#and horrific like again. don't ask teenage boys to imPREGNATE YOUR WIFE pls dear lord

[popeisahotsoup]

Breaking Dawn was Unnecessary (minus her becoming a vampire)

If you were to critically break down Bella’s character arc in the series, it starts and ends with her wanting to become a vampire. The inciting incident was not Bella meeting Edward, or her finding out he’s a vampire, but her brush with death at the end of Twilight. It was then she realized her life was fragile, that she was fragile, and that death was not a far-off date but a fact. Edward saving Bella counters this; by defeating James Edward defeats death. Edward is her way out, becoming a vampire is her solution. The series' goal isn’t romance, it’s escaping what feels inevitable and painful.

Her depression spiral in New Moon isn’t over the end of a romance but over end of her new life away from all things painful. Away from being hurt, from being ugly, from Forks and Charlie and poverty (a separate topic regarding Renee and her influence on Bella), and from dying. It’s why Jacob never stood a chance; he couldn’t provide her the reassurance she would be safe forever and was therefore unappealing. When the Volturi discovered Bella, her fate was sealed, and she would her get vampire wish. All that was left was convincing Edward.

Eclipse seems like an unnecessary side quest at first. He agrees to turn her, what more could we ask for? Why do we have to spend a whole book focusing on him versus Jacob and them versus the newborns? If it’s to cement she chooses immortality (Edward) over mortality (Jacob) then why has New Moon ended with such a sense of finality? What’s the point of the book? The Point isn’t, as one may first assume, reiterating Bella’s want to become immortal, it’s about her fight to become immortal. To do that, she must defeat the antagonist. 

If the antagonist’s goal is to thwart the protagonist, who does that more than Edward? Not the Volturi, who want her to turn, and not Jacob, who poses no convincing threat. It is purely Edward who holds the emotional power over her to decide her fate. Now that Bella has gained conviction and knows what she wants she has to fight for it. She has to prove she doesn’t want Jacob and that she is worth more to Edward alive. First Edward must see her rebuff Jacob, must see that she will come back to him and that her feelings for Edward are stronger. That she can kiss Jacob and still have not a waiver of doubt that it is Edward she wants. Then she has to convince him that her life is too short and that he must lengthen it. It is in the final battle Edward finally realizes that he needs Bella by his side forever, and mortality cannot afford him that. He cannot let her die, so he must change her. It’s not Bella’s conviction that is tested in Eclipse, but Edwards's. 

This brings us to Breaking Dawn. We’ve done it! It took a baby to get here, but Bella has been successfully turned. So, the series is over, right? Well, not quite. Had Renesmee not been the conflict of the story, we would have had both a blissfully shorter novel and a more concrete ending. By introducing a new character with so many plot ties so late in the series, Stephanie provides a jarring and at times unsettling end to her book. Sure, there are things that could’ve been addressed in the book. Jacob didn’t actually need a romantic end to his story, he could’ve had a much more fulfilling arc revolving around distancing himself from the people who hurt him and finding solace in his community. The Volturi could have had a conflict with the Cullens over the murder of Bree Tanner and their want for Edward and Alice’s gifts. Bella’s own gift and abilities could’ve been developed and considered past ‘she’s a master at being a vampire’. If you wanted to tie up loose ends, by all means, tie them up. But to include them at the expense of disregarding Bella’s arc and desires feels very off-putting.

All in all, breaking dawn is garbage and Edward tried to convince a sixteen-year-old to impregnate his wife and I’ve yet to recover please delete it stephanie please please