by surprise with how well it is crafted. It’s something extraordinary shrouded in an ordinary disguise.
NCT 127: The Lost Boys Episodes 1 and 2 are streaming on Disney+. The final two episodes will be released on September 6, 2023.
Also read: 9 Kpop Idols Inspired by Michael Jackson for Their Art: NCT’s Haechan, SEVENTEEN’s Dino and Others