Ariana Grande has finally returned to touring life with The Eternal Sunshine Tour, but she isn’t just getting onstage, standing there, and singing for a few hours to fans each night! Girl is giving everyone an incredibly deep and powerful show, complete with choreography, cinematic visuals, and a look into her innermost thoughts!
Over the weekend, the pop star kicked off said tour in Oakland, California after a seven-year hiatus. And while fans came for the songs within all five acts, it’s the six interludes, directed by Ari and her longtime collaborator Christian Breslauer, that have many talking! Let’s break it down…
The tour opens on screen with a scene in which Ariana is brushing her teeth. A pretty mundane act that is interrupted when her home begins to flood. Water gushes out of the walls, and she runs out of the flooding house to safety. But once free, she stumbles upon herself lying in a chair, hooked up to a memory-erasing machine, as seen in the Eternal Sunshine era. Ariana is then drawn to the idea of deleting her memories forever and decides to go through with it. Check it out as captured by TikTok user @.miagrandebutera:
We all know Ari has been through a lot over the years — between the Manchester bombing, the death of her former boyfriend Mac Miller, a failed engagement with Pete Davidson, a divorce from Dalton Gomez, an alleged affair scandal with her now ex-boyfriend Ethan Slater, intense public scrutiny amid her Wicked press tours, and more. What she’s experienced is painful, challenging, and emotionally overwhelming, so it’s no wonder a part of her wishes she could forget her past IRL.
After deciding to erase her memories, Ariana falls down a hole and gets caught by her own hands, which ask her if she’s sure she wants to continue the procedure or go back up or further down (a reference to the classic 1986 film Labyrinth). It’s the first sign of doubt about the idea of no longer remembering her past. However, she doesn’t get to choose this time. The decision is literally taken out of her hands as she’s dragged back down before being launched into a tunnel taking her to Saturn. It’s there we get the lyrics from Ariana’s Saturn Return Interlude:
“Saturn comes along and hits you over the head… and says, ‘Wake up.'”
Watch TikTok user @anythingwithmagic‘s video of it (below):
Ariana eventually does “wake up,” finds herself in a field of flowers, and sees a little girl who looks an awful lot like a young version of her swinging on a swing set. When the actress joins the young girl, she gets a push to help her swing, you know, as if reconnecting with her inner child starts her healing process and to see why she shouldn’t run away from her traumatic past. The young child then asks Ariana if she comes around here often, to which she says, “No, actually,” perhaps also hinting she lost touch with her younger self during her journey. Take a look via @tinyelephant2013 below:
One of the most powerful moments from the show comes when Ariana and her younger self watch The Wizard of Oz, which has always held a special place in her heart since she was a kid. Not to mention, it’s a nod to Wicked — one of her most recent eras! Her inner child then guides Ari through a flooded hallway with her other most notable eras, including Yours Truly, Dangerous Woman/One Love Manchester, and Sweetener. Then, there’s an empty fourth room, a possible representation of the memory erasure procedure. However, as fans point out, the young girl closes the door and seemingly signals that she would regret losing her memories for good, despite how painful and traumatic they may be. Check it out in vids captured by @anythingwithmagic @wdwgnkennedy (below):
Ultimately, Ariana decides to keep her memories. She rushes back to her Eternal Sunshine version to stop the deletion process, which already reached the final step. Amid her desperation, she repeatedly received access denied pop-ups on the computer, which left her no choice but to take her fate into her own hands and smash the machine. Here, we see that after feeling her world crumble and wanting to forget all the trauma, Ariana — with the help of her inner child — realized she “would rather feel everything than nothing.” Arianators know what we’re talking about here! It’s like she finally healed and learned to accept her past!
Grab some tissues, cuz the concert ends on an emotional note with Ariana sitting down with her younger and older self. Both versions then lean their heads on current Ari’s shoulders before she places her head on her older self. Fans feel the performer finally found peace, embracing her past, present, and future. See it as recorded by @clooud_23 (below):
Wow! Ariana really gave her all with this tour!
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Sound off in the comments (below)!
P.S. CLICK HERE to see how Ariana Grande is doing after Ethan Slater breakup!
[Image via Saturday Night Live/Ariana Grande/YouTube]