It’s here. “… Ready for It?,†the most sonically progressive track from Taylor Swift’s upcoming Reputation, first premiered at a Florida State versus Alabama Saturday Night Football game, then made a brief pit stop on the internet long enough for us to debate whether we actually liked it or not, and is now back in video form. The usual questions apply: Who is the song about? Does Taylor Swift really want to move to an island with whomever it’s about? And if so, what island? Also, is this song about Joe Alwyn? Is this whole album about Joe Alwyn?
Complete with cyborgs, robotic enhancements, and glowing orbs of light, the newly released music video’s aesthetic seems inspired by Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and Tron: Legacy. The visual feast begins with a hooded, cybernetic Taylor Swift walking down a graffitied, Blade Runner–esque alley, passing robots wearing helmets that would put Daft Punk to shame. She then enters a gutted, abandoned warehouse where she comes face to face with what can only be described as a cyborg Taylor Swift who is imprisoned inside a cube structure. After shape-shifting, manifesting a cyborg horse to ride on, and causing a mini–electrical storm inside the confines of her cube, the trapped Taylor eventually shatters the glass walls literally ripping the hooded Taylor’s face off revealing her robotic skeletal framework — perfect for any last-minute Halloween costume inspiration. Watch the entire futuristic music video, which was directed by Joseph Kahn, above, and see if you can spot the many Easter eggs hidden in plain sight, which include references to the number 13, Joe Alwyn’s birthday, and snakes.