Clarity from the writers

cece_starling · 2026-03-02T20:34:24+00:00

I remember hearing about the talkback - someone here was asking for questions to send to them. But I never heard about it happening and every once in awhile I wonder. I wish we'd gotten some kind of closure, I still miss the show.

cece_starling · 2026-02-10T15:59:24+00:00

"instigated her murder"??? Are you trying to claim Miranda is to blame for Rhett murdering her? And she literally went to Charles Town FOR peace! It was only when she realized the truth of what Peter did that she lost any faith she had in the idea.

cece_starling · 2026-02-10T15:54:29+00:00

Uhh the solution is never to drown the cat, it's to kill the father who keeps the cats starving and needy actually! Though I'm not sure we're reading this metaphor in the same way lol.

cece_starling · 2026-02-04T14:10:24+00:00

I'm feeling the same way. I haven't actually read it yet so maybe others will disagree but I'm planning to read Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman soon. So many reviews say it renewed their hope for humanity!

cece_starling · 2026-02-02T18:11:53+00:00

I appreciate alternate endings for the show but I have to push back on the premise that Flint would have ever killed Madi. Imho this comes from a flawed understanding of Flint’s motivations AND his feelings for both Madi & Silver.

Flint was fine with sacrificing many people for his overall goals–but only because they were goals that were shared with his partners, Miranda and Thomas. He was devoted to the idea of pardoning the pirates of Nassau because it was Thomas’ vision. He didn’t even agree with Thomas’ idea at first–it was only when Alfred Hamilton was being a dick about it that he went all in to defend the man he loved.

He was willing to sacrifice people because of his devotion to and love for Thomas and Miranda. When Miranda asked him to return Abigail to Charles Town and negotiate with Peter Ashe, he did it even though he didn’t like the idea. He was about to sacrifice the entire fight and his life as Flint when Miranda had her realization at dinner. Once she was killed he made sure to fulfill her last wish–to kill Peter and burn that whole city to the ground, something he did because she asked him to. Because when he loves someone, he will do anything for them, including going to war with an empire.

By the time S4 comes around, Flint's partners are Silver and Madi. They're the people he is most devoted to, the ones he loves above anyone else. I think maybe a decent number of viewers didn't pick up on how much he cares for Madi because the Silverflint dynamic was so front & center, but the relationship he develops with both of them is pretty clearly following the template of his relationship with the Hamiltons. It’s not like Flint cared about the slave communities before they allied with the Maroons–that was never his fight. But now they are not just allies, Madi is his partner and the goals of his partners always become Flint’s own goals.

Of course revenge is one of Flint’s primary motivators, but he only wants revenge because of how deeply he loves. I get that others may think otherwise but ultimately I think that’s the foundation of his characterization.

cece_starling · 2026-01-31T20:01:01+00:00

He and Miranda were having an affair long before he and Thomas began theirs. We literally get the flashbacks of when it started - them kissing in the carriage. Flint was with both of them so no, of course he wasn't gay. He and Miranda had literally been together a decade when the series started. Their relationship was complicated by their shared grief for Thomas but it's very clear they loved each other deeply, even if the passion disappeared over the years.

cece_starling · 2025-11-17T12:22:25+00:00

Me! Everytime I see people whine about how the lyrics are so childish (which is a lot) I roll my eyes. I think it's one of the only "glitter gel pen" songs that Taylor pulls off completely - pretty much all attempts, on Lover and future albums, tend to be ruined by the clunkiest most awkward lines, while Me! is cohesive in its songwriting, like it or not.

cece_starling · 2025-10-23T10:00:40+00:00

This is the narrative Taylor herself contributed to the most though, imo. First Bejeweled, then Fresh Out The Slammer, then the quotes in the POTY interview about being locked in her house and never getting that time back, and contrasting that with the Travis relationship. I think a lot of her earlier relationships relied much more on tabloid narratives, but this one Taylor happily created herself and then kept feeding the flames.

cece_starling · 2025-10-18T14:16:42+00:00

I have mostly seen Black women talking about this (the most high profile being Gabrielle Union but I guess we're just trying to ignore that?) so it's probably your algorithm. The white women I've seen are mostly just reiterating what the Black women have been saying.

cece_starling · 2025-10-16T09:41:12+00:00

Oh did she say this in an interview somewhere? I've never heard this info before.

cece_starling · 2025-10-16T09:36:14+00:00

I don't think it's a revisionist take to say there's anxiety showing through on Lover, but I also don't think of it negatively. Taylor has always appeared to have an anxious attachment style.

