FADE TO BLACK: The Challenge of the Resolution

How the Twilight movies greased the landing...and THEN crashed the plane.

Feb 23, 2023

- HEAVY SPOILERS for Twilight and Game of Thrones Season 3 (you already know what we’re talking about)

- LIGHT SPOILERS for Breaking Bad, Barry, and The Grand Budapest Hotel

- BRIEF MENTION of Bojack Horseman

I watched the Twilight movies recently, and you know what? They’re pretty good. I laughed, I cried, I head-banged. Did my jaw drop when Jacob imprinted on a newborn baby? Sure. Did I understand what was going on? Not always. But were they enjoyable? Was I strangely invested? Yes and yes.

In fact, I didn’t realize just how invested I was until the ending. You know the one. The pull-back reveal. That GOD-FORSAKEN REVEAL.

I’ve written a couple movies and a few short films. I know how hard it is to end things. Resolution can be the most elusive part of a story. Unfortunately for us writers, it is also the most important.

So what can we do? While there is no clear recipe for writing a good ending, there are certainly some techniques that work time and time again. One that I will focus on in this post is the idea of consequences. We’ll explore some different examples of consequences done right, and then revisit Twilight to see where it all wrong.

Exhibit A: Game of Thrones

I’m not talking about Season 8. That’s its own beast, something to tackle in a separate essay. No, I won’t speak to the resolution of the entire show. Rather, I’ll highlight the resolution of Season 3. We all know it: The Red Wedding.

Where were you when you first saw the Red Wedding? How far did your jaw drop? At what point did you realize that this was really happening? It seemed entirely out of nowhere.

Except…was it? Was it truly out of nowhere? Of course not! How long had Robb been traipsing around with his beloved, flouting the rules of the Seven Kingdoms and serving his own selfish interests? Had he not been warned that his actions would have consequences? In other shows and stories, the main character is given “plot armor.” In other words, the rules don’t apply to them. Subconsciously, many of us probably expected Game of Thrones to follow this trend. After all, Robb fell in love! Is that so bad? The brilliant part of the show is that it doesn’t explicitly pass judgement on Robb. It merely presents him with consequences to his actions. We didn’t expect it, because few other shows would kill off their primary set of characters, and yet we can’t help but applaud it for happening; it was realistic, earned, and consequential. Even better, it was a clear warning to the audience: this show isn’t like anything you’ve seen before.

Exhibit B’s: Breaking Bad and Barry

Consider similar cases in AMC’s Breaking Bad and HBO’s Barry. These shows share a main character that, at first, is considered to be the “good guy.” Walt and Barry (from BB and Barry, respectively) are sympathetic characters who long for more in their lives. They believe they are in the right, and so we, the audience, tend to agree with them. They excuse their actions, arguing that they’re only doing what they need to do in order to succeed. However, as the shows progress, these excuses become shallow. Are they still the good guys? Or has this gotten out of hand? Their decisions catch up to them, and they must face the consequences. These are some of my favorite stories: when you don’t realize the main character is the bad guy until it's too late.

If Walt, Barry, and Robb never had to own up to their actions, their character arcs would not feel properly resolved. It can be a wonderfully powerful moment when characters like these have to face the consequences of their actions.

Exhibit C: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Let’s look at the opposite case: positive consequences. Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel follows concierge Gustave H. as he and his junior lobby boy go on a wild adventure. Gustave is a kind man who offers exemplary customer service to nearly everyone he encounters. This film sees the consequences of Gustave’s kindness repeatedly. Characters he helps at the beginning come back to support him at the end. His actions have consequences. If Gustave’s kindness had never been reciprocated, the resolution of the story probably would not have felt as satisfying.

Exhibit D: Bojack Horseman

Of course, all of this talk about consequences is just an observation I’ve made. There are plenty of stories that go the other way with consequences. In Bojack Horseman, Todd (who is always getting into wacky hijinks) hardly ever faces any consequences. However, in the final season he notes this is likely because he’s white. In this case, the lack of consequences is intentional and used for thematic purposes. Genius!

Needless to say, Todd is not the only character in the show. Bojack himself faces his fair share of consequences throughout the series, as do many other characters.

Anyway, with these examples in mind, let’s return to the scene of the crime.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2

Before we get to the fight, I want to talk about a scene that occurs shortly before. It’s my favorite scene of the series. Edward speaks with Carlisle, his vampire foster father. He looks at the group of vampires ready to fight the Volturi (the bad guys) on his behalf, and comments “All this because I fell in love with a human.” Carlisle responds kindly, saying something along the lines of: hey, you fell in love, and love is the only thing that matters. Edward takes a contemplative pause, and says “I never thanked you for this life you’ve given me.” You see, Carlisle turned Edward into a vampire, and offered him this eternal life that allowed him to meet and fall in love with Bella. Edward never wanted the life, but here he accepts it and even thanks Carlisle for this opportunity. Character growth!

It's a great moment, and as I was watching it, I felt an itch in the back of my mind. Let’s back up even further for a moment: vampires and mortals shouldn’t date in this world. And they definitely shouldn’t have children. Edward and Bella felt that their love was more important than everything else, so they flouted these rules. In this scene, Edward takes responsibility for his actions. We’ve seen this story before. I couldn’t help but think…are we gearing up for a Red Wedding?

And then we GOT IT. The ending fight is epic and ridiculous. Heads are flying and characters are dying left and right. Not just one or two, but MOST characters are dying. It’s an absolute massacre. When Jasper died, I was shocked (he was my favorite). Then Seth? Leah? What is going on??

I was floored, but I was impressed. To be frank, I didn’t think they had it in them. We were finally getting the consequences for Bella and Edward’s actions.

Eventually, Aro, our big bad, is killed (by a Bella-Edward alley-oop that would give Mac McClung imposter’s syndrome). They bring the torch to his head…

…and we pull back to learn that this was all a vision of the future, provided to Aro by the plot-device known as Alice. None of it actually happened. At this point I paused the movie. I looked at my girlfriend. I couldn’t believe it.

The worst part is that they had it. They had it in their hands. It’s not like they couldn’t figure out a good ending with a strong resolution. No, they figured it out. Not only that, they wrote it. They filmed it! Edited it! It’s there! It’s in the movie! They made a good ending…and then PRESSED UNDO?!

Do you see what I mean when I say I was strangely invested?

Anyway, the rest of the movie wraps up in a very safe way. Everyone leaves the battlefield unharmed, and Bella and Edward live happily ever after. Jacob gets with Reneesme even though he swore it “wasn’t like that,” and everyone goes along with their lives. Look, I know that this is a franchise written primarily for teenage girls. I know they had to keep things light. But still.

There’s a lesson here. If you’re struggling to write a satisfying resolution to your story, consider the choices your protagonist has made along the way, good or bad. What natural consequences would those choices lead to? How can you have your characters come to terms with their actions? Bonus points if it gets them into trouble! And, perhaps the most important lesson of all: next time you watch Twilight, go ahead and turn it off around the 100 minute mark.