On Friday night, as part of what may have been the most epic night of the entire Eras Tour thus far, Taylor Swift personally premiered the music video for “Karma (feat. Ice Spice)” live to the crowd at her first show in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Other highlights of that show included Ice Spice actually joining Taylor onstage to perform “Karma” live as well as Jack Antonoff joining for a duet of “Getaway Car” and honestly just a bunch of other stuff fans who were there will be bragging about forever.)
Even with all the amazing things at the show, however, the “Karma” video premiere still stood out as the highlight of the evening (/most of the weekend, if we’re being honest). The video is truly visually stunning:
And now, out of respect to Swiftian tradition, a breakdown of all the Easter eggs, references, and potential layers of meaning in the video.
Taylor’s painting, which might be a statement about her breakup with Joe
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In the opening shot of the video, you can see a glimpse of a painting that appears to be a Taylor Swift original. The art includes a haunting landscape with a stick-figure-esque house and is visually pretty similar to the House on the Coast painting that’s featured in the “Cardigan” music video. This time, however, the house is an outline/empty shell—which could be a reference to the way her home life has been upended since the painting last made its appearance, when she and Joe were spending a lot of time together during quarantine. (I could also be reaching waaay too deep.)
The vinyl record with a swirl of rerelease nods
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Next up, we have the vinyl copy of Midnights that’s playing at the beginning of the video, which is literally surrounded by rerelease clues/references. The vinyl itself is light blue (the color associated with the 1989 era), and the magical swirl with purple and teal butterflies could be seen as a nod to 1989, Speak Now, and Debut, TBH.
Taylor as Nemesis, surrounded by 1989 imagery
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Our first depiction of Taylor herself in the video has her on a pedestal dressed as Nemesis, the Greek goddess of retribution/revenge, all while surrounded by all kinds of 1989 Easter eggs (most notably, the numerals on the pedestal are “MCMLXXXIX,” which translates to “1989,” and there’s a distinct Empire State Building jutting out of one of the columns behind her). This all comes together in a significant way: She’s on a literal pedestal, which calls to mind the metaphorical one she was on for much of the 1989 era, during which she was riding high on peaks of both critical and commercial success.
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Also, she’s dressed as Nemesis, which could signify that Taylor, in retrospect, sees herself as her own worst enemy at this time in her life. And of course, there’s the fact that we know that in real life, 1989 preceded her own retribution story arc (her public downfall following the Kimye drama, her year in hiding, and then her return with Reputation).
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Oh, and there’s also a reappearance of the “karma” graffiti from the video for “The Man” on one of the columns if you look closely.
Some pointed commentary on her Rep era
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Even the transition here is significant because the frame spins upside down, not unlike how Taylor’s world/life/reputation were all turned upside down following the whole being-canceled-and-called-a-snake-by-thousands-on-Twitter thing. After that transition, we’re deep in a bunch of very pointed Reputation imagery and commentary, starting with the fact that Taylor—who was publicly demonized by many during this time—is wearing a full-on demon mask.
To drive home the Rep connection for anyone not getting it somehow, Taylor’s look when she removes the mask is pure Reputation era Taylor:
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Then the world turns upside down yet again to take us to…
Some fresh commentary on the candy-colored (possibly fake-ish) joy of the Lover era.
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The next scene takes us to a brightly colored pop-up storybook land, with Taylor dressed in a baby doll dress with her hair in pigtails and Dorothy-style ruby slippers on her feet. Following the chronology that’s been established (and the color palette), this puts us firmly in the Lover era, but the imagery suggests that Taylor might see her outward exuberance and heart-eyes at that time (smack in the middle of her relationship with Joe Alwyn) as a little fake and/or childish or naive in retrospect.
