References

The rocket is definitely tying to when Jennie was with Grimes and was in front of a SpaceX rocket on IG. The rocket in the MV looks so much like a 2019 prototype version of SpaceX's Starship rocket.

Also, Jennie by herself floating in a spaceship is like a shot in the film Gravity. A strong woman (pretty much only character) movie where Sandra Bullock is in space by herself after an accident. The movie very aligns with Mantra, ExtraL, and releasing the album on Women’s Day. 

One of the frames where Jennie is floating, the first time you see her whole body head to toe (not with her feet behind her). Similar to what some call the 'womb scene' in Gravity. The opening split second is in black before she enters the spaceship, and I think this fits the 'rebirth' analogy (below).

Jennie is in a similar angle for a moment at 0:27. Head is on the right screen, looking toward the left; the round hatch is in the same position behind. The red curtains more directly illustrate the metaphor. Plus the way Jennie is floating out of control in the spaceship seems to reference the accident plot. Like the movie, there’s nobody else in the spaceship. 

Metaphors 

She doesn’t look happy. The tumbling seems to represent her mood from “haters” raps about “tryna burst her bubble.” “But have you ever met JENNIE” sounds hurt but defiant. 

She’s maximum isolated from humanity in her own (not Blackpink’s) space. Many of her fans want to escape and be her. Yet her perspective: she wants to escape by connecting to them through music. A moment for herself when she slows down and swallows the headphone. She literally “ate.”

Dancing, making music for her fans: That’s how she 'comes down to earth.'

Social media?

I thought the effect on her eyes = changing digital perspective, from passive to action. Social media user to creator. The way the lyrics are shown drifting through the screen like the code in The Matrix movie reinforces this. ('The Matrix' as an analogy for the false reality of social media, a metaphor I first noticed from Kendrick Lamar.)

Other metaphors I haven't got: Could the eyes effect tie to the AI line? Maybe she’s a “different animal” like the capybara

Coffin nails: death/rebirth

Finally got this.

• I think there's symbolism that ties to the 'womb' metaphor.
• Plus two scenes where she implicitly 'dies.' Falling out of the spacecraft,
• And burning up in the end before turning into a capybara

Both scenes also show Jennie 'reborn.' After falling out the spacecraft, she's shown on earth, making an entrance in the hangar. It kind of completes the metaphor story, her reconnection with fans is her rebirth. Showing the coffin nails close up seconds before the 'womb scene' underscores the death/rebirth theme. This theme of course fits the song about Jennie proudly being herself. Self-affirmation in a lonely time can feel like a kind of rebirth.

Curtains: going on stage

The curtains are a segue between ExtraL and Like Jennie. And they tie to the Ruby album cover. ExtraL MV was released earlier, about two weeks before Like Jennie. ExtraL ends with closing curtains. The curtains surround the whole room with the chairs. They close at the end of ExtraL. Then curtains open again when Jennie floats into the spaceship at the start of Like Jennie.

Finally, they match the transition when she falls out of the spaceship. It's like she 'comes down to earth' and performs the dance. It's not just an analogy of rebirth, it's an analogy for going from backstage to on stage. Being in the spaceship represents Jennie backstage, as she psychs herself up to go out and perform in the hangar. Her inner thoughts. And her fears, represented by her tumbling out of control into outer space. And it symbolizes her mental game, putting that fear aside strutting out confidently to lead the dancers and take over the show.

The curtains here explain the album cover theme well, the idea of herself as this performance. The reality, the pressure, isolation, and moment of connection. That pressure and isolation is kind of reinforced at the end, where she's all alone again, catching on fire.

Circles

Circles are another continuity from ExtraL to Like Jennie. In ExtraL, the chairs are shown in disorder at the opening:

• The chairs are in all different shapes and colors, a reinforcing a diversity theme.
• Disarray of chairs = Doechii’s lines about “misbehave” in the “boardroom”
• The chairs suddenly form a circle, representing women bringing order + female unity. As in Jennie and the dancers are in a ‘tight circle’

In Like Jennie, the circle is a more obvious motif:

• The circular hatches of the spaceship. We see one at the opening shot, when she enters the spaceship
• Most prominently when she and other dancers are lying on the ground in circle formations. It’s as if they’re orbiting her, in the gravitational pull of her ‘star.’ 

A central scene is when she starts to rap, the dancers are dragged toward her as the circles tighten.

The circle and curtain continuity are kind of surprising and seem like they might come from Jennie herself, given two different directors for the MVs. (And probably someone else responsible for the album cover.) Like Jennie in particular is surprisingly consistent/subtle with the symbolism. It's a full silent story. I think this is why Jennie dropped it same day as the album.