The Twilight Saga dominated the teen world for years even after both the books and the movies were released. No matter where someone turned, a vampire or werewolf would be there to greet them. It was either immensely loved by fans or abhorred by people who just wanted the series to be over with. Either way, it was inescapable.
Part of the draw of Twilight was the divide between Team Edward and Team Jacob. While a lot of fans favored Edward, who Bella inevitably chose in the end, Jacob had his fair share of ers as well. Despite all of the , Jacob and Bella certainly had their own set of issues. While it’s easy for fans to believe Bella and Jacob were an ideal romantic pairing, there were some strange aspects of their relationship.
Updated on May 10th, 2022, by Shawn S. Lealos: It has been 14 years since the last book in the main Twilight Saga hit shelves and 10 years since Breaking Dawn - Part 2 wrapped up the movie franchise. With the 10-year anniversary of that last movie approaching, it seems people still love Twilight now as much as they did when it first came out.
It remained so popular that Stephanie Meyer even released a new book in 2020 that retold the first story from Edward's point of view in Midnight Sun. While this answers many questions about Edward and Bella's relationship, there are still plenty of questions about Jacob and Bella, including several things that still make no sense about how they really felt for each other.
Bella Treats Jacob Like A Backup Plan
In Eclipse. Despite being in love with Jacob, Bella constantly chooses Edward over him. She continues to dangle her love in front of Jacob even though she knows it’s hurting him that she’s choosing Edward.
It’s like she’s keeping Jacob around and toying with his emotions in case it doesn’t work out with Edward. In New Moon, she only hangs out with him because she can’t be around Edward anymore, and continues with this behavior throughout the series.
Jacob Has Nice Guy Syndrome
Oftentimes, Jacob comes off as the understanding, comionate alternative to Edward. While he appears to be sweet and patient, he’s actually possessive when it comes to Bella. He would be understanding to get Bella to choose him, but when she would choose Edward, he would storm off in a fit of rage and try to guilt her into feeling bad.
He acted as if she owed him something more than her friendship. Despite Bella clearly choosing Edward multiple times, he always acted surprised and hurt when she told Jacob she just wanted to be friends. Many fans believe he’s sweeter than Edward, but both characters tried to manipulate her emotions.
Jacob Is As Dangerous As Edward
When Jacob tries to encourage Bella to choose him instead of Edward, he continues to insist on how dangerous the Cullens are, despite being dangerous himself. While Edward is a blood-sucking vamp, Jacob is a werewolf with rage issues who fights vampires. Choosing him over Edward wouldn’t be a much safer decision.
Even without the Cullens, threatening vampires like James would still be a threat that the wolves would have to fight, putting Bella in danger. It doesn’t make sense to paint Jacob as the safer choice when werewolves are known to get into supernatural entanglements and lash out at those they love in anger.
They Have Zero Chemistry
While in the books it can be hard to gauge the chemistry between characters, in the Twilight movies, it was easy to see the lack of chemistry between many of the actors, including Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. Though he was supposed to long for Bella while she secretly held feelings for him and didn’t want to it it, it was hard to tell from their acting alone.
While the dialogue and their actions may have shown their feelings, the chemistry between them felt forced. There have also been complaints that Robert Pattinson and Stewart also lacked chemistry. It doesn’t make sense to cast actors to play these characters in a love triangle if they can't play it believably.
Jacob Would Have Taken The Life Of Bella's Baby
A lot of Jacob fans think he’s the warmer, more understanding man in Bella’s life. However, there were moments he acted even colder than Edward, like when decides he wants to take the life of Bella’s infant, despite her clear love for her child. It’s understandable that he’s angry that Bella’s life would end because of the child, but deciding to take the life of the baby is messed up regardless of his reasons.
Yes, Renesmee is technically a monster, but she’s still just a baby. Before that, Jacob pushes Bella to get rid of the baby and grows incredibly angry when she refuses, despite it being her child and not his.
Jacob Tries To Control Bella
While a lot of people don’t like the way that Edward tries to control Bella, Jacob’s possessive behavior isn’t much better. Like Edward, he’s constantly trying to manipulate Bella’s feelings and actions. Their relationship has some abusive undertones.
Jacob acts as if Bella can’t make her own decisions and is extremely overprotective. When he doesn’t agree with her choices, he’ll yell at her, become aggressive, or run away because he didn’t get his way. While he’s easy-going and understanding on the surface, he’s controlling when he gets upset. The men in Bella’s life both try to manipulate her like she’s not capable on her own.
Bella Won't Let Him Move On
While Bella does harbor feelings for Jacob, she still chooses Edward, over and over again. It’s clear that she will never decide to be with Jacob. Despite this, she continuously inserts herself into his life, which only causes him pain. Jacob eventually makes the decision to cut Bella out of his life in Eclipse because it’s too painful for him.
Bella won’t accept that choice and selfishly tries to keep him in her life, but just as a friend. This is a big reason why Jacob grows more frustrated and angry with Bella when she keeps choosing Edward. She is giving him false hope so that he can never fully move on, which isn’t fair to him and causes his unfair attitude towards her.
Jacob Yells At Her At Her Wedding
It’s totally understandable that Jacob wouldn’t want to watch the woman he loves walk down the aisle towards another man, but when he eventually shows up, he appears without warning and dances with Bella. Just when it seems like the two will be able to get along without arguing, he finds out that Bella will consummate the marriage despite Edward being a vampire.
This causes him to explode in anger at Bella. It’s hard to tell if it’s just fear for her life that makes him angry because he may also be reacting in jealousy. Regardless, he shouldn’t have shown up at her wedding when he clearly isn’t comfortable with Bella being with Edward.
Bella And Her Daughter Will Love The Same Man
It was strange enough when Jacob imprinted on Bella’s daughter, but it became even more uncomfortable when fans realized that Renesmee will likely kiss the same man who was in love with her mother one day. Bella and her daughter could one day be romantically involved with the same man.
It does seem that while Renesmee is still a child, Jacob and Bella have pushed the imprinting argument aside, but it’s bound to cause conflicts one day in the future. It’s not quite inappropriate, but it’s way too weird for most people’s comfort.
Jacob Is Closer To Bella's Dad Than She Is
Throughout the Twilight movies, Bella repeatedly tells Edward how important Charlie is to her. However, her actions don’t seem to match her words. Even Jacob seems to be closer with Bella’s dad than she is. Especially in the later movies, Jacob is seen with Charlie more than Bella is. He’s even the reason why Charlie gets to continue to have a relationship with Bella after she is turned.
When she and the Cullens plan to leave Forks, Jacob brings Charlie to Bella to get her to stay. Without Jacob, Charlie would have lost his daughter forever. Even if Jacob did it for selfish reasons, he helps Charlie have a relationship with his daughter when she just planned on running away and hurting him.
