On December 12th, the first two episodes of “Taylor Swift: The End of an Era” were released on Disney+. After viewing the available episodes, I compiled a list of my thoughts and hopes for the next four episodes.
I loved the raw and emotional depth in both of the episodes. Episode one shows Swift reflecting on traumatic events that occurred during The Eras Tour, such as the terrorist plot in Vienna and a fatal knife attack at a Swift-themed dance class where three of her young fans were killed.
She discusses these events tearfully, while visibly upset. Although it was extremely depressing to hear her talk about these terrible things, I appreciated the honesty and raw emotion. It showed how the celebrity life is not all glamorous like some hype it up to be, but it can actually be frightening and traumatizing.
This led to Swift discussing how strenuous it can be to perform and stay positive while battling internal struggles. Whether it be the trauma that comes from these horrific events, personal problems, or heartbreak.
This made me think of her song from “The Tortured Poets Department,” album, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” where she sings lines that clearly align with this thought process. For example, “all the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting more.”
I greatly appreciated the honesty and vulnerability in the first episode. It was interesting to view Swift in a different light. This episode was impactful as it expressed how, at the end of the day, celebrities are people too and they deal with hardships and struggles.
In the second episode, we shift from the emotional weight and heaviness of the first episode to something more exciting and extravagant. We get insides to choreography, pre-show rituals, and the logistics of bringing The Eras Tour together.
We learn a lot about the process of choreographing the performance of the song “Florida!!!” with Swift’s guest star, Florence, from Florence and the Machine, who collaborated on the song with her.
We also get to see Swift’s generosity and gratitude. We learned that she handwrites letters to her dancers, drivers, and production staff to thank them for the tremendous amount of effort they put into making her shows possible.
She also gives massive bonus checks to them. We see clips of their genuine reaction and appreciation from the crew, which was extremely heart-warming and exciting to see.
I enjoyed getting to see behind-the-scenes interviews with the supporting cast of The Eras Tour, especially Kameron Saunders, who spoke about overcoming industry body-shaming and finding a sense of belonging.
I appreciated hearing about his experience. I think it’s important for us to learn that even people in the spotlight face the same struggles that we do.
Between the two episodes, I loved both of them, but I would have to say that my favorite was the second. As much as I appreciated the emotional vulnerability and rawness of the first episode, I was slightly more captivated by the behind-the-scenes interviews and learning about the creative process. We saw a lot more of that in the second episode.
As much as I enjoyed the show so far, I would have liked to learn more about how exactly Taylor and her team chose the set list and what factors played into deciding which songs would be performed and when.
I also hope to get insight in future episodes regarding the composition of “The Tortured Poets Department” and “The Life of a Showgirl”, as Swift stated how those albums were composed around the time of The Eras Tour.
Last but not least, I would like to learn more about set design, special effects, and the artistic and creative side of the production, aside from just the choreography, as one of my favorite parts of The Eras Tour was how amazing the stage looked and all of the effects.
Overall, I look forward to viewing the next four episodes, and I’m glad we got this insight into the creation of one of the biggest shows in the world.
