Transcript
Jordyn: On this episode of Book Watch, we are watching Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. First book in the Twilight saga was published in 2005, and was adapted to film in 2008, directed by Catherine Hardwick. The film screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg and Stephanie Meyer. And the audio book is narrated by Ilyana Kadushin. I'm Jordyn.
Chris: I'm Chris.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And I'm Sarah Daye.
Jordyn: And we'll get started right after these messages.
Jordyn: Happy hoa hoa hoa season, you guys!
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Woo -hoo, it's October.
Jordyn: It's October. It's twilight season. quick summary of the book for anybody who somehow has no idea what happens in twilight even though it's One of the most iconic.
Jordyn: pop culture phenomenons of the last 20 years.
Chris: What is Twilight?
Jordyn: Stop.
Jordyn: 17 -year -old Bella Swan moves up to a small town in the Pacific Northwest to be with her father, Charlie. She Falls in love with Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108 -year -old vampire.
Jordyn: What is your guys' relationship? what Twilight like before I. start getting too crazy here.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: The main thing that I remember. of my history with Twilight is... The final movie. I know that we're talking about like Twilight, but I remember being in the theater for the first time watching that final film.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And the plot twist that the film did. and i don't want to get into it right now because i know that we'll cover that and i want to talk about it more then but that i will never forget the whole theater being like wtf like this is not
Jordyn: mm -hmm
Sarah-Daye McDougall: this is not what happened. And then... you know you get some more information and everybody's like oh wow like it was so good it was so iconic that was like the beginning of like theater reactions for me And so.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: That was just a really. fun time. And I remember that fondly. I read the books, I was into the books, I wanted to read the next one, like as soon as it came out.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I have. It's not something that has grown with me like Harry Potter has grown with me. It's something that I don't really go back to. If the movie's on and I don't have anything else to watch, I'd probably watch it. But it's not something that I'm like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: rereading once a year.
Chris: Came out when I would have been in high schools and I definitely made fun of a lot of people who read this book and watch this film. It was something I enjoyed poking fun at a lot. Now, I did watch them and I have read them as an adult, but... And I still feel the same way about them for the most part. But yeah, it was definitely.
Chris: It was a. Thing that was. easy to poke fun at so
Jordyn: They are super cringy. They just are. But I think that's part of. the charm of them. Is like something that Cringy could not.
Jordyn: exist today like everything is so like
Jordyn: I think this kind of caused. everybody else to be hyper aware of. cringe and therefore like actively lean away from it versus this just was what it was and it's it I love Twilight.
Jordyn: I wanted to read it so bad when I was like 12 and my mom had read them first.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm
Jordyn: And in book four, there's like... uh spicy scene except for it's not spicy at all it's just like a fade to black like you know what they're doing but that's it there's no graphic
Jordyn: description and she was like that's not appropriate you have to wait till you're 13 in order to read these and so that was like literally that was my birthday gift on my 13th birthday was being able to start the Twilight series. and i got through them all and like a month i was obsessed and it was I...
Jordyn: I've always done the annual movie rewatch. I haven't reread them every year. I have reread them multiple times, but I am somebody who subscribes to the, oh, it's October, time to watch Twilight.
Jordyn: propaganda, so.
Jordyn: but i mean like the cultural impact that twilight had like they're still memes going around and maybe it's just my algorithm but like This movie is memed to death.
Jordyn: like this is the skin of a killer bella Hold on tight, spider monkey. Like, there's so many quotable moments and lines that get thrown around. in a...
Chris: cringe cringe cringe
Jordyn: Stop!
Jordyn: It's... wonderful it's whimsical it's fun Yeah, so there's... You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster from Breaking Dawn. There's just so many quotable, memeable moments in this franchise that I think it... Bye.
Jordyn: definitely contributes to its like staying power in the cultural zeitgeist.
Chris: I think one of my biggest problems I was having with it even yesterday watching it and redo my rewatch was that there's a tiny bit of lore in the world, like as far as the vampires and werewolves and stuff go. But I wish they would have leaned into or it would have leaned more into like some of the historical vampire and like mythology or, you know.
Chris: Things like that they kind of glaze over a lot of and say yeah, it's all just that's all just untrue. That's all just things that were made up. We are this way. I kind of wish like, you know, I've read some other vampire novels where you've got the, the human servants and the, the, you know, animals to call. You've got, you know, there's a lot of things that can be a part of all this that doesn't make it into this film. That's fine. But it was, I was like, it could have almost.
Chris: made this feel a lot more authentic or not authentic but uh more interesting if it had some more some more lore thrown in there and so you could actually dig into it a little deeper
Jordyn: Yeah, that's definitely fair. I think So. For people who are like super, super into Twilight, as I am, Stephanie Meyer is a member of the... Church of Latter -day Saints, or she's a Mormon. So I think she...
Jordyn: This is speculation. I don't know that she's ever said this, but I'm fairly certain. I feel fairly confident saying that she wanted to lean away from like the existing lore because of its association with like. demons and demonology and that kind of thing and so she didn't want to like promote that. This is also, when these came out, I remember.
Jordyn: my grandmother coming to me and being like, and to my mom and be like, you shouldn't let her read those. Like there's like. demons and stuff in these books. She was also telling me that I shouldn't read Harry Potter because there's witchcraft.
Jordyn: Yes.
Jordyn: Right. So like. But I think like that being said, and my mom, my, my grandmother isn't even like LDS or Mormon. She was just like. regular Protestant Christian. but that's why she didn't want me to read them because her religious views. And so I think like Stephanie Meyer, like actually. being involved in her church. was trying to lean away from those sorts of things and make it a little bit more.
Jordyn: palatable to a wider audience she also has said that like Edward comes to her in dreams and tells her what the story is so you know, getting into the mind of that guy, like who knows what she's coming up with.
Chris: Well, that explains a lot, so, you know. I think that's what it is, yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, Twilight is just such a rich. world like there's even now like there's a whole like Instagram accounts that I follow that are dedicated to like dissecting Twilight and like fear doing headcanons of like what are Bella and Edward up to now you know
Jordyn: 20 years later after they got married you know when the last movie came out And the town of Forks is a real town in Washington. And it is like the whole town is like a livable museum. Like you can go to Bella's house and like go in her bedroom and like lay in her bed and like go to the diner and like.
