Every year, the urge to rewatch the Twilight Saga hits and every year, fans have to come to a few painful realizations about the vampire romance.
Movie lovers shift their focus to darker and spookier movies when fall comes and for some, that shift combined with the gloomier weather leads them to some of their guiltier pleasures which may manifest in an annual rewatch of the Twilight Saga.
In its early days, the movie franchise gained a very niche but dedicated audience of people who had either loved the books or had discovered the story on the screen. Now the films are pop culture phenomenons with a worldwide fanbase of people who genuinely love them and others who love to hate them. No matter which side of the fence you’re on, that annual rewatch is coming up and there are a few undeniable facts that everyone will have to face about the now iconic movies.
It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better
The first movie is widely known for being the worst in the saga with its strange cool filtering and forced acting making it a hard start for people rewatching the movies and for others who are just trying to get into the vampire craze.
By the final two movies, they were able to find their footing when it came to aesthetic and basic storytelling. The actors began to look less like they were in physical pain and the dialog didn’t immediately elicit a cringe but once the more obvious problems were fixed the underlying issues with the characters and story became more obvious.
Edward Is The King Of Drama
Robert Pattinson won the hearts of Twilight fans in his role as Edward which is ironic because the actor can’t seem to stand the Twilight movies himself. Still, he is convincing as the vampire desperately trying to protect Bella from the monster he believes he is, but it’s impossible not to see how overdramatic Edward is in all of his choices to “protect” Bella.
New Moon is probably where that realization will set in since the entire plot is centered around Edward leaving Bella to protect her but then when he thinks she’s dead, he attempts to end his life in the most dramatic way possible. Keep in mind these events are all the aftereffects of the great Twilight paper cut scene where Edward throws Bella into a wall while once again trying to protect her. But to be fair, Bella matches his theatrics with many of her own.
Never Experiencing The Finale For The First Time Again
2022 marked the 10th anniversary of Breaking Dawn Part 2. The finale movie featured a battle scene that showed the death of several of the saga’s most loved and hated characters. Even for the people that weren’t exactly fans, if they made it all the way to the final movie, the multiple deaths were more than likely a huge shock.
Even more shocking was the twist revealed by one of Twilight’s best characters, Alice. The finale movie was the Endgame of the Twilight generation and the same way Marvel fans wish they could experience that “Avengers assemble” moment one more time in theaters, Twilight rewatchers will mourn never getting to experience that battle again for the first time.
Jacob Imprinting Will Always Be Weird
In Eclipse, Jacob explained that when a wolf imprints, they become whatever that person needs them to be whether it’s a protector, lover, or friend which is a difference between Twilight werewolves and conventional werewolves. On first watch, it sounds romantic but when Jacob ends up imprinting on Bella’s baby it gets a little weird, but it’s explained away with the rationale that their connection isn’t romantic.
No matter how it’s spun, it’s weird. The borderline grooming is hard to explain away to viewers that know the relationship between Jacob and Renesmee becomes romantic. It’s definitely one of the more controversial elements of the Twilight Saga, and that won’t change no matter how many times it’s seen.
Bella And Edward’s Relationship Is Toxic
Team Edward vs Team Jacob was a battle that almost divided a generation but both relationships had its red flags. Bella choosing Edward wasn’t a surprise even to the movie fans who had not read the book because of how quickly Bella became co-dependent in the relationship.
When taking another look at the movies and really thinking about Bella’s character development it’s clear that Bella tied her entire personality and value for her life to Edward. She was constantly depicted as a damsel in need of saving that is until she sacrifices everything to become a vampire to live with Edward for all eternity. She’s not exactly a role model for life or love.
High School Setting Doesn’t Make Sense
Why on earth are the Cullens still in high school? The level of drama is fitting for high school but, even in the first movie, the Cullens are ridiculously out of place. All the other issues with the first movie may cause people to miss that on first watch but when given time, it’s likely the first thing that comes to mind when they’re introduced.
For a family trying to blend in, they seem to do everything to stand out. It makes no sense for them to be in high school when they look college age anyway and if they went to college, they’d be able to stay in one place longer. As soon as fans notice it they won’t be able to get over the Twilight misstep.
Nothing WIll Beat The Baseball Scene
One of the more positive realizations that many have when rewatching the saga is that no Twilight action sequence will ever compare to the baseball scene from the first movie. Not only did it do a great job at demonstrating the powers of the Cullens, but it was also just a huge contrast to the tone of the rest of the movie.
The Cullens gracefully maneuverering their way around their makeshift baseball field while “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse plays in the background as is considered by some to be a cinematic masterpiece (via Twitter). The scene without a doubt stands out on the first watch, but when experiencing the saga again it will be something fans can actually look forward to in the first movie.
Not Enough Rosalie
In the grand scheme of things, Rosalie played a pretty minor role in the main story of the saga but her presence was felt, especially when she revealed her backstory and true reason for being unwelcoming to Bella.
Once rewatchers get to Eclipse, they may begin to think that more of Rosalie’s backstory from the Twilight books should’ve been included in the movie. Those who didn’t read the books to know that there is more to the character would still be drawn to see more of the character since the flashback that was included of her backstory was so dark in contrast to the rest of the movie.
Bella And Jacob Aren’t Friends
Team Jacob fans probably had their negative opinions of Bella the first time they watched the Twilight Saga just out of pure loyalty for their favorite love interest. Those opinions, while biased, likely have some truth to them. However, on the other side, Jacob wasn’t a true friend to Bella either.
There’s nothing wrong with Bella choosing Edward over Jacob. It was, however, wrong of her to string Jacob along. Jacob however should have respected the many times she said no, but he was more driven by his hate for Edward than any feelings he had toward Bella. It becomes painfully obvious that Jacob and Bella aren’t truly friends until romance is taken completely off the table but even then, Jacob credits the pull he had toward Bella to the eventual connection he gained in her child.
You Would Be Jessica
While technically she was a side character, Jessica had undeniable main character energy. Played by Anna Kendrick, Jessica appeared in four of the five movies as one of Bella’s human friends, though the word friend could be used very lightly here.
She was snarky but usually treated Bella with kindness even though she and Bella’s friendship was superficial at best. However, her character becomes more relatable when given another chance at evaluation. She called Bella out for her recklessness before distancing herself and then wasn’t afraid to say what most people would be thinking at an 18-year-old’s wedding. Whether they like it or not, most of the audience would be like Jessica if put in the same situation.
