Taylor Swift’s “Era’s Tour” was more than just a concert. Over three hours long, with over 40 songs from all 10 of her albums, the tour was a worldwide sensation, stretching for 149 dates, visiting 21 countries and changing millions of lives worldwide.
All this and more is portrayed in “The End of an Era,” a six-episode documentary about the “Era’s Tour” on Disney+. The first two episodes were released on Dec. 12, and four more will be released on Dec. 19 and Dec. 26. I can confidently say that all 40 minutes of these episodes are worth watching.
The first episode, “Welcome to the Eras Tour,” discusses Swift’s first concert in London after her Vienna shows had to be cancelled because two suspects were planning to carry out a terrorist attack. Along with this, a knife attack in Liverpool at a Taylor Swift dance party for kids ages 6-11 killed three and injured more. The episode portrays how difficult this time was for Swift, who had to cope with these losses while still putting on a happy face for her show.
The episode also focuses a lot on Swift’s fans, showing videos of fans receiving their tickets, fans at her concerts and even hundreds of fans who didn’t receive tickets assembling outside concert venues just to hear the music from the outside. Overall, it really highlighted how much this concert affected these fans, how it created community and a feeling of togetherness.
The second episode, “Magic in the Eras,” was centered around Swift’s last show in London, which was the end of her tour in Europe. This episode portrayed the magic that encompassed Swift’s shows and how she tried to make every show unforgettable. As Swift said in the documentary, “Every single night, no matter what’s going on, we’re gonna do whatever in our power to blow your mind.”
In the specific concert of this episode, Swift brought out Florence and the Machine to perform “Florida!!!” as a way to add to the fans’ experience and make the concert even more memorable. One of my favorite scenes of this episode was watching Swift and Florence perform together, as they have so much friendship chemistry and looked like they were having authentic fun.
Another main focus of this episode was Taylor Swift’s crew during the tour. Swift’s backup dancer Kameron Saunders spoke about his experience as a dancer, which was difficult as many people were reluctant to hire him because of his size. In contrast, Swift spoke about how she wanted a diverse mix of dancers, as she wanted all her fans to look at the stage and see themselves in the dancers. Swift also said that she never wanted her dancers to blend in, and that she wants fans to see “a stage full of stars,” something I found really powerful.
I also thought the filming itself was really well-done, with a good focus on real-life moments caught on camera, such as an emotional clip of Swift giving her staff a bonus for the end of the European leg of the tour which the documentary explained totaled to $157 million. Along with this, the documentary contained interviews of different crew members and clips from the concerts themselves which I found really enjoyable to watch.
Overall, I think this documentary perfectly encapsulates what Swift and the “Era’s Tour” stands for, and I recommend it for any Swift fan or anyone who just wants to understand the hype. I promise that no one will finish the documentary without a newfound respect for Swift.
