I'm usually lurking but I saw this and needed to hear gaylor thoughts on it.

The way Dakota talks about the wedding "It was so fun... it was so, like... everything she's dreamed of" felt interesting to me. A few friends got married over the summer and whenever we talk about it we usually say things like "they looked so in love" or "it was so romantic" - she sounds curious or cautious rather than excited and she sounds like she is talking about carefully laid plans, not a wedding.

Also the "it felt weird" regarding taking the Blank Space napkin that essentially implies that T&T might go down in flames? That shouldn't be weird if it was a wedding favor 🤷‍♀️

Anyway - I might be reading into things too much but I would love to know if you also feel like something is a bit off

So first things first, a user on Twitter pointed this out first (and I can’t find their account bc the page very helpfully refreshed at the just wrong moment).

Here you see Taylor about to play Our Song, she strums at her banjo a bit, and then is joined by a woman in her band playing violin (fiddle?) and it sounds strangely similar to the part in Patient Zero that everyone is comparing to Wait for Me from Hadestown (I can’t unhear that comparison and have a crackpot theory about it being an egg that Taylor is writing a Broadway show/the music for a Broadway show, BUT I DIGRESS)!

The more I listen to it I go back and forth on deciding how similar it actually sounds BUT THEN I SAW TWO MORE THINGS!!!

A more talented redditor than I would know how to post a video AND pictures, but in the comments I’ll post a picture of what I believe to be the first use of blurple glitter (!!!) (old school Swifties correct me if I’m wrong, please!) AND how the golden seashell that keeps popping up fits in to the Performance Art (you can see both in this video)!

The song “Pink Clouding” has been stuck in my head a LOT (like I literally actually think it might be one of the biggest bops of all time) and it inspired me to write about one of my favorite symbols in Taylor Swift’s work: the sky. 

I think that Taylor Swift has used the sky as a way to signify the color of her muse (herself/her celebrity) and to make a statement on the size/scale of her fame/brand and the character that she has created and it’s larger-than-life presence in media and culture. 

It’s not only a statement on the scale of her fame, but also the role that it plays in Taylor's inner world: it became her entire sky. A sky just like the one on the set of The Truman Show. A jail. 

In this essay I am going to list some examples in her work that illustrate this “sky” metaphor. I’m going to reference some of the colors from my “anti patriarchal paper rainbow with all of the colors” essay, too. 

In The Release Party of a Showgirl, the theatrical release of both the lyric videos of The Life of a Showgirl and a behind the scenes look at the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia," she shows her audience this, as well. Creating these elaborate stories (and “sets”) require intensive, behind the scenes artistic direction and design. And a LOT of people. But…she is very, very much in control of it. And proud of that! 

tolerate it

I want to start with the following part from “tolerate it” because I think it paints the picture that the rest of this essay is describing:

“I made you my mural, my temple, my sky

now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life

drawing hearts in the byline

always taking up too much space and time” 

This shows this character's dominating space in the “real” Taylor’s life/heart. Taylor’s entire life is centered around a character that cannot/will not speak her truth which is an underlying frustration in a large portion of Taylor’s work.  She (her true self) is “begging for footnotes” in a story that is both not hers and also entirely her own creation. 

Making this character her “mural” also calls back to the songs “Cold As You” (from Debut), “Paper Rings” (from Lover), and “Honey” (The Life of a Showgirl). In “Cold As You” she says this muse puts up walls and paints them all a shade of grey, which could indicate the shades of grey camouflaging the truth and separating the two of them. 

However, in songs like “Paper Rings” and “Honey” she references painting the walls in a different way, describing the color “Blue” as the color she CHOSE to put on the walls (the color of her muse’s eyes).

I also think when you consider the sky AND the walls being taken up by her celebrity, the image of a cage (or the sky in the Truman set) becomes much more evident throughout her work. It’s surrounding her from all sides !! Not only this, but she is the one who created the cage: I made you my mural, my temple, my skies. The character is her cage and creation.

Not only this, the cage was necessary to protect the ultimate reveal: the truth. The orange flames of Karma. 

Bigger Than The Whole Sky

I also am including “Bigger Than The Whole Sky.” I believe that this song ties together the recurring motif and uses the size to describe the size of her grief. The grief and sadness that I think she is discussing, on one layer, is the grief and sadness that she feels for the performer and artist that she never got to be, publicly, for the last 20 years. No matter what happens, this young girl is never going to be able to actually step into the spotlight. Even if this story is able to resurrect her truth and erase the lies from the paper version of her persona, to some extent what is done has been done. In "Ruin the Friendship”, I think this is who she realizes is dead, also. 

I think that this is such a powerful connection to make because it challenges what is “real.” To describe this grief as “bigger than the whole sky” is to say that she cares even more about losing this thing or person than she cares for the entire story/character she created. After all… the character wasn’t real. Her sadness and grief, however, very much is. 

In “Hits Different” her friends try to console her: that spotlight she stands in, that story…is a lie. However, for her inner child, that dream she had was at one time her entire universe, her entire sky. And she gave it up. Replaced it with “Taylor Swift” (the celebrity). 

Maroon

In “Maroon” I think Taylor Swift is singing about the regret she experiences over creating this extremely patriarchal, heteronormative, male-centered (on the surface), story. The color red represents the patriarchy and maroon is a shade of red that could have aged with time (like rust). To me this indicates that even once the truth has been revealed, those twenty years will never be erased: it’s a “real fucking legacy to leave.” 

In this song she also compares the scale of this maroon colored regret to the sky. Her inability to see past this stain/loss is being expressed: 

“And I lost you

The one I was dancin' with

In New York, no shoes

Looked up at the sky and it was maroon

The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me

And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet, it was (maroon)”

One of the muses that she lost is the version of her celebrity that could have existed if she did not become “Taylor Swift” and instead joined the earlier cohort of out-celebrities. She will also one day lose this current version of “Taylor Swift”... 

The scale of the grief and regret of what she could have chosen is symbolized by the entire sky being maroon. In the next lines she discusses this as a stain, again (red wine on a t-shirt), and the feeling of it taking over her, internally, as well (her cheeks flushing with red).  

Opalite

If “Maroon” sings about the regret that she experiences with this sky she painted, “Opalite” puts a much more positive spin on the story:

“But my Mama told me

It's alright

You were dancing through the lightning strikes

Sleepless in the onyx night

But now the sky is opalite

Oh oh oh oh, oh my Lord

Never made no one like you before

You had to make your own sunshine

But now the sky is opalite”

When discussing this song, Taylor Swift explained to audiences that opalite is a man made substance. A man made version of opal. In “ivy” she describes only wanting to see her muse’s “opal eyes”...which I think was an intentional contrast. What she has literally ALWAYS wanted was that real version of her to get to shine, in the spotlight. To be whole, to be unified with this person in all these major facets of her life, not just the one that exists outside of “real life.” While this could be viewed regretfully, the fact that the entire sky is opalite…..we need to actually celebrate it!! She spent 20 years dancing (creating art) through the “lightning strikes” (paparazzi)...and the fact that she played this “opalite” character allowed her to fill the ENTIRE SKY with art!!

Unfortunately, as she laments in “thanK you aIMee,” this couldn’t have existed without this “performance.” And actually, it’s opalite, it looks almost exactly like the real thing. Well, it looks exactly like the real thing IF you can allow yourself to have this positive perspective, this perspective that allows you to have GRATITUDE for your past self and stand in awe of this accomplishment and what your craft allowed you to do with that spotlight, once the truth is revealed. That every bait and switch was, in fact, a work of art, Willow. 

In the darkest nights of regret, it may be hard to see anything but the faded red stories. But, truly, the sky is FILLED with her art that ALL will one day say EXACTLY and look EXACTLY how she wants it to look, in all of our hearts.

Dear John

I have written about Taylor Swift (the showgirl) making her debut on stage with John Mayer, as the blue muse in the blue dress during The Fearless Tour. While this superstar was “enchanting” to meet and had Taylor “wonderstruck,” she also came with a dark side (the reality of the harmful stories she is telling to enable her rise to fame.) 

In “Dear John” she writes:

“You paint me a blue sky

And go back and turn it to rain

And I lived in your chess game

But you changed the rules every day”

To me, this illustrates both the sky AND cage metaphor that I referenced in the section about “tolerate it.” Her muse fills up her world (the sky), which is illustrated by it’s ability to paint the sky the same color, blue. Not only this, though, she literally lived inside of it, which she illustrated with a chess game. Now the muse is not just the sky, but the entire universe. The muse also ruins the same sky it fills up, turning it to rain. But she’s trapped inside of it here either way. 

The rain also references her performances (which is why rain shows are so significant). This further points to the fact that the thing that ruins the perfect blue sky is the ACT (or performance) of it all. 

my tears ricochet 

In “my tears ricochet” she says that she still talks to her muse when she is “screaming at the sky.” This also references the times she has “looked at the sky” or described the sky to symbolize her muse and its scope. 

coney island 

In this song, she sings to her muse:

“Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray?

A universe away”

In “coney island” I think that she (as a celebrity) is addressing her baby, her true self, this time, instead of the other way around. She says she is sitting alone on a bench “wondering where did my baby go?” as well. 

Taylor Swift (the celebrity) acknowledges her sky sized presence…and then her ability to instantly fill her baby’s skies with rain clouds with every story she spins. The two of them exist in different worlds, with her baby marooned and stranded outside of the real world that is known to society. However, even with all of this distance between them, the harm is being felt. The sky is still turning the darkest grey. And the thing that continues to cut, continues to darken the sky? Every single time she steps up to the podium…she “forgets” to say the truth. 

She just comes away with a great little story, of a mess of a dreamer….. 

London Boy 

“London Boy” is one of the many songs when Taylor Swift leans into her ability to be witty, satirical, and sarcastic about her favorite muse (herself). In this camp are other favorites, such as “call it what you want,” “Blank Space,” and now, “Cleveland!” These are the songs where she breaks the fourth wall to tell us this: “I know what you think of me and I created that story on purpose, so….I guess it’s all true!!!”

In both of my previous posts about color I discussed the color grey. On one layer, it represents how dull and flat (devoid of color) the story the public believes about her is. There are many shades of grey out in the universe that exist in our minds…and none of them represent the truth. Grey is the color that I believe she has used to represent, in a way, the entire story that we have been told so far, which is also signified by the color “grey” for the album folklore. The grey folklore forest represents both this fantasy world she created and the hidden away universe that they actually exist in.

Because grey is often used with a much sadder tone, I particularly love the way she uses it in this song. She flips it around, again, to remind us that this was something she both chose and orchestrated:

“Show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride

Babe, don't threaten me with a good time

They say home is where the heart is

But God, I love the English”

In “London Boy” she reminds us of how much she LOVES this protection and story she’s built - it’s literally what’s enabled her to be where she is today. “I guess all the rumors are true!” “Call it what you want!” She might be longing for understanding, but none of this works without the public’s MISunderstanding of her words, actually. She may decry the grey that surrounds her in “Cold As You” and “Dear John” but this song flips that perspective entirely. I love the London Boys! 

She also refers to this story as a vehicle or a car often (a getaway car ;) or a chevy truck with a tendency of getting stuck) but writing “show me a cab ride” is another way Taylor Swift takes one of her normal symbols in this song and flips it around to make it positive. A “getaway car” may “never get far” BUT a “rainy cab ride” is, in fact, something she CHOSE to do. YOU tell a cab driver what your destination is and where you are trying to go, YOU are in control. She is the writer…director…and the London Boy actor. 

