"Edward's impatience was almost tangible as we moved at human speed to the forest edge?"
We left off two weeks ago with a trio of new vampires who have come curious at the loud noises that they heard which they figured could only be produced by vampires playing baseball. They then became curious not only at the Cullen's ability to remain in one place for long periods of time but also that Bella, a human, was just hanging around with them. Carlisle instructed Edward to take Bella home and the three vampires were going to join him at the Cullen's house.
They are in an isolated clearing in the middle of the woods, so it makes sense that they want the prey out of the area. What doesn't make sense is why they are moving at normal speed. They don't normally travel like that by themselves so why now? Obviously, these people are frightened of the new three so I guess they are keeping their guard up. First off, the Cullens outnumber Laurent and company, and even though we are forced to picture the alien vampires as being older and more ferocious that's just appearance wise. If Laurent looked 50 it could still mean that he's younger than Edward. Furthermore moving slowly is silly, even if we grant their speed is based on precaution, because you have Edward who could sense the volition of any potential attacker, and more importantly you have Alice who should see it coming before even that happens. They get her to the truck and buckle her in, for some reason Emmet holds her down. Their plan is to head South to some sort of vampire safe house, all of which makes zero sense.
The three vampires smelled Bella's humanity and started drooling, or the equivalent of. Isn't this normal behavior for their kind? The Cullens reaction to this is evidence that they have never been around other vampires in the midst of humans before. Carlisle has some experience which is why he is the most rational of all of them. As soon as they are away from him they formulate escape and attack plans. Edward has a problem.
His problem is that, like the people that were harassing Bella in Port Angeles, he believes that thought equals action.* We don't know what those three were planning but Edward equated their thoughts with action and almost killed them for it. This is the type of reasoning that puts women in Burqas in the Middle East: if I as a male see a beautiful woman and find her desirable that desire is uncontrollable and I will sexually assault her. Therefore all women must be covered from head to toe in shapeless garments, it's for their own protection.
Edward's mentality is just the same. He needs to kill the trio because they reacted normally in the presence of food. Now this would all make sense of Edward and company weren't vampires, but they are. Because they want to eat her they are already guilty of doing so, it's really for Bella's safety that he wants to murder three of his own kind for being normal.
This leads me to a problem I can foresee in the series, that like his supposed age his vampire-ness is going to come and go. Caution is ok, but paranoia is just over-reacting. How does Bella react?
"I won't! You have to take me back--Charlie will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family--Carlisle and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever."
Strange phrasing but otherwise ok. Bella's father is a cop, and if she's gone for too long he knows who she is with. I doubt his reaction would be to immediately call the Feds** but she can't just be locked away somewhere, she does have her own life to live.
"Not over me, you don't! You're not ruining everything over me!"
Damn it. I thought she was having a normal reaction to be forcefully dragged away and hidden from the world. Instead she's worried that the poor vampires will have to pull anchor and move to another place. Something they've done before. The problem is that she's entirely romanticized the world of vampires. Much like people do with the American Mafia, wanting to be a part of that world without realizing that all of that money comes from drugs, prostitution, robbery, and murder. Bella fails to understand that if the Cullens have interactions with others of their own kind then those others will more than likely be blood drinkers. They aren't always going to be friendly since they will not have had the aid of Puritan English Christianity to purge them of their normal nature to eat humans.
"He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!"
So, not Laurent, but the other male, James, is some sort of Vampire ranger or something. This worries Edward, more so than it should because couldn't all Vampires with their superior senses track a human? Edward did in Port Angeles so what is the big deal, aside from the fact that Edward isn't James?
They just aren't listening to Alice: "There's another option," Alice said quietly."
They ignore the psychic. The issue here is that just because he's a tracker, and because he mentally planned to attack Bella, doesn't mean he's going to do it. Seriously, I'm not being nit-picky here, all of this is taking place before their visit to the Cullen's house where Carlisle is going to have to explain how it works in his neck of the woods. He wants to eat her, out of his own nature, but Laurent is the patriarch of this clan. If Laurent says no, he'll have to obey...that's how it works in the other vampire media.