Jordyn: The whole thing is just like. really really like rich. of what there is in this fandom still even so far out from when it came out. I mean, 20 years since the first book came out.
Chris: I have been through that area, but it would have been like...
Chris: Before this was really big, before it became that kind of spectacle, I've been nearby forks.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: I've seen the signs for forks driving through Washington with my family when I was younger.
Jordyn: If Twilight gave us nothing else, it gave us Robert Pattinson. I mean, he was Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter first, but this is what really... blew him up and like got him this was like his I what I think is like his big break and now
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Chris: For better or worse.
Jordyn: And what... For better. For better.
Chris: Hmm.
Jordyn: Like, now he is...
Jordyn: He's Batman. He's Chris Hansen. He is, you know, Antinous in the Odyssey. Robert Patt, he's very well respected and well loved. actor of his generation and it all started here in Twilight.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Well... did it because like yes this is what brought him to fandom and then he was in that not a rom -com because it's not a comedy but It was Remember Me. was shortly after this. But then he almost kind of fell off.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: The face of the earth for a while and now he's back and he is taking all of these really weird but iconic roles. and like when you first heard he was cast as batman you're like wtf robert pattinson but then
Chris: Still saying that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It was such an interesting. rendition of Bruce. But,
Chris: angsty Bruce Wayne.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right. Like gothic, emo Bruce.
Jordyn: Bruce is always like that, though.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But then he like really nailed the Batman role also.
Chris: I'm out of here.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And I'm excited to see the next one. I'm excited to see Mickey 17. I haven't seen it. But all of like this is when he's really shining as an actor. I don't think he was really shining as.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Edward Colvin.
Chris: Only in the sunlight.
Jordyn: No, I would never say that he was.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Only in a sense that you're right.
Jordyn: I would never suggest that he was, that this was like his best role. That's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is that it's iconic still.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: it is iconic I think the whole thing is iconic and how bad the acting and directing is is what makes it so iconic like it's such a cult following
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: If you're about to tell me that the acting is good.
Chris: I started fan casting.
Jordyn: No.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: We're gonna have problems.
Chris: I was like, yeah, like a young Tom Hiddleston as Edward's role. And I think that Anna Kendrick should have had the lead instead of. uh kristen stewart i think the swap moved her over to that role i think she could have been better just knowing how she's performed
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I don't know that I would have liked to see Anna. I love Anna Kendrick, but... I don't think. Kristen Stewart did a good job either. But I think Anna Kedrick's so good as a comedian that that's just not who bella is either i don't know who i would have cast as bella especially back in that time It wouldn't have been Kristen Stewart though.
Chris: Right.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: Come on.
Jordyn: You know what the problem is? Unfortunately, this is actually a really good adaptation of the book. Like how bad you think Bella is in the movie.
Chris: Well, yes.
Jordyn: She's that bad in the book too. Like it's very faithful that way.
Chris: Which was.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But it's not! Yeah, have you seen all the reels like making fun of her acting and her like Ugh. You know what I mean?
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, but that's not. Bella is clumsy, and they made a point to make some of those. clumsy things. But I think she's a lot more socially awkward in the movie than she is the book. Like all those boys were interested in her.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like, it's not like.
Jordyn: And she hated it. She says multiple times, she's like, I want to go back to Arizona where I was invisible.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Jordyn: Like. Shit. That social awkwardness is there. it yes it was played up it was over exaggerated for sure in the movie but like I also think about, and maybe this is...
Jordyn: Th - my perception of it feeding into each other but I'm like I feel like everybody was like that And... in that when this movie like in 2008 I was 10 years old I was in fourth grade I feel like everybody was like that at that time and then even middle school high school we were all like
Jordyn: what do you mean like stop like that was like a thing like it was
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, yeah
Jordyn: I don't know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And maybe it's just the directing for me. There's something about these movies that. Is bad, but like. I like them.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: There is something that is fun and good about them. Chris said, like, they are a good adaptation. everything that happened in the book happened in the movie you know and there's some timey -wimey
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Alternate. timelines but everything you see in the film but there's just also something that is so Corny.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And like this is memeable, like you said.
Jordyn: oh yeah Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And it's not the book that's memeable, it's the movie that's memeable.
Jordyn: I think.
Jordyn: But that's the performances though. Like, that's what makes it memorable.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right. And that's what I'm saying. I don't know that it's the acting or if it's the directing. I don't know if it's memorable in a good way, Jordan. That's what I'm saying.
Jordyn: I think you guys are just... too old to appreciate Twilight the way it's meant to be appreciated.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Listen, wait.
Chris: If I was a middle school girl I think I would love it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: About what year?
Jordyn: What?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: 2005? Right, I was 15
Jordyn: The book came out.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: In 2005.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, so I was 15 when the book came out, and then 2008 was the movie.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: Yes, sir.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, so 18. So maybe I was just too old for this, but like, I still liked the story. Like I was still, I was actually always team Jacob, but. Like I was all into that, you know, love triangle thing.
Jordyn: Same.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It was definitely right up my alley, but I don't think like the movies ruined it. I just think that they could have been a lot better than they were.
Jordyn: twilight wasn't exactly how it is you know like I don't know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Well, I...
Jordyn: don't really have
Sarah-Daye McDougall: We haven't
Chris: I look forward to reading your essay on that. Tell us how the world would be without Twilight. Put that on the sub stack for us, okay?
Jordyn: That's crazy. I might. Who knows?
Chris: Yeah.
Jordyn: No, I... I... I just. Here's the thing. In reality, these movies are garbage.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes.
Chris: All right, we got our clip.
Jordyn: I will somehow...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I'm not saying I don't like them.
Jordyn: Ways to defend them. We can...
Chris: We're just going to clip that part out of Jordan saying they are bad. And we're just going to throw that on the Instagram.
Jordyn: They are very special to me. Okay.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, no, I mean, I had a twilight phase and I'm still like, I was not. I didn't do this begrudgingly like I'm like yeah I would love to reread this book and we watch this movie and I'm excited to keep on going like it's not like I think the story is terrible there's definitely some pieces that I'm like maybe we shouldn't have you know gone down this road but
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I mean, it's just like... And I think. that it's still such a classic because like it's become like it's it's it's not necessarily a cult classic but It was like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: They're so bad, they're good. you know they're so corny they're good like we we love twilight for what it is
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: I mean, this is all why I wanted to do this as a discussion because it has its, you know, dissenters and people who just love it no matter what.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But that all said.
