Therapist Breaks Down Breaking Dawn Part 1 | The Transition to Marriage, Imprinting, Poor Leah 

Everyone makes fun of Leah, but she really got screwed over by everyone around her. She just wants to be loved.

I think one of the biggest yikes moments involving imprinting is when Bella asks whether Claire will have a choice about being with Quil when she grows up. Jacob says that sure she'll have a choice but she's definitely going to choose to be with him. Basically saying that her choosing to refuse is theoretically possible but definitely isn't going to happen. He justifies this by detailing how Quil is going to be completely devoted to her every want and need at every point in her development, and then he sums it up with something about how that level of devotion will be impossible to resist. It's a weird glorification of succcessful grooming tactics combined with the incel reasoning of "I'm perfect for her so why wouldn't she want me?"

My first living together relationship (we were both around 25) ended because I was sick and there was no end date in sight. He prioritised body image and I was unable to exercise so he would give me the silent treatment for days. Eventually I realised that even if things got better when I recovered, he would always have that attitude and if I had babies or got sick again the emotional punishment would ensue because I could not fulfil his fantasies. That’s truly an unresolvable situation and sometimes ending the relationship is the best thing for your sanity.

I really appreciate that you review these from the lens of a fan as well as a therapist. So many people who review this series are not the target demographic or have no history with the series.

Knowing of SM's Mormon Faith, the concept of "Imprinting" immediately smacked of much older men claiming child brides for themselves.

I really wish that imprinting didn't have to be romantic love. What if Claire just wants and needs a big brother in her life? There are so many forms of love. Why does it just have to be romantic?

Imprinting is like grooming. "Youll be her care taker, then friend, then when shes old enough..." that is legit grooming. Alot of instances of creepiness with children in twilight. Rosalie saving Emmett because he reminded her of her friends baby. Edward calling people Bellas age children but still being obsessed with her. The other half vampire side eyeing Renesmee when shes a little girl and hes over 100... Stephanie Meyer has some odd views.

Leah and Rosalie are my favorites characters. They both had their humanity and chance at motherhood taken away, yet they're still strong enough to keep fighting for what they believe in and to protect those they care about even if their love is unrequited. I like Rosalie's mate, but in a way, I wish she'd stayed single after Edward rejected her and then realized later that finding a man isn’t the end all-be all of completing one's self. I also think she and Leah would’ve made for a cute, if unexpected couple. I'm definitely convinced Rosalie would've neutered Edward and Jacob if either of them had gone through with their plan to kill Renesme when she was a newborn baby.

I think an important point for the ages, is in Twilight, Edward refers to other students as "children". He's fully aware Bella is a child compared to him.

I really think the way certain situations are framed in a story affects how people perceive them, specially those that doesn't have the experience, the critical thinking or the information to recognize unhealthy behavior. I think it is specially apparent in romance because it plays with the feeling of many girls and women of wanting to be wanted, framing controlling behavior and grooming as loyalty and care. It really makes me wonder how many people had toxic relationships in their late teens and early 20s because what media sells them about how "love" looks like

Finally! I’ve been waiting for the continuation of this video series 😂 Always love your takes!

Imprinting is so gross and sexist the male wolf is extremely attracted to the woman who can give him the best babies regardless of her age, relationship status,or whether or not she wants to be with him. Leah can't have children because she can't imprint because she's a female wolf and somehow that means she can't pass down wolf genes(smeyers was going through something when she wrote that plot point)

I find it rather exhausting when people make fun of people (especially women) for the romance novels we read. Like I will admit a lot of the concepts and plotlines can be toxic and unhealthy however I find that it's like watching soaps and just being there for the drama. Plus as someone who's on wattpad a lot I've noticed most times the reason we enjoy chaotic storylines is because we all turn into the best friend yelling "Don't do it!" in the comments. I feel like while it's easy to interpret it as us romanticising a certain type of relationship, Its instead the opposite where most people are discovering through these novels what to run away from.

