It Was All A Dream: The Eras Tour Pt. 3
Disclaimer: This was the most challenging to piece together and probably the most fun to imagine. I took some creative liberties interpreting the Acoustic Set and the introduction to Midnights, but for good reason. In analyzing the set, the sound effects, and how everything flows together as a cohesive narrative, I noticed possible references to other rumored and significant phenomena, either from the TTPD era or things discovered since the start of Eras. I'm not stating my hypothesis is empirical evidence of the truth. I've been writing for most of my life, and when my mind latches onto a story, it's impossible to think of anything else. For my own sanity, I had to get these thoughts out of my head so I could think about anything else.
Without Socrates, there would be no Plato. Without Plato, there’d be no Aristotle. Without Aristotle, there’d be no Taylor. And without Taylor, I think more of us would be dating football players. All jokes aside, welcome to the final act of my three-ring circus. I hope you’ve had a good ride thus far. Meanwhile, back in the swirling chaos of the Eras Tour with Dream Taylor . . .
1989
Thesis Statement: 1989 builds upon and expands the man-eating female lead character Taylor established in Red. While her dancers are clad in white and black, Taylor stands out again in vibrant, screaming color. This deliberate contrast highlights her distinctiveness from everyone else, subtly emphasizing her separation from the surrounding environment. Will Taylor continue to play the unhinged female role she’s been cast in or will she jump into the nearest getaway car?
Style. Style is a polished evolution of the intense love Taylor explores in Red. Here, she’s prepared to dance with the proverbial devil to get what she wants. In a moment of clarity reminiscent of her Cassandra-like foresight, she sighs and admits, “I should just ask you to leave/ ’Cause I know exactly where it leads.” By now, she’s danced a time or two. There’s a palpable fascination with how stylish and attractive she and her lover appear. Taylor revels in their allure, even as she grapples with the knowledge of where their path inevitably leads.
Blank Space. Taylor is leaning heavily into her role. This scene features multiple Taylors and glass closets, a clear reference to the insanity of LWYMMD previously in the Reputation set. She’s trying to figure out who she is among all the parts she’s played and she’s torn again.
With glowing bikes tracing circles, and swinging golf clubs, Taylor fully embraces the playful, unhinged female lead in Blank Space. The line “Boys only want love if it's torture/Don't say I didn't warn ya” underscores this dynamic.
The blue and orange lights evoke strong parallels to the blue and orange flames of the Lover House at the end of the set. Blank Space is the spark that burns it all down. Dream Taylor is sick and tired of having to fake this life of hers.
Wildest Dreams. Once again, Taylor sings about doomed love, reminiscent of I Know You Were Trouble. She feels like a broken record, singing the same songs over and over. Taylor lays in a bed slowly catching fire, symbolizing her awareness that she’s dreaming and her futile attempts to wake from the nightmare of her persona have failed. The fire, sparked in Blank Space, is spreading.
Bad Blood. Fire erupts on both the stage and floor as red lights blaze back with force and vengeance. Taylor, fed up with playing this game, is ready to incinerate the Lover House. Her anger, rage, and frustration reach a boiling point, culminating in the house burning in blue and orange flames—blue flames being the hottest.
This dramatic destruction symbolizes Taylor’s rejection of the character she’s been forced to play and marks the beginning of her full bloom rejection, shedding her former self. She’s speeding away from the burning wreckage of the city in her getaway car, but what lies ahead on this tortured highway of vengeance and retribution?
The Tortured Poets Department
Thesis Statement: The scene is desolate, resembling a wasteland with the 1989 city in the distance, nothing but smoldering wreckage. TTPD is a transitional period—perhaps another bridge—and the set’s introduction reinforces this notion. As the cages crash and her brand burns, Taylor is a blank, feral version of herself. Despite the uncertainty, Taylor and her troupe are headed toward a cliff. She’s done visiting our shore and she’s flooring the gas in the getaway car. Hold on tight, kiddos.
In TTPD, Dream Taylor continues her journey of reckoning. Dream Taylor seems to be channeling the five stages of grief throughout the set, but the real star is her fury. Now that she’s abandoned the sugary sweet Miss Americana, she must confront the pain and suffering of closeting, hiding the love she holds dear, the inner struggle to unite her two halves, and the betrayal, heartache, and consequences of the Lover era. Hope you’ve got tissues.
