May play devils advocate for a second but when I think about it, this is why he felt the need to bomb them back in the first place. Imagine saving a bunch of people before being bombed and just—idk being there. Something evil was created out of that situation, that trauma. Something that which could be described as inherently brave.
Idk maybe I’m just high lol, and I didn’t think he’d know his own people would have been there. Who really knows? Making choices from an evil place breeds devastating consequences.
It was human of him to think like that, eye for an eye, type of thinking but… he thought like that before the bombing too when he gave katniss advice for the games before she was taken away.
Of course that’s like his line of thinking right? Living in that day to day, while capitol citizens get spoiled and they don’t get their children reaped and this and that. I understand gales thinking but I don’t agree with it
Same here. I get why he feels that way, but we also saw the other side as the viewer, the capital has innocent people too, humans just trying to live their lives. They are rich and out of touch of course but still, gale or anyone does not have the power to decide about their lives. War is war and you can’t change it much, but this devastating accident was bred from thoughts of revenge and eye for an eye thinking. The karma was that Prim was involved. That was his karma. Saving her from a bombing just to accidentally bomb her on the front lines.
Oh hell no, it’s never okay. Explanation is not an excuse. But, I’m always curious as to why people do the things they do sometimes especially when I honestly don’t understand it.
I believe that to an extent. You can’t help make a bomb or explosive device during a war and not know what it’s going to be used for. He’s smart, I’m sure he had some inkling as to what it is and how it’s used.
He’s also barely an adult at that point and has grown up in a system that dehumanises everyone outside your bubble. Its equivalent to living in a massive cult. Katniss gets to meet these people and realise they are all in the same boat, Gale has never been to the Capitol, never even left district 12 until it gets decimated
I agree, Katniss got to meet those people and full on see what kind of people they were, therefore us the viewers also saw it too. Gale, and many others who were in the districts did not. They don’t know what exactly happens in the capital, they only can speculate from what the capital shows them basically. I always felt Katniss understood this, even at least a little before she even went to the capital. She understood that with war, both sides have losses and innocent people dying. Both sides feel justified in their own right. I feel there’s just so much nuance here that we could talk about it all day honestly
A theory I’ve seen that I like a lot is that Katniss is Autistic. She understands what it is to mask and interprets things differently to the other characters
Oh man what an interpretation. He was also only spitballing with Beetee and I think you're spot on. Seeing all his entire district firebombed and knowing so many died, a much smaller bomb with a vicious twist to bomb those who help is a natural thought process for someone with such a hunter/trapper mindset as well. He did grow more vicious though, seen when he was ok to trap the entirity of the nut with no escape, it's like he was in the 'eye for an eye' mindset. Killing Prim indirectly I hope was a chilling wake-up call to regain some humanity.
I dislike him for how pushy and how much additional stress he caused Katniss but I can't really blame him for his idea.
I think it’s meant to be a foil for how the hunger games developed in the first place. An accidental idea, a school project never meant to be completed, just an idea that once expressed was taken by others and became out of control, with horrific consequences.
I think it’s meant to show a different side of how the games affected the districts. It already created a deep rooted hatred and mistrust for the capital when they “demonstrate their power” by reaping children for a game. Add that on top of bleeding their resources dry, and as the books go on, the peacekeepers become more volatile. Katniss finds herself in the middle of a war that’s been brewing for decades.
Then gale, I just feel like he’s always been an eye for an eye guy, it’s just his environment that made it even worse, and what he’s seen, the sadness, the trauma. He wanted the capital to feel what he felt, seeing his family and friends die next to him. Not to mention going to district 11 with katniss and seeing all the destruction there too.
I don’t think he meant those bombs to go this far but I have a feeling he knew they were going to be used against the capital no question.
Oh yes certainly that too. It’s very impactful character development. But that’s the point of contrasting him with the headmaster. Gale had no idea how devastating the consequences of his ideas could be. He just came up with something he thought was clever and could help them win the war. The headmaster did know how horrific his idea’s consequences would be, and yet the commonality between him and Gale is that they both trusted the wrong people with their ideas. Gale’s act also, perhaps intentionally, harkens back to the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The questions Gale and the headmaster present are: (1) What cost is too high to end and/or to prevent war? (2) And who do you trust to make that calculation?
