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Ellie Ibis
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Re: Laurent

Post by Ellie Ibis »

Terracottakitten wrote:This post is filled with lots o' spoiler-tastic spoilers, so be warned...

I thought S.Meyer really dropped the ball with Laurent. I mean, he wasn't genuinely BAD per se, in Twilight, and then we see him in New Moon as he's telling Bella that he tried to stick with his 'diet', but it was too hard. Anyway, in New Moon I hear that people don't like him anymore, because he's betraying the Denali Clan and such, but I got a bit different impression of him, because he WAS struggling, he WAS trying to be good... Well, at least before S.Meyer ruined that perception in Breaking Dawn.

What I'm talking about is when Bella turns into a vampire, it's the perfect opportunity for her to show the readers how difficult it really is to stay away from human blood, right? How much she struggles with it, and how it's driving her MAD from wanting it (S.M. could even put in that it's so hard to stay with Edward while she's smelling humans so near, ya know, for maximum angst) and how hard it is for Laurent (and Jasper) to stay on the band wagon. But NO, instead, what we get is 'IM SUPER GUD CUS I DON NEED TEH BLOOD AND TEH OTTER VAMPYRS R WEEK AN JUS WIMPY'... I mean, come on... Laurent could have been painted in such a better light, but then again, no one can ever match the beauty and wonder of our fair Bella, can they?

I agree with this 95%, although I don't think Bella being able to resist blood made Laurent or Jasper seem weaker, to me it just made Bella seem even more extraspeshul.

I also dislike how people talk about him betraying the Delanis, when he had to have betrayed James and Victoria to join the Delanis. In the end, he had to choose between two people he was essentially dedicated to. Even when you're dedicated to someone through fear, it's not that easy to walk away.

Granted, half of the reason I'm probably even trying to defend him is because I think his actor is gorgeous, haha. =P
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BreathelessVampire
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Re: Laurent

Post by BreathelessVampire »

Laurent seems so sad. He finally found his love, Irina, and then suddenly poof, he dies. Poor guy.
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Re: Laurent

Post by twilightmom »

Oh, yeah, I'm so glad I found this thread... This is something that has been bothering me since I first read New Moon... Was Laurent a “bad guy?” I know he was helping Victoria – which makes him “bad,” but when he came across Bella in the meadow – was he hunting animals and just was too hungry not to “eat” Bella? (i.e. wrong place at the wrong time) OR was he hunting humans with Victoria? Was he responsible for some of the deaths? Which then leads to other questions – how bonded was he with Irina? I know that she gets very upset with his death, but was he just playing her? Hmmm… I feel I got some answers here. But in the end, until SM tells us, we'll never know!

PS - I don't actually own my own copy of Twilight (yes, I'm ashamed), so I don't know who mentioned Bella as a snack in Twilight. Did that get cleared up?
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Destani
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Re: Laurent

Post by Destani »

When Bella meets Laurent in the meadow in NM, she notices that his eyes are still red. She had expected them to be gold now. So that means he had recently hunted humans. Laurent also admits that the veggie lifestyle is difficult and he cheats sometimes (though I haven't figured out how you can cheat and get away with it when your eyes turn red...if he'd done it in Denali, they would have noticed). I would assume he was partially responsible for the deaths in Forks but that's only an assumption.

Since his eyes were red, I'm also going to assume that he was not overly hungry at the time. He certainly paused and asked her enough questions to make sure the Cullens weren't still around, which leads me to believe that if he thought they still cared about Bella he wouldn't have hurt her. If that's the case, he could have made the decision to leave her alone regardless of the Cullens whereabouts.

I'm also interested in knowing how he felt about Irina. We see how strongly she felt for him, but we don't get any information from his perspective on that.

Laurent is an antagonist in the story because he puts Bella's life in danger but I don't think he's all bad. He made some good choices in Twilight, then some bad ones in New Moon.

Laurent was the one who said "You brought a snack?" in the book. James says it in the movie. They say it very differently. James seems to say it in an evil amused manner judging from the preview. The book describes Laurent as saying it incredulously. He was simply curious.
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Terracottakitten
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Re: Laurent

Post by Terracottakitten »

Destani wrote:Laurent is an antagonist in the story because he puts Bella's life in danger but I don't think he's all bad. He made some good choices in Twilight, then some bad ones in New Moon.
....Wait... He's the antagonist in the story because he wanted to kill Bella? I dunno, personally I would have been pretty happy about that! :D No more whinning to deal with... He should be considered a hero!
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Re: Laurent

Post by Destani »

^LOL

Ironically when I was typing up my post, I used the term antagonist instead of "bad" as a way of being kind of, umm...politically correctly for those who don't like Bella. :)
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Re: Laurent

Post by twilightmom »

Thanks Destani for clearing up the Twilight/baseball info as well as the NM meadow scene. I too used the term "bad" in "quotes" because I know not everyone sees the Bella story as a happy ending. BUT since the story is centered around her, he is a negative to her story line!

So, the question remains - what happened in Denali? It seems to me that Laurent really snowed over the girls up north... He bonded with Irina (her "mate," even!), yet he still hung with Victoria and was a "meat-eater." Hmm... I'm wondering if he was just wasting time until something better came along? After reading NM, it seems unprobable that Irina would be so lost over his death, enough that it causes a riff with the Cullens. Something clearly went on up north.
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Re: Laurent

Post by bite_me »

With the meadow scene when Bella sees Laurent, I think he was just 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'. For the particular evil motive of killing bella, he hadn't done anything.

It was just that he was out killing humans, not specifically Bella, that makes him bad in my eyes.

When he cheats . . . would contacts be enough to stop the Denalis getting suspicious?
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Re: Laurent

Post by DudeRocksTheTwilight »

I think of Laurent not bad nor good. He's kind of neutral. When James and Victoria come after Bella in Twilight, he didn't join them which made him better. The Cullens really changed his life and he wanted to try. He simply wasn't strong enough to resist human blood. It was a shame he was killed, the wolves could have simply grabbed Bella and ran. I too wonder how he felt about Irina.
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Re: Laurent

Post by corona »

Laurent is in the thick of things in every book, even when he is dead, which is why he is one of my favorite minor characters. I have to admit, when Bella sees him in the meadow, I too had a moment of irrational hope, but I had already suspected Laurent of not being on the up-and-up. I just knew with him being there that the Cullens were going to come back at some point.

It is ironic how meeting Laurent in the meadow actually saves Bella’s life. If he had returned directly to Victoria instead of wandering the forest, Bella would be dead. After meeting Bella in the meadow he still had a good shot at getting back if he could have kept his mouth shut, and then Bella would be dead. Recall that the wolf pack was reluctant to press the attack as they were not on their lands. It’s only when Laurent specifically tells Bella that he is going to kill her that the wolf pack goes into action.

If Bella never meets Laurent in the meadow, Laurent returns to Victoria and tells her the Cullens have left Forks. I shudder to think of the consequences.
"It will take an amazing amount of control,” she mused. “More even than Carlisle has. He may be just strong enough…the only thing he’s not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That’s a lost cause.”
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