The one we had all been eagerly waiting for – the entry that saw Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) finally become a vampire. Breaking Dawn – Part One covers the entirety of Books One and Two from the novel, which essentially translates to the book’s first half. That left quite a bit of story for Part Two to cover, expanding on it to let the characters breathe a bit as the plot got underway.
Part One dealt with the most crucial interpersonal character arcs between the Quileutes and the Cullens’ coven, letting them finally form a relationship on mutual trust and respect. Their issues were solved mainly by the Shapeshifters’ ancient tradition regarding imprinting. When Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) imprinted on Renesmee (primarily played by Makenzie Foy), Sam Uley’s pack could no longer try to kill her. Without the core source of their conflict, both packs could reconcile and further renegotiate their treaty with the Cullens. It was clear sailing. But then again, we still have two hours to cover.
The first act is devoted to Bella exploring her new status as a vampire with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), with whom she can finally exist on a level playing field. Bella is no longer a fragile human that Edward must handle with care but a being of near-indestructibility who has strength that surpasses those around her. We see once more that strength doesn’t equate to experience, as Edward still proves to be a more adept vampire. Yet, Bella’s uniquity continues to expand – granting her gifts that make her an enviable force to be reckoned with. Edward, Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) hit the power lottery regarding vampirism, with Telepathy, Premonitions, and Emotional Manipulation at hand.
On the other hand, expanded materials made it clear that the rest of the Cullens’ are no slouches. Each of them had a trait that was expanded exponentially upon becoming a vampire. Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) has unmatched compassion, Esme (Elizabeth Reaser) has unconditional love, which seems to draw those closer to her, Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed) is remarked as being even more supernaturally beautiful than the typical vampire, and Emmett (Kellan Lutz) is shown to be stronger than the standard vampire. While they may not be impressive “gifts” when compared to the other half of their coven, they bring to bear enough to stabilize their coven and protect themselves.
Bella proves to be able to ignore the innate hunger that drives a vampire to hunt a human to death, something the rest of her family finds difficult from time to time. Even if some of them have never tasted human blood themselves, they found the compulsion to hunt challenging to resist. Add to that Bella’s ability to create and project an energy field that can protect herself and those around her, even from the threats of vampires such as Jane (Dakota Fanning) and Alec (Cameron Bright), it’s not entirely surprising that Aro (Michael Sheen) wants her in his coven alongside Alice, Edward, and Jasper. Their powers are just too tempting to pass up.
During the film’s first thirty minutes, Bella, Edward, and Renesmee are at peace, even after the whole kerfuffle regarding Jacob’s imprinting on Renesmee is dealt with quickly. Bella sought reason over emotionalism because they had bigger things to deal with. The Cullens know they cannot stay in Forks for much longer, partially because the people there will soon begin to notice that none have really aged, but primarily because Renesmee is aging far too quickly for human society. Jacob, unlike Bella, chooses emotionalism over reason at the threat of his future partner being removed from his presence. Telling Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) about his secret and explaining that Bella had to undergo a transition – without going into the details – to try and fix the biggest reason for Bella agreeing to leave. Was it selfish? Absolutely. But it did help to solve an issue that Bella was struggling with.
I will now take up a complaint I hear often. This does not mean that Bella is a “Mary Sue.” Bella is one of the most flawed characters in the book, and her indecisiveness famously carried the plots for the second and third entries. Flaws don’t make for a bad character – after all, we are flawed ourselves.
Many ways she experiences becoming a vampire stem from her inner nature and what separates her from her human companions. She tempered her desires and forced herself to work through much of her inner struggle long before she became a vampire. Her ability to protect herself from threatening abilities existed before becoming a vampire. This talent is explored throughout this novel and is one of the ways the Volturi targets specific people to become a vampire.
Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer) is the only member of his pack who appears in human form this outing, with the rest of his pack – Kiowa Gordon, Tyson Houseman, Alex Meraz, and Bronson Pelletier only appearing in the stylish credits – appear in their wolf forms. Instead, Seth (Booboo Stewart) and Leah Clearwater (Julia Jones) pick up the slack for their faction. Even Billy Black (Gil Birmingham) and Emily Young (Tinsel Korey) don’t appear physically. Obviously, with so many new characters to introduce, regardless of how much screen time they received or lines they had in the finished cut, some characters had to fall by the wayside. With their importance in the story primarily concluded, the Quileutes were the obvious choice. Still, their wolf forms are prominently featured in the film’s latter half. With Billy Burke’s return, at least some of the cast was kept on for this final outing.
Irina (Maggie Grace) is at the center of the conflict when she is convinced by her sisters Kate (Casey Lebow) and Tanya (MyAnna Buring) to apologize for her behavior and forgive them for Laurent’s untimely death. When she sees Renesmee, she mistakes her for an Immortal Child, something that goes against the very basis of their vampiric society. When she reports them to the Volturi for this crime, it sets the stage for a climactic battle that could leave most, if not all, of the Cullens dead. Kate and Tanya, alongside their coven mates Eleazar (Christian Camargo) and Carmen (Mía Maestro), receive the most prominent focus, with the former two getting slightly more screen time as the new characters are introduced. They are the closest companions to the Cullens, which explains this increased importance compared to everybody else. However, most of them get their moment to really shine before the final fight commences.
Irina’s role is incredibly central to the story. Her misunderstanding of the situation and her refusal to speak with the Cullens because of Laurent’s death leads to the tragedy of the latter half.
As the conflict draws nearer, Alice and Jasper depart, leaving it up to the other’s imagination how dangerous the threat will genuinely be. Her words of warning and their efforts to assist without being physically present paint a fairly bleak picture of their future. Or, rather, lack thereof. The rest of the Cullens staunchly believe that the two won’t abandon them, but more and more evidence piles up until the last moments. Even knowing where the plot goes does little to remove the tension of the departure of the one person who can see the future.
Between them, the rest of the Cullens make their way out into the world to gather allies – people they have befriended and helped – hoping they would stand with them. While Carlisle cannot find it in him to ask them to fight, Edward is more than willing to. Because there are so many new additions, the Cullens take a back seat in the latter half of the film, but their presence is still felt. The love and support that they have formed for Bella and Renesmee drives them all to fight back where they might otherwise not have.
The Volturi’s principal members, Aro, Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl), and Caius (Jamie Campbell Bower), are drawn to the Cullens’ territory under the lure of breaking the coven up and adding those members it desired to its ranks. Felix (Daniel Cudmore) and Demetri (Charlie Bewley) return alongside Jane and Alec, representing the primary muscle for their faction. Several countless background extras fill out their retinue as witnesses and combatants. In that throng are those who play roles that are technically important but receive little to no screen time, let alone page time.
Breaking Dawn introduced so many new characters that a cast list was included at the novel’s end. While most of those characters made the jump from page to screen, some were cut, and others were added to better flesh out the pasts of the Cullens and who they knew at certain points in their history. Each coven brought something with them, whether to add strength to a potential fight, to provide witness testimony that the Cullens had not broken one of their most sacred laws, or to support their friends and allies.
With these introductions, more of the world’s history is presented to us, giving an exciting picture of additional stories that could be told. The Volturi’s differing leadership styles, precisely that of Aro and Caius, showcase that they may be willing to work together. Still, they are not necessarily after the same thing. Both are eager to deal with the Cullens, but Aro wants those with powers to join them, while Caius would see fit to destroy them as they did those who threatened them and their power in the past.
Garrett (Lee Pace), Alistair (Joe Anderson), and Toshio (Masami Kosaka, who is the only one invented for the film out of the three) represent the typical vampiric existence – solitary nomads. While Garret finds companionship with Kate, expanding their family after Irina’s supposed betrayal, Alistair and Toshiro show what it means to be truly afraid of the Volturi. The former bails on the group before the conflict occurs, and the latter doesn’t survive long enough to join it.