Chris: It's gonna be fun.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: All of that said, I am excited about the animated show that's coming out. Now it's based on the book that is from Edwards. point of view. But again, I already said in our news episode this month that I always think a book should be adapted into a – I don't know why that word is always so hard for me to say.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: when we do an adaptation podcast.
Chris: Yeah, right.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I always think that a book should be adapted into a TV show. And the fact that this is animated, I can't wait. It is from Edwards POV, which will be really interesting. I don't think I ever read the book.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But. I'm just really excited to see what they could do like with today's. knowledge and technology and just talent that we have and the things that you can do in animation that you can't do in live action.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: so I might be you know, I am really excited about that.
Chris: yeah that could be interesting i have not read that one either and that is something i should probably pick up because it could I. think that getting that extra perspective could actually add something to the story for me
Chris: I. And honestly, the adaptation of, you know. Seeing more of the Collins family could be a lot more fun because, honestly, they're the most interesting characters in the story. I like all of them better than I like anybody else.
Chris: So yeah.
Jordyn: This is true.
Chris: And they were all cast really well, too. Alice is wonderful. I love.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I think she may be the best, Alice.
Chris: Dr. Colin. She is. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I don't think – we'll get into it.
Chris: Ashley Green.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Are we getting – when do we talk about the gas?
Chris: I like the doctor.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I have thoughts.
Jordyn: We can start now. We can start now.
Chris: I...
Jordyn: Alright, so as we've mentioned, Bella Swans, played by Kristen Stewart, Edward Cullens, played by Robert Pattinson, Jacob Blacks, played by Taylor Lautner, his father Billy Black is played by Gail Birmingham.
Jordyn: Charlie Swan is played by Billy Burke. Renee Swan slash Dwyer is played by Sarah Clark. Carlisle Cullen is Peter Facinelli. Esme Cullen is Elizabeth Reaser.
Jordyn: Rosalie is Nikki Reed. Emmett is Kellen Lutz. Jasper is Jackson Rathbone. Alice is Ashley Green. And then I included Bella's school friends, Mike, played by Michael Welch.
Jordyn: Jessica played by Anna Kendrick. Where's the rest of them? Angela is played by Christian Serratos, and Eric is played by Justin Chan. And then the Nomad Vampires, Laurent is played by E .D. Gathegi, who was just in the Superman film.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And he was in X -Men.
Jordyn: uh jean And he's an X -Men, yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: James, played by Cam. Gigandet. And Victoria played. in this film played by Rochelle Lefevre, controversial recasting to Bryce Dallas Howard in a future film.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Jordyn: We'll get to that when we get to that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Jordyn: So there's our cast. What about the Cullens? Let me hear it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I think that Alice is the best cast. Rosalie and Emmett, they don't really have too big of a role in this one, the film at least.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: they're fine it is what it is jasper fine it is what it is again very memeable acting facial expressions. Esme, fine. I like Elizabeth Reeser as Esme.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: carlisle is like he's just so unique looking and he's supposed to just be this very attractive Dr. Actually, they're all supposed to be very attractive and none of them really do it for me.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I think Rosalie is probably the one that I think is the most attractive. But still not like. my and it's hard to do that in a live action like when the books describe them like same thing with floor de la cure and harry potter and the goblet of fire like it's going to be really hard to make that like magical, mythical beauty come to screen.
Jordyn: Mm hmm.
Jordyn: Yeah, because they're not just... they're not just beautiful, they're supernaturally beautiful. And so like to have.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Jordyn: regular human actors.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: normal people. Right.
Jordyn: Somehow. Yeah. Not to mention like. i didn't really notice it until i was really paying attention this watch but like the white makeup that they use to make their skin paler is crazy thick.
Jordyn: Very 2008.
Jordyn: And then like all of their wigs are horrible. So it's like there's a lot. in like the costume and makeup department that i was like you guys are not helping because like If you look at these people in real life, they are objectively very beautiful, very attractive.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: And then they're like, how can we make them less attractive? Let's get a wig. Let's get some white. powder and like just really cake it on there and now these are supposed to be beautiful supernatural creatures and it's like we went we went the wrong direction you guys
Chris: So I do wonder if today's computer generated stuff could have made this better with like, you know, you do some of the, you know, dot matrix style or like dot on the face style. stuff so they don't have to have that makeup and just add the effect a little bit afterwards uh
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I even think makeup would have been better today.
Chris: Without doing too much. Maybe that too, but I do think some of that, some of the computers, obviously we don't want too much of that, but I think it could probably be done better now.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: Right. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know nebula as well like they there's like that a lot of that is makeup and it's
Chris: Right.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like it looks like skin
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I thought the glitter is fine. Like the way they sparkle in the sunlight. I thought they did that fine. For what they. you know had back then i think it could be better today like you're saying chris but
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I but like personality wise, like all encompassing, I think that Ashley Green is the best representation of one of the Cullens.
Jordyn: For sure. They also just don't have that much screen time in this one.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Jordyn: We don't even meet them. get to talk to them until Over halfway through you know we're getting into Like. the third act of, you know, the hunt and all that, that's when we really get to meet them and get some screen time with them. So, you know, there's not a lot of room for them to show us who they are and give us good performances.
Chris: And that. was something that's missing from this one is some of that history like i like really liked the book showing us who you know how the doctor became who he is how you know edward got his stuff and i feel like we do get into that in the later movies is that right i don't remember at this point but i feel like it was kind of important to this one to establish the characters in the book
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah.
Jordyn: Yes.
Chris: But it doesn't do that here.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: We just see, okay, these are just people that he knows, that he's his family. through here.
Jordyn: Car. carlisle's whole backstory about his time in italy and all that really comes up in the next movie Which... I think it's fine for this one, especially because like Sarah Day said, they already are doing timey -wimey stuff to condense the story down.
Jordyn: And so I think, again, as we always say, you have to cut something when you're making a film. So if you're going to cut stuff, that was a perfectly fine thing to cut, especially if you're still going to include it just somewhere else down the line.
Chris: Right.
Jordyn: That didn't bother me. But yes, we were missing a lot of his backstory. And then Edward does go through like... alice's story a little bit and like how each of them joined this coven of vampires and that also gets pretty well cut out.
Jordyn: too.
