There is no doubt in my mind that autumn equals Twilight. There is something about a cold rainy October night that makes me want to sit in front of a window and listen to Possibility, acting like Bella. Fortunately, I am not the only person who feels this way. It could just be because I am a fan, but my entire TikTok for you page has been overtaken by Twilight for the past two months (more than normal). Most of these videos just so happen to be edits of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). They have the gears in my head turning. I mean, the creation of these edits verifies that there are other team Jacob individuals who exist (hi, let’s be friends). But what is it exactly about the series that keeps people invested in a relationship that was squandered, murdered if you will, by the author?
The main answer: It was supposed to be Jacob. Now, I do think that Stephanie Meyer had the ending planned out, where Bella and Edward were vampires together blah, blah, snooze fest. However, Bella’s character arc, and more importantly Jacob’s, changes throughout the course of the series. In the start, Bella just wants to be with Edward. She does not care that she is aging and he is not, she does not long to be a vampire, nor is she obsessed with immortality. Similarly, Jacob starts out as a kind, golden retriever like guy, even after his transformation. He is not yet a jerk, and he is not obsessed with killing Edward. By the end of the series, their characters become everything that they were not, both bloodthirsty killers. I believe the reason for this was the positive reception of Jacob. I mean, name one person who does not love New Moon. People liked Bella and Jacob together, despite also liking Bella and Edward together. Jacob was warm; she hated the cold, stable; she hated change, and kind. He offered a sense of normalcy. She would never have to change for him.
I mean, let’s face it, in the novel Bella constantly says that she loves Jacob and that she wants to be with him. However, there is a switch halfway through the series, and immortality comes into play. I believe that Bella loved Edward, but I think she loved the idea of him and what he could offer more than him as a person, not to mention that Edward stated that he is designed to draw humans in. Whether she loved him or not, Edward was always going to be a presence.
This is where the downfall of Jacob Black occurs. He changes with Bella. He becomes a coldhearted jerk to say the least. By Eclipse, he is no longer the Jacob Black that we have grown to love. This is furthered by Jacob’s POV in Breaking Dawn. Meyer depicts him as a dumb kid who is always angry. Yet, in Midnight Sun, Edward is eloquent and romantic. I smell favoritism here.
I could be reading too much into things. Maybe it was never meant to be Jacob, he was always supposed to be a jerk. But I just cannot believe that. Why even establish a potential relationship between Bella and Jacob just to burn it? It does not make sense. I truly believe it was supposed to be Jacob, in every other universe except this one. Allas, I will never know. I can only believe in Team Jacob, I mean “It’s not a lifestyle choice Bella, I was born this way.”Â