I think it's great that you're so upfront about being a Twilight enjoyer while still being able to look at all of it critically! Just because we like something doesn't always mean we think it's good quality, lol. If you don't mind me asking, what *do* you like about Twilight? Does it have a sense of nostalgia because you got into it as a teenager, for example?

You went HAM on the conflict part! *chef’s kiss*

I remember reading this book for the 1st time and I really hoped that Jacob and Leah would develop real feelings and fall for each other, especially when she wanted to join the new pack with him. Thinking about it in hindsight, Jacob was horrible to her and Leah deserved better. I never really felt annoyed with Leah because that excuse of "it's not really Sam's fault" got too much weight imo. Yes, Sam couldn't control it but Leah was still hurt and couldn't escape it and I felt like no one had any grace for how painful this had to be for her

It’s really genius how you take certain movies and media that so many people are interested in to get people’s attention, and then teach them so much about therapy and relationships. By covering things like LIB and twilight you reach people who may not have clicked on a therapy based video in the first place. Sneaking valuable lessons into videos some people may just click on for fun, or for the drama. Genius

29:34 OMG!! Steph please break down the "a court of thorns and roses" series next! I think you will have a lot to talk about in terms of the main character's relationship... ESPECIALLY as you start reading book 2🤩

Have been loving this series! Would love to hear more about the Time Traveler's Wife movie/short lived tv series / other films where one person has more power through some kind of future knowledge (About Time, also w/ Rachel McAdams). Obv can't wait for Love Is Blind S5 content. Oooh a Pretty Little Liars relationships deep dive would be interesting because rewatching as an adult now that show is so problematic! Took me into my 30s & years of working w/ my therapist to understand & admit to myself that I had been a victim of grooming and, seeing all this media I consumed/romanticized then as a teen going through it, through a different lens now has been a wild part of the healing journey.

Loved this video as well! Leah is definitely one of the characters that gets so much more sympathy when revisiting these series as an adult. She really got dealt an awful hand and everything about her anger and bitterness makes sense when it's put in context.

Man this is gonna be a good one, the baby stuff is insane lol 😆

I do agree on imprinting be absolutely weird with the age gaps. Eventhough Jacob and Quil won't age, it's weird to watch someone from an infant to an adult and then become attracted to them in a romatic way. Imo, Bella and Edward's age difference isn't weird. Only because Edward mentioned a few times in the books that vampire's physical and emotional maturity stops when they are changed. So he will always behave like a 17 year old and react like one. What ages for them is their mind. They grow wiser as they grow older. Often times couples are on different spectrums when it comes to mental maturity even if their age range is closer because we all develop and learn at a different pace.

Another successful video. I just recently followed your channel a week ago and you are great when you speak. You give out a lot of details and information when you share your opinions and you look great! I never understood about imprinting as I do find it odd Jacob ended up with Renesmee but I do believe he really deserved to have a happy ending as well through so much Bella has put him through.

Loved that you talked about Leah, she’s an amazing character ❤

You mentioned that you're reading ACATAR right now. I'd love to see a deep dive on this entire series. It's one of my favorites, yet it's definitely got some problematic things happening. I'd love to hear a therapist's POV on the relationships in this series, platonic and romantic.

A good point was the "honeymoon"-phase after a wedding that usually not really occurs in real life. My husband and i have been together for 10 years and we got married this year and everyone keeps asking "how is it feeling? Does life feel different or better now?" .. girl we have been together for 10 years. Life doesnt actually feel any different and i would be concerned if it would, honestly. We obviously love each other and wanted to go full circle but no, we dont wake up in the morning surrounded by sparkles.

Yay I binged the other videos last week, I’m soooo happy you dropped this one! And I can’t wait to watch the new live is blind videos too

I feel so silly. I usually play this while I am doing chores around the house. And when I heard what's "what's on your mind" I never saw the screen with the clever play on words, until today, when I actually sat down and visually watched. Clever!

I got married when I was 22. I feel like me at 22 vs me at 25 was a huge difference!

I got emotional on your take on feeling abandoned by a loved one after their passing.. I’ve seen people grieve years because of that. Another incredible video!

