Esme and Carlisle didn’t get much screen time together in the Twilight Saga, but one deleted scene would have made this pair a lot better.
Bella Swan and Edward Cullen aren’t the only couple in the Twilight Saga, and one that has been criticized for lack of chemistry is that of Esme and Carlisle Cullen, but a deleted scene from the first movie makes this pair a lot better. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight book series became a worldwide phenomenon, and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to pick it up to bring it to the big screen, and so the Twilight Saga was released between 2008 and 2012, expanding the books’ fanbase and becoming an even bigger sensation.
Through Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson), the audience met the rest of the Cullen family in Twilight, where most of them (except Nikki Reed’s Rosalie) expressed their support for Bella and Edward’s romance, even helping Edward keep Bella safe from James and Victoria. Twilight was also the audience’s first glimpse at other couples within the Twilight universe, as were Esme and Carlisle, Edward’s “parents” who had been together for many, many decades, yet there didn’t seem to be much chemistry between the actors – however, there’s one deleted Twilight scene that could have easily fixed that.
Twilight Deleted Scene Showed Esme & Carlisle’s Chemistry
Although the focus of the Twilight Saga is the complicated relationship between Bella and Edward, the audience also meets Edward’s family, who quickly become close to Bella and play an important role in keeping her and Edward safe from various threats, most notably the Volturi. However, while characters like Alice were featured prominently in the Twilight movies, others like Esme and Carlisle didn’t get much screen time, and most of all, they were rarely shown together. This could have been fixed with a deleted scene from Twilight that showed a sweet moment between Esme and Carlisle at the Cullens’ house, while Edward and Bella jumped from one tree to another (the infamous “hold on tight, spider monkey” scene). Esme tells Carlisle that Bella has “brought him [Edward] to life”, and reassures him that it will work out between Bella and Edward, and they share a kiss.
Among the many criticized elements from the Twilight Saga is the lack of chemistry between Esme and Carlisle, with many pointing out that Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli simply weren’t a good on-screen match, but then again, the movies didn’t give them enough screen time as a couple and thus there was no room for the movies to develop their relationship and show the audience what they were like together. This deleted scene would have been enough to show there was chemistry between the big screen versions of Esme and Carlisle, even if the rest of the movies didn’t show more of them
How Twilight’s Esme & Carlisle Are Different From The Books
Although the Twilight Saga was well-received by fans of the books and it mostly stayed loyal to the source material, it made various changes to the characters, especially those who weren’t the main ones. Esme is known for her passive power of showing passionate love to those around her, which is why she’s the mother figure of the Cullens, but this wasn’t shown in the movies. Carlisle’s well-known compassion shone through in the Twilight Saga, but Facinelli was older than book Carlisle, which bothered some fans, and he worried about Edward being alone, which is why he was very welcoming of Bella. Esme and Carlisle are two beloved characters from the Twilight novels, but that wasn’t the case with their movie versions.