Three grim reapers for Taylor’s three biggest public feuds
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When Taylor looks over, her colorful world is invaded by darkness thanks to three grim reapers standing menacingly across the way. My best guess would be that these represent her three biggest enemies, professionally speaking: Scooter Braun, Scott Borchetta, and Kanye West. All three men/their sins against Taylor have repeatedly been referenced in songs in recent years. Framing this particular segment in a literal storybook also highlights the fact that this is very much a part of Taylor’s public narrative (and one she’s no longer attempting to be excluded from).
Also, the jagged rocks in their scenery have a distinctly “tilted stage” vibe:
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She blows the reapers a meaningful kiss (off)
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Storybook Taylor takes on the reapers by blowing them a kiss that comes with a swirl of magic-y purple dust. Purple is, of course, the color associated with Speak Now, which is significant for each of the “reapers.” It’s her next rerecord, and the project of rerecording all her old albums is the way she’s fighting back against Borchetta and Braun in her battle over her masters. Also, Speak Now was the first album Taylor released after Kanye infamously interrupted her acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs, and it includes “Innocent,” her first song about her feud with him.
The hourglass is a reference to a coveted piece of Folklore merch (and the song “August”)
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The giant hourglass Taylor ends up in is a replica of a piece of merch that was available during the Folklore era, known as the August Slipped Away Hourglass. It’s pretty much identical:
The hourglass is a coveted piece of merch for collectors and features lyrics from “August” (“August slipped away into a moment in time / ’Cause it was never mine”), a song written from the perspective of the “other woman” in Folklore’s famous teenage love triangle. Make of that what you will (because I’m honestly not sure where to start).
Ice Spice’s seashell “Bejeweled” reference
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Some people on Twitter have pointed out that the shell Ice Spice sits in looks a lot like the one featured in the “Bejeweled” video.
Taylor’s lasso is not gold (sorry, Joe)
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In the scene where Taylor and Ice Spice are about to lasso the moon and Saturn (more on that reference in a sec), Ice Spice has a golden string and Taylor’s is a silvery color. This isn’t super significant except that the moon and Saturn reference comes from Folklore, which also features “Invisible String,” in which Taylor compares fate’s way of tying her to now-ex Joe as a “thread of gold.” Now, Taylor seems to want nothing to do with holding gold strings (understandably).
Lassoing the moon and Saturn is another Folklore reference
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This one comes from the lyrics of “Seven,” in which Taylor tells a childhood friend, “Love you to the moon and to Saturn.”
The light bulbs could be a clue that 1989 will be the next rerecord after Speak Now
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Why? Because there are three light bulbs at first (and Speak Now was Taylor’s third album).
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And then there are five light bulbs (and 1989 was her fifth album).
Taylor is still bejeweled post-Joe
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In addition to being awe-inspiring, this visual of Taylor as an actual mountain could be a reference to “Bejeweled,” when she sings:
I made you my world, have you heard?I can reclaim the land
“Bejeweled” seems to have been inspired by Calvin Harris, but the principle applies to Taylor after any breakup.
And she’s shattering the idea of Joe as part of her good karma
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*Exactly* when Taylor gets to the “Karma” lyric most specifically about Joe, “Karma is the guy on the screen / Coming straight home to me,” video Taylor plunges an oar into the water, breaking up the image that was on the screen. Message received.
Oh, and the Taylor who does that? She’s very much STILL BEJEWELED
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Just in case the reference wasn’t clear.
Taylor’s nail polish holding the coffee cup could be a clue about future rerecording releases
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Taylor’s left thumb is blue (1989) and her right thumb is black (Reputation). Most fans think this is a clear clue that 1989 will be the next rerecord, followed by Reputation. Some are also speculating that the placement of her thumbs could be significant (i.e., 1989 will come out in August because her blue thumb is at the 8, and Reputation will be out next February because that thumb is by the 2).
Aaand the Midnights era seems to be over
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The video ends with the latte art clock striking midnight, which seems like a hint that the Midnights era is ending with the “Karma” video and that from here on out, we’ll be firmly in the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) era.
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