This view of the Twilight series through a therapist's lens has been fascinating! I've also been loving your other videos. I haven't watched any of Love is Blind, but I have absolutely loved your content about it because you break down relationships in such insightful ways and give such good examples that it makes me feel like I actually learn a ton about human psychology. I appreciate what a compassionate, non-judgmental person you are.

I love hearing your takes on Twilight!! I'd be very interested if you did a deep dive on the Hunger Games!!!

i’m a psychology grad student and i love your content. you really inspire me to study and learn more! thank youuu

What most makes me think about imprinting is how the other persoons feels. It must be a huge pressure. In this case even more given all the adults in the wolf situation are okay with it so the kid must think "I must be ok with this". Imagine growing up whithout being able to learn by error because a grow up man will be around all the time "helping" you out.

Love your videos! Going to throw Bojack Horseman as a suggestion for a breakdown. It’s a show with amazingly written characters imo

I appreciate you talking about how difficult the first year of marriage can be. It wasn’t something I was familiar with when I got married. For a few years I felt like we’d “missed” the honeymoon phase so many people talk about. I was so relieved when I found out this is normal. Interestingly, I was talking to a friend of mine after her divorce and she said their first had actually been their best. That conversation really opened my eyes to how unreliable the media’s portrayal of a “normal” relationship is.

Best tool we recieved when we did pre engagement counseling was: Ask questions Empathy Keep calm I not you statements Changed the way we talked/argued. We painted 4 little canvas' and have it up in our kitchen as a reminder😅 Great review and tips❤

I'm super excited for you to wrap up this series, it's been one of my favorites! While you've got me in my teen nostalgia feels, you might consider doing The Hunger Games because Katniss is a really interesting character to explore the psychology of and a Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be coming out soon.

I love this type of series where you break down the characters psichology! It is so interesting and helpful, you have such a professional, eloquent and clear way of explaining! 😊 Could you do a break down of the characters in Euphoria? Have you watched it? I think many people could be interested, especially a younger audience.

I can't remember which book this was in but the quote was, "You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend". So it seems imprinting doesn't necessarily mean the relationship is always sexual but more of a common occurrence because of the no aging part of being a wolf

You would be an awesome guest on #cinematherapy and please do a video on matilda 😊

OH MY GOD !! Legitimately jumped as soon as you mentioned ACOTAR. I would absolutely lose my mind if you were to discuss it!!!!

I have never read these books, but I absolutely devoured your videos on them!!! 😍 If you’re ever looking to dissect a book a bit off the beaten path, “The Turn of the Screw” would be quite suited to the thoughtful psych and relationship analysis you do!

You should totally look at the relationships in ACOTAR! There are so many to analyze and it would be great to see it from a therapist’s pov! 😊

This was great! You absolutely make a lot of sense concerning being able to compartmentalize certain issues. Please keep these movie series going. Thank you!

It would be super interesting to hear your thoughts as a therapist about Supernatural family dynamic. There is so much trauma/drama in that family,, different strategies of coping with it, there is believable developments of personalitis, of acknowledgment how the family tragedies formed their personalities... I mean, Supernatural is soo long, but the psychology and family dynamic of first 5 series is fascinating to watch and to contemplate. At leas for me :)

I'd really like to see your take on Gilmore Girls. It's a long series, so I understand if you couldn't do it all. But you could have people vote on certain scenes or episodes. It has a lot of multigenerational family issues that I think would be right up your alley in terms of analysis.

Would you be interested in doing the Hunger Games? Everyone hates pretty hard on Catnis’s PTSD at the end, which I find pretty unfair to her character and everything she faces

the way you explained compartmentalizing bad parts of tv and still feeling entertained was amazing i’ve always felt that but i never had the words. but i’d love if you did the summer i turned pretty!!!

I’ll be so sad when your next video on part 2 comes out, I’ve loved hearing your analysis of the series!

