Decoding the 000
Real question: Does Taylor Swift even sleep? I’ve pondered this endlessly since her back-to-back release of folklore and evermore in 2020, and my puzzlement has continued as Swift embarked on a record-breaking tour, released three more albums—not counting her re-releases—got engaged, then married in Madison Square Garden and somehow still had it in her to do an encore for The Life of a Showgirl. I’m sweating thinking about it. Because in addition to the addendum, Swift is also debuting a music video at the VMAs this weekend, co-starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell. The teaser clip posted to the “All Too Well” singer’s Instagram account this morning only confirms the trail of Easter Eggs she’s been leaving since the Emmys. But I also think that it’s doubling down on a theory I’ve been chasing for a while.
The brief snippet seems to confirm two clues Swift left viewers during her Emmys sketch alongside Mariska Hargitay, when the pop star cryptically addressed the camera with the words “Saccharide, Aries, from the vineyard, north or south.”
Johnson’s appearance is allegedly confirmed by “north or south,” seeing as the only state with cardinal directions in the name are the Dakotas. As for Farrell, his appearance was alluded to in “saccharide,” as he plays John Sugar in the Apple TV+ drama, Sugar. He was also, notably, a friend of Elizabeth Taylor in the last years of the Hollywood legend‘s life, and we know that Swift has a mild obsession with the Cleopatra actress.
Emmys Easter eggs aside, I’m still convinced that “Patient Zero” is pointing us to the re-release of Reputation, given how coded it is to Swift’s sixth album. I mean, the gravestone is a blatant callback to “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Then there are the triple zeros; 000 is the angel number for fresh starts. One fan pointed out on X that both Reputation and Swift’s eponymous debut were new beginnings for her. One of the more enthusiastic predictions is that The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore is the beginning of a triple release, in which Reputation (Taylor’s Version) and Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) could follow.
Plus, there’s the fact that 0:00 is midnight in military time. There’s further speculation that she’ll make an announcement at midnight tonight, or that she’s referencing the announcement of her album, Midnights, at the 2022 VMAs. Who’s to say she wouldn’t repeat the spectacle with a mega-announcement this Sunday? But as with everything Swift, there’s only one thing we can do: Wait for the mastermind to reveal all.
