The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Bella, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) are still locked in conflict with one another, with Bella struggling to come to terms with Edward’s singular condition to turning her into a Vampire himself: she must agree to marry him. Jacob, having ceded his place as the leader of the Quileute Shapeshifters to Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer), is still struggling with his feelings for Bella and the damage it could do to their years-long treaty with the Cullens. He has imparted his interpretation of their agreement that the Cullens will not target humans in the area, including not turning Bella into a vampire. A rather broad interpretation, but then again, political disagreements usually are. Still, Eclipse tackles this head-on, drawing the Quileutes’ and the Cullens into an unlikely but necessary alliance to protect Bella.

As the third entry, Eclipse has the benefit of precedence in building its central plot with gusto. All the major characters had been introduced, and their personalities were fleshed out so we could accurately predict how they would address the central conflict. This also meant that the best path forward for Eclipse was the distant past. For this reason, the novel detailed the backstories of Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed), Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), and Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), building up their characters well. The film touches the surface of the latter two while devoting elegant flashbacks for Rosalie and Jasper, including a small but thoroughly enjoyable set of supporting characters. Their presence is meaningful, even if they are short and sweet.

Still, as Eclipse begins, we find ourselves introduced to a new character, Riley Biers (Xavier Samuel), enjoying himself in Seattle before becoming the target of a vengeful Vampire, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard). Much of the information we glean about him in the film is pulled from Stephenie Meyer’s novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. No doubt, as she was compiling this dramatic entry, she realized that, ultimately, Bella’s perspective limited the true impact of Riley and Victoria’s mission to target Bella. In truth, the mission is the core mystery of the novel, and the film can portray that mystery from both sides, giving us a heavy dose of dramatic irony. We know who is hunting Bella long before the Cullens’ do. Still, because of everything they know about Vampires, and Victoria in particular, they cannot thread the two forces together until it’s nearly too late.

Bree Tanner (Jodelle Ferland) is a newborn Vampire created by Riley and Victoria as part of a larger plan – a massive army of newborns designed to combat the decades, or in the case of Carlisle (Peter Facinelli), Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), and Edward, century+, Vampires. We are given more information in Stephenie Meyers’ Vampire mythology through Jasper’s history and his time as a Confederate Soldier. Newborn Vampires are considerably stronger because their once human blood is still coursing through them, an advantage they maintain for at least the first year of their life. Victoria, leaving the entire plan to Riley, aims to overwhelm the Cullens’ age and experience, as well as their unique gifts in the case of Jasper, Alice, and Edward.

Victoria finally took center stage as the primary antagonist, which was disheartening for several reasons, none of which had anything to do with Ms. Dallas Howard’s performance. The colder, more calculating nature of Victoria in this film was heightened by the ethereal effort put forth by Bryce Dallas Howard. Lefevre’s Victoria was fiery and wild, while the seasons turn to winter in Eclipse, highlighting the colder version of Dallas Howard’s Victoria. With Victoria’s inability to get at Bella throughout New Moon tied significantly to the appearance of Shapeshifting Werewolves, it’s not entirely surprising that she became more plan-oriented between entries. But the film presents this more daringly – with Victoria having turned Riley a year before the main plot of Eclipse occurs, as in not long after James (Cam Gigandet) was killed. Her manipulation of Riley was masterful, to the point that even explicit proof of her treachery wasn’t enough to turn him against her until it was far too late.

The Quileute’s grew in number with this entry, bringing back Embry Call (Kiowa Gordon), Paul Lahote (Alex Meraz), and Jared Cameron (Bronson Pelletier) as members of Sam’s pack and adding to previously introduced Quil Ateara V (Tyson Houseman) as a newly minted Werewolf. On top of them, we are introduced to the Clearwater siblings, who were introduced in the original version of New Moon but excised from the film adaptation for streamlining purposes.

Leah also explores the downsides of imprinting, which we see from Jacob’s perspective. To continue the genetic traits that allow for Shapeshifters to fill out their ranks, the Werewolves imprint on certain women, but the details are not laid out entirely. Leah, having been in a relationship with Sam before he first shifted, must exist in the hell of their collective telepathic connection. At the same time, Sam espouses his unending love and adulation with Emily Young (Tinsel Korey), Leah’s second cousin who was like a sister to her when they were younger; he must endure her pain and disturbance over their strong romantic relationship collapsing because of the supernatural. Jacob, on the whole, takes it all poorly because he is in love with Bella but hasn’t imprinted on her. This only furthers his confusion and extends the dramatic tension between the three main characters.

The relationships between Bella, Leah, and Seth are also very different. While Seth immediately takes a shine to Bella, forming a friendship with her as his interest in all things supernatural continues to form, Leah is downright hostile to Bella for the same reasons she and Sam have grown distant. The telepathic connection she shares with her pack makes Jacob’s unrequited pining a painful experience for all involved, and she views Bella as a threat to their stability. Regarding Bella, her relationship with Leah is almost as fraught as with Rosalie. The fact that Rosalie begins to warm to Bella throughout this film, even if in a minor fashion, points to Leah’s introduction as a way to keep the two women feuding – even if Bella has done nothing wrong to Leah.