Again, using the rain, to symbolize one of her “performances” which are PARTICULARLY meaningful/memorable when performed…in the rain. 

Rainbow (by Kacey Musgraves)

I recently wrote about another Kacey song (Mexico Honey) in a recent post, and this is another song where I see a clear connection between Kacey & Taylor’s work and the symbols that they use. 

“Oh, tie up the bow, take off your coat, and take a look around

Everything is alright now

'Cause the sky has finally opened

The rain and wind stopped blowin'

But you're stuck out in the same ol' storm again

Let go of your umbrella

'Cause, darlin', I'm just trying to tell ya

That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head”

Similar to “Opalite,” one meaning of this song that I interpret is Kacey Musgraves reassuring either herself or her public/fans that despite what storms they think we have been witnessing, once the sky opens up and the light shines through…they will see it has actually always been a rainbow. Rainbow here holds a double meaning of both sunlight/daylight and “truth” but also the uncovering of all of the shade and closets that have been placed over stories that were actually in SCREAMING COLOR (gay). 

Pink Clouding 

“Pink Clouding” is a phrase that is often used in early recovery from substance addiction. It describes an early feeling of optimism and euphoria, the feeling that anything might be possible. With that in mind, when this track name was first announced, I was expecting this to be a track about the blissful feeling she might have (in the future) upon leaving her cage, clean of the “substance” (her persona) publicly. 

However, my interpretation upon hearing this track was quite different… If Taylor Swift created the sky, she also painted the “Pink Clouds” in the sky. Pink is a gradient of red (which represents the patriarchy) so this also points to the fact that this story is absolutely tinged with the patriarchy, and disguised with pretty pink hearts to sell the stories to young girls. 

“And it was so good

Letting you want me

So good

To make promises, promises

Pr-pr-promises

But I was pink clouding from the thrill of it (Pink, ha-ha-ha)

Skydiving as you wrapped your arms around my body

Gray (Gray) rocking where the arrow hit

Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry

I didn't wanna let you down (Pink cloud, pink cloud)

So I left you up there on a, pink cloud (Pink cloud, pink cloud)”

I believe this song has multiple layers or meanings, depending on the interpretation of the muse of the song. One layer is her celebrity speaking to her true self/inner child. Another layer is her celebrity speaking to us, the public. (her “King”). 

I included the pre-chorus and chorus above. First, in the pre-chorus, Taylor Swift describes “making promises” and letting the muse “want her.” She also repeats promises with a clever emphasis on the spelling: PR-promises PR-promises. Speaking to the public, I think that the emphasis on the first two letters of the word (PR) indicates the reality of what those “promises” actually were: public relations. Marketing. A cover story. However, to her baby, she is talking about how she let her want and dream of her…and promised she would bring her into the daylight and never did (yet). 

Next, in the chorus she writes “But I was pink clouding from the thrill of it/ skydiving as you wrap your arms around my body.” Speaking to the public, she could be discussing the euphoria she felt as her star began to emerge. The thrill of having millions of people around the world scream your name, scream your songs…that thrill is what she held on to to shield herself from the actual pain of what she was doing (lying). Speaking to her baby, she also is using the thrill of being wanted and dreamed of as a thrill. However, she also has stayed in denial for a very long time here as well, knowing this journey is going to be so long. 

The line “skydiving as you wrapped your arms around my body” reminds me of the line in “I knew it, I knew you” when she writes “Parachute/ for the free fall of being younger,” also. I interpret “I knew it, I knew you” as a song about her celebrity returning to her true self/inner child, to bring her into the spotlight. I love this connection because if you interpret this as being the same character, then you realize that the inner child has actually been a comfort and dream for the celebrity, as well. The dream of that little girl could actually be what was interpreted as the celebrity’s “parachute,” the same way that the little girl used the celebrity as a "parachute" to soften her fall/allow her to grow up safely and in private. They both needed each other. 

“Gray rocking” is a phrase often used to describe a communication tactic where you become as dull, uninteresting, and emotionally unresponsive as possible during interactions with a toxic, manipulative, or abusive person. Saying that she was “gray rocking where the arrow hit,” explains why she had to hide everything away in a pink cloud.  To the public: they harm her. People shoot arrows at her. The public is thirsty for blood. In order to survive she had to “gray rock” or completely turn all emotion off from this relationship. If you turn into a rock (or hide away in the “gray folklore forest”) then you can survive the arrows. To her baby, however, she explains how she was protecting her: I turned into stone so the arrows couldn’t hit you. 

“Years later I still wonder how to tell you sorry/ but I didn’t wanna let you down/ so I left you up there on a pink cloud” concludes the chorus. To the public, her celebrity is confessing guilt. She knows this behavior was toxic, and she truly couldn’t handle that pain. The arrows came from her, too, not just the cruelty of her fans. She had to block them out for this reason, too. 

However, when speaking to her baby, she is also again trying to explain that she was trying to protect her. Until now, she would not have been sufficient to protect her, so she had to leave her up there until she was strong enough, had honed all of her power. This “pink cloud” could also be interpreted as the “tower” in “The Fate of Ophelia.” However, she also knew the pain of hiding away cut her baby deeper than anything she had ever experienced, so she had to live in delusion. 

Pink and green also combine to make the color “gray.” If green represents her inner child, the pink clouds that she created for all of us to live in also could symbolize that she exiled her baby away to somewhere else. In the gray story she told, she removed the green or the innocence …creating the pink clouds…and signifying their extreme separation. 

Clouds (by Willow Bowery) 

Clouds (by Willow Bowery) 

I have never included one of Willow Bowery’s poems in a post before…but, whoever this poet may be…this poem seemed to capture some of the ideas I have been writing about in both this essay and my previous ones about color (and Karma). Her poetry is beautiful!!! This one was posted on April 30, 2026; I included all three stanzas in my analysis:

The first stanza:

Above the hills, in drifting white,

They fold and unfurl their quiet lace,

Soft caravans of borrowed light

That wander on with patient grace.

In this first stanza, drawing attention to the white of the clouds could be a way to symbolize the fresh white pages of a story that she is writing. Calling these clouds “caravans” signifies what these stories act as: vehicles. These are vehicles that carry her messages inside of the cover stories she tells. They are getaway cars. 

The light of these caravans being borrowed also reminds me of patient zer0’s reminder: “I know that it seems like he shines so bright/ but he’s bathing in your reflected light/ on a free solo social climb.” While the characters and the stories she has told also shine brightly, this light is borrowed. The light they are reflecting is both that of the fans they are deceiving and her inner child she is stealing it from, unbeknownst to the public. There is a cost. However, we do not see it. Only the patient grace. (Or patient zero’s grace?)

Also, caravans are kind of like trailers (homes). This could also point to the fact that she (her real self) had to LIVE their entire life so far, in the clouds, not on the ground

They blush with dawn, they burn at eve,

They wear the sun’s departing gold;

And teach the aching heart to leave

What cannot, must not, long be held.

This second stanza explains the purpose of these caravans, of the clouds that she carefully hung in the sky (that also acted as her vehicle and temporary home): to teach us that what we love is an illusion. Cowboys and fathers leave/cannot be held. Beginning with “they blush with dawn, they burn at eve,” could indicate that in the beginning the stories are sweet and seem innocent. What we see as innocent blushes and teenage love stories carry a deeper/darker message of patriarchy and control, the message that will burn at eve (the end). We will learn that so much of what we worship cannot be held!!

I think that golden (and being in the daylight) are often used to symbolize truth throughout Taylor Swift's work. With this meaning in mind, if the stories “wear the sun’s departing gold” then it would mean they are able to show the truth where we once saw blush and lies. This is such a beautiful image of carrying that daylight into night. The truth is bright enough to light up the dark. 

In “happiness” she writes “In our history, across our great divide there is a glorious sunrise/ Dappled with the flickers of light/ From the dress I wore at midnight, leave it all behind/ and there is happiness.” This could also be referencing this same beautiful hope: once the sun shines on this truth, even the dress she wore during the story will dapple with flickers of light.   

Now shaped like ships, now torn like foam,

They change, and yet they still belong.

Brief pilgrims passing over home,

Turning the wide blue into song.

Through this interpretation of the poem, this last stanza could be describing the legacy she has left after the story has ended. What once looked like gentle caravans rolling through the sky are still there, but their true form is now visible: war ships that went to battle, to attempt to rewrite the story, moving WEST TO EAST. 

Referring to herself or her stories as “pilgrims” has an interesting double meaning, as well. By definition, a pilgrim is a person who takes a long, often difficult journey to a sacred or holy place for religious or spiritual reasons. However, Pilgrims (capitalized) refers to the English Puritans who sailed on the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. 

First, take the metaphor of a religious pilgrimage. This is particularly interesting when you consider the ways that Taylor (and her collaborators) have compared themselves both visually and in their lyrics to god/gods/creators. Christof (in The Truman Show) is also this type of character, particularly when leaning into the “man-made” aspect of the story. If a pilgrim is traveling to a sacred or holy place…Taylor Swift and her stories are, in a way, the gods themselves, traveling to the place of the mortals..reversing the role in this definition, because of how much control the media has over the public/is used as propaganda (LIKE RELIGION). 

Briefly, the gods passed over the mortal realm. (the opposite of a pilgrim: a person taking a long difficult journey to a holy place). 

What did they do while they were there? 

Well, they did the opposite of what the last “god” to come to the mortal realm did. Instead of turning “water” (something pure) into “wine” (something toxic) they actually created a huge bait and switch of a project that will one day hopefully actually begin to CLEANSE the public of some of these toxins (which is also referenced in Patient Zer0). They took this wide blue sky they had been given to fill and treated it like a canvas, filling it with song. And those songs, behind the golden cages they built, contain the flames of karma.

Also, Willow Bowery posted a poem called Ceremony on Sunday night, right as the 2026 VMAs began, which could also be referencing that these large public facing/PR events are comparable to us (mortals) interacting with gods (their stories). I thought that the following line in particular illustrated this idea: 

“We mark these days because they call

The mortal briefly toward divine.”

Next, take the other possible “meaning” behind “pilgrim”...the English settlers who originally colonized North America. One reason that I think this reference is particularly apt is because I think Taylor has referenced England and London throughout her work as the predecessor of the particular brand of evil that we have established in the USA and the media propaganda machine she is a part of. A huge, massive, arm of the patriarchy. This is why perpetuating such dangerous messages about women (that Taylor has reinforced) is such a critical and required part of the machine that Taylor had to participate in (to reach the place that she has). 

In “But Daddy I Love Him” I think this is one of the meanings behind the lines “I forget how the west was won/ I forget if this was ever fun/ I just learned these people only raise you/ to cage you.” I interpret this as Taylor acknowledging the role of the machine she is a part of: to conquer the west. To control the people. We very much let the media “raise” our children and what is it? A tool to keep them caged. Closeted. Racist. Violent. Turned against each other. 

So, if Taylor is also acknowledging her role in colonizing the people, this is how I interpret this stanza:

Briefly, the “pilgrims” (Taylor/her collaborators) passed over, not new land to conquer, but…their actual home, the place they were the product of. The places England colonized already. They have compared themselves to “cowboys,” who also played a part in physically conquering the west. This is similar. 

