14 genius easter eggs in Taylor Swift's All Too Well short film you might've missed

16 November 2021, 20:35

Taylor Swift opens up about casting Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien in the All Too Well film

By Katie Louise Smith

All Too Well: The Short Film is full of easter eggs about Red, 1989, Speak Now and the rest of Taylor's music.

Dust off your scarves, get that red lipstick on and get ready because Taylor Swift has reentered her Red era. Officially!

Red (Taylor's Version) was finally released last week (Nov 12) and alongside a handful of brand new, previously unreleased vault tracks and the long-awaited, much-hyped, masterpiece that is, the original 10 minute version of 'All Too Well'.

To mark the occasion, Taylor has taken her 'All Too Well' duties to a whole 'nother level and directed an entire short film based on the song. All Too Well (The Short Film) stars Stranger Things star Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf legend Dylan O'Brien and yes, it's absolutely jam packed full of easter eggs. Ready for the decoding session?

Here's all the easter eggs that you might have missed in Taylor Swift's All Too Well short film.

The ages of Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien.

Wondering why 19-year-old Sadie and 30-year-old Dylan were cast opposite each other in the short film? Well, fans believe it could be a nod to Taylor's relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. The pair first started dated in 2010, when Taylor was 20 and Jake was 30.

The age gap between the two actors in the short film could possibly be a very subtle nod to Taylor and Jake's ages when they dated. Taylor even references their age gap on the song in the lyric, "You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine."

READ MORE: Dylan O'Brien had a perfect response to the Jake Gyllenhaal speculation in All Too Well short film

The Mercedes Benz car seen in the teaser.

It's not just Red (Taylor's Version) that Blondie is teasing in the short film... She's back in her 1989 bag, too.

Sleuthed by @goldenstring on Twitter, the car that can be seen in the trailer and at various points throughout the film is a 1989 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Taylor even confirmed this one herself on TikTok, writing: "Can't stop won't stop being cryptic and weird – that's just the beginning it's gonna be a fun week."

The 'Lover' parallels.

In case you needed anymore confirmation that the lyrical parallels between 'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and 'Lover' are intentional, there's a whole host of visual parallels between the music videos too.

Several fans have noticed a handful of cinematic similarities between Taylor's most heartbreaking song, and her most romantic one, which is about her boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

The reference to 'The Moment I Knew' and her 21st birthday party.

In 'All Too Well (10-minute version)', Taylor sings about the time a boyfriend didn't show up at her 21st birthday party. The scene is acted out in the short film, but it's also a nod to the storyline of 'The Moment I Knew'.

In an interview with Yahoo, Taylor previously spoke about the story behind 'The Moment I Knew', saying it "was a song about my 21st birthday party, which was the worst experience ever."

Taylor references her original draft lyrics for 'All Too Well' too.

This one is for the hardcore Swifties amongst us. In the 'All Too Well' journal pages that were released alongside the deluxe editions of Lover, Taylor originally wrote: "Well I left my scarf there at your sister's house. On the banister, I remember even now."

As Sadie's character walks through the door, she takes her scarf off and leaves it on the banister. The expert level detail was shared on social media by @alexs_cardigan.

The reference to Champagne Problems.

In the kitchen argument scene between Sadie and Dylan's characters, 'Her' makes a point of telling 'Him' that he "dropped her hand" at the dinner table while he was talking to his friends, calling back to a lyric in Evermore's 'Champagne Problems' that reads, "Because I dropped your hand while dancing."

The light from the refrigerator.

Fans can't get enough of the "dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light" moment, as it frames 'Him' by the cold, blue light of the fridge and 'Her' by the warm, golden light outside perfectly.

'Golden' is a repeated motif in Taylor's music too, as she often uses it to refer to love. In 'Daylight', she also sings, "I once believed love would be burning red, but it's golden like daylight."

Sadie's character wears Dylan's shirt following their breakup.

At the start of the 'The Reeling' segment, 'Her' can be seen lying in bed wearing 'His' plaid shirt from their 'Upstate Escape' at the beginning of the short film.

It's also a nod to the Speak Now song 'Last Kiss', where Taylor sings, “But now I’ll go / Sit on the floor wearing your clothes / All that I know is I don’t know / How to be something you miss.”

The multiple references to Speak Now.

Along with the reference to 'Last Kiss' mentioned above, there's also a nod to 'Mine' as we see 'Him' put his arm around 'Her' as they're "sitting there by the water".

Fans also clocked a couple of references to 'The Story of Us' too. The scene where 'Her' is "standing alone in a crowded room"? The 'All Too Well' book literally being a "story of us [that] looks a lot like a tragedy now"? Could Speak Now (Taylor's Version) be coming next?!

The subtle Ed Sheeran collab reference.

At one point in the short film, 'Her' and 'Him' can be seen playing cards. There's currently a pack of cards being sold on Taylor's website too, and fans have been quick to note that it could be yet another hint at an upcoming collaboration with Ed Sheeran.

Ed recently revealed that he's working on a remix of his song, 'The Joker and the Queen', with an 'American artist', and was seen wearing a leather jacket with a 'Taylor Swift' patch in the 'Overpass Graffiti' video.

Taylor also referenced Ed's recent album = in the music video for 'I Bet You Think About Me'.

Taylor's character is reciting the lyrics to 'All Too Well' when she's reading the book at the end of the film.

Taylor begins by singing along to the lyrics of the song, before reciting the first line and reading it to the audience as if she's reading the first page of the book.

The 'All Too Well' book was hinted at in one of Taylor's TikToks before the film was released.

Remember that sneaky TikTok that Taylor posted where she teased the lyrics to one of the songs by writing them in the back of a book? Well, that book, as we now know, is the 'All Too Well' book.

The camera even pans down to the books when Taylor sings, "Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?"

The references to 'Wonderland'.

What? You thought that Taylor would only stick to teasing one of her next re-recordings? Oh no... there's even more 1989 (Taylor's Version) easter eggs in here too.

The cover of the 'All Too Well' book looks a lot like one version of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, which could be a massive hint for what's coming next. Taylor also referenced the 1989 song 'Wonderland' in her interview with Jimmy Fallon prior to the launch of the short film too.

And finally... the actor who played 'Him, later on'.

Jake. Pretty self-explanatory, tbh.

Did you spot any that we haven't added to the list? Let us know @popbuzz on Twitter!

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