Jordyn: Yeah. Are there any other performances that we want to talk about? Specifically?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: You know, Taylor Lautner as Jacob, again, you just have I mean, those are the main three, you know, Bella, Edward and Jacob, the love triangle, team Edward, team Jacob.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: another one that launched his career.
Chris: Team Charlie.
Jordyn: Team Charlie and team Carlisle.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Eh.
Jordyn: Absolutely.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I, oh, okay. Wait. Okay. Taylor Lautner launched his career, disappeared, really excited for that whole werewolf thing that's coming out. I think it's going to be so much fun. Again, just like the meme ability of this whole series, like none of these actors.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: take this seriously anymore Billy Burke also thought he was great as Charlie I think after Alice I think he's my favorite casting of the whole movie
Jordyn: Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But I don't think Taylor is bad as Jacob. Like I think it would go Alice, Carlisle. Billy. I'm sorry So, oh my God.
Jordyn: Charlie.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay. Yes.
Chris: Alistair Lee.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Alice. Charlie. And then. Jacob.
Chris: Jacob.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: as my top three casting.
Chris: I could agree with that, especially when you get to the second movie.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: But because he wasn't in much of this one, he just shows up.
Jordyn: Mm hmm.
Chris: for a few little conversations.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm hmm.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: Once he takes his shirt off, definitely a much better performance.
Jordyn: Which is crazy because he's canonically like 16 years old.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Please wear a wolf.
Chris: Fair.
Jordyn: He's a child.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah. Yes, he's a werewolf, but he's also still a child, which is crazy. We can get into more of the werewolves in New Moon when they really like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm hmm.
Jordyn: come to fruition.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Come to play. All right.
Jordyn: Just a real super, super fast thing though. There's a lot of discourse online about. Stephanie Myers. choice to use a real Native American tribe for the story. The Quillette tribe is a real tribe that does live in La Push in Washington in that area.
Jordyn: there's a lot of like consternation about like her representation of them and her descriptions of them and also the fact that like not a lot of the actors who play.
Jordyn: colette people are actually colette people and not a lot of like money went into the reservation even though they filmed on the reservation and like you know
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm hmm.
Jordyn: again she took their legend and their lore directly from them and put it in her book without like going through like proper yeah crediting and compensation for it so
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Compensating.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Jordyn: And, you know, 20 years later, we are aware and we are, you know, trying to make more of an effort. So I just wanted to make sure that we didn't make her say mistakes and we throw some respect on the Quillette tribe's name.
Chris: I was starting to think, you know, should she have used a... fictional group but then at that point i think the same conversation would have happened of like why not use the actual tribe there and give them so yeah you don't want to erase them either so yeah the credit and the you know more involvement would have been a much better choice
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, because then you're erasing them, essentially.
Jordyn: Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah. For sure. yeah i just wanted to throw that out there I... And we see it. switching gears entirely we see this in future movies a little bit more too but Charlie and Renee as Bella's parents are a lot more redeemable and likable in the movies than in the books in the books like Bella
Jordyn: you know the way she talks about them like she's completely raised herself like her mom is useless and like she's taking care of her mom and then she goes and lives with her dad and oh guess what she's also parentified with him too she's yeah
Chris: She's cooking. She's taking care of the house.
Jordyn: Exactly.
Jordyn: versus you know in the movie you get you know. Her mom calling her, checking on her, what's going on? You know, do you want to come to Florida? Like being a little bit more involved. And then, you know, you get Charlie like.
Jordyn: bring him in like he's he cares much more about her and his like gruff standoffish stoic dad way but he still is like like that scene where she at the end where she's like you know i don't want to be stuck here like mom and she's like she's purposely digging that knife in to him like and he is so heartbroken Billy Burke did a really great job of making Charlie endearing.
Jordyn: And now like we were joking earlier, but now people are like team Edward, team Jacob, I'm team Charlie. I want chief Swan.
Chris: All right.
Jordyn: And then people would joke that team Carlisle as well. That's me. the dads are like really
Chris: Those that were the right age for the kids back then are now adult age.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right exactly.
Chris: And so now it's.
Jordyn: Exactly. Exactly.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: One thing I wanted to note talking about Renee is the difference in the conversations.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like in the book, it's all emails. And of course, that's because it came out in 2005.
Jordyn: Right.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And then in. the movie just a few years later but their phone like it's much more phone calls and like if they were to do an ad
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: There's a... scene where you learn how to text.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. a few
Chris: Just said your mom at one point.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: were to do it today, like we would have FaceTime and all kinds of different technology involved in the series.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Jordyn: And then Edward just kind of shows up so they don't have to worry about the phones. But, like, she's...
Chris: He's always in her bedroom anyways.
Jordyn: Yeah, there's even a whole scene which was so crazy to me because I barely even remember this where she's like, yeah, my computer takes so long to boot up that I went and made myself some cereal while I'm waiting for it to turn on for the dial up and the modem.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes.
Jordyn: And I was like, what are these words?
Chris: I have that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Welcome to my childhood.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: That black MacBook.
Jordyn: And even that, again, you know, just three years later that
Jordyn: you know that didn't exist in 2005 or and you know earlier whenever stephanie meyer was writing this book like she's talking about a desktop dial -up computer like not not a MacBook.
Jordyn: That's so. This movie is
Chris: the. There's the cameo with Steffi Myers in the film. Rachel pointed that out yesterday.
Chris: She's in the diner.
Jordyn: Yep.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: What is she doing again?
Jordyn: Ciao.
Chris: She's at the diner ordering a burger. I don't know what.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Chris: I didn't see her part. She just said, hey, that was Stephanie Myers in the film there. Like, oh, that's fun.
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah. Anything else on the actors or portrayals? Okay.
Jordyn: Okay, yeah. So we'll just scoot along to the plot. And we've kind of already.
Chris: Wait, there was a plot? Oh, okay.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: How dare you?
Jordyn: Yes, not a very good one, but there is one. We talked about it. It's. pretty faithful. I was actually like very pleasantly surprised because I haven't like.
Jordyn: Like I said, I've reread the book multiple times. I've rewatched the movie dozens of times, but I've never like done them back to back and like intentionally compared them until now. And it's actually very, very faithful. Like a lot of the dialogue is word for word straight out of the book.