As a novel, it was my favorite entry when I began reading them. I enjoyed Twilight’s slow, methodical introduction and the enthralling introduction of the Shapeshifters and the Volturi in New Moon. Still, Eclipse has long since held me captive. The mystery unravels throughout the novel while Bella, Edward, and his family contend with the threat of the Volturi looming over them regarding Bella’s future as a Vampire. It was more than just a taste of what could be. Thematically, as Bella and her classmates, Vampire and human alike, prepare for graduation, this conflict ties in beautifully. Graduation is all about change and evolution, a difficult stage in life where a young person is not quite a child anymore but not entirely an adult, yet tricky, frequently complex decisions lie ahead of them. Bella and Edward have that in spades. She is ready to take the leap and become a Vampire, but he fears damning her soul to an eternity as his chief reason for begging off the promise to turn her.

There is so much that Rosalie wishes she could have experienced, but it is now out of reach because Vampires cannot change. Jasper’s difficulties as the newest member of their vegetarian lifestyle are also delved into as his history is laid bare. Emmett’s history wasn’t directly shown, but his passion and love for Rosalie are on full display, and his fierce protectiveness of his family is never out of sight. Even Esme and Carlisle have their roles expanded, if only slightly.

What do you do when you have a powerful love story that has convinced an army of lawyer readers and viewers that a love triangle is afoot? Why, you capitalize off of it. Even if, by this point, Bella had continued to state that Edward was her only love, Jacob continued to press his interest towards her. A sort of camaraderie between Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) and Jacob has blossomed. Charlie has grounded Bella for her impromptu trip to Italy after her already painful exit in Twilight. He is trying to disentangle Bella from what he views as a toxic relationship of codependence between Bella and Edward. He lifts her punishment if she uses that newfound freedom to refocus her efforts on expanding her friendship beyond just her relationship with Edward. Here, the treaty does prove problematic, as the Cullens cannot go onto the Quileute’s land, regardless of circumstance. Edward can’t help her if she’s in trouble, and because Alice has not grown powerful enough to see beyond the Werewolves’ presence, Bella would be at risk in their minds.

We also see the Cullens as a functioning coven, and it’s evident why the Volturi view them as a potential threat. Compare them to the Newborn Army under the thrall of Victoria and Riley, or even the one that Jasper helped to build up in his past. Their close-knit connection doesn’t require emotional manipulation, which is how Aro maintains his control over the Volturi. It is through one of choice and mutual love and respect, and on top of their powers of telepathy, premonition, and pathokinesis. Their eventual, however tenuous, alliance with the Quileute Shapeshifters also marks them as a powerful future threat.

This entry featured a slew of new characters, some of whom would go on for the rest of the series, and others who existed to fill out the backstories of certain characters. Sue Clearwater (Alex Rice), the wife of the late Harry Clearwater and Leah and Seth’s mother, is introduced to expand the supporting cast on the Quileute side. She is present when Bella is introduced to the tribe’s histories with the Vampires – the Cold Ones – as they call them. Bella’s mother, Renée Dwyer (Sarah Clarke), returns, though Phil is not present for the time when Bella and Edward travel to Florida to visit her, as part of a ploy to protect Bella from the conflict that has been spiraling out of control between the Cullens and Victoria. Billy Black (Gil Birmingham) explores the Quileute’s history as one of its elders, telling the story of the Cold Ones and their ancestors’ first encounter with them so long ago.

For Rosalie’s flashback, the significant introduction was Royce King II (Jack Huston), her fiancé during the Great Depression, whose possessive nature led to the circumstances requiring Carlisle to turn Rosalie. For Jasper’s flashback, we meet a trio of Vampires who sought to redefine the power balance in their world – Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno), Lucy (Kristen Prout), and Nettie (Leah Gibson) – and their small army of newborns was how they planned on doing this.

Perhaps there will come a day when Stephenie Meyer provides another entry, either a full-fledged book as she did with Midnight Sun or in the form of a novella, like The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Jasper’s history is rich and replete with information that could flesh out more of her world and the dynamics that varying Vampire covens have to endure under Volturi’s rule. With several characters having centuries’ worth of material to explore and none of them living a sedentary life, there is a lot that she can touch on. Seeing the Mexican Coven properly formed and seeing what their goals were beyond the brief explanation we received would prove quite popular.

Jessica Stanley (Anna Kendrick), Mike Newton (Michael Welch), Angela Weber (Christian Serratos), and Eric Yorkie (Justin Chon) all returned with a more prominent presence than in New Moon. More scenes are set around Bella’s time at Forks High as their graduation rapidly approaches. This year, she and her friends are closer than ever and have expanded to include Edward, Alice, and Jasper, leading to a fun and memorable graduation party at the Cullens’ home.

Lastly, because they were incredibly popular and their minor appearance at the end of the book deserved to be expanded on, four members of the Volturi Guard appear throughout the film. With Aro’s decisions being watched closely by Alice to prepare themselves if the Volturi ever decide to check up on their decree regarding Bella’s transition into a Vampire, Jane (Dakota Fanning) is leading their effort to disrupt the Cullens coven, as the group so often does when a Vampire coven might threaten the Volturi’s supremacy. Alec (Cameron Bright), Demetri (Charlie Bewley), and Felix (Daniel Cudmore) bolster her efforts, even as some of them question her motives and agenda.

Eclipse was a prelude to the final conflict. As had become the case for so many adaptations in the 2000s, the final outing was split into two. Yet, knowing that the end was approaching, it was extraordinary that this entry did not waste time closing out so many pressing storylines, specifically Victoria’s. Laurent was the only member of her former coven whose role was relatively small, with Victoria coming out on top regarding importance and threat level. This entire film was devoted to the threat she represented while never hiding that a more significant threat loomed in the background.