OooOooo PLEASE do the Summer I Turned Pretty! There is SO much to unpack with that story

That color shirt is beautiful on you! You always know what colors make you glow. 😇 Great video as always, and looking forward to the next!

Pretty sure she made imprinting happen with the girl at any age entirely for Jacob imprinting on Renesmee - she wanted a happy ending that folded Jacob into the Cullen family, set up Quil and Claire to foreshadow it and explain things beforehand, and... Didn't think about it beyond that. But honestly the scariest thing about imprinting to me is that the wolves have no say either. Their own genetics brainwash them, essentially, into al kinds of potential horrible behavior, be it grooming, stalking, a mix, or other awful things. No one involved really has a choice, and it's so disturbing.

Just wanted to say I love love love this series🥹I was obsessed with Twilight when I was a teen and now as an adult I see it so differently!! I would LOVE to see a breakdown of the After series (movies+books) there’s so many interesting dynamics there I’d love to hear your thoughts on because it’s so problematic😭

I’ve commented this before but I’d love to hear you break down the relationships in Gilmore Girls

Oh please! One of these about the ACOTAR series! Pleeeeease ❤❤❤

Yea she could have made Bella a college student at least. 😂

Yes, sex absolutely should not be the main or even primary reason to get married! I do think it can be a contributing factor. Personally, we ended up picking our wedding date sooner than originally thought/planned because we did not want to even move in together prior to marriage, and that date made logistical and financial sense - however, it had been clear for a while that we wanted to get married (eventually); and I think that is very important! :)

I would really love your take on ACOTAR. One of my favorite series of books. Definitely a lot of relationships that could be discussed. Familial and romantic.

I love your videos. They bring a new perspective to understanding relationships and how different they are portrayed in the media I enjoyed as a younger self. I’m looking forward to your next video in the Twilight series! I was also wondering if Harry Potter is something you would consider exploring. I would love to hear your perspectives on the various relationships formed and situations that could possibly influence someone’s character development. I recognize it is fantasy so a little tougher to translate to real life. Just thought I would ask. Thank you :)

I am so glad you're reading A court of thorns and roses. I recently finished the entire series, and I have so many thoughts. Can't wait to hear your breakdown.

So many relatable nuggets here! I'm currently taking a class at church called "Shelter From The Storm" and this week is on abandonment... I was really struggling with this topic thinking I didn't have any issues in this area. But after hearing your perspective I can see that I do at time feel unwanted. Especially having been single for 12 years. Also dealing with a dead end career and hating what I do but refusing to do anything about it because I'm comfortable with the pain I endure on the day to day... Wow! So glad I found your channel here's to healing on this journey I'm on!

Based on the movie, I like to think Rumpelstiltskin (Renesme) had the power of mind control and forced Jacob to imprint on him as a defense mechanism since he was about to kill her.

Great video. I’m so looking forward to your thoughts of a court of roses and thorns. Without spoiling it the final book takes an interesting look at one of the characters. I’ve read it and listened to the audiobook. On the first read I hated it but on the second read through, it made disliking them difficult because their actions made sense (like Leah). I appreciate hearing your perspective

Omg I NEED a video on a court of thorns and roses

And also how Bella mentioned in the first book how she was using him and how much younger he was!!

I would love to see more videos addressing popular movies/books. The only other channel I've found that does this is Cinema Therapy and, while I enjoy what they do, I feel like you go deeper into issues than they do. I like that you also address the movie AND the book, when there's both. I'd even enjoy more Twilight videos, if you wanted to dive deeper into specific issues or themes (such as a whole video on an individual character's psychology, or a deeper dive into one of the topics, like imprinting or Bella being parentified, that you've already discussed). I look forward to Part 2, as well as future series. Edit: Some of the series I'd love to see covered are The Hunger Games and ACOTAR, just because there's so much to unpack in both series with not only the protagonists' psychology but that of their family members and romantic interests as well.

I also would LOVE to see you do a breakdown of the a court of thorns and roses series. I feel like the topics of dealing with trauma and the romance dynamics would be super interesting to get your take on.