BDILH. BDILH addresses religious intolerance and alludes to conversion therapy, highlighting the impossibility of changing who you are or who you love. Taylor stands firm, refusing to change. The dancers become figures in pews, paralleled by Taylor's declaration that nothing—not even religion—can alter her. This marks her first act of defiance. The cages are empty, signifying her refusal to pretend. Taylor has turned wild. The flames of rage remain, but in BDILH, they are white. While she remains furious, she is undergoing purification and transformation. “All the wine moms are still holding out, but fuck ’em, it’s over,” she snarls determinedly, forging ahead after burning everything down. Taylor is not just rebelling; she's doubling down.
SHS. The pews from BDILH transform into bleachers for SHS, as shapes and structures often do in dreams. Taylor rolls her eyes, comparing it to high school—ridiculous and laughable. She gives the song a mere 20-30 seconds. She’s playing a character, but makes no effort to be convincing. The line “I’m having his baby” paired with a chopping-off-my-neck motion and the subsequent “No, I’m not” feels like a trolling gesture, reminiscent of how she used to convince her audience of her relationships. Her bitterness is evident as she openly mocks the situation.
WOALOM. Here, we’re introduced to the ghostly house with the tortured woman in the attic—a trope heavily used in the 19th century—and catch our first glimpse of Zombie Taylor. This must be Taylor reflecting on how much all these traumas have killed her over time. WOALOM is a tale of pure rage, with Taylor lashing out at everyone who forced her to conceal her true identity and love. She holds nothing back, standing on a raised platform surrounded by mirrors that reflect the audience. She wants them to take a hard, long look at themselves because they are responsible. WAOLOM is a warm-up for the unsettling art of ICDIWABH. The performance concludes with the iconic Zombie Taylor eyes, underscoring the intensity of her performance. I am literally dead inside.
Down Bad. Here, Taylor blends planetary and space imagery with a mirrored platform carving an infinity symbol into the floor. This symbolizes her coming to terms with her true self. The abduction motif, along with the stripping of clothes, represents the loss of her former identity after experiencing an otherworldly love. Something she’d be nuts to talk about. It follows the intense and endless closeting throughout her career. The infinity symbol suggests that this experience has left a permanent mark on her—a golden tattoo—and she acknowledges she’ll never be the same. This moment aligns with the realization of her queer identity, something she can’t wish or pretend away, regardless of how much she tries. Now that she has lost it, she is left feeling bereft and reeling.
Fortnight. The transition from Down Bad to Fortnight is seamless. Fortnight tells a straightforward story of Taylor striving to align both halves of herself, capturing a brief period when she managed it. She and her other half sit at typewriters, symbolizing her attempt to integrate both personas into her music and lyrics.
The two Taylors sway back and forth on a bed, alluding to her internal struggle between the people the world expects her to love and the individuals she’s genuinely drawn to. She attempts to reconcile these opposing sides, but her efforts prove temporary and ineffective. The song ends with her and her male counterpart standing on opposite podiums, forever out of touch.
hen Taylor references her husband or man, she is alluding to her fans. The line, "My husband is cheating, I want to kill him," could express her frustration with the role she was forced to play to satisfy her fans, who are falling for others despite her best efforts to hold their attention. At the end of Fortnight, she dons the marching band jacket associated with ME!, further emphasizing her complex relationship with her public persona and personal identity.
TSMWEL. The avalanche of paper falling down represents all the art Taylor created with Big Machine. If MTR is a funeral for Taylor, TSMWEL serves as a funeral for ME! or perhaps the entire Lover era. Taylor appears as a whitewashed version of her former self, reliving the heartbreak and disappointment. The red light in TTPD and the imagery of being shot underscores the destruction she feels. As she and her entire band slowly fall to the floor, it signals the end of an era. Ladies and gentlemen, Taylor Swift has died again. Heartbeats to flatlines.
ICDIWABH. The two suits lift Taylor and place her on a heart-shaped sofa. They smack her awake and make her change into a costume. This scene is deliberately unsettling, echoing the discomfort of “the crowd was chanting more.” It reminds me of the line from Better Than Revenge: “Go stand in the corner and think about what you’ve done.” We shouldn’t be demanding more from someone who has nothing left to give. ICDIWABH illustrates how Taylor was coerced into promoting Lover after the master's heist, and "I can show you lies" cleverly underscores the facade she’s had to maintain throughout her career.
Her dancers display an upbeat demeanor, which contrasts sharply with the somber, grave subject matter of the lyrics. This unsettling juxtaposition recalls the eerie undertones of Lover, once again suggesting that these parallels are intentional and reflective of the true aftermath of that era.
Acoustic Set
Thesis Statement: The Acoustic Set is Taylor putting her two halves in a direct dialogue and addressing some of the demons. She’s used AS to address the trauma of masking and hiding herself, contrasted the Red love with the real, golden love, wrapped an arm consolingly around her inner child, and much more.