Jordyn: And so I was very pleasantly surprised. how good it is as like an adaptation. But plot wise, Bella moves to Forks and her entire opening monologue. is ripped straight out of the book. She has her first day of school. Who are they? Oh, they're the Cullens, you know, that whole thing, seeing Edward for the first time. The iconic meme of him like gagging with the owl wings behind him.
Jordyn: when she walks into class. And then he disappears because he can't take the smell.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: mm -hmm
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And I like in the film.
Jordyn: we
Sarah-Daye McDougall: where she walks in front of the fan. It really emphasizes that he's getting her scent and he just can't handle it.
Jordyn: mm -hmm
Jordyn: Yes. Yeah. I think that was a good addition.
Jordyn: We get to meet Billy and Jacob. So this is a little bit different in the movie. They are there at the house when she and Charlie pull up because he's bought the truck off of them. In the book, he still does buy the truck from Billy, but we don't meet him and Jacob until a little bit later. They come over to watch a movie. basketball game or something. the car crash in the school parking lot. So Edward is...
Jordyn: Edward is constantly flip -flopping between... I'm obsessed with her. I want to be around her. And also I... I'm literally going to kill her, drink her blood, and so I need to stay away from her. And so he's always hot and cold. It's very confusing for Bella. And so he...
Jordyn: you know tries to be nice and then he's like nope just kidding i hate you and then somewhere in the mix of him making up his mind of whether or not he wants to speak to her or not It's icy and Tyler's car goes out of control and is about to kill Bella and he comes over and saves her life. And we get to see him. you know with his vampire strength stop this van and like crush the side of the van and save her
Jordyn: And she's like, how'd you get over here? You were across the parking lot. And he's. tries to gaslight her so hard like i was right next to you and she's like no you weren't Which...
Jordyn: i think that was probably my first experience seeing gas lighting in a film and I didn't... have a term for it i just was like he's lying to her and now that i'm older i'm like oh bro is gaslighting the hell out of her
Sarah-Daye McDougall: She stood her ground, though. She knew what she knew.
Jordyn: She did. Yeah. Absolutely.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: She did not question herself.
Jordyn: She's very...
Jordyn: No, she's very stubborn and very certain of herself, which is true in the book as well. And so I actually like that about her character. There's not a lot to like about Bella's character, but that's something redeemable.
Chris: bad judgment overall still but you know it's it's It's...
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: She does stick to her guns.
Jordyn: Yeah. Another change. Is that in the book, there's two dances. There's the girls ask guys spring formal and then there's prom later.
Jordyn: So all of the guys like asking her to the dance is even cringier because it's supposed to be girls ask guys. So she's if she wanted to go to a dance, she's supposed to be asking them.
Jordyn: But instead, Mike and Eric and Tyler all come up and ask her to ask them to this dance.
Chris: They're like begging her to ask them to the dance in the book.
Jordyn: Yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And one guy's even like, yeah, he said that you said you were out of town, but I was hoping you were lying to him.
Chris: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like, oh my God.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Jordyn: Yeah. Which, and like. So crazy. And so cringe.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: So cringe. I mean, this is definitely like a teeny bopper. You're reading this in middle school, high school love story.
Jordyn: Yes. Yes, it really is. to Bella's credit she's a girl's girl so she doesn't just like turn them down she's like no you should ask Jessica you should ask Angela you should ask Lauren like the Lauren character doesn't exist she gets
Sarah-Daye McDougall: mm -hmm
Sarah-Daye McDougall: What does it? Angela to ask Mike. Right?
Jordyn: Oh, she tells Angela to ask Eric.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Doesn't she?
Jordyn: Yes. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: you're right
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Oh yeah, Eric, not Mike.
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah. But still, like, instead of, you know. Just telling them no and like not hanging her.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jordyn: you know, not helping her friends. She's like, no. Like, let me set you up with Jessica. Let Angela like go ask Eric, you know, and then the Lauren character gets removed and just kind of merged into the Jessica character, which I think is totally fine because Lauren is just like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, and more of a comedic. way as well.
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So like. But, you know, she's a girl's girl. She's like, I know that Jessica likes Mike. And so I don't want to go out with Mike because I don't like Mike. might go be with Jessica and so it works out really well that way.
Jordyn: But for this dance, she's made her excuses, saying she's not going, blah, blah, blah. But she does go to Port Angeles with... Angela and Jessica to go dress shopping.
Jordyn: And this is where Edward saves her life for the second time because she is actively being hunted down by what we presume to be a group of. uh attempted rapists they you know are actively you know herding her towards each other and trapping her in an alleyway where she can't escape and Edward swoops in with his shiny Volvo and
Jordyn: get in the car and saves her and then drives off and is like you gotta distract me otherwise i'm gonna go back there and kill those guys and i think she should have let him personally Like I.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I know.
Jordyn: You go on ahead, dude. But he doesn't want to, you know, get crazy in front of her and stuff. So they drive off. And again, another scene like really, really well done as far as like adapting is concerned. Pretty. pretty spot on.
Jordyn: Yeah. Uh... Ta -ta -ta! So then in the... Go ahead.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: thought that the next scene where he takes her to the restaurant and the girls are leaving and they're like oh like we're so sorry we ate we waited but they're also very excited for her because they're like oh my gosh like this is now a date i thought both of the girls
Jordyn: Okay.
Jordyn: Yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: acted very well in the scene. It was very cute.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It was very heartwarming and they weren't jealous.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: They were just very excited for Bella.
Jordyn: Yeah. yeah they're kind of friends for eating without her and like not being more worried about her
Jordyn: I know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Be like, where the hell are you?
Jordyn: There's no self. I know, I know, I know. I just, I'm like, I don't know. Of course, with modern sensibilities, I'm like, I'm going straight to the police. We haven't seen our friend in hours.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: She's lost.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: especially knowing what actually happened to her like she was almost
Jordyn: Right.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like, mapped and assaulted.
Jordyn: Absolutely. Absolutely. But yeah. It's just like, sorry, we waited, but we ate without you. Like you guys. you're not looking for her like you're just Anyways, but yeah, they are very sweet. how supportive they are of her being with Edward and like, oh yeah, like, you know, we'll see you later, you know. That's very cute of them.
Jordyn: So the spring dance, not prom, comes around in the book and Edward takes her to the meadow. and shows his sparkly diamond skin to her and this is the skin of a killer bella and the confirmation, he admits that he's a vampire and she has the whole.