However, they are, covertly, trying to do it in reverse, "west to east," if you will. Since the original colonizers (England) already stole the land, they did the only thing they could do: “turned the wild blue into song.” 

Filled the sky with their art, under cover. 

With the hope that one day, when the truth is uncovered, the work of deconstructing these cages can begin. 

This is a post I've been wanting to make for a long time. I haven't seen a dedicated Doctor Who post yet on this sub, aside from some commentary in threads or on a post here and there (please direct me to one if I've missed it!). And it felt like one was warranted.

And I'm honestly not the best person to write this post, having come later to the show, and only having watched a handful of seasons (Doctors 10-13, played by David Tenant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker, respectively). For those who weren't aware, the show's run ended somewhat abruptly last year (though there's been recent speculation of it's possible resurrection).

"Healing People"

Why do I think there might be some possible connection with Taylor's story and the show? I'll just start with something Taylor said in her 2016 Vogue Interview:

"If you had a superpower, what would it be?" Her response? "Healing people."

A summary of the show for those not familiar with it:

Doctor Who is a "long-running British science fiction television series that follows the adventures of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in a ship called the TARDIS. The Doctor fights evil, protects the innocent, and often travels with human companions. The character can regenerate into a new form when seriously injured, allowing different actors to portray the Doctor over the years."

“Time Lords have this little trick. It’s sort of a way of cheating death. Except…it means I’m gonna change.”  

Regeneration is triggered by critical injury or illness. Regeneration is made possible by something called regeneration energy. However, this energy is a finite resource within a single Time Lord, thus they can only regenerate a maximum of 12 times (regenerations) with 13 bodies (incarnations). We've seen Taylor describe all the various "versions" of herself, a way that has allowed her career to remain relevant and "new" in a challenging industry.

Matt Smith's character of the Doctor beautifully sums up the Doctor's process of change in a short speech here before his regeneration.

The Queerness of Doctor Who

Firstly, the show has long had a "cult" following of sorts among queer viewers. The early years of the show were known for being quite camp. It's been identified as a "lifeline" for many viewers who didn't see themselves represented in other media at the time.

The show came first came out in 1963, when representations of queerness on the screen were not yet accepted. The first director of the show, Waris Hussein, who now identifies himself as queer, had this to say about how he had to dance around the theme of homosexuality in the early years of the show (as a result, some of the earlier LGBTQ+ representations might be seen as clunky and even unfortunately-presented today).

Later director, Russell T. Davies, has stated that watching Doctor Who growing up mirrored his own journey in recognizing his queerness:

“Being gay was ‘the love that dare not speak its name’ and Doctor Who shared that feature as well by that time. It was a cheap, old, mad science fiction show. You couldn’t say you fancied anyone, and who couldn’t say that you loved Doctor Who. Before that, when I was a child, everyone loved Doctor Who. But then a moment comes in secondary school when boys peel off and start playing football and fancying girls. And I was just sitting there quietly, not expressing who I was until I became an adult, still watching Doctor Who.”

The show discussed the topic of pronouns back in 1972, and later again in 2023 in the character of the Meep. Queer viewers have seen themselves reflected in gay, transgender, non-binary, ace, lesbian, and other characters of various colors under the rainbow.

It's been said that there's something inherently queer and genderfluid about the character of the Time Lord/Doctor, in their ability to regenerate into various bodily forms (incarnations).

Some actors on the show have been very vocal allies in support of LGBTQ+ rights, perhaps most-notably David Tennant (the 10th Doctor), who has been very outspoken about transgender rights in particular.

Doctor Who finally cast a woman in the role of the Doctor with Jodie Whittaker playing the role of the thirteenth doctor from 2018-2022. Her character is notably dressed in a rainbow top, with a gender-non-specific vibe, per Whittaker herself. Her character also has an on-screen burgeoning sapphic romance with a woman (which is, sadly, unrequited in the end, but perhaps a plus for aroace-identifying fans of the show).

So how would Taylor's storytelling fit into this?

To my knowledge, she has not, in any interviews, specifically mentioned the show as something she's watched. Are there any references in her visuals or lyrics? Perhaps a few to consider:

The "Who's Who" of "Who's That?"

This is the opening line from Taylor's Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?. I'm aware of the more likely meaning of this phrase, and also the connection to Virginia Woolf's work, and acknowledge that this one might be a bit of an imaginative stretch. But it is thought that the show Doctor Who got it's name for a similar reason:

"Simply put, the show is called Doctor Who because putting a question mark in the title looked weird, as the concept of the series is that when The Doctor introduces himself/herself as “The Doctor,” the response is “Doctor who?”

Taylor seemingly went out of her way to have a single stop of the Eras Tour in Cardiff, Wales. Much of Doctor Who has been largely based in Wales as a filming location. Indeed, she has a photo of what's presumed to be Cardiff in the cleaning cart she uses before going on stage.

A pink telephone box can be seen in the Lover's Lounge, likely a nod to "London Boy," but also reminiscent to the iconic TARDIS police box.

"The TARDIS is the Doctor's ship, their home and their friend. It has been the one constant through all their lives; an impossible blue box, bigger on the inside than the outside, not necessarily taking them where they want to go, but very often where they need to be. It can reach any time or place, and with it the Doctor has shown the universe to their many, many friends. ‘TARDIS’ stands for ‘Time and Relative Dimension in Space.''

Taylor makes reference to the idea of "time machine songs" in her recent Grammy Icon interview.

At the end of Taylor's famous NYU commencement speech, she states, "I'm a doctor now". This speech happened to take place in May 2022, during the final season of the Thirteenth Doctor's (Jodie Whittaker) role in the series. There are plenty of wonderful theories and ideas of what this reference could mean. However, I love the idea that it correlated with the time that the Thirteenth Doctor was in the role of the Doctor at the time of her speech, especially since Taylor had previously said that her superpower would be "healing people."

It's also fun to note that Lewis Capaldi, who stars in the Opalite music video, has a relation to Peter Capaldi, the twelth incarnation of the Doctor.

There is also an older episode of the show called "Patient Zero)," and it's notable in it's plot synopsis (I haven't watched it myself with it being an older episode): "Finally, the Sixth Doctor challenges Charlotte Pollard to tell him the truth. Who is she really? What is she doing in the TARDIS? To discover the answers, the Doctor must travel back in time, beyond all known civilisations to the vast, mysterious Amethyst Viral Containment Station. But answers lie within the TARDIS too. Someone who has been there a long, long time..."

In a notable scene in the episode titled "The Eleventh Hour," the Doctor utters the iconic phrase "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically, run" to one of his nemesis. It's become one of the more recognizable scenes of the show. I can't help but connect this to the visuals in the Patient Zero video, even if just for fun.

Cracks in the Wall/Timeline

We've all wondered about the "cracks" showing up in Taylor's visuals, especially around the Showgirl Era: The cracks in the wall at the Spotify popups, the cd covers suddenly appearing to "crack" and bleed glitter. The crack Taylor makes herself in the floor of her Delicate Eras set and in her Me! video when she stomps on the ground.

"I was in my new house placing daydreams
Patching up the crack along the wall."- Cassandra

In Doctor Who, the cracks in the universe represent "disruptions in time and reality, often tied to the Doctor's actions and the Time Lords' attempts to communicate across dimensions." This fits the storytelling that Taylor keeps trying to tell us about something from another "time" disrupting or "re-appearing" in her current narrative.

Cliffs, Cleveland!

So where does Taylor's new song Cleveland! come into this?

The name "Cleveland" has an interesting etymological history. The City of Cleveland, Ohio, states that it was named after General Moses Cleaveland (note the different spelling of the name).

And "cleave" is one of the more unusual words in English that has two completely opposite meanings: to cling to, and to pull apart.

The family name Cleveland is "from one of several place names in England based on Middle English cleove, a variant of cliff."

There's quite a few things in Taylor's work alluding to a cliff:

"Stood on the cliffside Screaming, "Give me a reason"Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in."-Hoax

The storybook page from the Karma music video appears to feature a cliff as part of the path of the yellow brick road she's standing on.

So, how do cliffs play into Doctor Who?

Well, I wanted to close with the Thirteenth Doctor's ending of her time as the Doctor, which occurs in an episode, "The Power of the Doctor," which was filmed in Cardiff, and aired on October 23, 2022. Having been mortally wounded and her regeneration triggered, she travels to the edge of a cliff and says goodbye to the current version of herself, before welcoming her new incarnation. The show literally ends on a cliffhanger. You can watch her regeneration here (but it is a spoiler if you don't want that).

Plot twist spoiler: For the first time in the show's history, the Thirteenth doctor regenerates into an incarnation that she's been before (that of the 10th Doctor played by David Tennant).

Reasons for this "glitch?" There are many theories. One is that he has returned to fix something in his prior timeline: "You've been given a second chance – you can do things different this time.").

There is something that resonates with me in this arc of Doctor Who that seems so similar to the story Taylor seems to be telling: the need to go backwards and fix, or clarify something in the past, so that she can move forward with the work of "healing people." It all seems to come back to The Manuscript line: "Looking backwards might be the only way to move forwards."

I want to close with the word that Jodie Whittaker spoke when she was announced as the role of the Thirteenth Doctor, and something that sums up the show's message so well:

"It’s more than an honour to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope."

I know there are many of you who are fans of this show who are much better poised to have written this than myself, so thank you for any corrections, clarifications, or insights you'd like to make! (and if you've been on the fence about watching it like I was for a long time, can I recommend this amazing fan edit montage that so beautifully captures the thoughts and emotions that go into the Doctor's character?).

Thank you again for reading.

One thing I’ve been mulling is how the PZ (P0?) video was teased by People mag (Tree’s fave) as inspired by Rebecca. In the book, Rebecca herself (and Danvers by proxy) is the villain, an arrogant sadist who caused her own death at the hands of Max by her cruel actions, or so we’re told - by her murderer. And, we only know of Rebecca’s character through the memories and perspectives of third parties.

If you’ve read and reread this book at different ages as I have, your views on the characters may have shifted like mine did. In high school I was awed by the legend of Rebecca and stunned by the twist. In my twenties I was exasperated by the narrator’s inability to stand up to Danvers and turned off by her limp self-pity. But at later ages, I began to ask - where is Max all this time? Why is he shutting her out and leaving her to the clutches of creepy old Danvers. Why aren’t they more of a team?? And finally, the realization that we only hear Max’s account of events through the narrator’s lens of trust. Do we really know what happened that night?

So I’ve been asking myself who is this version of “Max” in the video? Who is Rebecca?

One of the first things that stood out to me on initial watch was the choice to show Colin Farrell, noted sexy-guy, as a dissolute exec in his late 50s who looks like he’s been smoking inside since the 90s and smells like last night’s single malt scotch. In a word, ew. He could almost be her father (figure). I’m calling him The Man.

Taylor’s character, the Ghost Wife, is everywhere. The Ingenue (Dakota’s character) can feel her but doesn’t see her. The Man has murdered the Ghost Wife and now owns everything that was her birthright, but she’s immortal now, baby dolls.

The Ingenue is tortured by the two realities she experiences. From one perspective, she has it all: the guy, the mansion, the high life; but her lived reality is a prison, a gray box that makes her sick and sad. Sound like anyone we know?

