By Sydney Havens

On Feb. 18, Ed Sheeran (“Shape of You”) and Taylor Swift (“Blank Space”) released the official music video to their newest duet, “The Joker And The Queen.” The music video was a nostalgic masterpiece that demonstrated the evolution of both Sheeran and Swift. 

The song, which originally appeared on Sheeran’s 2021 album ‘”=,” marks the fourth collaboration between the pop icons.

 “Me and Taylor first met and wrote + recorded our first song together in 2012, ten years ago now, I’m so so honored to have her on this song,” Sheeran tweeted after the video premiered. “Not only is she the best singer/songwriter in the world but she’s also a very close friend, I’m very lucky to have her in my life.”

Last week, “Swifties” and Sheeran fans were quick to notice that Swift might be joining the singer for a remix of the “=” track after he shared a photo of a CD booklet showing a blonde woman bearing an eerie resemblance to Swift on a playing card. “Signing some CDs for something coming in a bit, keep an eye out,” Sheeran captioned the photo as fans reacted with excitement in the comments. 

The pop superstars and longtime friends have collaborated several times in the past. In addition to “Everything Has Changed,” Sheeran was featured on the previously unreleased track “Run” from “Red (Taylor’s Version).” Swift also teamed up with Sheeran for “End Game” on her 2017 album, “Reputation.”

Swift and Sheeran are known for their emotional collaborations and “The Joker And The Queen” was no exception. Fans noticed right away that the two lead actors in the video were none other than Ava Ames and Jack Lewis, the two-child actors featured in Sheeran and Swift’s 2012 duet “Everything Has Changed.”

 The 2013 video for “Everything Has Changed,” a track from Swift’s 2012 album “Red,” follows Sheeran and Swift’s imaginary children, who look very much like the singers, as they fall in love in elementary school. 

Nearly 10 years later, the same actors reprise their roles, this time as college students at different schools as they take on adulthood. At the beginning of the music video, Ames and Lewis are shown in their hometown and are then shown driving off to college. The cars racing down the tree-lined dirt road seems to nod to the visual influence of Swift’s recently released “All too Well” music video. 

The lyricism of the song is immaculate as the artists use subtle symbolism to portray the love of two young adults. One example of this would be the chorus in which Swift and Sheeran sing “And I know you could fall for a thousand kings/And hearts that would give you a diamond ring,” Sheeran sings on the chorus. “When I fold, you see the best in me/The joker and the queen.”

As the video continues, the couple reminisces about their childhoods as they go through college life. By the end of the clip, the pair finally reunites in their hometown, where they originally met.

The imagery within the music video successfully evokes emotions in the viewer by showing each actor in their dorm rooms holding the photos of them in elementary school from the “Everything Has Changed” video. Ames and Lewis are also shown at college parties and it is obvious that they are feeling lonely. Everyone around them is smiling, dancing and having fun, but they are each standing alone. 

This music video serves as the perfect example of a young couple, trying to find their way. Simultaneously, the viewer is left to feel as though Swift and Sheeran are reflecting on their own maturity. The artists are now older and are able to pass down some wisdom to their young fans who have not yet experienced many relationships. Sheeran and Swift proved with this new music video that everything really has changed, perhaps for the better. 

Image from Ed Sheeran via YouTube