In writing this, I tried to see Eras like a linear story. She moves from Evermore into the 1989 city, which she ends up burning to the ground. Then she jumps into the getaway car and floors the gas down Tortured Poets Highway. Where is she going from here? I believe she drives to the cliff in the Hoax lyric video. I also think it could be the sam cliff from This Is Me Trying. If that’s true, it gives all the art she’s made since Lover a deeper meaning.
This time she isn’t following her fear, she’s following her heart. It’s less of a moment of heartbroken desperation and a little bit more like a leap of faith. I’m just mad as hell ’cause I loved this place. She’s done her best to fit her tiny body into the mold she’s cut out for herself, but ultimately it’s like she’s laying herself in a coffin. She’s climbed to the highest spot in her multiverse. She looks back at everything: every brilliant flourish, every painstaking brushstroke on the canvas of her lyrical majesty. The answer would never be everclear. Don’t ask questions now. Do that later. She turns back to the raging waters and leaps, leaving our shore forever, swimming off into the great unknown.
Dream Taylor and her bed wash up underneath a ladder that stretches up into the clouds. And from this point on, guys, I’ll need you to hold onto your hats because it’s about to get kind of wild, but isn’t the unpredictable and mercurial nature of dreams what makes them beautiful and fascinating? Dream Taylor rises up from her bed and begins to climb the ladder into the clouds.
I’d pivot right here into Midnights, but I won’t. I’d be doing a disservice if I chose to gloss over this next part, so bear with me. Do you remember that sound I mentioned in the intro, the fader-type space sound that played in the intro to Eras? You clearly hear it again just before the clouds appear for Lavender Haze.
Next, do you recall the figure people spied in the Midnight clouds that they referred to as Peter? Yeah, put all of that into your cocktail and stir it around, kids. Shit is getting interesting.
Also, do you remember that poem that Stevie Nicks wrote for TTPD dated 9/13? In my analysis, the introduction to and the imagery used during Midnights caught and gutted me like a worm on a hook. I saw a possible reference, but decide for yourself.
Stevie Nicks Poem (TTPD)
Thesis Statement: Taylor is a burning star, perhaps as bright as the sun. And Peter, well, he soars through the clouds. Is the Stevie Nicks poem a cleverly concealed ode to the two sides of Taylor? Brand Taylor is the she here, and when you think about it, it makes perfect logical sense. Real Taylor is the masculine pronouns.
He was in love with her Or at least she thought so She was broken hearted ~Maybe he was too~ Neither of them knew She was way too hot to handle He was way too high to try- He couldn’t even see her He wouldn’t open his eyes She was on her way to the stars He didn’t say goodbye.
When she was younger, she loved herself very much, but had no way of knowing what the future held. She couldn't have foreseen the way her star would explode once she became famous. Brand Taylor grew more distant from Real Taylor until they couldn't see each other anymore. Even if she wanted to, she never said goodbye.
She looked back from her future And shed a few tears He looked into his past And actually felt fear For both of them The answer ~would never be~ Everclear Don’t ask questions now Do that later- She brings joy He brings Shakespeare- It’s almost a tragedy- Says she” Don’t endanger me (Pause) don’t endanger me.
Brand Taylor looks back on what it took to get to where she is, and she feels remorse and sadness. Real Taylor reflects on their shared past and is fearful for what the future might bring. Brand Taylor didn't stop to ask Real Taylor any probing questions. She was too focused on being America's Sweetheart. Real Taylor is deep and poetic, i.e. the Romeo & Juliet references in Love Story. It's almost ironic to Real Taylor. Meanwhile, Brand Taylor is terrified of Real Taylor derailing her trip to the sky.
He really can’t answer her He’s afraid of her He’s hiding from her And he ???? That he’s hurting her She tells the truth She writes about it She’s an informer He’s an x-lover There’s nothing there for her She’s already gone There’s nothing that can stop her-
Real Taylor knows there's nothing he can really say. Out of their rift there's grown an air of distrust. Real Taylor now quarantines themselves away from Brand Taylor. Real Taylor thinks he's doing Brand Taylor a favor. Meanwhile, Brand Taylor is capitalizing off her misery by turning it into art. She's free to air all their dirty laundry in public because nobody knows Real Taylor exists. He only exists in the bylines. Alhough Real Taylor loved Brand Taylor once, like a child adores a wild horse form faraway, they know they'll never catch her. She's already streaking through the air like a wild comet.
She was just flying- Thru the clouds When he saw her… She was just making her way- To the stars~ When he lost her…
Okay, now we can get into Midnights.