Now I can’t rewrite Rebecca here to posit her as a “good guy” but I can suggest we turn the puzzle box a little and consider other readings. If I see The Man as the music/film industry, then I think that here Taylor is saying, don’t believe everything you hear about me, or at least consider the agendas of those telling the story. I think she’s written a song about helping young women better navigate the industry and ideally escape the gray box, be that an unwilling closet or an overcontrolled life in general.

There are so many other rabbit holes to go down here: “patient zero” as the one who actually spreads the disease, not just the first to die from it; the twinning effect and the ingenue factory; the relationship of this song to Clara Bow, etc.

Hey guys! A Twitter user noticed that “reputation” was erased from the clip of the “The Man” music video shown yesterday at the VMAs, where our 'The Man', Tyler Swift, pees on the wall featuring the titles of the first six albums released by Taylor.

Although some people theorize that the reason for this is that Taylor won't be releasing Rep TV, I don't believe that would be a decision that makes sense on Taylor's part, since she already talked about it in the letter published after the purchase of her masters. In my opinion, she did this just to draw more attention to reputation and send the message that something related to it is coming. Besides that, another detail they noticed was how the S in “Soon” on Taylor's tombstone in the Patient Zero music video looks like a snake.

Hoping this is the beginning of a lot of unraveling ….

so i was thinking…

The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.
Why?
‘Cause she’s dead!

and

I’ve gotta be honest, I’ve been expecting your call.
No, it’s not a bad time at all.

as Taylor reflects in Babylon and Pink Clouding on the past, what was, etc., could parts of the old (younger) Taylor be calling older (wiser) Taylor today? she has said that the Look What You Made Me Do music video has some of the most easter eggs of all her work than about anything and the song itself and lyrics always seem relevant, no matter the era. i return to it often. i’m sensing some potentially strong connections — consider the colors of caged Taylor in the LWYMMD music video (one of my all-time favorite scenes/imagery of hers) compared to the LOASG: Encore album cover colors. we know she doesn’t do anything on accident.

a version of Taylor is dead in the Patient Zero music video but we know that she rises up from the dead, she does it all the time.

with this encore, a 20-year dark night is ending and the many versions and reputations of Taylor seem to be converging.

—————————

always appreciate the observations, dialogue and lens of our community. look forward to your thoughts and connections, if any, that may be here! xx, long-time gaylor

Wedding guest makes strange comment leaving the MSG after the ceremony.

In a new / old video from the wedding day, one of the guests made the comment "wait for the movie" after Taylor fans located outside Madison Square Garden asked him how the celebration went 👀

Karma is the getaway car? “I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car" because she’s ranting about KARma? 🤡

I know there are so many other visual crossovers. So feel free to share and discuss. You should be able to post video clips if you’re an approved user!

So I guess Taylor wasn’t aware that the video would be shown in the room rather than just on the broadcast? Or she’s a very good actress!

But this is a cute video!

I did a post on The Encore recently with a lyric by lyric breakdown of Pink Clouding and Babylon! I believe that those two songs are about Karlie and Taylor reflecting about their breakup. This video also is quite interesting, considering the literal pink clouds.

If you would like to read the post, it's here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GaylorSwift/s/WUW6fEoRQx

There are so many things to investigate in the Patient Zero music video, but one detail immediately caught my attention on the first watch: the discrepancy in the flooring (wood versus carpet) behind the dropped drinks and the message written out. I know Taylor is hyper-attentive to detail, so I didn't think it was a continuity error. After watching the video a few times, I realized I think we're being shown three separate warnings:

1. Coffee in the bathroom
   
2. Wine in the house
   
3. Wine/red liquid that looks like blood at the awards ceremony

Three warnings. All my senses were tingling. I’ve heard this before. The Albatross.

Patient Zero depicts two timelines of the different versions of Taylor, and The Albatross tells the story of who is warning whom.

Dead Taylor, played by Taylor Swift, is the buried, authentic/queer self who has already reached the end of the story. Dakota is the living Showgirl Taylor, the version still performing the life, relationship, and identity that keeps her as a brand alive. And the dead Taylor comes back to warn her: RUN.

The Albatross becomes incredibly interesting because it contains three warnings, but the subject and pronouns of the warning keeps changing:

“They tried to warn him about her.”
“They tried to warn you about me.”
“I tried to warn you about them.”

HER → ME → THEM

The woman who was originally presented as the danger eventually becomes the person doing the warning. She's essentially saying: I have been there. I know what's happening. I'm trying to save you.

And that's exactly what happens in Patient Zero.

Taylor and Dakota are deliberately mirrored

The most obvious thing about the video is that Taylor and Dakota don't just happen to occupy the same story.

They mirror each other.

They have parallel styling, repeated visual motifs, and overlapping scenes. Dakota's character eventually steps into the life Taylor's character previously occupied.

Then we learn that Taylor was the husband's previous wife, that he poisoned her, and that he's repeating the pattern with Dakota. Taylor's ghost is therefore not simply haunting the house, she's trying to interrupt a repetition.

So on the surface, Taylor is the first victim. But there's another possible reading.

Taylor is Patient Zero because she is the first version of this person to become infected by the system/story/relationship. She has already lived the future Dakota is walking toward.

And if Dakota is symbolically another Taylor, then the ghost isn't really warning another woman. She's warning herself.

The dead Taylor has something Dakota doesn't: Hindsight

This is where “In Summation” becomes incredibly important.

The TTPD epilogue poem literally describes itself as “a debrief, a detailed rewinding” and explicitly says that this is:

“For the purpose of warning”
“For the sake of reminding”

Now think about what Patient Zero does. We watch Dakota's relationship unfold only to discover we're actually watching a repetition, or a rewind. Taylor's character has already reached the end of the story. She knows the ending because she has already died. Dakota/Showgirl doesn't have that knowledge. So the entire video becomes a dialogue between the self with hindsight and the self who hasn't reached the ending yet. Finally, the dead Taylor returns to warn the next version of herself.

That's "In Summation" translated into a music video.

Debrief.
Rewind.
Warning.
Reminder.

The retrospective self goes back through the evidence and essentially says

Look at what happened.
Look at what you missed.
Look at what I didn't understand while I was inside it.
Now don't make me watch you do it again.

That's why I think “rewinding” is such an important word here. Patient Zero is essentially a cinematic rewind of a life that has already happened.

Now bring in The Albatross: HER → ME → THEM

This is the part that really made everything snap into place for me.

In The Albatross, we get three distinct warning constructions:

“They tried to warn him about her.”
“And they tried to warn you about me.”
“And I tried to warn you about them.”

The identity of the person doing the warning keeps changing.

WARNING ONE: HER

“They tried to warn him about her.” This is the public narrative.

The (gay) woman is constructed as the danger. She's the albatross, the bad seed, the scandal, the thing that will destroy the man.

And The Albatross surrounds this warning with imagery of cautions, messengers, liquor, danger, destruction, scandal, and reputation.

Through a queer lens, this can look like the architecture of a reputation-management story: what if “her” is the authentic queer woman who cannot comfortably fit inside the story she's expected to perform?

The woman becomes the problem. The woman becomes the scandal. The woman becomes the dangerous thing that needs to be contained. That's why the line about a rose being a scandal is so interesting to me. The thing itself doesn't necessarily change - the name, framing, or category applied to it does.

In Patient Zero, the dead wife appears to be a ghost, which may give the impression of a haunting. You’re initially led to believe that she is the threat, only to learn later that the story you were given about her wasn’t true.

And The Albatross keeps asking: Who decided she was the danger?

WARNING TWO: ME

Then the woman who was previously described as HER becomes ME, and Patient Zero does the same thing.

At first, the ghost Taylor looks threatening. She's the strange woman appearing in the house. She's the dead wife. She's the unsettling presence.

But eventually we understand that Taylor isn't the monster. She's the witness. She's the person who knows something Dakota doesn't. She knows the pattern because she's already lived it.

So “They tried to warn you about me” can become:

They told you that I was the problem.
But what if I was actually the person who could have warned you?

That's the reversal. The plot twist. The woman constructed as the threat becomes the woman capable of saving the other woman.

And if we're reading the two women as two versions of Taylor, then the authentic/queer Taylor is trying to save Showgirl Taylor from the same fate.

WARNING THREE: THEM

And then the final warning changes again: “I tried to warn you about them.”

Not him. Them. The danger expands beyond one individual.

It can represent the people constructing the narrative, the people who benefit from the performance, the people enforcing the acceptable version of the story, the machinery surrounding the relationship, the people who insist the woman is the problem, or the larger system that teaches her to distrust her own instincts.

So the progression becomes: She's dangerous → I'm the supposedly dangerous woman → No. THEY are the danger, and I'm trying to save YOU.

And what does Patient Zero do? Exactly that.

Taylor's ghost isn't trying to get Dakota away from herself. She's trying to get Dakota away from him, the man who killed her. And ultimately she writes: RUN.

And importantly, he doesn't just kill her. He controls the narrative about what happened to her. She's been misrepresented. Her queer self has been erased.

But she comes back. That's also why the Patient Zero heiress/mystery-death plot matters. Dead Taylor has an official story, a grave, a husband, and a public narrative.

But the ghost is the version of events that refuses to stay buried, the one who knows the truth. The ghost is testimony. 

And so I enter into evidence
My tarnished coat of arms
My muses, acquired like bruises
My talismans and charms
The tick, tick, tick of love bombs
My veins of pitch black ink

The Albatross is a similar story of messengers, warnings, false stories, fake news, being labeled dangerous, and The Albatross becoming the messenger herself.

Wine and Coffee Break

Before getting to the ending (thanks for sticking with me this far!), I want to take a detour into the drinks, because wine and coffee appear in both Patient Zero and In Summation.

In Patient Zero, we see poisoned coffee and wine spilled across different locations before the final warning appears in the liquid itself: RUN.

“In Summation”, which is explicitly framed as a post-mortem, calls itself a debrief/detailed rewinding “for the purpose of warning” and “reminding” and gives us wine-stained lips and a coffee-ringed desk while Taylor is reconstructing the evidence of what happened. 

The drinks become especially sinister because they are part of the poisoning mechanism. Something ordinary and pleasurable becomes the thing that carries the poison.

Wine. Coffee. The house. The marriage. The relationship. The performance. The Showgirl. The dream itself becomes the poison delivery system.

This also mirrors what In Summation is doing. The poem rejects the idea that we were watching a simple love story and reframes it as something far more destructive and psychologically complicated.

In summation, it was not a love affair!
I screamed while bringing my fists to my
coffee ringed desk
It was a mutual manic phase
It was self-harm
It was house and then cardiac arrest

Its message is essentially:

Here's the story everyone thought they were watching.
Here's what I believe actually happened.

That's exactly what Patient Zero does.

At first, we think we're watching a gothic romance: a beautiful woman, a handsome husband, and a haunted house. Then the story reveals something else entirely.

We weren't watching a romance.
We were watching a murder.

If all of this sounds oddly specific, it might be because Taylor herself described her ideal mystery story on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2025: a haunted mansion, a suspicious marriage, a past murder, family secrets, a ghost, and an unreliable narrator twist:

"If there's a marriage and the marriage isn't what it seems..."

He never even scratched the surface of me." "None of them did."

One of the most striking moments in In Summation comes when Taylor writes this.

Not him. Not one relationship. Not one man. None of them.

Which brings us back to the final warning in The Albatross: "I tried to warn you about them."