You mentioned ACOTAR and I would love a deep dive of the book series similar to this Twilight series. I feel like there could be a lot of great plot points that I would love to hear you break down. Loved all these videos!

You’ve really been opening my eyes to look at these movies from a different lense. I really enjoy your breakdowns of LIB and Twilight and the psychology behind it. I’m really bummed that there’s only one more Twilight video left! 😭 You should think about doing videos on the Divergent series. I know you said you prefer it to be a series, and that one would be really interesting to look at from the perspective of someone who studied psychology. Thank you for your videos, they make my day and teach me a lot, not only about myself, but those around me! I appreciate you 🩷

omg all these scenes that you added to your vid ! i don’t remember seeing them in the movie

There's so much gold in this video!

would love to see a breakdown of the vampire diaries!

🖤 I can’t wait for you to do part 2. And then Hunger Games after this?! Ah it just keeps getting better!!

OMG I’m waiting for you to talk about ACOTAR books, characters and the dynamics are sooo interesting

I love the twilight series! I also find your videos to be a sense of comfort and peace and I enjoy every upload. You are such a positive light 💕

Your videos on this series were so well done, please do the Hunger Games or 50 Shades next!!!

You should totally do the Court of Thorns and Roses series!!

I'm glad you mentioned A court of thorns and roses. Since you're analyzing fictional relationships I was going to ask what you thought about that series. I think it would be super interesting to break down all the different relationships in that series.

Realist and mor genuine information about pre-marriage this is something I needed to hear and could not come at the best time in my life thank girl **new subscriber**

I loved the video and hearing your opinions and takes. In the next one can you please talk about Bella’s relationship with Alice and how they view eachother. I think it’s interesting the difference in their relationship in the movie vs books and I feel perhaps Alice feels a little colder towards Bella in the books than the movies. I’d love to hear your take.

I love your videos and insights!!! Are you going to do a video on ACOTAR?!?! I adore that series and would love your input on it.

I'm dying to rewatch these movies tbh but I think imma wait til you do all the movies and then go for it 😂

I love that you mentioned A Court of Thorns and Roses, I was thinking about mates and imprinting, super common in fantasy… I would love it if you broke down the A Court of Thorns and Roses series!

I really like your brain. Excited for your content!

Omg I’m on the second book of the court of thorns and roses series, I would love for you to go into the characters’ dynamics in a video!

love this whole serious!!!

Girl you are gonna have a field day with LIB season 5. Lawwwwd 😩😭

After watching a lot of your videos and sharing them with my partner I thought it's about time I subscribe

I've never been interested in seeing these films, but everyone has heard a lot of opinions about them. Loving this series & the way you're able to relate the stories to the real experiences of viewers & others

Steph I really love your movie analysis. Please can you do a video on Euphoria? Keep doing what you do. These videos are very eye opening.

I really enjoy this series, I hope you make more of other fantasy books 🌟

Such a great video! The way you clarified about imprinting was spot on. Most people that talk about it haven't read the books but you described my thoughts on it exactly. Also, Time Travelers Wife is another of my favorites so I was excited when you brought it up. Now I want to check out that other book you said you're reading because we seem to have the same tastes lol

Can't wait to see more of these phycological movie brake downs !! Thank you... Can you do the movie Thirteen?? Or White Oleander?

Hi! Fellow therapist here and I love your videos! I would love to see your break down of Everything Everywhere All at Once

So happy this video is finally up 😆 can’t wait for the next

Step Anya, I have just recently come to your channel. I really am enjoying it! You are so insightful ! Also, I just love listening you talk about the different movies/TV shows. You’re the type of person that I could see enjoying talking to at the water cooler. Also, I just wanted to give my compliments to your wonderful intro credit song. I think it’s the best I’ve heard.

Love your take on this series. I am also a huge fan of the saga but I also caught an inkling that there was a lot of unhealthy situations going on between characters. Looking forward to the next video!

PLEASE do ACOTAR when you catch up in the series 🥺🙏🏽

Love your breakdowns so much! So insightful. I love learning from your therapist point of view