Jordyn: How long have you been 17? a while. You know that whole thing.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I have to tell a really cute story here because as I was watching the movie. yesterday morning the kids came in and they wanted to watch it with me.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so when they're laying in the meadow and like the two of them are just laying there looking up at the sky, my youngest is like. what are they doing? And I'm like, you've never laid in the ground and looked up at the sky. And she's like, no, she's only four.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And I'm like, oh my gosh, like we had to do it one day because it's just, it's very peaceful. Like they're just relaxing. You know, they're looking at the sky, looking at clouds. And then...
Chris: There's an app for that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: They later that day. I had to go tell my husband something as he was mowing and she followed me out. And. i had the conversation with him i turn around she's laying in the grass looking at the sky and i'm like oh my heart like she's doing it so i went over and i laid with her and i'm like see isn't this nice i'm like It was also a very cloudy day, so it was...
Jordyn: How cute!
Sarah-Daye McDougall: similar to what they would be seeing in the sky that day. I just thought it was so funny. It's definitely a core memory for me. So thanks, Twilight.
Jordyn: I love that I love that. See, there are good things about Twilight.
Jordyn: I don't know that we can. Fully give credit to Twilight for your kid being cute, but I'm grasping at straws over here.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, here. That's fine. It definitely wouldn't have happened without Twilight.
Jordyn: Yeah, again, the whole scene of... That you know as if you could outrun me, you know though it's so cringy and he's so overdramatic but it's like Those are the words that he says in the book. Like, that is how this story goes. It's just, you know, over exaggerated and over dramatized in the acting. But again.
Jordyn: It's iconic. Like it's so. the just the line alone of this is the skin of a killer bella is so like
Jordyn: transformative honestly like because you can put anything in the place of skin you know this is the water bottle of a killer bella this is the whatever of a killer bella and like it's
Chris: Hmm.
Jordyn: It's just funny. And you can just say whatever and throw something in there. And it's transcendent. That's what I was looking for. It transcends Twilight.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: these memes.
Jordyn: He feels very passionately that. Bella should meet his family and he should be meeting Charlie and introduce himself as Bella's boyfriend. So they end up doing.
Jordyn: all of this on the same day she goes to the house and meets the cullens and learns some of Carlisle's backstory, more of Edward's backstory.
Jordyn: His music collection in the house. all of that. And then they go. He takes her back to her house. He comes to pick her up and meets Charlie. And then they go and they play baseball and we get. like probably one of the most iconic needle drops in cinema of the song from Muse in the baseball scene.
Jordyn: It's never not awesome.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It is a fun scene.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: and then you you know the eerie entrance of the three antagonists at the end it's it's you know cutting that game to us reaching halt
Jordyn: Mhm.
Jordyn: Yeah. It's so funny. I was reading it and I had the movie playing in the background and I got to that scene. And it was like. Oh yeah, the... The three nomads, they were dressed like hikers so they could blend in. And I'm like...
Jordyn: why was the why was the costume choices what they were like Laurent looks like he's coming from 1760s france with his little bow tie situation and then like james is like just wearing a jacket and no shirt and victoria's got this weird white fur thing like What is this costuming?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm hmm.
Chris: I did make a comment on that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: They were just...
Chris: Yeah, he went and watched me yesterday.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, they're just portrayed to be more like sexy bad guy vampires. In the movie.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Because but as opposed to like. using their smarts in the book just like hikers to blend in because they want like they don't care about
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: blending in among the people like the Cullens do like they
Jordyn: Right.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It's a sport to them.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And that's just a smart decision. But yeah, because it was. 2008 and it's a movie and it was like a teeny bopper movie we had to have Hot people.
Jordyn: We had to have some drip in there, I guess. Yeah, so James gets a whiff of Bella and is like, oh yeah, I'm...
Jordyn: snack time and then edward you know gets territorial and defensive and you know And so then James is like, oh. Now I've got two of you on the hook. And so.
Jordyn: In the book, Edward goes into a lot more detail about James's... uh thoughts his mind you know Oh, by the way. Edward can read minds, read people's thoughts.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right. But not hers.
Jordyn: Little G2. Not, but not Bella's.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But not fellas.
Jordyn: Because Bella's not like other girls. She's special. And so he can't read her thoughts. But he... can hear james's thoughts and he's like he it's the thrill of the hunt is what gets him like so If I didn't defend Bella... then james would have killed her right then and there if now that i have defended her he's even more interested in getting her to test me being Edward and the whole family.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Jordyn: And so now it's a three versus. Six. No. two, four, six, seven, three versus seven vampire, you know, war over Bella. And so that like that's what James is really, really interested in is not just getting Bella, but also like.
Jordyn: hurting Edward and the Cullens and like testing their strength as a family.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: strength. Mm -hmm.
Jordyn: And so then they there's this whole convoluted plan because Bella's, you know, they want to get Bella out of there as soon as possible to get her away from James. Bella's like, you can't leave my dad like Charlie needs to be protected. So then they are like, well, we'll go. He's following us. So let's go home.
Jordyn: Tell your dad you're running away. Run away. And then we'll. you know lead James. uh north, up east, wherever, and then we'll actually take you south back down to Phoenix.
Jordyn: And basically everything goes exactly the same. in the movie as it does in the book. It's just... drawn out a little bit longer you know they have to get on planes and like fly down and you know there's a little bit more time more of a time.
Jordyn: between events, but everything happens pretty much exactly the same way. James leaves the trap for her, pretending that her mom has come back from Florida and that he's got her hostage. Bella Escapes, Alice and Jasper.
Jordyn: I like the book version better because it actually takes some. intelligence on Bella's part to get away from them versus just like walking out the door of the hotel behind their backs as if they wouldn't notice.
Jordyn: And then... You know, we have the final showdown in the mirror room in the ballet studio, which is also. very accurately portrayed. of James hunting her down, his whole monologue.
Jordyn: And then Edward coming in and. Giving it to them.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Saving the day.
Jordyn: Again.
Chris: The one note I would give on why she was able to get away and stuff that I would have done would be I would have made her immune to all of their powers.
Chris: I don't think any of them should have alice in the middle see her
Chris: nobody should have been able to affect her and that would have made Why? uh edward can't uh a little make a little more sense she's just immune to vampire powers
Jordyn: Mm -hmm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Question. Did Alice see her or did Alice see... the bad guy. She was reading his thoughts.
Jordyn: Alice?
Chris: In the film?