Midnights
Thesis Statement: Taylor climbs the ladder into the clouds. It signifies that she is officially done with life on Earth and is preparing for ascension. The night sky and the crescent moon are prominently displayed. Is Taylor leaving Earth and aiming for outer space, or to reconnect with something or someone? The imagery evokes a sense of transcendence, reminiscent of the line She was on her way to the stars. It seems to me she’s well on her way.
LH. Taylor is addressing and rejecting the world's expectations of her, and this is vividly illustrated through her use of color and visuals. The stage is awash with overlapping shades of lavender and purple, creating a stark contrast against the dancers dressed almost entirely in orange and red. Taylor, in her lavender shirt dress and baby bear coat, stands out distinctly from the rest. The imagery of closeting juxtaposed with the lyrics about rejecting societal standards highlights her refusal to conform. This powerful contrast underscores her defiance and individuality. LH stands out in stark contrast the first song of TTPD, BDILH. I feel like they’re strolling together through lavender fields in an alternate universe that Taylor owns the copyrights to.
Anti-Hero. Anti-Hero almost feels like a warning to fans—a "come back to this moment because I warned you" kind of vibe. Taylor is explicitly revealing who she is, suggesting that her fans wouldn't support her if they knew the full truth. Enter Giant Taylor, lurching through a tiny city like a cute Godzilla. She knocks over buildings and ambles around, symbolizing how larger-than-life Taylor feels with her fame and brand. The scenes with Giant Taylor highlight her overwhelming presence and the weight of her public persona. When Giant Taylor glares down at Dream Taylor and then finally rages out, it represents a culmination of frustration and a long-held desire to express herself. The truth has been there the entire time, like the Vote pin she places over the arrow wound oozing glittery lavender blood in the MV.
Midnight Rain. Midnight Rain is Taylor’s deep reflection on sacrifices and bypassed experiences made in her relentless pursuit of fame and success. This could be interpreted as “looking backwards may be the only way to go forward.” If interpreted through the lens of Dual Taylors, it’s Brand Taylor contemplating the dreams and desires of Real Taylor. Real Taylor yearned for love and family, while Brand Taylor was obsessed with recognition and approval. The song explores the poignant contrast between these two sides of herself, highlighting the personal costs of her professional ambitions. As Brand Taylor reflects on the life Real Taylor might have had, the song resonates with themes of regret and introspection, capturing the emotional weight of choices made.
Vigilante Shit. In Vigilante Shit, Taylor delivers her most savage lyrics, paired with a seductive and provocative dance routine. The aesthetics and choreography suggest a narrative where Taylor has seduced the subject's wife, creating a visual and thematic link to the song’s lyrical content. This interpretation adds depth to the performance, as it aligns with the song’s themes of revenge and personal empowerment.
If viewed through this lens, the choreography not only complements the lyrics but also enhances the storytelling, depicting Taylor’s strategic and bold approach to retribution. Alternatively, the dance could represent Taylor flexing her power to seduce, symbolizing her confidence and control, potentially in response to the betrayal and wrongs she has faced, such as the Masters Heist.
Bejeweled. As the scene transitions to jewel-toned visuals and lights, it marks one of the first vibrant bursts of color since the Lover set. Taylor seeks to shine again. It reflects the moment she found joy and happiness reconnecting with herself and her discography on Folklore/Evermore and the re-recordings. While Bejeweled doesn’t present a full rainbow, it represents her journey towards reclaiming her status as a vibrant queen.
Mastermind. Taylor signals the master plan that we’re currently witnessing. She’s declaring, “I’ve got a winning hand, and I’m going to play it flawlessly, staying one step ahead at every turn.” This is her subtle way of hinting at an elaborate scheme, suggesting that what’s unfolding is a heist of monumental proportions—one that will make the Masters Heist look like child's play. By framing it as a game, she’s preparing us for when her true strategy is revealed and the cards are laid out.
Karma. The central focus is the dramatic entrance of the orange Karma door. When the door hits the ground, it bursts open, unleashing a cascade of cosmic imagery, pulsating rainbows, and vivid orange, purple, and pink skies. It’s as though the full spectrum of colors and vibrancy from the Lover era has returned, finding its way back in. Karma is a triumphant celebration and return to Taylor's essence. It symbolizes her acceptance and embrace of her true self and the colors that come with it, marking a full-circle moment since Lovers. Since the beginning of Eras, Taylor’s energy has begun to balance and come full circle. Not only is she amongst stars now, but she is out in the cosmos looking for her planet where only the gentle survive. Godspeed, little poet.
Posted Sep 10, 2024, 1:31 AM UTC