Two vampires make up the remnants of the Romanian Coven, Vladimir (Noel Fisher) and Stefan (Guri Weinberg), and they exist to show how the vampiric hierarchy has changed over the millennia. The two ancient beings were some of the most powerful vampires to have ever lived, commanding authority and respect in the world to the point that people trekked across continents to pay their respects and seek a bit of favor. The Volturi toppled them in their bid for power, and the two have been seeking revenge ever since. Unlike most of the vampires that the Cullens assemble, these two show up unannounced and uninvited because the Cullens’ actions are now rumors in the wind.
Amun (Omar Metwally) and his mate Kebi (Andrea Gabriel) are introduced to show just how significant a threat the Volturi can be to those who get in their way. While their history is not precisely explored in the film, like Vladimir and Stefan, they were part of a coven that vied for power in ancient times. Like the Romanians, their coven was targeted and all but completely destroyed, leaving them a mere echo of what we can assume they were at their peak. Since then, they have found a new coven mate in Benjamin (Rami Malek) and his mate Tia (Angela Sarafyan). Carlisle and Esme seek to convince them that the Volturi will threaten them again once the Cullens are destroyed, but Amun is cagey about joining them.
It’s not until Benjamin intervenes that we learn why – Benjamin represents the greatest threat to the Volturi because of his power to generate and control the Elements. Fire is considered one of the greatest weaknesses of Stephenie Meyers’ vampires. Benjamin can generate seemingly endless streams of fire, giving him power over their greatest weakness.
The Amazon Coven was the one that received the biggest change, with three vampires existing in the books but only two appearing in the film. Zafrina (Judi Shekoni) and Senna (Tracey Heggins) are two vampires from the Amazon, with the former having the gift to craft convincing visual illusions on those she targets. They represent a more unrestrained, more visceral kind of vampire that has reconnected with nature and embraced their inner selves as vampires.
The Irish Coven, comprised of Siobhan (Lisa Howard), Liam (Patrick Brennan), and Maggie (Marlane Barnes), were old friends of Carlisle’s. They came to aid their friend due to his immense generosity. Siobhan is believed to have the ability to manifest a specific outcome. However, she is noted to not believe it. In contrast, Maggie definitely has the ability to tell when somebody is lying to her. Charlotte (Valorie Curry) and Peter (Erik Odom) are two vampires from Jasper’s past, members of the coven formed by Maria, who survived and escaped when the coven began to cull its numbers. Lastly are Randall (Bill Tangradi) and Mary (Toni Trucks), two nomads who crossed paths on their way to Forks to join the Cullens in their mission.
A handful of vampires were created solely for the movie – including the French Coven’s Henri (Amadou Ly) and Yvette (Janelle Froehlich) – who are primarily there to fill out the ranks for the Volturi. With so many characters in the background, these two are named and given a bit of focus to show that they’re not merely nameless rank-and-file vampires. Because Bella is the focus character, one character who does appear in the books, Santiago (Lateef Crowder), does little more than appear. Still, in the film, their role is expanded as he is sent to chase Renesmee and Jacob when they make their escape. The final additional characters are Nahuel (J.D. Pardo) and his mate Huilen (Marisa Quinn), who serve as the final pieces of testimony to Renesmee’s unique existence.
Most of these characters existed solely to expand the roster of potential combatants. When the book was released, there was no final battle but a discussion. The film, excising part of its lore, chose the better part of valor and gave audiences what they wanted in the most shocking manner imaginable. The final fight was a glorious display of vampiric combat, whether through their enhanced combat prowess or special abilities. We were also given a more extended version of wolf-on-vampire combat, which appeared fleetingly in New Moon and Eclipse. I still remember sitting in the theater when the first blood was drawn, and it was shocking.
Breaking Dawn – Part Two closed out a five-year film series, bringing together its many threads to what I considered to be a satisfying conclusion. Obviously, I would never turn down additional material, perhaps some that takes place years or decades later, just to check in on everybody.
Lloydd Marshall Books 