They formulate a plan, after repeatedly ignoring Alice, that Bella is going to go home gather her things with Edward, and leave town for Phoenix. Apparently Charlie is going to just agree to this. They tell her to say whatever it is she needs to and Charlie will just let her leave. Because every parent is just like that, he wouldn't tell her to sleep on it and talk about it in the morning. He wouldn't need to contact her mother to make sure she can return to Phoenix.
After all Bella is "quite old enough to get my own place." With no money, no job, and no references; in a city she hated while also being a minor. The plan is so stupid that it's like it has been dreamed up by 14 year olds, not one 17 year old and three near Centurions.
At this point Carlisle and the three should be back at his house discussing the rules of the Olympic forest. So they are safe, but you wouldn't know it from their discussions. They've decided that Bella and Edward will go into the house, Alice will wait in the car ready to go, and Emmett will walk around outside looking for the Tracker. It's a decent plan, but I have a better one: why doesn't Edward use his ESP to see if the other vampires are around and if they aren't just wait outside her window or in her room like he usually does? Emmet and Alice can run back up, since they are all so powerful and outnumber the one vampire they are afraid of--it's much simpler. I said their plan was decent but it ignores their superpowers. Alice's foresight should be able to detect them coming, it did before, and Emmet has the super strength so what is the problem?
Any plan at this point is needless. Edward should just wait at the house and send Alice and Emmett home to ask Carlisle what is going on. When they get there if it's just Laurent and Victoria hurry back. That is far more reasonable. Instead Edward and Bella enter the house to go through with operation "ridiculous."
_____________________________________
*Just like Immanuel Kant
**For some obvious jurisdictional confrontation that we see in the movies I picture Charlie being the loose cannon, "Forks is my town and its my daughter, you Feds just think you can stroll in and take this investigation over! You can go to hell, I'm doing this my way!"
We left off two weeks ago with a trio of new vampires who have come curious at the loud noises that they heard which they figured could only be produced by vampires playing baseball. They then became curious not only at the Cullen's ability to remain in one place for long periods of time but also that Bella, a human, was just hanging around with them. Carlisle instructed Edward to take Bella home and the three vampires were going to join him at the Cullen's house.
They are in an isolated clearing in the middle of the woods, so it makes sense that they want the prey out of the area. What doesn't make sense is why they are moving at normal speed. They don't normally travel like that by themselves so why now? Obviously, these people are frightened of the new three so I guess they are keeping their guard up. First off, the Cullens outnumber Laurent and company, and even though we are forced to picture the alien vampires as being older and more ferocious that's just appearance wise. If Laurent looked 50 it could still mean that he's younger than Edward. Furthermore moving slowly is silly, even if we grant their speed is based on precaution, because you have Edward who could sense the volition of any potential attacker, and more importantly you have Alice who should see it coming before even that happens. They get her to the truck and buckle her in, for some reason Emmet holds her down. Their plan is to head South to some sort of vampire safe house, all of which makes zero sense.
The three vampires smelled Bella's humanity and started drooling, or the equivalent of. Isn't this normal behavior for their kind? The Cullens reaction to this is evidence that they have never been around other vampires in the midst of humans before. Carlisle has some experience which is why he is the most rational of all of them. As soon as they are away from him they formulate escape and attack plans. Edward has a problem.
His problem is that, like the people that were harassing Bella in Port Angeles, he believes that thought equals action.* We don't know what those three were planning but Edward equated their thoughts with action and almost killed them for it. This is the type of reasoning that puts women in Burqas in the Middle East: if I as a male see a beautiful woman and find her desirable that desire is uncontrollable and I will sexually assault her. Therefore all women must be covered from head to toe in shapeless garments, it's for their own protection.
