Ok...here's my takeaway:
One thing I have to say is that a lot of the songs on this album could have benefited from a punchier production to live up to its imagery. The dance pop/EDM revival made it so that a lot of us expected something more than Lover 2.0 but I understand where she's coming from, though I wouldn't say this is one of the best works.
While at this level of fame and reputation, making an album about the current stage in her life made it hard for people to find the same relatability and vulnerability that she's known for in her previous work. It's dangerously easy to make it seem like she's berating a smaller artist (Actually Romantic) or being tone-deaf for cozying up to problematic friends (CANCELLED!). Things like niche lyricism and personal attributes, suddenly became too righteous and "cheugy" when she starts singing about "girlbossing too close to the sun" or how "passive aggressive" some people are to her.
Ironically, I think she's both aware and unaware of how this album could be perceived. She's like The Great Gatsby as a female popstar, a billionaire who's part of the capitalistic machine that runs the entertainment industry. All her works sell well and everyone is invested in her personal life. Yet, the more untouchable she is, the more she seems lost in her own bubble of self-referencing and chasing new heights. Without the kind of reflection and depth we saw in songs like "Anti-hero" or "Dear Reader" on Midnight, this album almost feels somewhat vapid and on-the-nose for someone like Taylor. Maybe she felt like her previous album was too "emo" and lengthy that she tried to counterbalance it with something more...surface-level? Maybe she's gotten to a point where she blocked out so much noise that it's becoming an echo chamber?
Whatever was the artistic choice that she made, it seemed clear that she probably could use some fresh inspiration, maybe by building the next chapter of her life. She's still one of the great songwriters and musicians of our time but I think the audience is catching up to a certain fatigue. Hopefully by the time her next project comes out, we'd see her break out of the overachieving popstar mold and transition onto something more substantial for the sake of art.