Here is every Easter egg and reference in Taylor Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film. The eleven-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift is currently in the process of re-recording her first six albums, following a dispute over the ownership of her master recordings. On November 12, 2021, she released her second re-recorded album, Red (Taylor’s Version). To complete the album’s thirty-song lineup, Swift added nine songs “from the vault,” including the ten-minute version of the song "All Too Well".
Since Red’s commercial release in 2012, "All Too Well" has been widely praised for its vivid storytelling and emotional lyrics. Most music critics hailed the song as Swift’s best work, a crescendoing break-up ballad that zeroes in on a seemingly trivial detail and acknowledges the naïveté that comes with her age. Swift claims that it was the most difficult song she wrote on the album. Her eagle-eyed fans have long speculated that "All Too Well" is about actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who dated Swift in 2010.
Years ago, Swift first teased that "All Too Well" was just a filtered-down version of the original ten-minute expanded song. Finally, the highly-anticipated track arrived, along with a short film that depicts the relationship the song described. Directed by Taylor Swift herself, All Too Well: The Short Film stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, presumably playing Swift and Gyllenhaal, respectively. The musician herself also makes a brief cameo. Aside from a global premiere on YouTube, the film was also shown at AMC Theatres in New York City during a limited run. Here is every Taylor Swift Easter egg and reference in All Too Well: The Short Film.
Pablo Neruda Quote
All Too Well: The Short Film opens with the quote “Love is so short, forgetting is so long.” The line is directly lifted from the Pablo Neruda poem “Tonight I Can Write,” which juxtaposes the speaker’s intense ion with the unparalleled loneliness they feel. Similarly, "All Too Well" narrates a heartbreak—arguably from actor Jake Gyllenhaal—that Taylor can still clearly , no matter how much time has ed.
Taylor’s Lucky Number
Taylor Swift has always considered 13 to be her lucky number, and she has cleverly incorporated this in the short film for "All Too Well". Just 13 seconds into the video, the dialogue begins with the 13-letter sentence “Are you for real?” The time jump within the film is explicitly stated as being 13 years, and the credits start to roll at exactly the 13th minute.
Taylor's Infamous Scarf
Swifties have finally seen the red scarf, which sits at the heart of the song, in action. Sadie Sink’s character Her enters a house wearing a red scarf, which she leaves at the banister. The scene brings to life "All Too Well"’s opening lyrics, “I left my scarf there at your sister’s house,” when Taylor and Jake apparently celebrated Thanksgiving at the house of Maggie Gyllenhaal, one of the leads in White House Down. Meanwhile, older Him is still seen wearing Her scarf 13 years later. This seemingly hints at Gyllenhaal being spotted while still wearing Swift’s scarf even after they broke up.
The Age Difference
The former couple had a 9-year age gap when they dated: Swift was 20, while Gyllenhaal was 29. This detail allegedly factored into the casting decision for the "All Too Well" film, with stars Sink, 19, and O’Brien, 30, also having a wide age difference. In the song’s longer 10-minute version, an additional verse sheds light on the reason for the couple’s breakup, with him saying “if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine.”
An Upstate Escape
Probably the most publicized outing of Jake Gyllenhaal and "Shake It Off" singer Taylor Swift as a couple is their Thanksgiving celebration in upstate New York. They celebrated the holiday with Maggie and her family. This setting has been translated into the vividly written lyrics, “We’re singing in the car, getting lost upstate/ Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place”. This is also the first chapter in All Too Well: The Short Film.
1989 Speculation
As Him and Her drive to the upstate, they are riding a 1989 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Observant Swifties have noticed this detail and wondered if this means her pop album 1989 is the next re-recording. Although Swift neither confirmed nor denied that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is her next album, she said on TikTok that the car’s model was indeed intentional.
Rearview Mirror Imagery
In their drive upstate, there is a lingering rearview-mirror shot of Her looking at Him. This subtly foreshadows that she will someday become a piece of his past, and she will still look back on their relationship. Swift has also employed this symbolism in her songs "Style", allegedly written about Eternals’ surprise cameo Harry Styles, "White Horse", and "Long Story Short".
Paparazzi Photo Reference
Him wrapping his arm around Her is too similar to Swift and Gyllenhaal’s overly used paparazzi photo to be a coincidence. Although that might just be a typical form of expressing one’s affection, fans are quick to point out this familiar detail. Perhaps, this is a subtle nod to that date in real life.
Contrasting Musical Preference
As the couple spends time by the lake, Her takes out a pair of earphones and they listen to music together. This act might be alluding to how Swift and Gyllenhaal’s music tastes were different. In "Begin Again", another Red song, Swift sings, “He always said he didn't get this song, but I do,” suggesting that despite the two listening to the same songs, they never really got along, as he preferred indie records.
Taylor-Inspired Wardrobe
During the All Too Well: The Short Film dinner scene, Fear Street star Sadie Sink is seen wearing a Taylor Swift-inspired wardrobe: a black turtleneck, straight hair, and bright red lipstick. This look is quite reminiscent of 2012 Swift when she was rebranding herself as she stepped away from the country genre. However, the outfit is also similar to the one Swift wore in her very first TikTok video she posted, when she dressed up as her recent albums.