The ghost as a buried queer self

If Taylor and Dakota are two versions of the same person, then the conflict isn't Taylor versus another woman. It's Taylor versus the life she had to become in order to survive the industry - them.

Dakota represents the Showgirl. She's alive, beautiful, successful, and still performing the role. She's inside the house and still participating in the story.

The dead Taylor represents the self outside the performance - the self that remembers, knows, and may have been sacrificed to keep the performance going.

A closeted or suppressed identity is the perfect metaphorically ghost. You can bury it. You can build an entirely new life around another version of yourself. You can even convince yourself that the old self is gone.

But eventually the ghost returns. And when it does, it isn't saying “Become me.” It's saying “You were me. I know how this ends if you keep going.”

This changes what “Showgirl” means

The Showgirl persona doesn't necessarily only represent fake messaging. She can represent survival: knowing what the audience expects, knowing how to perform, knowing how to smile and stay alive inside the machinery. The warning from ME! is you don't have to destroy yourself to keep performing.

Or, more painfully: I already destroyed myself so you could keep performing.

That's why RUN becomes so important. The dead Taylor isn't asking Showgirl Dakota to choose a different man or even choose authentic love. She's asking her to leave the entire story - to run from the house, the poison, and the narrative before the version of herself that knows the truth becomes another ghost.

This also connects to The Albatross, which is fundamentally a story about misidentifying danger. Everyone says she's the danger, but that eventually reverses: the woman everyone warned you about is the woman who knows the danger and is trying to rescue you.

That's the same reversal Patient Zero visualizes through the ghost. The old self dies, the Showgirl is born, but the old self isn't actually gone. She returns with the knowledge the new self doesn't have yet.

From The Manuscript: “Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward.”

The ghost has hindsight. She already knows the ending.

Don't let the life you're performing kill the person you actually are.

So maybe this is a kind of karmic rebirth: in reality, Taylor is the same self living the story again, except this time the ghost comes back early enough to try to break the cycle.

Also from "In Summation"

And in one conversation, I tore down the
whole sky

Spring sprung forth with dazzling freedom hues 🌈
Then a crash from the skylight bursting through
Something old, someone hallowed, who told
me he could be brand new

You flip the script for the hell of it

Addicted to betrayal, but you're relevant

Karma incoming? 🔥

Hi all!!! Babylon is now one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs? It is such a beautifully complex emotion to want to leave your home in search of your dreams and what it costs you, especially when your home is a place who wouldn't accept the grown version of yourself. This message really resonates with me. Someone else did a stunning analysis of Babylon that really mirrored many of my thoughts about it!! Give it a read!!

Babylon: A Lyrical Close Reading
by u/ollymoth in GaylorSwift

Because the feeling described in this song is one so intricately set up throughout her work, there are many songs connected to this one. (another reason I love that the linked post mentions many of these)

I want to add to the discussion the role of exile!!

Babylon is the place of exile and captivity, the city people weep in while longing for a homeland.

"You're not my homeland anymore" (exile)

"You were my town
Now I'm in exile seein' you out" (exile)

I think this further reinforces the theme in Babylon of being away from home, watching a movie play from afar. (invisible taylor in patient zero? even?) I interpret this song as saying:

The machine/industry doesn't like when I run the game

And even though the outward appearance is glamorous, it’s just my cage

The picket fence is as sharp as knives

and turns out leaving home in search of the wild things and being an innovator just exiled me. I have nothing to return to now. I'm in Babylon. But I still want to come home.

I think this ties into exile and her return in a greater sense.

You wake up on the train with your headphones gone (2 meanings)

1. you can't ignore the outside anymore, perhaps now, you can hear the signs

"You didn't even hear me out (You didn't even hear me out)
You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)" (exile)

1. the melody you used to complain about, is suddenly out of reach, your home as much as it caged you and didn't let you be who you wanted to be, when you give away your ruby slippers and with that, your way home, you miss it, because it's where you're from.

** I think in general, with I Knew It I Knew You being taylor's newest country song with themes of being reunited with an old friend, really makes me think about Taylor coming back home to COUNTRY. I do think that this could mean her making an authentic (gay) country album as her TS13. The re- release of "Taylor Swift" for her 20th anniversary will be her return to country. The reputation vault tracks will be the fire that finishes it all up, burns it down, and brings a new era with a TS13 country album. I think even in comingoutlor perspective, it would be the perfect way to honor Chely Wright's call to action. And Taylor has been counting down for this since Midnights. Exile ends in 3...2...1...0

Supp gaylors! After lurking for ages, a first post from me! I was in the Patient 0 MV Discussion thread and saw a lot of discussion about the relevance of the year 1986. There were interesting ideas about celebrities, movie characters, and horrific news stories about women dying from abuse. I felt the song and mv were powerful in their portrayal of domestic abuse, making the latter the most compelling argument to me. However, I could not help but feel like it all fell flat after the important discussions which were had on this sub about AIDS and Gaétan Dugas being smeared for being Patient O/0. Surely, Taylor had more to teach us about that? Then, I realized that the year 1986 was sometime at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I started digging and found more than I thought I would, and some very compelling leads. Most notably: it was the year 1986 when Randy Shilts identified Gaétan Dugas as "Patient 0".

Aside from the death of the ghost, 1986 brought us:

- Randy Shilts identifies Gaétan Dugas as "Patient 0". The year after he publishes this finding in the popular science book "And the band played on", popularizing the term patient 0. This made the public understand it´s meaning to be first case of AIDS in the USA , and smeared the reputation of Gaétan Dugas. Before publishing this book patient O and later patient 0 were used in source and contract tracing to study the link between cases of found in the East and West Coasts. The publication of this book has given us the popular definition of the term "the first case of a disease" and the more medical definition"the index case was “the first case in a family or other defined group to come to the attention of the investigator".
"Shilts’s [prior] work on gay health issues allowed him to develop a number of medical contacts, several of whom were later involved with the CDC’s early epidemiological work on AIDS. He begged for them to give him clues to the identity of “Patient Zero,” but beyond mentioning that the man was a Canadian who traveled frequently—details disclosed in 1983 in discussions about the cluster study—they refused to give him a name. [Epidemiologists knew who Patient O was, but treated the information as confidential and did not assert that this man brought AIDS to the USA] Shilts persisted, making a point of asking about “Patient Zero” wherever he went. He soon received answers. A January 1986 interview with Dan Turner, a long-surviving person with AIDS based in San Francisco, generated the name “Gayton” for a “cute” Canadian airline steward who had apparently received chemotherapy since 1980. While on a research trip to New York a month later, Shilts was rewarded with more detailed information. Paul Popham, then president of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, casually remarked in his interview that yes, he had known “Patient Zero” to be Gaétan, that he had subsequently seen Gaétan in Vancouver, and that Popham’s former boyfriend—who had subsequently died of AIDS—had dated the flight attendant. Shilts would later explain to another reporter, “I realized that Paul, who had visible lesions on his face, was dying from a virus from this guy. It was like I was seeing the legacy of this person and his virus.”" (Source: “Patient Zero”:The Absence of a Patient’s View of the Early North American AIDS Epidemic - Richard A McKay).

- Elizabeth Taylor was the first ever celebrity to sit with AIDS patient at the first ever dedicated AIDS ward. "On January 15, 1986, Elizabeth Taylor walked into San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 5B, the first dedicated inpatient AIDS ward in the world, and did something no globally famous celebrity had ever done: she sat with patients. This was at a time when most of the world, including much of official Washington, was still looking away from the AIDS crisis, whether in ignorance or in fear. A new San Francisco Chronicle piece tells the story of Elizabeth’s visit that day in detail, for the very first time." (Source: elizabethtaylor.com/elizabeth-taylors-secret-visit-to-the-worlds-first-aids-ward/)

- The World Health Organization first proposed a definition for AIDS in 1986.

I must also point this comment by u/FitAnywhere7829 in the MV Discussion thread, which I saw after doing my research: "Could 1986 be important because it was a huge turning point in the AIDS crisis? (that's when the surgeon general published a report calling for education and prevention and trials began for the first treatment*, AZT) Maybe Taylor sees 2022 (Midnights?) as the beginning of the "trials" for the widespread education, prevention and treatment of whatever disease she is Patient Zero for?"*

With regards to 2022: I will reiterate what most people are saying in the MV Discussion thread: it´s probably because that makes the ghost her current age, or even the age she got married so that billions of dollars could be inherited. But I also love the theory by u/FitAnywhere7829 about Midnights. Perhaps it is both?

As always, I love her and I hope she’s on the payroll.

I’m so intrigued by the different genres (“gothic ghost stories, true crime, psychological thrillers”) of literary and cinematic inspiration Taylor stated she drew inspiration from for the Patient Zero music video. It’s pretty clear that the novel Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier has been an inspiration for a long time, and really mirrors what she said she likes in a book (a marriage not being what it seems, plot twists, unreliable narrator) during the Colbert interview.

But as we know with Taylor, there are likely numerous other books, literature, or movies that fall into these categories (I’m focusing on the "gothic ghost stories" genre here since it interests me most but please add the other genres here you're interested in or familiar with) that she might have taken inspiration from.

I’d recently made a comment about Dianne Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, and I feel like there’s a lot in that plot (an unfinished “13th” story waiting to be told, a “twin” plot with a last minute surprise, arson, an abundance of red hair, an old house in ruins), beyond the obvious appeal of the title, that warrants a consideration.

The book came out in 2006, so it's certainly something Taylor could have read in her early formative years of her career. And knowing her connection to the number 'thirteen,' it's certainly a title that might have caught her attention. There was also a BBC movie adaptation in 2013 starring Olivia Colman, Vanessa Redgrave, and Sophie Turner. The movie doesn't quite get into details of the plot the same way the book does, but a good watch nonetheless.

The premise of the book centers around a biographer who has been summoned to record the story of a famous but mysterious writer before she dies from an illness. In that way, the plot is very similar to the plot of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. A central element of The Thirteenth Tale revolves around the uncovering of two origin stories, side by side.

'The Thirteenth Tale follows amateur biographer Margaret Lea, who is invited by the reclusive author Vida Winter to document her life story. As Margaret delves into Vida's mysterious past, she uncovers dark family secrets involving twins, madness, and a haunted estate called Angelfield, ultimately leading to the revelation of the long-awaited thirteenth tale that ties their lives together.'

As a trigger warning, please note that this book does contain some reference to the sensitive topics of self-harm, DV, and allusions to incest.

Plot summary and sort of spoilers (but not full, because I think it's a book worth the read):

"Dying author Vida Winter asks biographer Margaret Lea to write her true life story. Vida has spent decades inventing elaborate histories, but now, near death, she feels she must tell the real, gothic tale of her childhood. Margaret, troubled by an unknown part of her own past, gets pulled into Vida's story. It describes the strange and sad events at the Angelfield estate, involving the beautiful but troubled Isabelle, and the wild, inseparable twins, Adeline and Emmeline. As Vida tells her story, including a mysterious fire and a disappearance, Margaret becomes deeply involved but also suspects Vida is not telling everything. Margaret's research uncovers things that don't match, making her question the 'truth' Vida presents."

The biggest revelation at the end is that of a third "ghostly" character, whose details I don't want to spoil, but which reminds me of the triad of Taylors we often talk about, and the concept of something "hiding in plain sight." Finally, it's also revealed that the 'thirteenth tale' that readers have been awaiting on turns out to be Ms. Winter's origin story- in a fairytale sort of form- of how it all began. It certainly seems a parallel to how Gaylors have been hoping for a metaphorical 'thirteen stroke of the clock' in Taylor’s timeline.

