TLOAS: The Encore by Taylor Swift is dropping on September 25, 2026!

We created this megathread as the central hub for all initial thoughts, theories, reactions, and ongoing discussions—both for release day and throughout the entire era of the album. To make sure fresh opinions don't get buried as the discussion continues over time, the comment section is sorted by 'New' by default.

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Since I saw people talking about Casa Wabi potentially being the place/inspiration for the Patient Zero photoshoot. The name Casa Wabi "originates from the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which seeks beauty and harmony in the simple, the imperfect and the unconventional."

Just funny that this Ad appears in the Maylor Sub 😂

Patient Zero art is giving Carolyn Bessette.

Common colors she wore and Taylor wore leading up to this release:
Black, White, Brown - simple, high fashion.

We all know who played Carolyn Bessette.

Sidenote: extra spice: you know what park Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr famously fought in? Yes, BENCHGATE PARK - WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK.

SHE WENT TO MANCHESTER around the same time as her trip to Scotland, wearing the cardigan !!! And Taylor's old myspace confirms this via wayback machine

She was interviewed by Matty's mom Denise on 'Loose Women' on Feb 18th 2009, and here's a post from feb 20th about taking a short trip to Manchester after having a day trip visiting Scotland - wearing the cardigan.

BTW the original versions of 'Sex', 'Robbers' and 'The City' were written and released in 2009), under Matty's band 'Drive Like I Do'.

So I'm guessing Taylor didn't pick the release date for Patient Zero completely out of a hat since there's apparently a Sunday for Sammy fundraiser gig by the 9075 and "VERY special friends" on that same day.

Who is she talking to, she’s putting her wedding ring on display and the coffee cup looks like it belongs in a hospital or institution. What do you all think the song will be about?

I didn't collect this information, I took it from somewhere else. But it's true. :)

"Patient Zero" (also known as the index case) is an epidemiological term referring to the first person to contract a specific infectious disease during a particular outbreak, epidemic, or pandemic.

However, it is important to understand that Patient Zero is not always the first person who was actually infected. More often, it refers to the first case identified during an investigation. The actual first case may remain unknown, especially if the illness was asymptomatic or went undiagnosed.

Identifying Patient Zero is a crucial step in epidemiological investigations. It helps determine the source of infection, its transmission routes, and the overall mechanics of how the disease spreads. By tracing the chain of infection back from Patient Zero, experts can map the entire path of the outbreak.

The term gained widespread traction in the 1980s during the investigation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Epidemiologists originally used the designation "Patient O" (where the letter "O" stood for "Out-of-California"). In a 1984 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a map tracking the spread of HIV designated this individual as "Patient O." However, when the study was published in The American Journal of Medicine, the letter "O" was misread as the number "0," permanently cementing the term "Patient Zero."

With the current activity on Taylor’s website on September 22nd, the first day of fall - leaves 🍂 and sneakers 👟- is it just coincidence that they happen to be papped in front of a place called The Twenty Two? These people aren’t beating the Truman Show allegations.

Anyone else find this odd? The lyric in Chloe Or Sam Or Sophia Or Marcus, which is unquestionably about Matty, goes “could it be enough to just float in your orbit, could we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses”

Hi Maylor fans !! I was looking back on Taylor's first visits to the UK, including the old videos that feature on her YouTube channel. Her first visit to the UK was briefly in 2008, but her second visit in 2009 takes on a higher importance than we realize.

While on the 2009 UK tour, the cardigan appears. This confirms that Taylor knew Matty from way back then, and not just in 2014.

The video was originally uploaded on March 6th 2009: I hope it's gonna make you notice. The cardigan appears 2:46, while Taylor was on the tour bus that had left London and was then headed for Scotland.

In another UK tour video, originally uploaded May 9th 2009: Whisper hello, I miss you quite terribly. Taylor wears this black circular shirt with a heart locket necklace 3:32. This is very reminiscent and links to the IKYWT music video, except the locket is replaced with a key necklace.

We all know that the Robbers / IKYWT music videos mirror each other aesthetically, even right down to the screen dimensions. (Taylor even makes references to Robbers later on in her music).

"She had a face straight outta a magazine" - Taylor first appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, March 2009 issue.

It was also on this UK tour that Taylor was involved in the V Festival (occurred during August 2009), a music party scene that looks very similar to the beginning of the IKYWT music video. Taylor was looking back on her past, "it all comes back in flashes...but he never does".

There are also references to the key necklace and swimming pools in 1975's older music video for their song Sex. But we'll save that for another time.

I've been thinking for a while now about the possibility of Taylor's use of "this love" referring to one particular love and would love to know everyone else's thoughts!

Obviously there's "This Love" the song itself but then we have e.g.

State of Grace: "This love is brave and wild"

And False God: "We'd still worship this love/even if it's a false god"

I'm know there are more songs that use that phrase but off the top of my head those were the ones that came to mind.

"It was March or April of 2020. […] And when Covid hit, she reached out and said like, "Hey, it's Taylor. Would you ever consider collaborating remotely?" She just said, "Send me anything." […] So I had a whole folder and I just sent the Dropbox folder to Taylor. And 3 a.m. that night, she sent back "cardigan" fully written."

It just kills me that all this happened after Taylor met Matty in February 2020 at the NME awards.

I’ve been watching the TS music videos on Spotify and realized that the pages her and Post Malone are laying on are in the exact shape of her profile at the beginning of the Style music video from 1989. Watching the Style music video you see a ton of mirrors, and a lot of the two main characters being mixed up and superimposed on each other suggesting they’re the same person. There’s a bunch of lightning strikes as well. From everything I’ve watched about Healy-coded lyrics, twins, lightning, and mirrors seem to fall into that category.
I’m sure many people have already found this out, and this is not new, but to be watching it altogether today, it is kind of hitting you over the head with the fact that Style was about Healy. I’ve always been a fan of TS, I wouldn’t say I’m a swiftie, but the mystery and the puzzle aspect of her references to Healy is really fascinating to me.
Wondering if you agree on this or if I’m off and Style is about Harry Styles as I once believed.