Twilight: 5 Reasons Jacob Should Have Imprinted on Leah (& 5 Reasons Why Not)

The Twilight saga was one of the most popular and commercially successful franchises of the last twenty years. Yet, there were a few things that confused even the most ardent of fans and one of those things was Jacob imprinting on Bella and Edward’s daughter, Renesmee.

Imprinting is the involuntary way shapeshifters find their soulmates and there were tons of other characters who would have been a far better match for Jacob. One of the more popular choices was Leah Clearwater. Therefore, it is worth taking a look at five reasons why Jacob should have imprinted on Leah, and five reasons why it is better that the two stayed apart.

10 IMPRINTED: They Would Have Made A Formidable Couple

Imprinting is truly one of the strangest things in the saga and although the reasoning for it is never properly explained, Billy Black believed that the imprintee was meant to make the shape-shifter stronger. As they were both wolves, the two would have made the perfect imprintees for each other.

Also, the two weren’t just any old shapeshifters. Jacob was the true alpha and Leah was the only female wolf. Therefore, as an imprinted pair, the two would have been unstoppable.

9 NOT: It Would Have Ruined Their Pack Dynamics

When a wolf imprints, the imprintee becomes the most important thing in the world to them, and the wolf would do anything to protect them. As both Leah and Jacob are both shapeshifters, their bond could have been even more intense and this could have caused a lot of issues within their pack.

The wolves’ main duty is to the pack and to ensure the safety of their people, yet this would have been impossible to do when two of the pack members would have always protected each other first.

8 IMPRINTED: They Became Good Friends

At first, Jacob and Leah didn’t really get along. While in Sam’s pack, Leah came off as cold and spiteful as she maliciously taunted the other members of the pack, including Jacob.

Yet, fans got to see a new side of Leah when she and Jacob bonded over their relationship woes. Both Jacob and Leah had suffered from a broken heart and the two easily bonded over it. This allowed the pair to build a strong camaraderie and Leah eventually became Jacob’s second in command, or ”beta.”

7 NOT: Leah Hated Bella

Although Jacob and Leah started to get along in Breaking Dawn, they still had strongly opposing views about vampires. Importantly, Leah actively hated Bella and didn’t care who knew it.

As Bella was still one of Jacob’s closest friends, Bella played an important role in his life and their friendship would have easily caused lots of trouble between Jacob and Leah.

6 IMPRINTED: It Would Have Commemorated Taha Aki And His Third Wife

The legend of the wolves could be traced back to the first shapeshifter, Taha Aki. Importantly, Taha Aki’s last and third wife sacrificed herself to a vampire to save her husband and the tribe. In return, Taha Aki stayed in his wolf form and was never seen again.

As the reasons for Leah being the only female wolf are never made clear, her being a wolf could have been a way to commemorate the third wife’s sacrifice and her imprinting on Jacob would have been away to rewrite Taha Aki’s and his third wife’s tragic story.

5 NOT: Renesmee Would Have Died

Ultimately, Jacob’s imprint on Renesmee saved her life. Before she was even born, Sam believed her to be an abomination and a potential danger to his people. Therefore, he argued that the baby along with Bella needed to be killed.

Thankfully, when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, she became untouchable to Sam as the wolves were forbidden to kill each others’ imprintees.

4 IMPRINTED: Leah Was A Better Choice Than Renesmee

Simply put, anybody would have been a better choice for Jacob than Renesmee, and Leah was just as good of a choice as anybody else.

Besides the fact that Renesmee was a child and the daughter of his ex-crush, Renesmee was a half-vampire and as wolves and vampires were mortal enemies, Jacob imprinting on Renesmee just never made any sense. At the very least, Jacob’s imprint on Leah would have not been so controversial.

3 NOT: It Would Have Been Predictable

Although a lot of fans hated the fact that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, they can’t deny that it was completely unexpected.

Yet, Jacob imprinting on Leah would have felt a little obvious. As Jacob was the true Alpha and Leah was the only female wolf, their romance would have been a little too easy and formulaic. At the very least, Jacob and Renesmee’s relationship gave fans one of the most memorable, albeit unpopular twists in the saga.

2 IMPRINTED: Would Have Explained Why Leah Was The Only Female Wolf

Unfortunately, Stephenie Meyer never really explained why Leah was the only female wolf, and more importantly, her being the only female wolf never added any significance to the story.

However, there were tons of creative ways Leah and Jacob’s imprint could have been used to explain her wolf origins, whether it was because the two were a fated pair or as a way to strengthen the power of their pack.

1 NOT: Leah Deserved Better

If there is one character that consistently got the short end of the stick in the Twilight saga, it was Leah. Almost everything about being a wolf had been terrible for her, from losing her dad, having her boyfriend imprint on her cousin, to not being able to have children.

So, perhaps involuntary imprinting should have been the last thing to happen to her. Leah told Jacob that she intended to quit phasing, go to community college, and take up meditation. Therefore, Leah deserved more than simply being stuck to someone for the rest of her life.

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