Summary
Stephenie Meyer’s young adult book seriesTwilightis getting its ownTwilightanimated TV show, and it is time to consider which parts of the original story could use refining.Suggesting that protagonist Bella Swan could use improvement could be seen as blasphemy for manyTwilightfans, but some would agree that even minor tweaks could turn her from a great protagonist to an amazing one. Swan may remain an entirely suitable lead for the young adult audience that Meyer targeted, butTwilightblew up beyond all imagining, and now must please more than just young adults.
Whether or not this is fair to Meyer, Stewart, orTwilightfans, the reality is this - this animatedTwilightTV series will bringThe Twilight Sagastoriesto a wider audience and allow the franchise more future opportunities. Books, movies, merchandise, and even theater shows are enabled by franchise growth. Most importantly,it isn’t following a narrative to the letter that makes an adaptation faithful, it is correctly portraying its message, mood, theme, and spirit. So, tweaking Bella’s character in the TV show can actually help to tell the story of this romance.
16 Biggest Changes Twilight’s Movies Made To The Books
The Twilight Saga brought Edward and Bella’s story to life, but for that, it made a lot of changes to the books – some good and others not so much.
10Fans Should Know Bella Swan’s Favorite Food
Bella Swan Liked Mexican And Italian
Bella Swan liked cooking enchiladas, lasagna, and steakin theTwilightbooks, buttheTwilightmovies sold Bella’s cooking a little short, depicting her eating at a diner with her dad, Charlie. The animated TV show should choose quality, not quantity, when it comes to painting in more detail around Bella. Focusing on one favorite food would say far more than giving Bella a generic ability to cook. Perhaps Bella Swan likes Italian food because it reminds her of somewhere she went, or of somewhere she wants to go.
Hulu is streaming all theTwilightmovies.
Bella can have many dimensions added to her through this simple choice alone, which would be easy to explore in quieter moments in the TV show.Fruit and desserts often carry huge sexual and romantic symbolism, making them great details to add to a romance. Fleshing out Bella’s relationship with food also allows an entry point to a discussion of disordered eating, if this is something that the show wants to explore, considering how Bella went off food at certain points in the story.
9Bella Should Push Back Against Edward’s Break-ins
Bella Should Question Edward’s Behavior
Edward watching Bella sleepwhile he killed spiders was one of the most polarizing aspects ofTwilightand for good reason, which the show can address.Edward exhibited stalkerish behaviorin contemplating killing Bella and trying to resist, then breaking into her house to watch her sleep. The show would be remiss not to tackle this.
The show could change Edward’s behavior so that Bella doesn’t have to address it. However, if keeping Edward’s behavior as is,Bella should demonstrate the value of consent in the showby questioning him. If Edward is going to remain as threatening in the show as he was in the books and movies, Bella’s character must be made much grittier to present a match for it, and she must be someone able to challenge it and withstand it.
8Bella’s Cooking Hobby Should Explore Wider Themes
Bella Could Show Passion And Creativity Through Cooking
Bella Swan cooked for her dad throughout Meyer’s books, but there’s a whole world of richness to be grown from a cooking hobby that the TV show could exploit.Bella was caring and hardworking- not everyone cooks enchiladas and lasagna at her age. Fleshing out details about food could evoke Bella’s childhood, personality, dreams, and goals. The sensuality and history of food has the potential to be hugely evocative. Bella’s mother was an experimental chef, and the show could use food to explore Bella’s ambivalent relationship with motherhood and her own mother.
Bella should be seen cooking her favorite dish while angry, only for the show to subvert the initial view of Bella cooking only out of obligation - Bella should soften and start talking about where the ingredients were sourced and what was sacrificed to obtain them. This would show passion, creativity, and that she actually cooks as therapy. A later episode could reveal that Bella’s mother made this for her, tying Bella’s fixation on provenance to “mummy issues.” This can come full circle when Bella becomes a mother.
7The TV Show Should Work On Bella’s Attitude To Jacob
Jacob Should Make Bella Seem Stronger
Bella’s loneliness inNew Moonresulted in her relationship with Jacob blossoming, which the TV show should complicate. There is a good story in Bella’s conflict between her love for Edward and her love for Jacob, and the TV show should highlight the complexities of jealousy and friendship.Bella sometimes seemed either very oblivious or lacking in the friendship departmentwhen it came to Jacob, bearing in mind her enduring love for Edward.
It wasn’t Bella’s fault that Jacob fell in love with her, butBella’s lack of emotional intelligence was a major source of difficulty for herthroughout the source material, and this could have been better addressed in her arc with Jacob. Bella showing more accountability for her own emotions was the only extra kindness she really needed to show Jacob. A moment of Bella acknowledging her truth and flaws could make Jacob’s issues stand out in greater relief, and it would be interesting for the show to hold him accountable for his aggressive tendencies.
6The TV Show Needs To Explore Depression More
Bella Swan Was Totally Depressed
Where Bella Swan may have attained the most loyalty was her foundering mental health, although the depiction of this in both the books and movies received criticism. Lots ofTwilightreaders related to Meyer’s depiction of Bella’s heartbreakand exhibiting symptoms of major depression. This was a pertinent theme for the target age group and for these times. The TV show should keep this aspect of theTwilightstory.Twilightbook fans got to know Bella Swana lot more in her depression, as she mourned Edward’s presence in her life.
