Taylor Swift Put So Many Easter Eggs In Her "Fortnight" Music Video

Another Taylor Swift video means another closely investigated Easter egg hunt. By now, every Swiftie knows that our favorite tortured poet loves to hide references ranging from cute little throwbacks to potentially massive revelations in all of her releases. And yes, her new “Fortnight” music video with Post Malone is no different. As you go back for your hundredth rewatch of the very Poor Things-coded video, be on the lookout for the following Easter eggs hiding in plain sight.

In “Fortnight,” Swift sings about an ex that she’s still hung up on after a breakup that sent her spiraling. As in the song, Malone plays Swift’s love interest in the music video, which puts a fantastical, gothic spin on the lyrics. Filmed in black-and-white (which seems to be this era’s aesthetic), the video shows Swift being freed from a distorted asylum and going back to work in a warehouse filled with typewriters. After fantasizing about her past fling with Malone’s character, Swift goes to medical extremes to try to forget him, but nothing can take away her memories.

Notably, the video includes tons of visual references to Swift’s past work, as well as winks to other elements of her Tortured Poets era, and even some clues as to who “Fortnight” may be about.

1. The Dead Poets Society Cameos

Swift and Malone aren’t the only stars in the “Fortnight” video. The final scenes in the lab introduce Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles as the doctors operating on Swift. The actors’ cameos seem quite intentional, as they both starred in The Dead Poets Society, a movie believed to be part of the inspiration for The Tortured Poets Department’s title.

2. The 1975 & Matty Healy References

The video’s black-and-white aesthetic immediately called to mind the visual work of another artist: The 1975. Many of the scenes in “Fortnight” seem to recreate moments from The 1975 videos, including Post Malone’s lab coat look, which mimics Matty Healy’s similar concert wardrobe. Many Swifties believe much of Tortured Poets is inspired by Swift’s relationship with Healy, so these allusions could be yet another hint towards that theory.

3. The Black Dog

Swift dropped a very clear reference to another Tortured Poets song in the middle of the video, as a black dog quickly runs by the screen. In her song “The Black Dog,” there isn’t a literal canine, as its actually revealed to be the name of a bar (which is a real place, BTW).

4. The “Story Of Us” Book

Ahead of Tortured Poets’ release, Swift hosted a pop-up library in Los Angeles filled with Easter eggs. One cute inclusion at that event was a book with the work “Us” written on the cover — a shoutout to her Speak Now track “The Story of Us.” That same book appears in the “Fortnight” video, as Swift reads it to Malone.

5. The “Style” Throwback

In that same scene, Swift also references another one of her songs. As the papers on the ground create a silhouette of Swift’s head, it calls back to the similar effect used in her “Style” video.

6. The “Lover” Papers

One recurring motif in the “Fortnight” video is falling papers, which will remind any Swiftie of Swift’s 2019 Saturday Night Live performance of “Lover.”

7. The “Blank Space” Parallels

One more nod to an iconic music video in her catalogue — Swift seems to reference her “Blank Space” video as she places a pill on her tongue in “Fortnight.”