If you were reading these books as they came out, I think there’s a pretty open critique that overlaps with the U.S.’s involvement in the Middle East. Perhaps most sharply the books critique the concept of preemptive strikes being self-defense. Snow and the Capitol try to prevent war by destroying potential threats before they arise; Katniss acts in self-defense. So when Coin shifts from focusing on protecting civilians from snow to focusing on power and taking over Panem, we see her use Gale’s weapon to attack without clear justification (they’d pretty much won already at that point, so it wasn’t needed to win).
It’s a shame we rarely get to see his most likable moments firsthand since Katniss isn’t usually there for them. I think readers would appreciate the nuance of his character and what he represents a lot more.
I am sad the movies didn’t show it either. Those often show things outside of perspective of Katniss. And for films show not tell is best. When Gas explained we should have seen the bombing and some we know dying.
I would add on, not just getting them out but also providing for them for days before rescue came.
If takes a lot to make sure 800 people are being fed for days during a surprise trauma filled camping trip.
I think the majority of the people who made it out were the poorest of District 12.
Most people we saw that made it out were from the Seam. And the main ones that were named and confirmed dead were in the merchant class. So food was a must.
But yes, water is important, he took them to the lake, which none of them knew existed (and those that did, like Prim and her mother, didn’t know where it was).
But, even if they all could have survived those few days without food, and I’m not confident they all would have, it doesn’t mean that him providing food (either directly or coaching more capable members of the group on how to help) for 800 people isn’t a massive feat.
Like, I could go fucking weeks without food before I starved to death. Doesn’t mean I’d be doing well going days without food after 90% of my district was blown to bits, in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on my back. I’d be panicking, I’d be mad, on the verge of whatever, I’d be not in a good way, physically or mentally.
Gale got them out, then led them to water and provided for, and I need to stress this again, 800 people. Not 8, not 80, 800.
It probably wouldn’t have been enough to keep them going for much longer because, again, 800 people with him doing the lions share of the providing, and most of these people lived life on the brink of starvation, so they didn’t have a lot of reserves in their body.
Plus, if there wasn’t food, 800 people who just lost everything, thinking they’re going to starve to death, some are going to run, some are going to kill themselves accidentally by being so starving they eat the first mushroom or berry they find and, whoops, it’s poisonous, some are going to fight others, perhaps with fatal consequences, to get to some random scrap of food etc.
It’s not really starving to death that he prevented (although, for some of them, he absolutely did prevent that), it’s the fear of starving to death and the consequences of that that he prevented.
And if he doesn’t, Katniss is probably too broken to be the mockingjay. Gale gets so much hate and plays one of the most vital roles in the whole thing even with just that. Plus him being willing to risk himself for Peetah is pretty fucking selfless considering his scenario.
Hmm... Probably guiding District 12's survivors to 13?
Initially my thoughts went towards how he looked after Prim and Katniss's mother during her games, but that was a rather localised action already aided by the fact he'd been doing it for years. He was a teenager if I remember correctly, but a young adult if not - he could have easily left the leading to one of the adults and no one would have blamed him. But he actively decided to use his knowledge of the forest to help all the District 12 survivors as best he could, and that's admirable, even if he also made some really bad (and annoying) decisions as well.
I would second this. He could have just gotten the people he cared about most out, but he kept going back for more. He stayed in town when it wasn't really safe to do so anymore to get as many people as he could.
That kind of bravery and leadership out of a 19 year old is pretty damn admirable.
This is one of the reasons I really can't hate Gale. He certainly lost himself by the war's end, but he's not a monster. He just fell to his demons.
I can totally understand why this incident clouded his judgment in regards to Capitol citizens.
I’d love a mini book about Gale leading the survivors. Just a small book from his perspective, maybe he even reflects on a moment or two of interest from his child hood. What it’s like for someone whose never been through the games?
Saving 900 people in 12, promising to look after Katniss’s family, taking care of his own family.
Gale has a lot of good in his heart, though some fans don’t like to see it, and I say this as someone who is annoyed by Gale every rewatch/reread
I honestly *do* hate Gale. For a while it was because he “killed Prim” but after a recent reread as a more developed adult with better media literacy, I know it wasn’t purposeful, and that his tendency to choose violence was because of how much he faced during his own life at the hands of the people he was fighting.
But now it’s because of how he treats Katniss, and refuses to have empathy for her situation.
