Team Edward or Team Jacob? How about Neither

I distinctly remember the first time I watched Twilight. I was in the sixth grade, and I saw the movie with a group of girls at a friend's birthday party. It was riveting. We were all in awe at this newly hyped up series. Being a huge reader at the time, I begged my mom for a copy of the novel and immediately dug my nose into the book. This world of vampires, werewolves, and romance was something that was new to me, and I was drawn into the world of Forks, Washington. It was the perfect depiction of romance, right?

Fast forward to the pandemic. The lockdown was a time when pretty much everyone seemed to revert back to their old habits. Being stuck in your childhood bedroom makes you think about the good (and bad) times you had there when you were younger. There was a resurgence of The Twilight Saga, particularly on TikTok. Having ample free time, people created an abundance of parodies on the platform relating to the series. It was very entertaining and definitely helped to take my mind off of the feelings of uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Towards the end of 2020, I decided to try to start reading again to fill up my free time. I figured the first place to start was with old books that were already lying around my house. I started digging through bins in my basement and came across a box buried far in the back. And there it was: the entire collection of The Twilight Saga. The books were as beautiful as I remembered them to be. I was re-drawn into the iconic cover of Twilight, depicting a pair of pale hands holding onto a bright red apple. It felt like a sign that the books were calling to me again.

And so, I did it. I reread Twilight. I was ready for the magic of the Twilight universe to captivate me yet again. But…it didn’t. Frankly, I was pretty annoyed at the story. Edward wasn’t this alluring, romantic hero. He was more of a borderline abusive character. Throughout the book, Edward makes several references about him being a bad person (e.g. “a sick, masochistic lion,” “What if I'm not a superhero. What if I'm the bad guy?,” etc.). For this reason, he initially is adamant that Bella should stay far away from him. Bella being a young, naive teenager, though, is still infatuated with Edward. She lives in a small town with just her father, so it makes sense that Bella did not have access to the resources that would tell her about the signs of an abusive relationship.

Throughout the series, Edward becomes way too controlling of Bella. The two of them are basically attached at the hip. Bella becomes isolated from her friends and spends nearly all of her time with Edward. In the books, at least, Bella’s father, Charlie, addresses this. He tries to encourage Bella to branch back out again and see some of her other friends. However, there is not really much Charlie can do, considering that Edward can easily just sneak into the Swan household late into the night without Charlie realizing. Additionally, when Edward discovers that Jacob is a werewolf, he forbids Bella from seeing him, even though Jacob becomes one of Bella’s best friends. At one point, Bella even decides to go to the La Push reservation, where Jacob lives, against Edward’s wishes. When she enters her car to leave, though, Edward is lurking in the backseat and tells her she cannot go. She begrudgingly listens and goes back into her house.

So, if Edward is such a bad guy, we should be rooting for Jacob, right? Unfortunately, Jacob is equally as (if not even more) unlikeable than Edward. Bella and Jacob’s friendship grows deeply during New Moon after Edward deserts Bella, which Edward claims was for her own protection. As a result, Bella is left in a depressive state and comes to rely on Jacob for emotional support. Jacob is the only person who is able to get Bella to feel semi-normal again. Which, as a friend, isn't a bad thing. What makes this bad is that Jacob feels that since he cared for Bella, then that means he is entitled to a romantic relationship with her. Jacob makes it his mission to try to coerce Bella into a relationship with him. He even forces a kiss on her in the series, which she rejects immediately. Why can’t Jacob just be nice to Bella without expecting anything in return? Looking back at the series, Bella never expresses any romantic feelings for Jacob, only feelings of friendship. Jacob never even had a chance with Bella, which makes it funny that the Twilight Saga greatly pushed the idea of the love triangle.

It is pretty alarming to think that this series was geared towards pre-teens. When I read the series for the first time, I never realized how problematic the story actually was. But I was just a middle-schooler who knew nothing about romantic relationships. What makes my naivete even more obvious is the fact that I was “Team Jacob” when the series first became popular. 

I do not think this story sets a good example for what a healthy relationship looks like. I also think that the series sets up a weird expectation that the first person you form a romantic relationship with will undoubtedly be your life partner, which definitely is not the case for most people. It may even subliminally promote the idea that young girls should make their first relationships work, no matter the cost. It simply is not realistic to believe that the perfect romance can be achieved easily, as Twilight depicts.

The question is, are we still allowed to enjoy TheTwilight Saga even though it is problematic in many ways? I think that it is good to be aware of what is wrong with the series and acknowledge why it is not a pristine example of what relationships should look like. But even with all of its flaws, I recognize that Twilight was a cultural phenomenon that I was captivated by, and still am in a way (particularly in regard to the memes). I appreciate how both silly and impactful Twilight was while still recognizing its flaws. I just won’t ever be yearning for my own Edward or Jacob.