The Twilight Saga was a juggernaut of epic proportions. It was part vampire story, part sappy romance, and that unique combination of genres unsurprisingly yielded a whole lot of cringe.
Bella and Edward were clearly the central focus of the entire story, and most of the events of the tale were just side plots that happened around the two of them falling in love. However, being the centerpiece of the saga also means that they shared a lot of embarrassing moments. Which Edward and Bella scenes are borderline hard to watch?
"The Lion Fell In Love With The Lamb"
Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has been repeatedly criticized for her purple prose, and her overly elaborate wording certainly made The Twilight Saga more difficult to adapt to the screen without making audiences cringe.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson do their best, but lines like "and so the lion fell in love with the lamb" couldn't sound serious coming out of the mouth of Laurence Olivier. It's nice that the movie wanted to stay true to the book, but this is one quote that shouldn't have made it into the film to begin with.
Edward Revealing His Sparkles
Anyone who started reading Twilight with the expectation that this would be a typical vampire story was quickly disabused of that notion as soon as Stephenie Meyer included the bizarre twist that vampires in this fictional universe actually don't go out into the sun because they sparkle.
The moment where Edward reveals "the skin of a killer" really falls flat in the first movie. The sparkle effect is mediocre, but the concept itself just does not work for the supposed intensity of the scene.
Edward Smelling Bella
Twilight has a knack for making its viewers cringe when it's not intending to, but one hilarious moment that was clearly being played for laughs was the first moment that Edward catches a whiff of Bella.
Robert Pattinson really hams it up, clutching his mouth like he's about to vomit or just pass out. His behavior throughout the entire scene is hysterical, and Kristen Stewart's cluelessness juxtaposed with Pattinson's full-body tension really works for Bella and Edward's first moments.
Edward Watching Bella Sleep
Of course, it's played for romance, but a lot of the behavior that Edward engages in throughout the saga ranges anywhere from creepy to criminal. And while watching Bella sleep is supposed to somehow prove his utter devotion to her, it really just comes across as weird.
If Bella were thinking remotely rationally, she would have filed a restraining order against Edward for breaking into her house just to watch her when she was at her most vulnerable, but apparently it's just evidence of true love.
Edward & Bella's Disbelief In Each Other's Worthiness
If this was a moment that only occurred once between Bella and Edward, it would be less embarrassing. But the two of them seem to constantly go back and forth, arguing that they are completely unworthy of each other.
At some point, Bella should actually believe that the rich, handsome, and seemingly flawless Edward is actually in love with her. And on the other side of that coin, the miserable, self-flagellating Edward should have understood how Bella felt about him long before he really accepted it.
Trying To Ban Bella From Jacob
In retrospect, there were a lot of toxic elements to Bella and Edward's romance in Twilight. But one of Edward's worst transgressions was his attempts to stop Bella from having any kind of relationship with Jacob.
No one should ever be commanding their significant other to stay away from anyone, and the irony of Edward claiming that he didn't want Bella around Jacob because it wasn't safe was astounding. Edward was being extremely controlling and hypocritical in this instance.
Edward's Attitude Towards Intimacy
Clearly, there is meant to be a great deal of tension behind Edward and Bella's every touch, as Edward has to stop himself from ripping Bella's arteries open at every moment. But Edward's puritanical attitude towards their intimacy seems borderline shaming.
Edward rejects Bella for as long as he possibly can, and when they do finally have sex, he is bizarrely rude towards her because of his own lack of control. Edward's behavior is certainly one part of Twilight that hasn't aged well.
Bella Endangering Herself To See Edward
Twilight's version of romance veered heavily towards grossness pretty often, but this was yet another example of how unhealthy and uncomfortable to watch Bella and Edward's love story could be.
Bella being bummed that Edward was gone is one thing, but putting herself in constant danger so that she can imagine Edward more clearly is something completely different. And while there isn't really a way to translate this aspect of the book easily into film, the fact that Bella's hallucinations were so literal was strange.
Edward Manipulating Bella Into Revealing Their Engagement
Edward might be physically a teenager, but it's shocking that he can still be so immature after decades of life. Obviously, there is no love lost between him and Jacob, but manipulating Bella into revealing that they were engaged right before Jacob was going to risk his life to save Bella was exceptionally dangerous and cruel.
Literally any other time would have been better for this revelation, and Edward should have let Bella decide the right time to share this news with her best friend.
When Edward Tried To Die
Obviously, New Moon was really going for a Romeo and Juliet vibe, but in this day and age, teenagers wanting to die over love is just not what fans want to see.
But what makes Edward's behavior even more cringe in this instance is that if he had just done even a shred of investigation, all of this drama could have been avoided. Edward's lack of due diligence not only nearly got him killed, it almost killed Bella and put the entire Cullen family in danger.