Taylor Swift is dropping new music tonight, and fans are absolutely buzzing. The amount of theories floating around right now about the “Delicate” singer’s next era has officially reached critical mass. Butterflies, mermaids, palm trees—fans are finding potential meaning in literally everything Swift posts to her Instagram.
But it turns out some of what they speculated is true. On Thursday, April 25, Swift made an appearance at a mural in Nashville that many believe is about her new music. The painting, done by one of Swift’s favorite artists, Kelsey Montague, is of a butterfly with the word “ME!” in the middle. Swift showing up to this mural more or less confirms butterflies are, in fact, a theme in her new music, and that the word “Me” plays a part in tonight’s release. Maybe it’s the name of the song.
“They think it’s fake,” Swift said on Instagram Stories about the mural. “They think it’s just one of their theories.” When someone in the car asks if she put up a butterfly filter on Instagram, she enthusiastically answers, “Yeah.”
Here are some pics of Swift at the mural:
It’s long been speculated that butterflies are a motif in Swift’s new music. She’s been posting them all over Instagram and even wore butterfly heels to the iHeartRadio Music Awards. “Me!” first gained traction online when fans noticed Swift randomly capitalized that word in one of her IG captions. However, she’s also capitalized the words “Begin” and “Another,” so some think the new song or album is called “Begin Another Me.” As for the album’s sound, that’s still a mystery, but we’re sure she won’t disappoint.
Taylor Swift is a pro at drumming up anticipation, and this stunt has fans even more pumped for tonight’s release. Of course, it’s entirely possible she’s just trolling us. Either way, the countdown to midnight is officially on.
Note: This post does contain spoilers for Game of Thrones. Consider yourself warned.
Of course, I love watching Game of Thrones every week to see what is actually happening in Westeros, but reading the endless theories from super fans in between episodes is almost as much fun.
Last night, on the second episode of the final season, we watched everyone at Winterfell preparing for the looming battle with the Night King and the Army of the Dead. Jaime knighted Brienne, Arya had sex with Gendry, and Jon broke some fairly devastating news to Dany about his true parentage. But it was the preview for next week that got one Redditor theorizing about events to come.
The Thrones crew never gives away much in the trailers, but there is one line in particular that led to this new theory. Daenerys says to Jon, “The dead are already here.” The most simple reading of the line is that it’s in reference to the Night King’s army of white walkers and wights, who are actually dead. But there’s another way to look at it.
“That line happens between Dany and Jon, and felt super significant — but we already see the army of the dead, felt it was too obvious to be their reaction to them. Then it clicked: The crypt is full of dead people,” IgnorantSportsFan wrote on Reddit. “All episode they keep repeating and emphasizing how safe it was in the crypt, but it’s GOT and we cannot have nice things. So is it possible we have old Starks rising from the crypts? Or is that too far fetched? PLUS we saw in multiple previews Arya fighting in the crypts with her new weapon…”
Well, that is interesting indeed. There were a lot of references to the crypts in episode two—it’s meant to be the place where those not fighting the battle will be hidden and safe. But what if it’s not such a safe space after all? Could this be the moment that Catelyn Stark reemerges as Lady Stoneheart? Guess we’ll find out next week.
Nobel Watch 2019 continued on The Big Bang Theory this week as Amy and Sheldon were forced to do damage control following their outburst (well, Amy’s) in front of laureates, peers, and imposters (Pemberton and Campbell, for those keeping track). It’s no Game of Thrones cliffhanger, but it’ll do, especially since we’re down to the last five episodes. Shamy has to win the Nobel eventually, right?
If it’s going to happen, President Siebert and Ms. Davis (Oscar winner Regina King, praise be) tell Sheldon and Amy that they’re going to have to run a near flawless campaign the rest of the way. That means keeping their mouth shut and not throwing accusations at anyone. “The science world is a small community. People talk,” Siebert says. The only thing to do is lay low and cancel all further speaking engagements.
But then, as if Sheldon and Amy don’t already know this (I mean, why do you think Amy had her outburst?), Ms. Davis says that “winning the Nobel is very important to us, and not just the university. Dr. Fowler, you would only be the fourth woman to win a Nobel prize in physics.” I have trouble believing that Amy isn’t aware of this, but apparently it’s news to her. Ms. Davis piles on the pressure by also pointing out that a win for Amy would be inspirational to an entire generation of young women. Hey, Ms. Davis and President Siebert, here’s a news flash: Why don’t you tell that to the fellow Nobel winners voting for them? Amy already knows she has to be on her best behavior, so what’s this added pressure going to do?