Jordyn: Alice does have visions of Bella throughout the series, so she can see Bella's future.
Chris: Yeah.
Jordyn: but
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Bye. So she's reading. They are, like... Her thing is like if they change the decision, like if they change their mind, the future changes.
Chris: She sees future visions. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: So is she like. is she reading bella or is she reading people that bella's involved in if they change their mind like if edward changes his mind then bella's future changes but it's not bella she's reading
Jordyn: I guess that's the question because most of...
Chris: Possibly.
Jordyn: the visions that pertain to Bella also pertain to other people like the vision of the mirror room
Chris: True.
Jordyn: is Yes. James but also it solidifies when Bella decides that she's also going to go there to confront James and then like
Sarah-Daye McDougall: right that's after the vision though when she decides because she tells her that's where he's going to be like she doesn't bella doesn't even know until she has the vision and i'm
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, in the movie, yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Oh. My bad.
Chris: Not in the book, yeah.
Jordyn: In the book, I believe James calls her first and then... Alice has a vision of the mirror room. I think.
Chris: And that's how they find her later, yeah. That's how they get back to her.
Jordyn: Yeah. Yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Does anybody else? I don't remember the books. Does anybody else? is powers. affect Bella directly.
Jordyn: Yes. Jasper's powers have an effect on her.
Chris: Because he's the one that can calm situations, right?
Jordyn: in this book and
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Jordyn: Mhm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay, then.
Jordyn: In this. book and future books. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: that i agree with you i don't i think you're right i think bella's should have been shielded by all the powers.
Chris: immune to all vampire powers and then there should be a reason why she can't you know they should have explained why that is for her at some point even if it's just the edward thing
Sarah-Daye McDougall: They... They do.
Chris: It really doesn't.
Jordyn: They do.
Chris: Does it? Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It's a huge...
Chris: Maybe I missed something.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Plot point.
Jordyn: It's a huge plot point in book four, Chris.
Chris: Okay. Well, it's been a long time since I've read that far.
Jordyn: It's kind of a big deal
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I spent a long time, sure.
Chris: but even this for early on, it would have been nice to have some theories, you know, like, you know, they just kind of gloss over it at this point.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Well, I wonder if she didn't realize it was going to come into play in book four.
Chris: I feel like that's what I'm saying.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so she just.
Chris: Probably, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: For some reason, he can't read her mind because they're soulmates. but then it comes into play. And so. I wish. I wish she had known that in book one so that like you said.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: all of the vampire's powers she would have shielded but
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know, we can headcanon what we will about.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: That. but yeah it comes into a big it it plays into the future
Chris: that makes sense it's been a long time since i've read the book so i'll i'll get there and i'll probably be like oh yeah that's better but this at this point at this point i do wish there'd been some reason because right now it's just like okay why is she why is there why does this matter at all why can't he read her why is he you know
Jordyn: Edward.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: oh that's right
Jordyn: Yeah. Yeah.
Jordyn: It's because Edward didn't appear to her in a dream yet and explain it to her.
Chris: and uh
Chris: That's always a good plot way to bring things in, just that external narrator of something extra.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Ugh.
Jordyn: No, that's what Stephanie Meyer has said in interviews is that Edward comes to her in dreams and explains the plot.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: You know, I wonder.
Chris: Good night.
Jordyn: So he just hadn't gotten to that part yet for her. when she wrote this.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I wonder how much is plagiarized and when, I don't know what came first, but you know Trueblood.
Chris: D -D -
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Sookie also They can't read her mind. Or she can't. She's the one that can read minds. But she can't read his mind. That's right. She can't read vampires' minds or something along those lines. Anyway, I wonder how much Stephanie Meyer took from that.
Chris: The show Lucifer, he can use his powers on most humans, but the detective he works with throughout that show, his powers don't work on her.
Chris: So that dynamic is pretty popular amongst a lot of shows and stuff like that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: Anything supernatural, they try to add that element in there.
Jordyn: The first episode of True Blood also came out in 2008.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But the books...
Jordyn: ssss
Sarah-Daye McDougall: The books came out.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: They're based on books also. I don't know when the books were written.
Jordyn: Trueblood books. thing. 13 of them. Book one came out in 2001, which is before Twilight.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: So that was first. Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: So maybe, but like you said, Chris, I agree with you. I think that that should have been fleshed out a little bit more.
Jordyn: Yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: You know, and whether or not she had the plan beforehand. worked that in.
Chris: I mean, a minor plot hole in a book full of plot holes, so, you know.
Jordyn: I think. Hush. I think in Breaking Dawn, there's more explanation that Bella's...
Jordyn: shielding of like her thoughts is. like a shield against like mind power specifically because there are other vampires with other powers that we meet and their powers can affect them like one of them spoilers for breaking dawn one of the vampires that we meet has a sort of like scarlet witch like reality bending power where she can make you see visions but like they feel really real and bella is
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Jordyn: inherently immune to that. power because of her shield.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Uh -huh. Yep.
Jordyn: But like. Jasper isn't you know, with her mind, it's just like her emotions. And even then it's kind of more of like a physiological, like calming of the body.
Jordyn: And so like, she's not immune to that. Like her body is not immune, but her mind is immune.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: So it's a little bit more specific that way, and it gets explained later.
Jordyn: So yeah, we get that. Uh... We don't ever see Bella apologize to Charlie for the crazy stuff that she said to him. but he forgives her and i actually like in the book the explanation like charlie I think Charlie has a crush on Carlisle. he's like obsessed with carlyle he thinks he's the best ever and especially carlyle you know
Jordyn: openly like it's known that Carlisle helped save her life in Phoenix after the attack. they chalk it up to her falling down the stairs and out a window instead of, you know, being attacked by a vampire. But like.
Jordyn: it's known that Carlisle and Esme took Edward down there to get her to come back to Forks. And so. Charlie loves Carlisle, but then he also blames Edward for her leaving in the first place. So he's like.
Jordyn: I don't know what to do.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Jordyn: Like, I don't like your boyfriend, but I love your boyfriend's dad. Like that kind of thing. and then So James had bitten. bella so she actually got a taste of what it a taste haha of what it's like to be turned into a vampire and she
Jordyn: She's... you know, Passing out. She's got blood loss, concussion, all the things. But she says, she describes it as like fire in her veins. Like it's actively. burning and then when Edward sucks the venom out of her blood.
Jordyn: the burning goes away and it feels like she's cooling. which is really interesting because I don't think very many. I can't think of another vampire. throughout the series that Got bit. and didn't turn and then got bit again to turn so like Got you.
Jordyn: Like... pre -experience what turning feels like before they actually did it.
Chris: so that's another area where the lore thing i was talking about may it would have made sense because the only reason i could think to not have turned her then if they were eventually going to turn her would be that if the vampire that turns you has power over you like a lot of stories
Chris: If you're turned by this vampire, you are their servant in some cases or you're subservient to them.
Jordyn: Oh.
Chris: So if they didn't want her to be attached to this bad vampire, I can see that being a reason not to turn her, but they don't say anything like that.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: And so I'm like, why not just let it happen? You know, at this point, it's just. It doesn't really make sense. Maybe she just doesn't want to be 17 for a while.
Jordyn: Well... All of that. I agree with wholeheartedly. Throughout the future books, There's a lot of explanation about like the morality of vampires and like the nature versus nurture of being a vampire and like.
Jordyn: when you become a vampire inherently you're thirst is for human blood like you want to drink human blood and therefore you're killing humans And Carlisle. grew up in the 1600s the son of a preacher And so he is like, I don't want to be a demon.
Jordyn: I don't want to be a monster. I don't want to hurt people. And so that's why this whole coven is unique because they all have that same morality of they don't want to hurt.
Chris: Yeah.
Jordyn: And so Edward... But Edward specifically. he feels like he doesn't have a soul. He feels that he believes in heaven and hell. He is certain that he is going to hell. He is damned because he has no soul, because he's a vampire. And so he does not want that for.
Jordyn: bella he like And they talk about it again in future movies, not as in depth as books, but like he is very concerned about the state of Bella's soul and he doesn't want it on his conscience that he.
Jordyn: removes her soul and condemns her to hell. just by making her a vampire.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And it wasn't her choice in this situation.
Chris: Without a soul, you couldn't go to hell.
Jordyn: That too.
Chris: Since the soul is the part that goes to any afterlife, you couldn't go to hell if you have no soul.
Jordyn: Try telling Edward Cullen that dude.
Chris: Oh, I know.
Jordyn: I don't know.
Chris: I get it. But yeah, that doesn't make any sense from his perspective.
Jordyn: I... listen I don't disagree with you but
Chris: It's very Twilight.
Jordyn: But it's very, well, it's very Twilight. And again, like knowing the religious background of Stephanie Meyer, like these questions are actually kind of fascinating to think about. in general, and then especially from her point of view as a Mormon, as an LDS.
Chris: When you connect with.
Jordyn: person. Because I'm not LDS. I don't know. What? there into, really.
Chris: Vampires apparently.
Jordyn: Apparently. So I don't know what their... like what their morality has to say about this, but I do think it's an interesting.
Jordyn: Question. For. the vampires of, you know, Are we? condemned simply by existing as vampires or because like edward talks about he did have a time where he was drinking human blood but he was doing like a dexter thing and only harming people like criminals like serial killers other you know people who are harming other people so i'm like
Jordyn: I feel like that's pretty... That's good in my book. If you're a vampire and your natural state is to drink human blood, I feel like that's a pretty ethical way to do that.
Jordyn: you know, versus just randomly picking people off the street you know
Chris: He's like, I'm Batman.
Jordyn: Yeah. I see what she did there.
Chris: James, is that the bad one?
Jordyn: Mhm.
Chris: comes and hunts her uh the fact that he smells her in their baseball game and mealy says you brought a snack and assumes that you can just take somebody else's snack is you know ridiculous too like you know even if she was a snack she's not your snack Get out of here.
Jordyn: Right. that part.
Chris: Leave our food alone, even if she is food.
Jordyn: But... But... But then you don't get the fun cringy line of you brought a snack, which is a fun cringy line that's also in the book.
Chris: Yeah, it is. That's what I was like, wait, she isn't for you. We brought our own snack.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: You can't go get your own snack.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: We didn't pack enough for everybody.
Jordyn: We weren't expecting visitors.
Chris: Yeah. Keep. You got to bring your own food to this party. Be your own. Bella.
Jordyn: Yeah.
Chris: Bring your own Bella.
Jordyn: that's funny And so then we get our happy ending at the prom. and bella and edward dance and she talks about how even though she's known him for
Chris: Two and a half minutes.
Jordyn: Several weeks, a couple of months, she's ready to commit to him, not just.
Jordyn: in a human forever, but in a vampire forever, which is forever forever.
Jordyn: And so she's like.
Chris: Which teenage has no concept of.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Jordyn: Right. Right. Not to mention, I think we've talked about this with other properties, but like immortality is kind of. a curse like not it's not really a gift it's more of a curse you know for the rational fully developed brain but when you're 17 and your vampire boyfriend was also trapped at 17 Like...
Jordyn: It traps, it freezes you as you are, which is to say without a fully developed frontal cortex. the decision making from these two is just never going to be great.
Chris: Yeah.
Jordyn: and We all just. They're. poor decision -making. from not having fully developed brains and being 17. becomes. everybody else's problem, including ours. And that's
Jordyn: Yeah. So yeah, a cringy. Movie of its time from 2008 with an epic soundtrack. Terrible acting.
Chris: that part right made a comment how she loves the soundtrack at least though this even if however bad the movie is she does love the soundtrack she was talking about
Jordyn: Yeah.
Jordyn: Yeah. uh quotable moments. It's a mine for memes. Uh... You know? It does have a critic score of 48 % on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jordyn: that's That's that. Do you guys have any final thoughts on? Twilight?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I mean, just that it's like It's a fun read. It's a fun watch as bad as it is. It's still something to just put on and... You...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: yes waste some time but also like you do get invested like there is a story there
Jordyn: No. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But. yeah i mean i like i said at the beginning i am so excited to cover the entire series i'm ready And it will be a fun ride.
Chris: Here we go.
Jordyn: Spoilers for the rest of the series, but I think it gets better once you add the werewolves.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Oh, 100%.
Jordyn: A hundred million percent, it gets better.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah.
Jordyn: You know, it's like anything else. You got to suffer through. part one of whatever season one of a show whatever it is you got to suffer through the first one and then it's two three four it gets way better especially with the werewolves.
Jordyn: Yeah. I think that's it.
Jordyn: And we'll see you next time.