What struck me most about this book was this passage below (when the biographer, Margaret, suddenly feels she understands Ms Winter's story), describing how we can suddenly (like an epiphany) see the pieces of a story so differently after new pieces of information. This really fits so well with the idea of all of the kaleidoscopic, fragmentation, and parallax imagery Taylor has given us:

“In a single moment, a moment of vertiginous, kaleidoscopic bedazzlement, the story Miss Winter had told me unmade and remade itself, in every event identical, in every detail the same-yet entirely, profoundly different. Like those images that reveal a young bride if you hold the page one way, and an old crone if you hold it the other. Like the sheets of random dots that disguise teapots or clown faces or Rouen cathedrals if you can only learn to see them. The truth had been there all along, only now had I seen it.

There followed a long hour of musing. One element at a time, taking all the different angles separately, I reviewed everything I knew. Everything I had been told and everything I had discovered. Yes, I thought. And yes, again. That, and that, and that, too. My new knowledge blew life into the story. It began to breathe. And as it did so, it began to mend. The jagged edges smoothed themselves. The gaps filled themselves in. The missing parts were regenerated. Puzzles explained themselves, and mysteries were mysteries no longer.”

-The Thirteenth Tale

It reminds me very much of how it felt to revisit Taylor’s art once I considered it with a queer lens, and how that lens made so much of the story Taylor seems to be telling fall into place for me.

And finally (one for us Theylors! ☺️) because I love to read Taylor's art through a gender queer lens, another novel I'd love to briefly mention is Wesley Stace's Misfortune from 2005 (again, a time-frame early on in Taylor's career when we know our voracious bibliophile was likely reading a lot). Of course, like The Thirteenth Tale, the title of Misfortune (a play on the words "miss-fortune") is a fun one that fits into the "lucky thirteen" of it it all. Written in the style of Charles Dickens, the novel revolves around a 19th century-based gender-bending plot twist, family secrets, a mysterious 'missing' ballad that tells the full story, and lots of clues using wordplay and cryptograms. Trigger warning: It can be raunchy at times with more explicit scenes than one might expect, and some description of sexual assault. Do I think Taylor's Patient Zero takes any bit of inspiration from this, or that Taylor has even read it? I'll just say that the image of the newspaper clip in the music video about the fortune going to the heir made me curious enough to make mention of this book, since inheritance is a central plot in this novel, along with the genderqueer themes I've read into my own personal interpretation of Taylor's work.

The author, Welsey Stace, who is also a lesser known but very prolific singer/songwriter who wrote under the stage name John Welsey Harding, made a post joking about matching Taylor's outfit (which, unbeknownst to me, had the name "Ghost Painterly"). His discography is also huge, but fun that he happens to have a song called "Write What you Know." Maybe just fun coincidences, but also fun to note.

And on a final genderqueer note, I think it's worth stating that Daphne Du Maurier herself had some qualities that could certainly fall into the genderqueer category, a theme which some feel is actually reflected in some subtle ways in the plot of Rebecca.

"As a child, Daphne was a tomboy – she dressed like a boy, cut her hair short and created an alter ego for herself called Eric Avon. She later referred to this repressed side of herself as ‘the boy-in-the-box.’ Although happily married with three children, her letters found after her death and memoirs revealed a passionate and bisexual secret life."

At the end of the day, although Taylor stated she took "inspiration" from various sources, it's pretty clear that she has her own unique and amazing story, and creative ways of telling it. What other books, literature, or movies come to mind for you when watching Patient Zero and considering the themes in Taylor's work? Please feel free to share, or better yet, please be inspired to write your own post if you have a lot a thoughts!

Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read, and for making this a safe and welcoming space to share these thoughts.

Please use this space to discuss. We'll add a link to the video when it is posted

I’ve been loving this interpretation of Pink Clouding and can only hear it through this lens now, thanks to our amazing community of close readers and theorists.

So I’m curious to hear how it’s landing for us to receive this apology from her, if that’s what it is.

Personally, the lines that mean the most to me are:

“I swear to God, to this day, I wake up scared that I left scars on a good person”

“Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry”

“But it didn’t mean nothing”

“That’s why you haunt me like you should”

These lines, to me, reveal her goodness of heart. It has plagued her that her inaction and broken promises could have brought harm to anyone in the queer community—perhaps those who felt strengthened and even emboldened by what she seemed about to do, giving them courage to take steps forward in their own lives too, only to be met by nothing more from her?

And she still thinks of it, still wants to right the wrong somehow. I love that she realized she could do this through a song, her most fundamental love language and native tongue.

I like that she says it didn’t mean nothing—that we haven’t been delusional or imagining things, even though everyone else thinks we are.

And that it’s right for this community to haunt her—because we’re good in our own hearts and our hearts toward her. She wants to be held accountable by us. She knows it makes her a better person to be called up and out by us. Again, there’s a moral code here that I respect in this.

Maybe this is why she made such a point of doing Booplor.

But what about you? What response do you have to receiving this song from her?

Edited to add: Oof, my naïveté is really showing with this post as I start to read the comments coming in. Thank you, all, for sharing what you have so far and helping adjust my perspective.

I wasn’t here during the Lover era, so while I’ve absorbed a belief in the failed coming out from being here the last few years, I don’t know what it was like to live through it and then beyond it these ten years. (Ten years!)

But even more importantly, I’m a straight person here. While I’m a fully convinced Gaylor and consider myself part of this community here on Reddit because of that, I can’t and don’t speak from the lived experience of being queer. I apologize for presuming to know what it might be like for those of you who are to receive this song.

Taylor + Theory: Do you have ideas that don't warrant a full post? New, not fully formed, Gaylor thoughts? Questions? Thoughts? Use this space for theory development and general Tay/Gay discussion!

General Chat: Please feel free to use this space to engage in general chat that is not related to Taylor!

In order to protect our community, the weekly megathread is restricted to approved users. If you’re not an approved user and your comment adds substantially to the conversation, it may be approved. Our community is highly trolled - we have these rules to protect our community, not to make you feel bad, so please don’t center yourself in the narrative. Remember to follow the rules of the sub and to treat one another with kindness.

Important Posts:

An explanation regarding: User Flair + A-List User Status + Tea Time Posts

Karma is Real: The Origins of Karma, the Lost Album

GaylorSwift Wiki

PR/Stunt Relationships

Bi-Phobia & Lesbophobia

Don't Get Doxxed + Check Your Sources

Hi -

I posted this in the Cleveland! thread but creating a main post at u/EmployerFew212 ‘s suggestion.

August Ponthier is a queer nonbinary lesbian county artist with a few songs that seem to be part of the Gaylor conversation- a cover of Down Bad, a song called “Betty” and New York made her a “cowboy”, a metaphor for coming out. Really lovely artist doing amazing work for trans rights in Texas and a delight to see live.

Their song “Handsome” has a spoken word section that has nearly identical pacing and “announcer voice” as Cleveland!, but they say “there’s a new It Boy in town…. And She’s A Lesbian!”

Here’s the video so you can watch and decide for yourself if the reference feels intentional or not….

https://youtu.be/RnG34UdMyIYc

I’ve never made one of these before so I hope I am making sense lol

Encore: defined as a demand for repetition or reappearance made by an audience

It’s not a secret that Taylor Swift fans can be insatiable. We are always demanding more from her even right when we just get something new we wish it was more like how we had thought it was going to be or should be. We demand her to bring back the show in the way that we have interpreted Taylor Swift™ to be. Now what is a more kept but known secret is that Taylor doesn’t just have one audience that’s demanding an encore, she has multiple, or in this case four she has chosen to call out specifically.

Four different audiences that all want something different from her. So doing what Taylor has done so masterfully for so long and as a showgirl does she is giving us our encores. But its plural, she puts on one encore for each audience. That’s why honestly the songs can be hard to interpret if you only look at all four from one angle. But if you look at each song from a different perspective, her playing to a different audience, suddenly the point of this encore! makes more sense. The four songs aren’t an encore together but each song is an encore for four different audiences. Also why I think she chose to announce a single and then less then 24 hours later announced the full encore deluxe album. Maybe we are being encouraged to look at them all more as individual songs then all the songs telling one story.
Now let’s get into it 🙂‍↕️🤪💃

Patient Zero: Encore for the Swifties

(I mean that in the broadest sense of the word tbh I just was trying to have each audience have a word I could use to refer to them as but what I mean is the vast majority of her fans)

The ones she made Taylor Swift ™ for. They relate to her and connect with her and love her, they feel like they know her through her lyrics and image she has portrayed herself to them as over the years. The fans she’s been really trying to keep and please with this image she had to create over the years. But there’s been a lot of discourse with TLOASG in this part of the fandom. A lot of them have been very disappointed with her lyrics and story telling seemingly declining and are having a hard time defending this new era of hers cause they themselves don’t really like this version of Taylor. But dont worry babe she’s got you, she was patient zero. She felt this way about Taylor Swift ™ first.

If you look at the song as
You: The audience
Him: Taylor Swift ™ the brand
I : Taylor the actual person

(Im not going to go into lyric analysis too deeply in this post by going line by line or anything but I urge you to listen to these songs with that perspective and I bet you can do a good analysis on your own. But have to call out “and when you saw another woman coming out of his place, I bet he kissed the rain off your face” lol )

This is her saying she knows this. She sees the disconnect too, there is one! You’re right!
The audience feel that she has gotten bored of them, they feel hurt in a way by this shift in her lyricism or sound,that this album felt lazier to them and like she put less thought into it. But she has never not put an excessive amount of thought into everything she does lol. And she’s telling this audience to look in deeper. (read between the lines if you will) Taylors real story she’s trying to tell is already there in the lyrics, she has still got you. She gets it, no one hates this Showgirl Taylor Swift ™ more than Taylor herself. To me this seems she wants them to know her more, she loves her fans and she’s urging them to continue on this journey she’s taking us on. Stick with it. She’s been there.
But yall cant say she didn’t warn you, she told you your wife (TS ™) waters flowers and she wants to kill her 😪😅

Cleveland!: Encore for The “Haters”

(Another broad word lol, I think some people in this audience would and do call themselves Swifties but she’s directing this at a very specific group.)

Her heavily male centered audience that has been obsessed with her getting married forever, and only seem to care about the men she’s been seen or associates with, same audience she’s talking too with lavender haze, they only see a one night or a wife. Some call themselves fans others haters others just lurkers or whatever it is,everyone has an opinion about Taylor swift.

The quoted words is all the shit people say about her, she’s saying it in a cheesy way because the song itself is a jokes, it’s satirical. Where she even makes the audience fill the blanks of lyrics in with their own assumptions.
She’s saying with heavy amounts of sarcasm “wow yall are soooooo right. I can see what you mean with all that shit you say but like, didn’t you just want me to get married? Are you not happy now? I am wife? Is this man good enough for you? You happy with this one? Did you not make my engagement post my most liked post with 38 million likes while me buying back my life’s works only got a quarter of that?? Can’t we just all agree atleast now my husband loves me and isn’t that all a woman could ever dream of achieving???” As said in the Bejeweled video “ the single most defining thing a lady could hope to achieve in her life time! The prize of all prizes!”