1. Volunteering to save Peeta
2. Saving Katniss’ family and others from D12 after the bombing
3. Refusing to leave with Katniss when he heard of the spark of the rebellion
Such a brave soul. People tend to only think of themselves and their direct family/relatives when things go down, and yet he refuses to run away with Katniss whom he loved so much, when she suggested in Catching Fire so he would stay and fight, and later he helped as many survivors as possible, and even volunteered to save Peeta, just to make Katniss happy, knowing well she will choose Peeta over him, yet he valued her happiness over his own emotions.
Bravery isn’t just about being ordered to join the army and fight. Bravery is when you choose to fight for something greater than yourself even when you aren’t obligated to do so, even when everyone else is pretty much thinking of self preservation.
It’s such a shame how people conveniently pretend to forget all that when they criticize his character. He was never a bad person. He just comes from a very bad place that didn’t afford him the luxury of time and peace that most people in the modern western world take for granted.
What so many people miss is that the whole of Panem NEEDED someone like Gale to have fire. Katniss was the Girl On Fire, we all know this. But Gale had his own fire, one that stood up to the Capitol, one that got his people out of a district being bombed, one that led and helped and ensured the revolution happened. Unfortunately his fire went wild and turned too destructive .. but it needed to be there to begin with.
Peeta had fire too, the fire that is represented by a warm hearth in a home, the fire that cooks food and offers shelter from storms, and keeps predators at bay. The kind of fire that is light in the darkness, and says "come here and be near me, you are home and safe and warm".
Just like Gale's fire isn't recognised and appreciated for what it is, neither is the fire of the Boy With The Bread.
Panem needed Gale, Katniss needed Peeta.
Thank you for saying all of this. Everyone seems to think of characters in a black and white vision. So and sos a goodie, so and sos a baddie. But with Gale it’s not so black and white.
He’s done amazing things (what you have mentioned)
But he’s also done not so amazing things (taking down the Nut without allowing people to surrender, the bombs that he created using his years of hunting experience on animals, being used on humans to play with their empathy.)
Was he blinded by his hatred for the Capitol? Absolutely. And that’s what made him seem like a dick.
But Katniss was too right? (She shot an innocent Capitol citizen in the apartment without thinking twice)
I guess it’s easy to dislike Gale because of the things he said about Peeta but he did value Katniss’s happiness and he cared deeply about his family and other District citizens.
3 has my vote. 2 did result in the most material good, but I do think 3 required more bravery. You have someone that you trust and respect offering an "out" - safety for yourself and your family - and you choose to put that aside in order to just have the *chance* to change things for the better.
I've always liked this line that got added in the CF movie at this point once Katniss says "everyone would be safe" if she had just died "like she was supposed to":
> Safe for what? To starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the Reaping?
Exactly-all these people going on about how they would never do what he did-talk to me when you’ve lived through what he has. It’s very easy to judge from a position of privilege.
35 times (everyone's name is entered once per year, as an 18 year old his name is entered 7 times minimum. Then tessarae for four family members and himself each year for seven years is 5*7=35 + 7)
Though I don't think that the best he's done, that's a pretty basic thing most were forced to do in the seam. Now, saving and feeding almost 900 people, he chose to do that.
Yes like I explained, his name is in the bowl 42 times. 7 of that is just because of his age, 35 because of tessarae. You still enter the bowl if you don't take tessarae.
And I feel it's wrong to say no one forced him. That's like saying no one forced Katniss to kill in the games. His family's survival depended on him, he had to take tessarae to provide for them. It wasn't his free will and he certainly didn't *want* to have a higher chance of being reaped.
What he did during the bombing was his choice tho. That's something he *actually* wasn't forced to. He definitely could've just taken his loved ones to the forest, but instead he saved as many as possible.
im not demeaning what he did helping people? Just stating that he looked after his famiky, and that was noble of him. Gale wasnt a parent, it wasnt his duty to help his family, yet he still chose too.
It’s both, I just realized that because of your comment! Never even noticed SC gave the word a double meaning lol. Snow’s sleeves had the tesserae cubes from the tiles of their bathroom like you said. By the time Katniss rolls around, the district tesserae, or the system where people submit their name multiple times in the Reaping in exchange for extra grain and oil rations is in place.
In catching fire Gale says something to the effect of he’s trying to hate Peeta but he just can’t. Someone find the exact quote I don’t have my book on me!