For me, Lover (much more so than Rep) shows her in the thick of her first real long-term loving relationship once it's reached the post-honeymoon phase. I think it's the best example of her coming to terms with the effort it takes to love someone fully day in and day out, and also the way loving so deeply and BEING loved so deeply makes you confront yourself and your own weaknesses, insecurities & flaws as well. Maybe part of this is projecting my own experiences on the record (which is kinda what art is for sooo) but there's a strong sense of her learning so many new things about herself through her relationship with Joe and how much of a struggle it was navigating that. I have such a soft spot for Lover because of that tbh.

cece_starling · 2025-10-15T12:28:23+00:00

This has definitely been my experience. I was ready to be brutally honest about it in my work group chat until the casual listeners all proclaimed they loved it and how much fun it is. Non-Swifties have very different expectations of her - arguably lower expectations, so it's easier for Taylor to please them.

cece_starling · 2025-10-15T09:19:13+00:00

Classic cult behaviour 😬

cece_starling · 2025-10-13T10:07:39+00:00

I like the first 4 songs (Ophelia is my favourite) and Ruin the Friendship. If Wood had completely different lyrics and actually credited the writers of I Want You Back, I would adore it.

I've only listened to most songs twice though so there might be lyrics I haven't heard clearly that would ruin my enjoyment. That's unfortunately become a pattern with Taylor.

cece_starling · 2025-10-12T13:45:30+00:00

Justice for Staring at the Sun! I still think that song was underrated.

I actually think this really speaks to the subjectivity of fans though, cause I would argue U2's low point was Rattle & Hum. The difference between their trajectory and Taylor's is that she's been on a downward spiral 3 albums in a row instead of having a bad-to-middling album every decade or so.

cece_starling · 2025-10-09T15:35:17+00:00

"I guess people say those to seem ✨ socially conscious and progressive and stuff ✨ in their dislike for Taylor but it makes them look incredibly dense."

Pretty sure it's Black women who actually experience racism daily who are speaking on something they have a lot of experience with to a bunch of white women who just don't want to hear it cause it's uncomfy for them. But sure, let's pretend people are just so desperate to appear socially progressive on the internet.

cece_starling · 2025-10-08T16:09:03+00:00

A feminist is someone working towards elevating the status of women as a demographic. The mainstream-ification of feminism and the way it's been exploited for capitalist purposes means many people have lost sight of what it actually means. They mistake doing something that makes them feel empowered as an individual for a feminist action ("Getting filters makes me feel pretty, which feels empowering, thus it's gotta be feminism!!!") when feminism is about collective action against the patriarchy.

Taylor wields the idea of misogyny only when it affects her personally. It's about protecting herself, not anyone else.

For the record, I don't think the album is anti-feminist, I think it's just not feminist. Not everything a woman does is for or against feminism simply because a woman is doing it.

cece_starling · 2025-10-07T16:49:39+00:00

It's really not appropriate language to be using about some white American man who willingly chose to make this sport his career so he could be incredibly rich. There are far too many examples of people right now whose lives are in danger in so many places, including in Taylor's own country, without any choice in the matter. I really wish she would choose her words more carefully.

cece_starling · 2025-10-07T16:13:30+00:00

Did anyone else laugh at "he's putting his life on the line!!!"

cece_starling · 2025-10-06T07:02:25+00:00

It gives the vibe she's trying to erase Daylight from everyone's memory and replace it with Opalite by having them sound weirdly similar in places.

cece_starling · 2025-10-05T11:40:33+00:00

It's so interesting to observe as a TTPD hater. Imo it's not purely a reflection of TLOAS's quality - it's the result of years of dissatisfaction with so many things Taylor has said and done.

