Every Easter egg and reference in Taylor Swift’s "The Fate of Ophelia" music video decoded

Taylor Swift recently released her newest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, on October 3, 2025. The first track is titled The Fate of Ophelia and the song's music video contains many Easter Eggs and references, which have been decoded by fans since its release.

The music video opens up with a scene of an ornate staircase with a chandelier hanging above, and fans have decoded that the name of the track itself is written on various parts of the staircase. The scene then moves to the first reference in the video, a famous portrait of Ophelia, though it is not a perfect match to John Everett Malais's iconic Pre-Raphaelite painting of the character. The original painting is found at a later juncture in the video, however.

Subsequently, there is a reference to her cat as she steps in front of another painting, as well as an orange bird, which, as per Elle Magazine, is a reference to her Look What You Made Me Do music video, where she appeared in an orange dress in a bird cage. It could also be another reference to the inspiration behind the track itself, as William Shakespeare is known for his usage of ornithological motifs in his plays, including Hamlet.

The singer then switches to another outfit, a red outfit, which fans have suggested was inspired by Marilyn Monroe. In that scene, there is a photo of Travis Kelce from his 2016 interview with Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Swift herself, in which he stated he wanted to kiss her.

More easter eggs and references on Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia"

After the Marilyn Monroe-inspired scene, Taylor Swift recreates the painting The Sirens and Ulysses by William Etty, as per Elle Magazine. After that, the singer has a scene with the 'karma jacket' from her Eras Tour.

At the end of the 'karma jacket' scene, the clapperboard has the name Kitty Finlay written on it, both a reference to the character of the same name from the track The Life of a Showgirl, and the middle name of her mother.

The clapperboard also has the words 'Sequins Are Forever' and 'Take 100' written on it, a reference to the title track of the album as well as Travis Kelce's easter egg photo from July 2025.

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Easter eggs and references in "The Fate Of Ophelia" music video!!A thread1. The room she walks into at the end is #87.

In the next scene, all the track abbreviations are given on the chalkboard walk, and the following scene has her catching a football and entering a door numbered 87, the same number as Kelce's jersey. The final scene of the video is a callback to the cover of the album, with Taylor Swift half-submerged in a bathtub.

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Other references in the music video include references to other tracks of the album, including Wood, Wish List, Actually Romantic, and the title track, as well as references to its album's tracks. Some fans have also suggested that the red hair Taylor Swift is sporting in some of the scenes of the track is a reference to her All Too Well music video.

Taylor Swift has several other references in the album. She mentions 50 Cent in the track Ruin The Friendship, and has named one of the tracks of the album after the late actress Elizabeth Taylor.

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