Edward's mentality is just the same. He needs to kill the trio because they reacted normally in the presence of food. Now this would all make sense of Edward and company weren't vampires, but they are. Because they want to eat her they are already guilty of doing so, it's really for Bella's safety that he wants to murder three of his own kind for being normal.
This leads me to a problem I can foresee in the series, that like his supposed age his vampire-ness is going to come and go. Caution is ok, but paranoia is just over-reacting. How does Bella react?
"I won't! You have to take me back--Charlie will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family--Carlisle and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever."
Strange phrasing but otherwise ok. Bella's father is a cop, and if she's gone for too long he knows who she is with. I doubt his reaction would be to immediately call the Feds** but she can't just be locked away somewhere, she does have her own life to live.
"Not over me, you don't! You're not ruining everything over me!"
Damn it. I thought she was having a normal reaction to be forcefully dragged away and hidden from the world. Instead she's worried that the poor vampires will have to pull anchor and move to another place. Something they've done before. The problem is that she's entirely romanticized the world of vampires. Much like people do with the American Mafia, wanting to be a part of that world without realizing that all of that money comes from drugs, prostitution, robbery, and murder. Bella fails to understand that if the Cullens have interactions with others of their own kind then those others will more than likely be blood drinkers. They aren't always going to be friendly since they will not have had the aid of Puritan English Christianity to purge them of their normal nature to eat humans.
"He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!"
So, not Laurent, but the other male, James, is some sort of Vampire ranger or something. This worries Edward, more so than it should because couldn't all Vampires with their superior senses track a human? Edward did in Port Angeles so what is the big deal, aside from the fact that Edward isn't James?
They just aren't listening to Alice: "There's another option," Alice said quietly."
They ignore the psychic. The issue here is that just because he's a tracker, and because he mentally planned to attack Bella, doesn't mean he's going to do it. Seriously, I'm not being nit-picky here, all of this is taking place before their visit to the Cullen's house where Carlisle is going to have to explain how it works in his neck of the woods. He wants to eat her, out of his own nature, but Laurent is the patriarch of this clan. If Laurent says no, he'll have to obey...that's how it works in the other vampire media.
They formulate a plan, after repeatedly ignoring Alice, that Bella is going to go home gather her things with Edward, and leave town for Phoenix. Apparently Charlie is going to just agree to this. They tell her to say whatever it is she needs to and Charlie will just let her leave. Because every parent is just like that, he wouldn't tell her to sleep on it and talk about it in the morning. He wouldn't need to contact her mother to make sure she can return to Phoenix.
After all Bella is "quite old enough to get my own place." With no money, no job, and no references; in a city she hated while also being a minor. The plan is so stupid that it's like it has been dreamed up by 14 year olds, not one 17 year old and three near Centurions.
At this point Carlisle and the three should be back at his house discussing the rules of the Olympic forest. So they are safe, but you wouldn't know it from their discussions. They've decided that Bella and Edward will go into the house, Alice will wait in the car ready to go, and Emmett will walk around outside looking for the Tracker. It's a decent plan, but I have a better one: why doesn't Edward use his ESP to see if the other vampires are around and if they aren't just wait outside her window or in her room like he usually does? Emmet and Alice can run back up, since they are all so powerful and outnumber the one vampire they are afraid of--it's much simpler. I said their plan was decent but it ignores their superpowers. Alice's foresight should be able to detect them coming, it did before, and Emmet has the super strength so what is the problem?
Any plan at this point is needless. Edward should just wait at the house and send Alice and Emmett home to ask Carlisle what is going on. When they get there if it's just Laurent and Victoria hurry back. That is far more reasonable. Instead Edward and Bella enter the house to go through with operation "ridiculous."
_____________________________________
*Just like Immanuel Kant
**For some obvious jurisdictional confrontation that we see in the movies I picture Charlie being the loose cannon, "Forks is my town and its my daughter, you Feds just think you can stroll in and take this investigation over! You can go to hell, I'm doing this my way!"
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