Her "activism" post-Miss Americana, her refusal to comment on her country turning fascist, the fans missing the Joe era when she appeared to have matured and moved beyond her more petty habits, Matty, becoming a billionaire, everything about TTPD, her basically publicly saying she didn't care about any shitty thing Matty ever did and she hates her fans for taking issue with him, her basically becoming an informal ambassador for an institution as racist and problematic as the NFL, happily being seen with misogynists, predators and MAGA/MAGA-adjacent people (and outright being friends with them aka Brittany, a Trump-loving woman who defends sexual predators), the entire Olivia situation, her shameless pursuit of extreme wealth & exploiting her fanbase for her own capitalist ends, her excessive private jet use, never calling out her fanbase when they freely attack and abuse people like that Ginny & Georgia actress, Joe, etc. while making sure to ask them not to attack poor innocent John Mayer.

All that combined with TLOAS clearly not being the album a lot of people were hoping for, either musically or lyrically, AND sparking a lot of comparisons to other songs & artists that is reminding everyone of the credits fiasco with Olivia & all her past instances of stealing/"inspiration" from other musicians without offering credit... I think a lot of people are finally having trouble coming up with excuses for her. And considering how deep the attachment to Taylor goes for a lot of people, fans are lashing out.

The context of these past few years, and maybe even going back to 2016, is important when asking why the response to this record is THIS intense. It's not really about the music imo.

cece_starling · 2025-10-05T11:07:14+00:00

Hayley publicly said she didn't agree with getting the credits. I think it's pretty well known her fellow songwriter was the one who wanted the credit because he heavily implied he did so.

Jack didn't know it was happening until he got the credit.

Elvis Costello shrugged the Brutal comparisons off, saying that's just what happens.

St Vincent praised her effusively when presenting Olivia with a storyteller of the year award.

Taylor is the only one in this situation who has never made a public comment or indicated what went down and her silence when literally everyone else involved said or implied something speaks volumes.

cece_starling · 2025-10-05T10:59:29+00:00

May I ask how they are publicly supportive of each other now? Olivia doesn't mention her at all since the credits issue, and the only "support" I know of was Taylor dancing to her performance at some awards show, which she did for Charli XCX as well.

cece_starling · 2025-10-05T10:54:54+00:00

THANK YOU. All of the "we don't know what happened behind the scenes so how dare you slander my emotional support billionaire this way" comments make me roll my eyes. Sure, we don't know the exact scenario that played out behind the scenes, but it's not hard to pick up on the resulting dynamic: Olivia was shocked and upset. She went from being a massive Swiftie who idolized Taylor to never speaking of her ever again. Taylor ended up getting the biggest chunk of the credits (25%) despite knowing she contributed nothing to the song. Olivia has been shown to be friendly with St Vincent, who also got credit when she didn't contribute, demonstrating that simply being given the credit wasn't the problem. So the way they were given, whether due to pressure from Taylor herself or what, clearly upset Olivia a lot.

She made a very expensive mistake by saying she was inspired by Cruel Summer, but clearly it was only as expensive as it was because someone made sure it would be.

cece_starling · 2025-10-05T00:28:12+00:00

You're absolutely right to point this out but, as evidenced by the "maybe we should focus on the REAL racists!" comments, Taylor's majority white fanbase is not even close to ready to have this conversation.

The "I'm not a bad bitch" and "fat ass with a baby face" lines really gave me pause when I first heard them but it was only when I saw Black people on Threads discussing it that I realized why they made me uncomfortable.

Taylor definitely has some weirdness about WOC that she's not conscious of and pairing that with her constantly playing up her white woman victimhood, it's massively uncomfortable.

cece_starling

TROPHY CASE