Well, for the sake of the next 18 minutes of the episode, it drives the story forward. Amy is so overwhelmed by potentially being only the fourth woman to win a Nobel in physics that she goes through an entire stick of antiperspirant in an hour. Leonard—clearly worried about the amount of sweat that Amy is producing—suggests that she and Sheldon (who’s also panicking) self-soothe in a sensory deprivation tank.
Michael Yarish/Warner Bros. Entertainment
Shamy decides that self-care can’t be that bad and end up soaking in a tank that looks more like the egg-shaped vessel that Lady Gaga rode in on at the 2011 Grammys than anything else. I’m claustrophobic just looking at it.
Anyway, while Amy’s inside the vessel she sees an image of Ms. Davis talking to her and reiterating the dismal stats of female Nobel winners. That’s followed by images of young women blaming Amy for ruining their chances to win a Nobel. “I was going to be a scientist, but since you lost, I’m just going to have to give makeup tutorials on YouTube!” says one young woman. “Thanks for letting us down,” says another. “You’re such a disappointment!” adds someone else. Maybe this should be the punishment for all the parents involved in Operation Varsity Blues, but what on earth did Amy do to deserve this?
When the hour is up, Sheldon is calm as can be while Amy panics and calls herself a failure.
That afternoon, Amy’s more anxious than ever. She tells Sheldon it was bad enough when she was letting the two of them down; now if she doesn’t win the Nobel she’ll be letting all women down. Sheldon doesn’t know what to do except to Google “what to do when someone’s freaking out.” It says a walk can be calming, so Sheldon does that. It’s rude, but funny.
When he gets back, Amy is still upset so Sheldon asks Leonard and Penny for some advice. Leonard says the only thing he can do is just be there for Amy, but Sheldon doesn’t seem to know what that means. Penny points out that Amy’s always taking care of him, so perhaps that’s why it’s so hard with the roles being reversed. I don’t agree. Even though Sheldon will always think about Sheldon, he’s grown a lot in this area over the last few years. He knows what to do. The whole thing is kind of been there, done that.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season eight.
Game of Thrones is back, and with it comes a new slew of new fan theories. A major one that emerged after last night’s season premiere is that Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) isn’t actually pregnant—or if she once was, she isn’t anymore.
Remember, in season seven Cersei told her brother, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), that she’s pregnant with their fourth child. But even at the time many questioned if she was telling the truth, or just using a possible baby as a way to keep Jaime firmly under her thumb. The Lannisters’ other brother, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), also deduced that Cersei was pregnant after she refrained from her beloved wine at the end of season seven.
But a moment in the season eight premiere has fans thinking the queen is either no longer pregnant or never was to begin with. Cersei sleeps with Euron Greyjoy after he agrees to pledge his loyalty and military troops to her. After the encounter, he says, “I’m going to put a prince in your belly.” She has a mysteriously wistful expression on her face as he leaves the room—and a glass of red wine in her hand, which she drinks.
Fans quickly took notice.
Of course, Cersei could just be drinking through her pregnancy (and the moment with Tyrion last season was an anomaly). Another possibility is that she lost the baby at some point and is trying to get pregnant again as quickly as possible. Or maybe she was never pregnant and is trying to produce another heir with Euron. With Cersei, anything can happen.
Only time till tell, but whatever happens, it certainly seems that Cersei has the upper-hand on all the men in her orbit.
Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9 P.M. ET on HBO.
The final character posters for Game of Thrones gave fans a lot to talk about ahead of the season 8 premiere, especially Sansa Stark. Sansa (played by Sophie Turner) sits on the Iron Throne in a navy outfit that has added fuel to a popular theory about Sansa’s allegiances at Winterfell this season. (Specifically, its scale and fur motifs are references to her Tully and Stark lineage, implying that she’s more interested in restoring her family’s status than buddying up with Daenerys Targaryen to give her the Iron Throne.)
Nothing’s for certain until the show premieres on April 14, but Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton confirmed to Glamour that Sansa’s season 8 wardrobe is “absolutely” a reflection of her loyalties on the show. The scaly fabric seen in her season 8 poster is “reference in the fabric to her mother’s family sigil the fish.” Then, “the fur cape at her neck [pays] respect to her father’s family, the Starks.”
