Taylor Swift is set to release The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, an expanded edition featuring lead single “Patient Zero,” on Sept. 25. A clip with Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell debuted Sept. 24; fans link clues in “Opalite” and her Emmys sketch to both.
In the February “Opalite” video, Swift and Domhnall Gleeson dance before four judges holding score paddles marked “0”; a poster in another scene reads “Patient for the Encore.” Fans interpreted the four zeros as hints at “Patient Zero” and possibly the four tracks in the expanded edition. The edition also includes “Pink Clouding,” “Babylon” and “Cleveland!” alongside the single; the article describes “Cleveland!” as a possible nod to Swift’s husband Travis Kelce’s hometown.
In a pre-recorded sketch at the Sept. 14 Emmy Awards, Swift said, “Saccharide. Aries. From the vineyard. North or south.” Fans interpreted the words as an “Encore” clue and “North or south” as a possible reference to Dakota Johnson. Some also theorized that “saccharide,” a chemical term for sugar, hinted at Colin Farrell’s character John Sugar in Apple TV’s “Sugar.” The full video is scheduled to debut at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27.
