This one indeed opened a can of worms for me. So it was hard and difficult to stomach at first. However, after pushing through it, repelled and grossed out by aspects of the story that it is bringing up, I could at last get into how meticulously elaborated it all is and enjoy it. What am I even talking about, if it’s just another music video? Well…
Let’s start with Ophelia. Who is she and what does she represent? Everything revolves around being saved from her fate. A fate that is far from ideal. So much that it can drive you into madness and cause you to lose your life. Ophelia obeyed, she played by the rules, and it cost her gravely. And essentially, that’s her legacy in this tale, to tell what happens down her path.
Now, this tale is kind of tricky. It is specific in what it notes but it is not explicit in what it means. You can interpret it in different ways. And two of them can be quite opposite. One making it a tale of virtue and happy endings, and another making it a tale of vileness and bittersweet experiences. And that’s interesting, too, because it goes to show how confusing things can be sometimes.
Read it as though the rescuer is a legitimate hero who sincerely cares for the damsel in distress, bringing clarity, and it is something to cherish or even honor. Read it as though the rescuer is an impostor hero, taking advantage of the damsel in distress’ most hopeless moments, and the gratitude is instead an intended result from the deceit that they brought. They’re not the one breaking the spell. They’re the one casting it.
The former seems, to me, more like the stretch because there are more than a couple of signs shown or described that evoke suspicion, as if begging us to take off the rose-colored glasses.
Whatever the case, though, people are loving the music video. And I do, too. I also particularly like, though I don’t know if it is on purpose, how it is shot in one-take scenes that resemble We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. And if that’s such for a reason, that would be a clue. And a very sneaky one at that.
There are actually LOTS OF THINGS to notice. In the background, in the clothes, in the choreography, in the transitions, and so on. I wouldn’t be able to point to all of them even if I tried (I’m probably still missing a bunch). So I do suggest, if you’ve been around for more of TS’ history (or you’d ponder it regardless), to pay close attention to everything that’s going on because there’s a high chance it is a reference.
I adored the trio dressed in black with hints of yellow (and how the image of them kaleidoscoped through what seemed like a crystal). I adored the group dressed in red with black tones (and how much unabashed sass they had). I adored the crew dressed in blue with the lifebuoys (and how there’s a solo attire and then also four more that stand out). I also adored the more casual pack of pals carefreely going through the hallways. I could go on. The point is that the wardrobe was wardrobing.
Taylor Swift also emphasises that she really wanted to bring the cast of The Eras Tour together for this production. So it is pretty much doing homage to those times, which is thoughtful and lovely beyond words...