Compare this symbolic final season outfit with the dresses she wore eight years ago, and you’ll recognize how far Sansa has come over the past seven seasons. Where her early looks were heavily influenced by the people around her, her final season outfits represent a fully realized individual. “I think you can see that she is influenced throughout her journey until she finally comes into her own style in season 7,” Clapton says. “The look is a culmination of her difficult story.”
Sansa Stark in a season 8 outfit that combines imagery of House Tully (the scale-like leather dress) and House Stark (the fur cape).
HBO
The Sansa audiences see in the final season is a hardened version of her younger self. At the beginning of Game of Thrones, Sansa relocates from Winterfell to King’s Landing. The journey saw her adopt colorful styles worn by Cersei, and later, Margaery, as she tries to assimilate to her new home. “The ‘Little Bird’ initially copied the style of Cersei, when she first arrives in Kings Landing,” Clapton says.
At King’s Landing, Sansa often mimicked Cersei’s early hair and clothing.
HBO
Later, she starts adopting the dress style worn by Margaery Tyrell.
HBO
Her departure from King’s Landing in season 4 and gradual journey north to Winterfell leads to dramatic changes in her appearance. As she encounters more difficult circumstances, her dresses get darker and more subdued. “She then retreats to the cut of her mother’s costume, a refuge, showing how she feels, wounded and scared, but she can’t speak it,” Clapton says. “She tells of her pain through embroidery and color.”
Littlefinger, master manipulator and her companion for much of that journey, has a profound impact on these outfits. The patterns in Sansa’s dresses and her pin are close to his own, to show that she’s paying close attention to his tactics. (Which, as fans know, will help her take control later on.) “This was supposed to imply that she now understands that she can learn and take from those that hurt her,” Clapton says. “She copies Littlefinger’s look not because she’s impressed by him, but that she needs him.”
By the time Sansa has returned to Winterfell and reunited with her surviving family members, her outfits carry subtle cues referencing her long journey home. “She suffered at the hands of Joffrey, her mother’s sister, and Ramsey [Bolton]; this influences the design of the belt in season 7 that wraps around her body, protecting her. The wrap over front and laced dress, the shorter length and the stitched, quilted heavy cloth—all tell of protection and the ease of movement if needed.”
As Sansa journeys north with Littlefinger, her outfits begin to resemble his.
HBO
Finally, back at Winterfell, Sansa’s look is all her own. It combines elements of House Tully and House Stark imagery.
HBO
Sansa’s outfits aren’t the only barometer for her influences and relationships on the show. Sophie Turner revealed that her character’s hair styles also mirror the people around her. “Sansa’s hair is constantly reflecting the people she’s learning from, or mimicking, or inspired by at the time,” Turner toldRefinery29 in 2017. “When she’s Cersei’s prisoner, and she’s kind of absorbing all her manipulative techniques, it’s reflected in her hairstyle, and when she’s finding the spirit of Margaery in herself, she wears her hair like Margaery.”
Game of Thrones may be coming to an end this year, but the off-screen friendship of Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams will definitely live on. From having matching moments on the red carpet to talking all night long at sleepovers, the Stark sisters have certainly kept their sibling bond going even when the cameras stopped rolling.
In fact, Maisie has a pretty funny theory that the entire eight-season run of the hit HBO series was just a conspiracy for her and Sophie to become BFFs. “It was like one big elaborate thing to find me a best friend. This whole show!” the actor joked with E! News at the premiere for Game of Thrones’s final season.
She’s totally kidding of course, but her friendship with Sophie is definitely the real deal. “It’s been incredible,” Maisie added, telling E! that it’s been so important to have a friend like Sophie during her Game of Thrones journey.
But it hasn’t always been easy; especially when they had to film more ~serious~ scenes together. “You know like when someone’s got little tears because they’re gonna laugh? That’s kind of how I felt the whole time,” Maisie revealed, adding that she was “corpsing” a lot while sharing the screen with Sophie.
While it will definitely be sad to say goodbye to the Stark sisters when Game of Thrones airs its final episode, we have full confidence that the #Mophie legend will keep going. After all, with matching friendship tattoos, an upcoming wedding, and an arsenal of sweet memories between them, we wouldn’t expect anything less.
