Oh yes, 2009. It was the year Team Edward vs. Team Jacob became all the rage on the big screen. Over Thanksgiving weekend of that year, fans of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books and films were choosing their side of the battle and puff painting it on T-shirts as they awaited midnight premieres. How long has it been since you’ve revisited The Twilight Saga: New Moon? Whether you’d like a red hot dose of nostalgia or a good laugh, New Moon is a great pick to return to. It almost feels as if this movie was Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in another life! Are you still on the same team over a decade later?
As CinemaBlend gears up to continue our Twitter Watch Party series with The Twilight Saga: New Moon, let’s look back at some of the awkward elements of the movie that don't add up. The passion for this movie in particular burns bright. Whether you love or hate the first Twilight sequel starring K-Stew and R-Patz, it’s a fun movie to check out with people and get in discussions with. Here’s some things that still don’t make sense about New Moon:
Really, Bella? Your Biggest Concern Is Getting Super Old At 18?
New Moon opens with a dream sequence Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan has where she sees herself as an old woman with a still young and dashing Edward Cullen in the meadow they like to spend time together in. And throughout the movie, Bella is totally freaked out that she is going to be too old for Edward if she does not turn into a vampire like now. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to be frozen in time, I would not have chosen my high school years. Wait a few years Bells, you’ll only glow up as the years go by! And, don’t you have other things to worry about, like I don’t know finals? College?
Edward, Throwing Bella Across The Room Made Her Party So. Much. Worse.
Now let’s talk about the dramatic birthday party sequence at the Cullens’ house! When the movie came out, fans were obviously enamored with Kristen Stewart’s forest green dress. Yes, looking back, New Moon really went there with the theatrics but did Edward really need to push Bella across the room and against the wall in that moment? All she had was a paper cut, but after Edward’s protective nudge she had blood all over her and it made it a lot worse. As I’ve realized, New Moon is really not Edward’s movie.
Why Did Edward Cullen Have To Break Up With Bella Like That?
Now if Edward Cullen was really a teenage boy, I would not have this gripe with New Moon, because they don’t have the best rep with handling breakups, but Bella’s BF is over 100 years old. Really dude? During New Moon, Robert Pattinson’s character decides to call it quits with Bella in order to protect her from danger but he does not handle it with love and care. He doesn’t even let her down easy, he straight up says that she’s never going to see him again and he doesn’t want to be with her. Bella has said she wants to be with him forever and that’s how you do it? You know she can't handle the truth! At least he could have used some workshopping with Alice first using her precognitive abilities.
Why Do Bella’s Family And Friends Ignore Her Signs Of Depression?
New Moon is all fun and games until you realize how deeply depressed Bella is throughout the film. Once Edward walks out, the teenager spends months cropped up in her house, sitting alone in school and having some horrifying dreams at night. Charlie doesn’t know how to deal with it and insists she moves back to Jacksonville and her so-called high school friends don’t even engage with her at school following the breakup. Obviously, you have to want to help yourself before others can, but still… there’s quite a bit of blatantly concerning behavior in New Moon that likely would not have been made today without some added commentary on the importance of mental health. Uhh… she jumped off a cliff!
Why Did The Cullens Leave Bella Unprotected In Forks?
Also, can we talk about how Edward Cullen left Bella to keep her safe, but ends up placing her in more danger by doing so? I’m talking about Laurent and Victoria, who were still clearly keeping tabs on Edward and Bella following the events of the first Twilight film and show up later on in New Moon for their revenge. It’s pretty messed up and if it were not for Jacob Black and his wolf pack Bella would have died as a result of the Cullens’ leaving. Edward saw this coming, he could have hunted down Victoria before leaving at least? No wonder Team Jacob prevailed during New Moon, because again, Edward lost his head in this one.
How Come Bella Doesn’t Figure Out The Werewolf Secret?
Ok, so I know Bella is super heartbroken in New Moon, but in the process we lost our Virgo research queen in the sequel? In the second act of the movie, the focus of the story moves to Jacob Black’s transformation into a werewolf and all the changes that go with it. Bella is left clueless until she incites a fight with other members of the wolf pack, but I don’t understand how she didn’t figure it out before then. Back in the first Twilight movie, Jacob literally tells Bella about the legend of the Cullens deriving from vampires and his ancestors being wolves. So, why didn’t she put two and two together? Breakups are rough… I guess?
How Is Bella So Sure About Edward?
I think my feelings by the end of New Moon really cements the conversation at the heart of the second Twilight movie. Are Bella and Edward really right for each other and how can she be so sure? By the end of the first movie, we’re smitten with the pair, but man does New Moon shake things up. In the film’s epic finale, the Cullens decide that they will in fact turn Bella into a vampire after she graduates. Edward is not keen on the idea, but he does decide to compromise if she is willing to marry him.
New Moon definitely gives us a good look at how sad Edward and Bella are apart from each other, and the bit about Bella visiting Volturi and her finding out she has shield powers does cement her ties to becoming a vampire. But Twilight fans, can we agree the movie does the best job of getting the audience to understand why Bella’s decision is a good one? That was handled a bit better in Stephenie Meyer’s book.
New Moon discourse aside, rewatching the 2009 flick is a whole lot of fun! All the nonsensical things about it make it an engaging watch, and it’s a good time to return to this world with some added perspective of over a decade. Join us at the The Twilight Saga: New Moon Twitter Watch Party on March 29 at 5pm PST or 8pm ET on Twitter. You can tweet along using the hashtag #TeamBella with us!