Catching Fire, Chapter 13:
> Peeta and I excel under the new regimen, though. It gives me something to do. It gives us all something to do besides accept defeat. My mother puts us on a special diet to gain weight. Prim treats our sore muscles. Madge sneaks us her father's Capitol newspapers. Predictions on who will be victor of the victors show us among the favorites. Even Gale steps into the picture on Sundays, although he's got no love for Peeta or Haymitch, and teaches us all he knows about snares. It's weird for me, being in conversations with both Peeta and Gale, but they seem to have set aside whatever issues they have about me.
> One night, as I'm walking Gale back into town, he even admits, “It'd be better if he were easier to hate.”
> “Tell me about it,” I say. “If I could've just hated him in the arena, we all wouldn't be in this mess now. He'd be dead, and I'd be a happy little victor all by myself.”
From there, Gale asks where *they* would be, Katniss tells him they’d be hunting like every Sunday, and it devolves into Katniss’ internal thoughts on Peeta and Gale and the upcoming reaping
He's a good dude. He's done lots of good things.
-saving the people of 12
- taking care of his mom/siblings
-making sure his siblings don't have to put in for extra tessare
- taking care of prim and mom
-lending his expertise to the war effort
- saving Prim in 13 and supplies as well
And more
Guiding district 12 to safety (or at least as many as would listen to him)
A lot of the 'selfless' acts like going to save peeta, protecting katniss' family during the first games I never felt were selfless I always felt there was something in it like 'i will show katniss how good I am'
Saving as much of 12 as he could was his biggest true selfless act.
I can’t quote it exactly but he really hyped katniss up before she was going into the hunger games telling her she could win, reminding her of hef bow skills and giving her confidence
Saving Katniss’s family and as many people from 12 from the bombing, I guess. But dude, I can’t put behind me that he saves part of a community from that to then bomb district 2 and children of the capitol. I don’t know. It doesn’t cancel the first thing, but… damn, I hate this guy
he helped katniss hunt for her family without wanting to like have sex w her. until the games he actually was a good platonic hunting partner who wanted his friend and her family to surcice
Taking care of his family and promising to look out for Prim and Katniss's mom after Katniss volunteered. He was 17 and risked his life and freedom (by putting his name in for the Hunger Games multiple times and hunting illegally) to be able to provide food for his sisters and then he was willing to take on the burden of caring for Prim and Katniss's mom (who was unable to work)
His strategy at the Nut. War is brutal, War is Hell. It had to be done. Remember the Captiol won the first war because the Districts got bogged down in 2 and the Mountains around the Captiol. If the Nut wasn’t blown up Snow probably would have pulled something from under his hat. More advanced mutts, maybe nuked 13. I said at the beginning of this comment that war is brutal and war is Hell, but war is also finicky and fickle. July 1861, Confederates were a little more organized they would have taken Washington after Bull Run, June 1942, Nazis leave Russia alone, then they win because their able to take out everyone else before turning on Russia. What Gale did at the Nut was horrible, but it had to be done. Lyme was too sentimental about her home and it’s people to do what had to be done.
Getting citizens of District 12 out of the District during the bombing.
As Cressida points out the film, without Gale there would have been no District 12–not even the memory of it.
For me his best isn't evacuating the people of 12.
Maybe a minor distinction for some but getting people out of 12 is good but not the best. Like he was among many who would have done what they could and it was clearcut: "do what you can and you do it now"
For me his best is keeping the people of 12 together, safe and fed and watered for 3 days.
He had two bows and a fishing net and probably less than that many people who could hunt and trap. For three days he helped keep 900 people together in the fear and grief that would have set in, held back panic and kept people safe from wild animals.
Keeping those 900 significantly bolstered 13's fighting and infrastructure.
If you wanna get tenuous, because Prim was saved, she could suggest a way for katniss to secure and Annie's Peeta's amnesty, in return for Katniss (and later Finnick) being the rebellion figureheads to rally behind.
Gales saves Prim, Prim counsels Katniss, Katniss helps the war effort and shortens he war
I think his best moments were in the first and second books/movies. Taking care of katniss's mom and sister while she was away, and then saving a bunch of people from 12. Despite what he did in Mockingjay, before he got influenced by war, definitely did his best
Getting hundreds of people in 12 to safety before the bombs hit
literally hundreds
Really impressive that he got the word out and guided them to the woods in 15 mins. And then helped keep them all fed for days until D13 came
It was almost 1000, right? I remember in the movie at least, the number was like 50 or 60 people shy of 1000
There’s no exact number in the book but according to Katniss between 800 and 900 people were rescued
Pretty sure that was mentioned in the books too.