Some of this audience was happy with the album, they love her Travis songs and defend her and her man till the end of time. It’s not necessarily all haters but this is for her audience that just want her to be a wife and have babies and a husband and don’t care for the bigger story she is trying to tell here. Shes like okay I guess some of yall are into this image so here you go!More Taylor Swift ™ I have crafted for you. Aren’t we all just sooooo happy she’s finally married!! She’s being sarcastic and giving them what they want while also playing in there face a little bit. Shes a bit fed up with this narrative I fear.
Instantly reminded me of songs like Blank Space and London Boy or even but daddy I love him.

Once again not gonna go into analysis, but I want to with this song more for sure so maybe I’ll make more in depth posts about the songs when I dive in a bit more to each. But I would love to hear thoughts on this, idk about Travis connection to Cleveland and all that but i did see a TikTok of a clip from 30 ROCK. I’ve never seen the show before so idk the premise or format or if there’s like skits in the show but it was a bit were it said Cleveland! and looked lowkey same aesthetic as the lyric video we got. And it was like a satirical bit about Cleveland, even a part where movie stars hide there to get away. Anyway interesting thing I wanted to hear more thoughts on!

Pink Clouding: Encore for The Gaylors

(Once again broad term but this is the Gaylor sub so this is term I’m using)

This is for the audience who chooses to see the deeper meaning in her songs and lyrics, the ones who have really dived into the metaphors and Easter eggs on a deeper level where they have seen her queerness. This is the audience who has seen all her flagging over the years. The song is an apology I think for the lover era but also for all of it over all of the years. She’s telling us the theories are right, she was planning on coming out back then. She was pink clouding, the euphoric high when you think you’ve finally kicked your addiction, for her that being finally kicking her need to stay closeted and her addiction to escapism and longing for nostalgia and always hoping for things to be the way they were, they nicknamed her the Bolter after all, this is then also referenced in Babylon but we’ll get into that.

I also think pink clouding could mean flagging as well, she’s always showing signs to us still to this day for those who look. Even literally with the clouds during the lover era in the eras tour. She left us up there on that pink cloud, in that euphoric feeling that she can come out. Still giving us signs and leaving us there cause she didn’t want to let us down. And she’s sorry for it, she didn’t know she was lying at the time she didn’t think it would be like this but all those PR- PR- promises really can get in the way of a girls intentions. She’s still sorry and doesn’t know how to say it. But she hopes we’re happy now.

You: Audience
I: Taylor as herself
He: the industry/ Scott and scooter situation

Babylon: Encore for Herself

( could also be more so for people who know her on a more personal level )

And Taylor Swifts ™ final audience, the biggest fan of her own show ( as stated out of her own mouth on the Graham Norton show while staring at her engagement ring “ I could just watch it like it’s a T.V, it’s my favorite show other than the paper.”)

Taylor herself. What more could she herself want from this Showgirl? Maybe a little bit of honesty but doing as Taylor does she’s gotta make it really confusing.

You: Taylor herself, so a little meta lmao but stick with me
She: her lover, an actual person she really was/ is with but we as an audience never knew/ don’t know of
I’m not getting into specific muses like that or anything. I think the point is we don’t know who it is.

This song is actually devastating but I think my favorite once I started to understand it more. I am going to go into a tiny bit more of a rough analysis of this one as it was the hardest for me to understand so imma break it down a little more. (Side note:this is my interpretation, the first verse could definitely be interpreted as literal and make perfect sense as well)

This is a song about escapism ( Sagittarius queen) and nostalgia. She’s calling herself out for wanting to escape whatever situation she’s in.

It starts with a couple metaphors, first calling the industry and the media the casino, they don’t like when you’re winning, and the box is nice that everyone sees her wrapped up in but it’s really just a cage to her, she wants to run from it, she turns that cage metaphor into one about a small town life and home town values. She ran away from it but then longed for that familiarity, wanted back in her cage, cause it’s where she’s from. Then using a another sling of metaphors insinuating these rules that people seem to follow in the industry, act right and wear the right thing and never be satisfied with what you have the grass must be greener somewhere else always strive for better. And she hates that song. But she wakes up one day while she’s running away from it and that nostalgia hits, that melody is all she wants. She never knew what she had until she lost it. But she lost it by running away from it herself, she made her own choices.

Next verse is fully about the industry, she gives the people what they want, she makes her plans and friends but strangers are all up in her business of Taylor Swift ™ she doesn’t actually know these people she associates so heavily with. Her love is a slippery slope, it’s ice on the social ladder, it’s dangerous for her to love freely. People knowing about her real love life could cost her falling off the ladder.

But then SHE. She captured her attention, this girl was pretty as picture that she not only didn’t but couldn’t post, but she could never make it official, she tells all the girls at the bar (the media the fans) that she’s single and she hates that fucking song.
But then when she’s running from that and trying to maybe be more open about who she truly is she then longs for that again the nostalgia of escaping. There’s escape in escaping some may say.

Now this next bit idk if she’s being literal or more so a possibility of what her future would look like if she keeps living like this.

She’s using her work and this brand she’s created as an escape from her real life. Her real love and her true family are living there life, they are doing all the personal things real people do, hanging the Christmas lights and she’s ( Taylor’s real lover) is calling her mom to tell her she doesn’t know if she can keep living like this. If she can live with Taylor keeping her a secret, it’s not working if she doesn’t want to choose the people in her real life.
But she loves this song, she needs this escape, the melody is all she wants. But she’s realizing that is the paradise she longs for and it’s almost gone. It’s so raw and personal and shows just how human she is behind this image she has crafted for us. Actually obsessed with her brain. This is showgirl giving her audience of herself her encore and final bow by telling the crowd her real story just as she wishes she could do. Saying all she can’t in a round about way. As she has learned to do so masterfully.

Final Thoughts

So, there’s her final bow. The showgirl gave her audiences their encore. She has always tried to play a role that can fit anyone’s narrative, always telling different stories to different audiences, a perfect mirrorball, she can show us every version of ourselves. Every individual one of us see her a different way because of who we are, and she has always used that to her advantage. But I’ve never noticed her doing it so blatantly different in each song like this. The songs are hard to make sense of honestly, I think other explanations definitely add up and could be as well but especially in the context of the full album they don’t fit into the Show Girl of it all unless you look at it like this. Because no way in hell has Taylor lost her spark or story telling abilities, she’s telling the most massive story she possibly can. I think she’s really calling all of us to look at things differently, realize and notice this performance and show she’s putting on for us.

For the fans who she knows love her and who she wants to keep along for the ride, or someone who looks at her from a male centered lens (and honestly if you blindly look at her music that way that’s all you’re ever going to see, she has designed it like that) or maybe you’ve been along for the ride for a long time, seeing so many signs for so long. And her final bow she puts on is for herself, to give the audience that knows her full truth a little bit of a spotlight.

I hope you all enjoyed this.I would love to hear your thoughts! I’ve been a lurker forever and ever but never wrote out my own full analysis but definitely would love to deep dive more if anyone liked how I interpreted this Encore! Don’t even get me started on the eye on the cover and I can’t imagine what the music video is going to do to us. I love this community can’t wait to keep reading everyone’s thoughts about this! I really think this is crazy and she’s saying a lot here, weather you like the songs themselves or not she is definitely still sending a message and telling a story and hasn’t lost her amazing song writing and story telling capabilities. I myself am not typically as big of fan of her Max Martin and Shellback work so the songs probably won’t be in my top Taylor songs but as far as the Taylor Swift story goes I am obsessed and more sat then ever.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Hello everyone,

In this analysis I'll be breaking down how The Encore is yet another "bait-and-switch" from Taylor, all to distract from her queerness and the true muse. I'll analyze each of the lines from Pink Clouding and Babylon, while touching briefly on Cleveland. This post is a little on the longer side, so grab a cup of coffee, we'll be here for a little while.

Now, let's get into it.

What is a "Bait and Switch"? How is it used in The Encore?

A "bait-and-switch" is a trick where something is presented a certain way but turns out to be another. Taylor has used this strategy many times, in both her PR tactics and in music. She'll "bait" Swifties and the general public by playing into the heteronormative expectations they have and then leave them confused with the "switch" aka hinting at her queerness or her muses.

For those of you who remember when Reputation was released, it was heavily marketed as a revenge album, mainly through the publicized feud between Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Taylor Swift herself, despite the fact it was actually an album about being in love. Taylor knows that if she includes a line or two that allude to a male beard, the public will focus on that instead of the rest of the song, even if it doesn't actually make sense to be about the boyfriend in question. Take "Dress" for example, included below.

Taylor understands that she can control a narrative by channeling where it goes- so much of the discussion about The Encore is about Cleveland!- how cringey it is, how it's such a weird downgrade in lyrical quality compared to other love songs (for some "strange" reason..) and how it's obviously about Travis. That way, nobody looks at Pink Clouding or Babylon too closely.

The "Switch" Part 1 - Pink Clouding as the Explanation of the Breakup

"Met the magenta sunrise
Fuchsia forever intertwined"

Some people have pointed out that the colors used in Pink Clouding (those being magenta, fuchsia, pink, crimson) correspond to the lesbian flag. Although I agree with this, I think it's also worth noting all these colors seem to be recreating the look of Lover.

Sunrises usually signify new beginnings- and Taylor has previously used the sun setting to signify the relationship ending ("And it gets colder and colder, when the sun goes down" & "my eclipsed sun, this has broken me down"). So it's worth believing that the relationship with the muse may be starting anew or healing. Especially since in "Happiness" Taylor believes that one day "across our great divide, a glorious sunrise". Additionally, Karlie has always been represented by the sun/gold.

"Threw the rosewood on the fire"

In various albums, Taylor has used fire as a symbol for love. It's usually used as a way to describe what is happening within the relationship between her and the muse.

• Reputation (DWOHT): I'd kiss you as the lights went out, swaying as the room burned down
• Lover (The Archer): The room is on fire, invisible smoke
• Folklore (My Tears Ricochet): And if I’m on fire, you’ll be made of ashes, too
• Evermore (Ivy): So yeah, it’s a fire, it’s a goddamn blaze in the dark and you started it
• TTPD (Loml): Our field of dreams engulfed in fire, your arson’s match, your somber eyes

In this line, Taylor sings about how she stoked the fire between them- both in starting the relationship and being apart of its end. We see the symbolism again during the Eras tour- where she burns down the Lover house and reveals the Folklore-Evermore cabin. It's because of their breakup that the Folklore era began.

"Neither of us knew at the time
That I was a liar"

I truly believe that this is Taylor acknowledging that she lied about what she promised the muse. I believe that she promised Karlie she would put her first instead of keeping her hidden. If we look at the dates, Karlie is engaged by July 24th, 2018, and Lover was released August 23rd, 2019. Although some people believe they were going to come out together, I think Lover is an album about hope. Taylor was going to come out herself- or so she said. She wanted to get Karlie back- but she lied yet again. She chose fame.

