Taylor Swift paralyzed time with the live television debut of her expanded version of “All Too Well” on Saturday Night Live this week. Released on Nov. 12, the 10-minute track comes from Red (Taylor’s Version), her second re-recorded album from her catalog. Instead of performing two songs as musical guests typically do on SNL, Swift played just the one song from her latest LP during her fifth stint on the show.
The backdrop of Swift’s heartwrenching live performance of “All Too Well” was its corresponding short film which the singer wrote, directed and starred in and features Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. As she belted out the end of the cult-favorite power ballad, fake snow cascaded down Swift’s shoulders mirroring the visual behind her.
Featured in the 13-minute short film are homages to the symbolism embedded in the song’s verses: the infamous scarf, which was rumored to be left in a drawer at Maggie Gyllenhaal’s home, and a dance between Sink and O’Brien in the kitchen’s refrigerator light. The short film was also filled with Easter eggs like the color of Sink’s hair, a red typewriter and even a 13-year flash-forward from Sink and O’Brien’s breakup.
Initially released in 2012, Red was re-recorded after the original masters were sold by Swift’s label Big Machine to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Red (Taylor’s Version) features a 30-song tracklist with songs “From the Vault” — ones that didn’t originally make the album — and collaborations with Chris Stapleton, Phoebe Bridgers and Ed Sheeran. Swift shared her first re-recorded classic Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April which skyrocketed on the charts.