More than a decade after the release of “Twilight,” Twihards are discovering it all over again — through Edward’s eyes.
The much-anticipated companion story, “Midnight Sun,”. The book tells the love story of a vampire and a human girl, Bella, from Edward’s point of view.
After reading the nearly-700 page book, you may be compelled to seek out the first movie again. And it’s worth another watch. You may be surprised to find that some of the film’s more puzzling or laughable moments make more sense when you know Edward’s inner monologue.
Because Edward can read minds, his version of events gives fans further insight into why Rosalie detests Bella, Jasper’s deer-in-the-headlights appearance when we first met him, and why the bad guys didn’t realize Bella was a human when they first met during the film’s famous baseball scene.
There’s a larger meaning behind Jess’ reference to Bella as a “shiny new toy” than you may have realized.
When Mike and Tyler try and win over Bella’s affections, Jess (Anna Kendrick) refers to her as the “shiny new toy” at school.
That’s not a line Jess says in the book. Instead, it’s how Edward refers to Bella in “Midnight Sun” when everyone starts making a fuss over her.
“The excitement over her was tiresomely predictable—it was the same reaction as one would get from flashing a shiny object at a group of toddlers. Half the sheep-like males were already imagining themselves infatuated with her, just because she was something new to look at.”
Jasper was having a tough time controlling his craving for blood when we first met him.
When Jasper first appeared on screen, he noticeably looked a little dazed. It’s almost comical how out of sync he looks with the rest of the vampires, but that’s on purpose.
Although we never heard his thoughts on screen, in “Midnight Sun” Edward notes that Jasper was struggling with his control around humans, and in that moment, he was quite dangerous. Unlike the rest of the vampires, his determination to keep control over his senses was causing him to look stiff and inhuman.
Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Edward were all keeping up their guard around him in the event he faltered. Edward saw Jasper imagining biting into the throat of a young girl in the cafeteria.
You may remember laughing at Edward’s over-the-top reaction to Bella in biology class when they first met. Bella thinks it’s because she smells. That’s not even the half of it.
Edward looks ridiculous in biology class because he wasn’t simply put off by Bella’s scent. He was overwhelmed by it and was trying to restrain from killing the entire class.
Although we can infer that Bella’s scent caused Edward to act strangely towards her the first time they met, we learn the power it has over him and how painfully it affected him in “Midnight Sun.”
“Her scent hit me like a battering ram, like an exploding grenade… Instantly, I was transformed. I was nothing close to the human I’d once been… I was a predator. She was my prey.”
For the hour they’re in class, Edward considers the best ways to kill Bella and her classmates, if necessary.
“It would be slower and more difficult, trying to take them all down when they were panicked and scrambling, moving in chaos. Not impossible, but there would be much more noise. Time for lots of screaming. Someone would hear… and I’d be forced to kill more innocents in this black hour.”
This goes on for about seven pages until the class ends. It’s why Edward leaves the moment the bell rings. If he stays in that class any longer he may have lost control.
When Edward doesn’t show up in class the next few days, he escapes to Alaska.
In the extended version of the film, you see Edward struggle to carry a conversation with Emmett and Jasper in the school parking lot as Bella passes.
In the book, Edward’s already in his car with his brothers and sisters, driving far away from the school. In a vision, Alice sees Edward leaving the family in order to protect Bella. Otherwise, he’ll likely kill her.
Edward heads to Denali National Park in Alaska for six days where fellow vampires Tanya, Kate, and Irina live. There, Edward runs into Tanya and we learn that the female vampire once thought the two of them would pair up. The Denali clan appears in “Breaking Dawn” to stand by the Cullens in defense of Renesmee.
In the film, Edward’s absence is about half that time.
Edward appears so awkward during his first real encounter with Bella because he’s barely breathing and because the movie leaves out a subtle interaction between the two.
When Edward finally introduces himself to Bella in class it’s one of the cringiest interactions of the entire film.
Edward appears to stumble over his words because he’s trying to keep his mood in check around Bella. In “Midnight Sun,” we know he’s barely breathing and only speaks when absolutely necessary.