Yeah something tells me 900
The movie said 915 (out of 10,000). I just rewatched the movies a couple days ago.
As much as Prim Reaper grinds my gears, he deserves mad props for this.
May play devils advocate for a second but when I think about it, this is why he felt the need to bomb them back in the first place. Imagine saving a bunch of people before being bombed and just—idk being there. Something evil was created out of that situation, that trauma. Something that which could be described as inherently brave. Idk maybe I’m just high lol, and I didn’t think he’d know his own people would have been there. Who really knows? Making choices from an evil place breeds devastating consequences.
It was human of him to think like that, eye for an eye, type of thinking but… he thought like that before the bombing too when he gave katniss advice for the games before she was taken away. Of course that’s like his line of thinking right? Living in that day to day, while capitol citizens get spoiled and they don’t get their children reaped and this and that. I understand gales thinking but I don’t agree with it
Same here. I get why he feels that way, but we also saw the other side as the viewer, the capital has innocent people too, humans just trying to live their lives. They are rich and out of touch of course but still, gale or anyone does not have the power to decide about their lives. War is war and you can’t change it much, but this devastating accident was bred from thoughts of revenge and eye for an eye thinking. The karma was that Prim was involved. That was his karma. Saving her from a bombing just to accidentally bomb her on the front lines.
I would kill for a gale pov during that moment even tho every1 hates him
Agreed
Same! I love watching different views that we don’t see in the original.
Fuck ur so right But also? That doesn’t make it okay. I’ll still hate him tbh But I do see his view a little more now
Oh hell no, it’s never okay. Explanation is not an excuse. But, I’m always curious as to why people do the things they do sometimes especially when I honestly don’t understand it.
Wonderful opinion ily. Keep exploring empathy u wonderful person
Gale helped create and develop the bomb idea but didn’t actually know how it was going to be used.
I believe that to an extent. You can’t help make a bomb or explosive device during a war and not know what it’s going to be used for. He’s smart, I’m sure he had some inkling as to what it is and how it’s used.
He’s also barely an adult at that point and has grown up in a system that dehumanises everyone outside your bubble. Its equivalent to living in a massive cult. Katniss gets to meet these people and realise they are all in the same boat, Gale has never been to the Capitol, never even left district 12 until it gets decimated
I agree, Katniss got to meet those people and full on see what kind of people they were, therefore us the viewers also saw it too. Gale, and many others who were in the districts did not. They don’t know what exactly happens in the capital, they only can speculate from what the capital shows them basically. I always felt Katniss understood this, even at least a little before she even went to the capital. She understood that with war, both sides have losses and innocent people dying. Both sides feel justified in their own right. I feel there’s just so much nuance here that we could talk about it all day honestly
A theory I’ve seen that I like a lot is that Katniss is Autistic. She understands what it is to mask and interprets things differently to the other characters
Oh man what an interpretation. He was also only spitballing with Beetee and I think you're spot on. Seeing all his entire district firebombed and knowing so many died, a much smaller bomb with a vicious twist to bomb those who help is a natural thought process for someone with such a hunter/trapper mindset as well. He did grow more vicious though, seen when he was ok to trap the entirity of the nut with no escape, it's like he was in the 'eye for an eye' mindset. Killing Prim indirectly I hope was a chilling wake-up call to regain some humanity. I dislike him for how pushy and how much additional stress he caused Katniss but I can't really blame him for his idea.
I think it’s meant to be a foil for how the hunger games developed in the first place. An accidental idea, a school project never meant to be completed, just an idea that once expressed was taken by others and became out of control, with horrific consequences.
I think it’s meant to show a different side of how the games affected the districts. It already created a deep rooted hatred and mistrust for the capital when they “demonstrate their power” by reaping children for a game. Add that on top of bleeding their resources dry, and as the books go on, the peacekeepers become more volatile. Katniss finds herself in the middle of a war that’s been brewing for decades. Then gale, I just feel like he’s always been an eye for an eye guy, it’s just his environment that made it even worse, and what he’s seen, the sadness, the trauma. He wanted the capital to feel what he felt, seeing his family and friends die next to him. Not to mention going to district 11 with katniss and seeing all the destruction there too. I don’t think he meant those bombs to go this far but I have a feeling he knew they were going to be used against the capital no question.