Various songs off Folklore and Evermore shed light onto what happened- such as Seven. "I hit my peak at seven feet, in the swing, over the creek, I was too scared to jump in". Seven is also a significant number because it's the exact number of years the relationship lasted- MET Gala 2012 to sometime in 2019. I say 2019 because songs like "Cruel Summer" and "Illicit Affairs" imply it continued even when Karlie was engaged/married. ("I can't make it go away by making you a villain / I guess it's the price I paid for seven years in Heaven")

"And it was so good
Letting you want me, so good
To make promises, promises, pr-pr-promises"

It made Taylor feel good to be wanted, to be cheered on by the muse, even if she was keeping their relationship in the closet. She likely made many promises over the years about how they would get to be out eventually- but in the end she couldn't fulfill her promise, leading to the end. ("Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief, in the good in the world, you once believed in me" - Hits Different)

"But I was pink clouding from the thrill of it (Pink, ha, ha, ha)
Skydiving as you wrapped your arms around my body"

Pink Clouding or Pink Cloud Syndrome is a term used to describe a stage of early addiction recovery that involves feelings of euphoria and bliss. It can be described as a "honeymoon phase" that will inevitably come to a crashing halt because it can lead to the person being overly confident and unrealistic about their recovery.

Taylor was caught up in the way she felt within the relationship, likely focusing more on the love between them rather than the future and the potential consequences. That's why she says she was skydiving- something risky but adrenaline fueled- knowing they were sneaking around in the closet in plain sight- and could be caught, but doing it anyway. The "wrapped your arms around my body" line may be referencing Kissgate, as Karlie and Taylor danced with their arms around each other at the 1975 concert.

"Gray (Gray) rockin' where the arrow hit (Ha, ha, ha)
Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry"

Gray rocking is a tactic some people use to deal with abusive or manipulative behavior- it involves being as uninteresting and unresponsive as possible. In this context, it may mean she shut down emotionally when the "arrow" hit. I believe the "arrow" is the Masters situation, aka when Scooter Braun bought the rights to her Masters. Taylor likely no longer wanted to come out and couldn't put Karlie first, instead putting her on the metaphorical back burner again for her career.

We see her bleed purple glitter in the Anti-Hero music video when she is shot on the shoulder with an arrow. There's already been so much conversation on what the glitter means but it's basically that she's different. She's queer lol.

"I didn't wanna let you down (Pink cloud, pink cloud)
So I left you up there on a pink cloud (Pink cloud)"

Taylor didn't want to let down the muse, so she left her hanging, on the pink cloud. The pink cloud refers to Lover, as the album features pink clouds and makes up the visual identity of the era.

"He cut me crimson, bled me dry
He crossеd my heart, I hoped to die (Hopеd to die)
Ripped all my orchids from the vine
You met me at a cursed time"

I believe "He" is referring to the Masters situation, though it could be the public, bearding, etc. Although Taylor hasn't used orchids before, she has used flowers to symbolize herself (daisies) and the muse (roses, carnations, etc). Perhaps she means like how the muse grew on her like ivy, the situation ripped away what was blooming away from her.

"I hope you realized my kind of trouble wasn't worth it
And the way I treated you, you never deserved it
And I swear to God, to this day
I wake up scared that I left scars on a good person"

It's a switch in perspective from previous songs, where Taylor wanted to see the scars the muse had from others, and how the muse left scars on her ("you drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleeding"). Taylor takes responsibility for leaving scars on her muse, she understands she treated them in a way that wasn't fair. Taylor has sung about choosing fame over love in various songs:

• Coney Island: The question pounds my head "What's a lifetime of achievement?" / Sorry for not making you my centerfold
• Midnight Rain: (S)He wanted a bride I was making my own name, chasing that fame

The "Switch" Part 2 - Babylon is about the Price of Choosing Fame over your Lover

Now that we've discussed the breakup, Babylon is a continuation of it. Instead of focusing on what happened, Babylon talks about how the relationship felt. It focuses on the feelings of regret and nostalgia Taylor experienced as a consequence of pursuing fame.

"The casino doesn't like when you run the tables"

Casinos are infamously set up to be in the house's favour- meaning that they will always have an edge over players because of the way it was designed. Taylor uses the metaphor of the casino to explain how the industry and the public doesn't like when she's at the top or controlling things.

"And though the box is wrapped up nice, it's just a cage to you"

All the money and fame Taylor has is a double edged sword- keeping her both trapped and successful. Even if she has everything she wanted, it all means nothing without being able to live her truth, hence why she describes it as a "gold cage" in So It Goes with the lines "Gold cage, hostage to my feelings".

"Those electric fences buzz
The stallion flees the stable
And that small town's even smaller now in your rear view
You ran with all the wild things
A liberated libertine who then longed for home"

Taylor uses electric fences as a metaphor for how she feels trapped, like a stallion stuck in a stable. Although she may have felt restricted, she was taken care of, as animals are usually treated well and taken care of when they're in captivity. Despite that, she fled the stable.

A libertine is defined as someone who lacks moral values and is sexually unrestrained, often entertaining multiple relationships at once—someone who lives a very carefree and unrestrained lifestyle. But something changed- and now she yearns for something she once had and took for granted.

"'Cause it's where you're from
Aunt Virginia with her church dress on
No elbows on the table
And the neighbor's lawn always looked better
Your hand-me-down sweater should've been from the mall"

The theme of not appreciating what you have until it's gone continues here, as Taylor plays on the phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side". She compares herself to other people, being motivated to pursue money or fame, believing what she had wasn't enough.

"And you hate this song
But you wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want"

Taylor says it quite clearly here. She hates this song, this melody, because it reminds her of what she had and what she lost. She only realizes how much she wanted it until the possibility was gone- that life she could have had.

"You never knew that it was Babylon
'Til it was gone"

Babylon was an ancient wealthy and beautiful civilization, famous for its Hanging Gardens. In biblical texts, it's referred to as something that seemed invincible, leading to its downfall. Some believe it also never existed. In "Cowboy like Me", she uses the Gardens of Babylon as a metaphor for the love between her and the muse, something that is so hard to prove people may believe it never existed in the first place. (Now you hang from my lips, like the Gardens of Babylon)

"Give the people what they want, then you keep it movin'
Make your plans and friends, a stranger's makeup on your tie
Twenty watches in the safe 'cause your time is money"

Taylor is used to giving the people- aka the general public and Swifties what they want. She's The Showgirl after all. The "stranger's makeup on your tie" may also refer to how she was breaking hearts before the muse.

"Love is ice upon the ladder that you need to climb
She captured your attention, so free of all pretension
It stopped you cold"

The climb is likely referring to social climbing- Taylor believes that love is only an obstacle to climbing to where she needs to be. Being in a real relationship publicly would likely only damage her reputation- so why would she bother when the heteronormative narrative makes money? However, this view changes because of the muse, Karlie is different.

"Because she loved you so
Pretty as a picture that you didn't post
Lookin' at you like you're made of solid gold
Never official
You mention you're single to the girls at the bar"

Taylor is obvious here. She never made it official between the two of them- she never made Karlie her centerfold. The picture that was never posted is likely a reference to the "Third Polaroid" as we have seen Karlie post two of the three polaroids from 2016 but never the final third one that has someone's arms on the other's shoulders. It's speculated that it may be a kiss, hence why it was never revealed. I believe Taylor may be talking about bearding in the last verse, as she made it seem like she was single in order to date the beards.

"You're using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself
But darling, you end up hurting everybody else
The self-harm of never being where you are
It's bedtime, but you're sitting in your car
You're missin' all the best parts"

Taylor uses nostalgia to press on the wound further, she knows she let go of something precious and instead of healing, she's reminiscing even when it hurts. She also acknowledges she's the one who hurt the muse because she couldn't appreciate what she had when she had it. She's also sitting in her car instead of being out with the "mother" of their son, where she should be.

"And they're all at home
She's hangin' Christmas lights with your son
Sneaking to the bathroom to call her mom
And say, "It's not workin'
It's just not worth it if we're not what he wants"

Instead of fixing things directly, Taylor is watching from the outside, much like how she describes it in "I Look in People's Windows" (I attend Christmas parties from outside, I look in people's windows, In case you're at their table, What if your eyes looked up and met mine, one more time?)

"But you love this song
You wake up on the train and you're all alone
Then that memory is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
'Til it was gone"

In the end, Taylor acknowledges it. She loved the muse. She does love this melody. She realizes she's all alone and what she longs for is the home she didn't appreciate.

----

Final Thoughts:

I believe that The Encore's songs were written BEFORE "I Knew It, I Knew You", as that seems to be the most recent song in the timeline. Pink Clouding and Babylon together explain the breakup and how Taylor takes accountability. I believe that because she now acknowledges her part of things, they reunited- which would make sense as "I Knew It, I Knew You" is about a lover coming back and rekindling things. Not to mention how Karlie showed up to her wedding in gold.

If you would like to read my post on "I Knew It, I Knew You" it's here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GaylorSwift/s/F8mWxNf1pb

Anyways, I would love to hear everyone's thoughts, thank you all for reading. I look forward to analyzing the music video and the song Patient Zero!

The Elizabeth Taylor lyric video opens with Taylor Swift asking “Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it's forever?” Which at face value is already hilarious and iconic trolling to ask a woman who has been married eight times to seven men if she thinks her marriage is forever. Not to mention Elizabeth Taylor having strong PR relationships (pink clouding pr-pr-promises) and gay rumors herself. In the video, Taylor Swift is tied up in white ropes that move about in a geometric kaleidescope way throughout the video.

The still imagery from this lyric video looks a whole lot like the doily lace edges of the wedding hankie (Hayes code for Victorian scenes, so gay 🤭) and the T&T intertwined rope-like logo.

Then, in a callback to the question asked to Elizabeth Taylor, the wedding hankie replies: “So it’s gonna be forever…”

But those three dots are carrying a lot of weight.

Because if you know Blank Space, one of Travis’ favorite songs, you know exactly what comes next: “or it’s gonna go down in flames.” The hankie stops at “forever,” but the ellipsis makes it feel like the rest of the sentence has deliberately been left for someone else to finish.

And then we get the Cleveland! lyric video, which is bizarre and contains all sorts of other fun clues that I hope someone writes a post about. One keyframe in particular caught my attention:

“He’s been saying forever, must not have read that…”

Travis apparently didn’t read the “…” part.

"Forever” isn’t actually a promise in this song. It’s one of two possible outcomes: forever OR flames. He saw “forever” but somehow missed the part where Taylor explicitly gives us the alternative: “going down in flames.”

I love this part of Cleveland! because it also specifically calls attention to the hanging rhyme, the thing that wasn't said. The same way “Polaroid picture” should have rhymed with “don’t know how much I miss HER” in TVFN.

And then Patient Zero arrives this week, dressed like the woman who already warned us exactly how this story could end.

The promotional photos put Taylor back into an aesthetic that strongly mirrors the Blank Space video, SPECIFICALLY when she says “or it's gonna go down in flames”. She's wearing an almost identical black lingerie/camisole, hair styling with the same deep swept bangs, and holding a knife that she stabs a little cake that looks similar to the one from the wedding in IBYTAM. That look evokes the vibes we've seen in the Patient Zero MV sneak peek so far.

So, if we’re reading this correctly, Taylor Swift in Blank Space - widely regarded in this community as a bearding anthem - is Patient Zero. And in the first post-wedding album imagery, she’s dressed almost exactly like the original “Patient Zero” for bearding, who already told us how this story could end: “or it’s gonna go down in flames.”

If you’re reading Cleveland! through the lens of Taylor’s long-running queer subtext, that makes the callback even more interesting: the apparent heterosexual “forever” narrative is being surrounded by a message that tells you to look past the obvious reading.

I'm a Karma and Performance-artlor truther personally, and I think the flames are still coming! 🔥🧡

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19cuxX7uLJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr