Twilight: 20 Wild Revelations From Midnight Sun
Midnight Dawn began to tell the story of Twilight from Edward Cullen's perspective, but it was never finished.
The Twilight Saga has been at the center of many debates, but nobody can dispute its role in bringing on a giant wave of YA adaptations to the mainstream eye. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Bella Swan, the books chronicle her new life in Forks, Washington, where she meets the broodingly handsome Edward Cullen. As it turns out, he’s a vampire who is almost a century old, and he finds her blood extra tasty, heightening the stakes of their already forbidden romance.
In 2015, Stephenie Meyer released Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, a gender-bent retelling of the original story, after a long string of companion books over the years, but before any of her supplemental materials came along, twelve chapters of Midnight Sun were leaked on the Internet in 2008. Originally an exercise in character development, Midnight Sun is a version of Twilight written from Edward’s perspective. It fills in the gaps of Bella’s limited point of view, giving fans a taste of how Edward’s mind works. However, Meyer was so distraught over the leak of the unfinished draft that she stopped writing Midnight Sun. As of 2015, Meyer has no intention of finishing the entire manuscript, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of secrets to dig from the initial twelve chapters.
The list below contains spoilers from all twelve chapters of Midnight Sun as well as the original Twilight book. If you’re not up to date, you can find the content on Meyer’s official website.
Here are 20 Wild Revelations From Midnight Sun.
Edward Initially Thinks Bella Is Boring
That’s right, despite obvious comparisons to Romeo and Juliet in the books, Edward doesn’t fall in love with Bella immediately. In fact, he actually finds her quite ordinary and uninteresting. Edward’s first impressions of Bella are through the minds of other students at their high school, and he’s clearly unamused by the chatter. Having been through the “purgatory” of high school— as he calls it— several times over, he knows the “new girl” fascination cycle all too well.
He’s convinced that there’s nothing about the new girl that’s worth all the excitement, other than her novelty. Soon Bella will fade from the spotlight, and Edward can continue his umpteenth stint as a high school student.
Then He Starts Hating Her
Edward’s indifference to Bella soon comes to an end when Bella steps into the biology classroom. Edward notes that he’s the only student with an entire desk to himself while everyone else pairs up, attributing it to the humans’ innate sense of danger. He briefly feels sorry for Bella, whose only seating option is next to him, but his thirst rears its head and changes his outlook.
Over the next few weeks, he’s so tormented by his thirst that he begins to irrationally blame it on Bella, even though he knows that it’s unfair. He’s so terrified of slipping up and attacking a human after years of self-control, and finds it easier to project his self-loathing onto a human.
The School Secretary Creeps On Edward
After Bella and Edward meet in the original Twilight book, Bella thinks that he hates her guts– an impression that is bolstered when she walks in on him trying to get out of biology class. From Edward’s perspective, however, he’s desperately trying to save everyone’s life as well as his own morality.
In order to do so, he amps up the charm on the school secretary, Mrs. Cope (also known as Ms. Cope later on). Mrs. Cope is so flustered by Edward’s good looks that she has to repeatedly remind herself that he is too young for her, believing that he’s only 17 years old. Ironically, Edward is actually old enough to be her grandfather.
He Makes Wicked Plans After Smelling Bella’s Blood
Edward’s whole world turns upside down the moment Bella walks into a stream of hot air in the biology classroom. He’s so affected by the unexpected thirst that he makes wicked plans to take out 20 humans just so he can get a taste of Bella’s blood.
We’ll spare you the vivid details, but suffice it to say that decades of life sure has taught him a thing or two about planning. Edward even anticipates the humans’ responses and devises an alternative plan, all in a matter of moments. Luckily for himself and his classmates, Edward remembers Carlisle and gets a grip on his thirst, not wanting to let his adoptive father down.
Emmett Suggests That Edward End Bella’s Life
Emmett, one of Edward’s adopted vampire siblings, fits neatly into the stereotype of a jock. He’s exceptionally strong and has a brash, easy-going nature that sometimes gets on his family’s nerves. That said, he has a good heart and looks out for his loved ones.
It’s this deep love that prompts him to tell Edward to take Bella’s life and get it over with. Sure, it’s a pretty brutal solution, but Emmett is tired of watching Edward struggle with his thirst. It’s disturbing that Emmett sees a human’s life as so disposable and inconsequential, but it’s also a somewhat understandable conclusion to meet after decades as a vampire. In Emmett’s mind, slip-ups happen and that’s totally okay.
Emmett’s Last Slip-Up Was 50 Years Ago
To help his brother Edward feel better, Emmett reminds him that he’s also had his fair share of accidents. Emmett’s most recent lapse in self-control was 50 years ago. He was minding his own business at dusk when he came across a middle-aged woman taking down her dried laundry. All of a sudden, a breeze blew the woman’s scent towards Emmett, who couldn’t resist the immediate thirst. The thirst was so overwhelming that he didn’t even last half a second or think about resisting.
Unfortunately, Emmett’s memory doesn’t help Edward that much. In fact, it actually does the opposite, amplifying Edward’s own thirst so that he needs to duck out of class and take time to himself.
The Denalis Are The Original Succubi
You might recall the Denali coven from their appearances in the core Twilight books and their tumultuous relationship with the Cullen coven. Some of the Denalis even appear at Bella and Edward’s wedding later on. As it turns out, the three Denali sisters are the original succubi in human myths. The vampires would have whirlwind flings with human men, and then end the mens’ lives. They eventually grow lonely over the decades, prompting Tanya to give “vegetarianism” a go, and only live on animal blood.
Since Tanya pretty much pioneered this diet, Edward seeks out her coven to escape Bella’s scent and regain his composure. It’s also revealed that Tanya has romantic feelings for him, which he doesn’t reciprocate.
