Hmm. So, I was rewatching some old music videos from three years ago, and some things struck me.
During Taylor's funeral scene in Anti Hero, the kids argue about how her death wasn't an accident. Specifically, they say this: "She didn't fall off that balcony! She was pushed!"
In-scene, the accusation is that Kimber (a character dressed as Taylor's doppelganger) did it. But we cut from this scene straight to the next one - which is Private Taylor sitting on the roof. She is joined by Showgirl Taylor - the doppelganger who has been sabotaging her and driving her to self-harm all through the video. This doppelganger pops up like a goblin, and for a second, you think she might push her. Just like she pushed her off the bed earlier. But Private Taylor is too defeated to fight her - instead, she feeds her, by offering her the bottle of wine. The vice of alcohol that has been harming Private Taylor since the Showgirl appeared. Showgirl is happy with this, and then they both get distracted by the outsized, outcast giant the third Taylor - Famous Person Taylor - has become. They laugh and commiserate with her about the absurdity of the situation. They're the only ones who can still see the humanity in her and "hang out", so they do, and they all get drunk together. End scene.
My point with all of that is that I think all the campy fighting at the funeral is misdirection, and what the music video is actually hinting at is that eventually, Private Taylor will be pushed from a height to her death - but it's not Kimber that does it. It's the doppelganger we've been watching her fight with the whole time. She pushes herself off the balcony.
What this means in the context of what's currently happening . . . I don't know. It's not clear yet. But it feels worth pointed out that when we next see a balcony in a music video - it's at the end of the Bejeweled mv. That's another video that has clear ties to the Showgirl era we're in now. There, we're explicitly told that Taylor "wants the castle" (her work) and does not want the prince. The showgirl burlesque is her entry to the talent competition. It's what wins her the castle. And once she has that all-important castle, what's the last image we see?
It's Taylor, dressed up like a princess, standing out on the balcony. She steps through red theater curtains, smiles . . . and then we pull back to show dragons are burning down the castle around her. So many people seem to miss that detail! The end of the video is framed as a victory, but the castle she worked so hard to win is crumbling apart and catching fire where she stands.
So . . . is that the victory? Burning down her legacy? Just as she burned down the Lover house on the Eras Tour? We're not shown that she controls the dragons, but Taylor is shown smiling in the middle of the chaos.
Why would burning down her life's work be a victory? Hmm 🤔
Anon, this analysis is so thought provoking. I love it. Great job and thank you for sending this in.
Everybody, if you’re scrolling by please take the time to read Anon’s ask.
“Why would burning down her life’s work be a victory?”
What. A. Question. I don’t have an answer but I will say it reminds me of You’re Losing Me. “Do I throw out everything we built or keep it?/ I'm getting tired even for a phoenix/ Always risin' from the ashes/ Mendin' all her gashes/ You might just have dealt the final blow”. Maybe rebirth, which I think Taylor has been hinting at for years, can only happen by burning down her current image, etc.
A couple things I noticed in the Bejweled video when grabbing these screenshots…
As Taylor is dancing as a showgirl, there is a super quick scene where the Sarah’s and Hannah’s in their Sunday best are upset at what they see. But the more diverse group in the back is cheering. It makes me thing of a potential reaction of some kind of coming out one day. Grocery line Swifties in the front upset and people like us in the back cheering Taylor on.
I’m sure I’m the 13th million person to notice this but the clock on the castle is at midnight. (TS12 / TLOAS?)
The castle’s bell is ringing. “When a bell rings in a castle, its meaning varies by context but generally signals an important event, such as a major announcement, a royal visit, a call to worship or gather, a wedding or funeral, the arrival or departure of troops, a warning of danger like an attack or fire, or the beginning or end of a significant conflict or power shift.”
All this to say…Anon brings up a very good question. Taylor just won this Castle and is happy about it as dragons are scorching it down. Perhaps related is that it appears to be 12:00 (midnight) and a bell is ringing signifying some sort of important event. Yes, dragons attacking could be worthy but we know Taylor. There’s another layer to consider.
What a great ask!