Taylor Fully Explained An “All Too Well” Easter Egg You Might've Missed
Of course everything in the film had a deeper meaning.
Just when you thought you knew everything about All Too Well: A Short Film, Taylor Swift gifted Swifties with an in-depth explainer on a few easter eggs that went largely unnoticed. In a surprise public appearance at Tribeca Film Festival on July 11, the Red singer shared with an intimate crowd the significant stories tucked away in the short film that haven’t been caught yet, even by the most diligent Swifties. Even though the film was released 8 months ago, Swift gave fans a reason to watch it again, especially after Taylor Swift explained the meaning behind the red typewriter easter egg in the film.
“There’s this red typewriter,” she told the audience, per Variety. “We meet (Dylan O'Brien) for the first time; we pan across a red typewriter. Later on, we see her (Sadie Sink) typing on that typewriter.” At the 8:28 mark in the “All Too Well” short film, the protagonist (suspected to be a younger version of Taylor Swift) is seen writing furiously on a red typewriter. “We assume he gave it to her: she complimented it and he gave it to her. He’s taken a lot from her in the course of this, but he’s also given her something: this dream and hope of being a writer. This experience is what galvanized her life and career.”
Another tidbit that Swift mentioned related to the fight scene between O’Brien and Sink’s character, who are simply named Her and Him in the video. In the middle of the film, the music cut out as a passionate and heartbreaking argument erupted between the couple. “What you guys saw is mostly improv,” Swift revealed of that scene. Sink didn’t think that the scene would make it into the final cut because they went off script, but Swift loved it. “You absolutely blew me away,” the singer reassured.
In the final scene of the film, Swift is seen playing the older version of Sink’s character, reading from a book she wrote (on the red typewriter) named after the film’s title. While reading to an audience, a male figure wearing a red scarf watches from the window for a moment before he walks away without showing his face... although it’s clearly Him. “I wanted us to wonder: Was he just seeing if she was OK? Was he about to walk in but leaving thinking, ‘It’s time to leave well enough alone. I’ve put her through enough’?” Even if fans wanted an answer to those questions, Swift wouldn’t give one. “We will always wonder. We will never know.”
Though Swift wants to try her hand at writing and directing again, she said “I don’t see it being bigger in terms of scale.” No matter the scale, Swifties will no doubt continue to show their support for any of the singer’s future endeavors and stories that she tells.