The blank pages used in the books to show Bella’s depression spoke volumes, but it is time to put words on these pages…
The TV show should honor the subject matter in this regard but go even further, keeping the show relevant.The show should exploit its animation formatto show fantasy sequences that illustrate Bella’s state of mind poignantly and show more graphic detail of Bella’s thoughts. The blank pages used in the books to show Bella’s depression spoke volumes, but it is time to put words on these pages and break more hearts than ever before with a bold, frank examination of the reality of depression.
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5Bella Swan Should Confront Her Self-Destructive Tendencies
Bella’s Obsession With Edward Wasn’t Healthy
Bella repeatedly risked her own life just to hallucinate Edward, which is a fascinating element of her character that could make her seem so much more powerful than it did in the movies.Bella’s self-destruction was a toxic aspect of her relationship with Edward, and the TV show should explore how this makes her stronger, rather than just how it makes her weaker. To do this, the show must confirm what Bella learns from these experiences and how they change her for the better, or increase her self-preservation.
Bella could be seen at some point, nearer the end of her story embracing activities she used to carry out self-destructively for creative or meditative purposes. Bella getting into extreme sport or cliff jumping may not be a terrible thing, and could show how far she came since being a reckless girl flirting with death. A stronger, more triumphant Bella by the end ofthe TV show reboot could acknowledge Bella’s self-loathing, and start to heal some of her more toxic approaches in her relationship with Edward.
4Bella Must Face Her Fear Of Losing Edward To Seem Truly Brave
Losing Edward Is Bella’s Biggest Fear
Bella Swan’s constant pining over Edward, and particularly her inability to cope with losing him portrayed her obsession with Edward well, but an opportunity was actually missed in not showing her defeating this a bit more. Bella Swan was said to be brave, and she showed that she was prepared to do whatever it took to protect her loved ones. However,Bella’s deepest, darkest fear was losing Edward, with Renesmee added by extension. And this fear was most triggered after Edward left her and before Alice visited her, when she was alone with her thoughts.
After Edward left Bella, she dissolved completely. This started an important storyline, but showing a truly brave character necessitates them tackling their deepest, darkest fear. Charlie, Jacob, and Alice helped pull Bella out of her depression, but realistically, Bella would have had to decide for herself to start recovering and decide for herself to live every day. This could have come through a lot more inThe Twilight Saga, andthe TV show must display Bella’s own agency in her recovery and survival of depressionif it wants Bella to be truly strong.
3The TV Show Can Lean Into Bella’s Flaws
Bella’s Flaws Made Her Interesting
The TV show shouldn’t clean up or sanitize Bella’s flaws, but it should refine them to create a consistent portrait of Bella. Bella’s obsessive nature, intensity, and outsider status made her interesting but sometimes obscured her protagonist arc.Protagonist flaws are really meant to set up a greater respect for a characterwhen they finally overcome their flaw in some way.
If no closure on the protagonist’s flaws is offered, their protagonist status is diminished. This occasionally happened with Bella. Some ofBella’s flaws weren’t sufficiently resolved inTwilight, reducing the impact of her character.The TV show has the opportunity to explore Bella’s occasional self-absorptionand recklessness in-depth, showing how she works to overcome these. Bella could only ever emerge as a stronger hero at the end of this.
2The TV Show Must Depict Small Victories During Depression
God Is In The Details Of Character-Driven Drama
Proving Bella as brave can come in small details inthe animatedTwilightreboot. The show has multiple episodes to tell its story, so it can take the time needed to tell what is, in theory, a profound and conflicting psychological portrait.Twilightwas always character-driven, but the TV show should push this to a new level. Ironically, some action-adventure sequences of Bella facing down horrors made her look more naive than brave, lacking in self-preservation.It is in mundane, quiet moments, faced with losing Edward, that she could seem the strongest, and her most heroic.
The show can invent a mundane scenario during Bella’s depression whereby Bella is facing the same task as friends or classmates - perhaps even colleagues if she takes up a job in the show - and no one turns up except Bella, who is the most ill, and socially anxious to boot. Small acts of heroism like this realistically do happen every day, so the show should throw a couple into Bella’s sea of misery. Bella can’t complain or ask for thanks.Bella’s depression presents the show’s most powerful opportunity to prove Bella’s strengthand selflessness.
1Bella Has To Love Herself Before She Can Love Anyone Else
Bella’s Self-Esteem Must Be Priority
Bella faced insecurity and low self-esteemthroughout Meyer’s novels and also during the Summit Entertainment movies, and while she underwent character development, this must be front and center in the TV show. IfTwilightever had any one flaw, it would be downplaying Bella’s self-worth. Bella’s romance with Edward must be shown as nothing more than a vessel through which Bella can start to fully love and understand herself.
…the show must demonstrate that the reason Bella chooses so resolutely and consistently to stand beside Edward is because he teaches her how to stand by herself.
Any romance held up to the harsh light of a full TV show will fall flat if it seems anything but, courting codependence connotations.Centering on Bella’s self-worth as the main theme of this TV show is how to make it relevantand fix the crux of its problem - the show must demonstrate that the reason Bella chooses so resolutely and consistently to stand beside Edward is because he teaches her how to stand by herself. This is the nature of true romance, whichTwilightcan prove it understands in the TV show.
Twilight
Twilight is a TV show reboot of the popular vampire film series that was based on Stephenie Meyer’s young-adult novels.
