The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 came very close to fixing the novel’s bad ending, but instead it decided to copy it, delivering an unsatisfying closure. Back in 2005, readers around the world were introduced to a new type of vampires in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, which was the first entry in a series of four books. The final novel, Breaking Dawn, arrived in 2008 and gave closure to the main couple, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, but its ending isn’t exactly the best. The series was adapted to the big screen between 2008 and 2012, and as it happens with all book adaptations, some details were changed to better fit the format.
The core of the series is the relationship between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan, which has been a topic of discussion between fans and casual viewers as it’s quite a problematic pair. Still, the Twilight books and films became a pop culture phenomenon, and boosted the careers of its main stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. While the Twilight film series had a good start, the quality of the sequels gradually decreased, not only visually but also narratively, though the final film had the chance to correct the story… and didn’t do it.
Twilight fans were looking forward to Breaking Dawn – Part 2, more so after the trailers teased an epic battle between the Cullens and allies and the Volturi, but the writers had other plans that ended up being as bad (or even worse) as the book’s ending. ending.
How Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Could Have Fixed The Book’s Ending
In the novel, the Volturi go after the Cullens as they believe Renesmee – Edward and Bella’s daughter – is an immortal child, and thus a threat to their kind. They realized they were misinformed and tried to instigate a battle, but failed. Alice and Jasper then bring Nahuel, a 150-year-old half-vampire half-mortal, just like Renesmee, who proves to the Volturi that hybrids pose no threat. The Volturi agree to leave the Cullens alone, though the Cullens and allies know they will return one day. The film, on the other hand, was on its way to fix this ending by actually giving fans a battle between the two teams, until the writers decided to stay true to the source material.
In Breaking Dawn – Part 2, the Volturi and the Cullens (along with the Quileute wolf packs and other vampire allies) meet in the snowy forest for a battle – but before they start beheading each other, Alice shares with Aro, the leader of the Volturi, her vision of the battle is to come. In it, Aro kills Carlisle, which triggers the fight. There are many casualties on both sides, most notably Jasper and the Clearwater siblings, as well as Aro himself thanks to the combined efforts of Edward and Bella. Just as Bella approaches Aro’s head to burn it, viewers are taken back to Alice sharing her vision, and realize that the battle they just witnessed was that: a vision.
The 10 minute-long fight between vampires and wolves ended up being a waste of time, as the writers decided to do the book’s ending anyway, with the Volturi simply leaving. The battle would’ve been a very sad one, given that Carlisle and Jasper would have died, but it would have been a much more satisfying ending than the Volturi decided to leave just like that after all the trouble caused by them not only in Breaking Dawn but in previous books too. Although the Twilight film saga ended with Edward and Bella sharing memories and telling each other they will be together forever, that final scene would have had a lot more impact had the battle been real.
