New Moon saw Bella go through a hard time after Edward broke up with her and the whole Cullen family left Forks, only to return some time later – but where did Edward go after leaving Forks and before trying to “kill” himself in Volterra? In 2005, Stephenie Meyer shared her unique vision of vampires and werewolves in Twilight, the first book in a series of four novels that followed the romance between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan. This wasn’t an easy relationship, and they came across different obstacles that went from a clan of vampires known as the Volturi to a pack of werewolves, among those Bella’s best friend, Jacob Black.
Although the Twilight series was (and still is) criticized by many, it was a big hit with readers and quickly built a loyal fanbase, which allowed it to make the jump to the big screen not long after. The Twilight Saga was released between 2008 and 2012, with the final novel, Breaking Dawn, being split into two movies. The saga expanded Twilight’s fanbase but it also raised a lot of questions that go from the events of the stories, the characters, and their motivations, to how unhealthy and problematic Bella and Edward’s relationship was. Among all those doubts, there’s one less complicated than the red flags in the relationship of the main couple, and it’s all about where Edward went in New Moon, before the whole drama in Volterra.
Twilight introduced the audience to Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Robert Pattinson), Jacob (Taylor Lautner), and more, and followed the early stages of their romance. When everything seemed to go well in their relationship, New Moon happened and Bella’s world came crashing down: after an incident at her 18th birthday celebration, where Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) tried to attack her after she got a paper cut, Edward broke up with Bella as he felt he (and his family) were putting her in danger, and they left town. Bella sank into a depression and isolated herself for months, but she began to spend a lot of time with Jacob, who eventually fell in love with her. One day, Edward called Bella’s house but Jacob made him believe Bella was dead, and so Edward traveled to Volterra, Italy, to reveal himself as a vampire and thus earn his death.
However, it wasn’t explained in the novel where Edward was during all that time – that is, after leaving Forks and before he traveled to Italy, but luckily, the movie offers an answer, but you have to pay attention to the background. In the scene where Edward calls and Jacob tells him Charlie, Bella’s dad, can’t pick up the phone as he’s preparing a funeral (without ever saying Bella’s name), the statue of the Christ the Redeemer can be seen outside Edward’s window, showing that, at least at that point in the story, Edward had been “hiding” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Of course, it’s highly likely that the Cullens moved around a lot during that time, but it’s unknown which other places they could have visited/lived in.
After that, Edward traveled to Volterra, where the Volturi live, so he could reveal his vampire nature to the world, which goes against the Volturi’s rules and would have earned him his death, as they are not allowed to let humans know about their existence. In a way, this part of New Moon and Edward’s story is left to the imagination of readers and viewers, who can have some fun imagining where he and his family could have gone before landing in Brazil for a while.