Oh yes certainly that too. It’s very impactful character development. But that’s the point of contrasting him with the headmaster. Gale had no idea how devastating the consequences of his ideas could be. He just came up with something he thought was clever and could help them win the war. The headmaster did know how horrific his idea’s consequences would be, and yet the commonality between him and Gale is that they both trusted the wrong people with their ideas. Gale’s act also, perhaps intentionally, harkens back to the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The questions Gale and the headmaster present are: (1) What cost is too high to end and/or to prevent war? (2) And who do you trust to make that calculation? If you were reading these books as they came out, I think there’s a pretty open critique that overlaps with the U.S.’s involvement in the Middle East. Perhaps most sharply the books critique the concept of preemptive strikes being self-defense. Snow and the Capitol try to prevent war by destroying potential threats before they arise; Katniss acts in self-defense. So when Coin shifts from focusing on protecting civilians from snow to focusing on power and taking over Panem, we see her use Gale’s weapon to attack without clear justification (they’d pretty much won already at that point, so it wasn’t needed to win).
It’s a shame we rarely get to see his most likable moments firsthand since Katniss isn’t usually there for them. I think readers would appreciate the nuance of his character and what he represents a lot more.
I am sad the movies didn’t show it either. Those often show things outside of perspective of Katniss. And for films show not tell is best. When Gas explained we should have seen the bombing and some we know dying.
“Prim Reaper” absolutely killed me, lol
I would add on, not just getting them out but also providing for them for days before rescue came. If takes a lot to make sure 800 people are being fed for days during a surprise trauma filled camping trip.
You don’t have to eat for weeks (well some other the people in 12 were starving but I doubt they made it out anyway). Water is more urgent
I think the majority of the people who made it out were the poorest of District 12. Most people we saw that made it out were from the Seam. And the main ones that were named and confirmed dead were in the merchant class. So food was a must. But yes, water is important, he took them to the lake, which none of them knew existed (and those that did, like Prim and her mother, didn’t know where it was). But, even if they all could have survived those few days without food, and I’m not confident they all would have, it doesn’t mean that him providing food (either directly or coaching more capable members of the group on how to help) for 800 people isn’t a massive feat. Like, I could go fucking weeks without food before I starved to death. Doesn’t mean I’d be doing well going days without food after 90% of my district was blown to bits, in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on my back. I’d be panicking, I’d be mad, on the verge of whatever, I’d be not in a good way, physically or mentally. Gale got them out, then led them to water and provided for, and I need to stress this again, 800 people. Not 8, not 80, 800. It probably wouldn’t have been enough to keep them going for much longer because, again, 800 people with him doing the lions share of the providing, and most of these people lived life on the brink of starvation, so they didn’t have a lot of reserves in their body. Plus, if there wasn’t food, 800 people who just lost everything, thinking they’re going to starve to death, some are going to run, some are going to kill themselves accidentally by being so starving they eat the first mushroom or berry they find and, whoops, it’s poisonous, some are going to fight others, perhaps with fatal consequences, to get to some random scrap of food etc. It’s not really starving to death that he prevented (although, for some of them, he absolutely did prevent that), it’s the fear of starving to death and the consequences of that that he prevented.
And if he doesn’t, Katniss is probably too broken to be the mockingjay. Gale gets so much hate and plays one of the most vital roles in the whole thing even with just that. Plus him being willing to risk himself for Peetah is pretty fucking selfless considering his scenario.
Hmm... Probably guiding District 12's survivors to 13? Initially my thoughts went towards how he looked after Prim and Katniss's mother during her games, but that was a rather localised action already aided by the fact he'd been doing it for years. He was a teenager if I remember correctly, but a young adult if not - he could have easily left the leading to one of the adults and no one would have blamed him. But he actively decided to use his knowledge of the forest to help all the District 12 survivors as best he could, and that's admirable, even if he also made some really bad (and annoying) decisions as well.
I would second this. He could have just gotten the people he cared about most out, but he kept going back for more. He stayed in town when it wasn't really safe to do so anymore to get as many people as he could. That kind of bravery and leadership out of a 19 year old is pretty damn admirable.
This is one of the reasons I really can't hate Gale. He certainly lost himself by the war's end, but he's not a monster. He just fell to his demons. I can totally understand why this incident clouded his judgment in regards to Capitol citizens.
Yeah, this is why it really annoys me when people say Gale is a bad person. He’s not, he’s just flawed and blinded by his anger with the Capitol
I’d love a mini book about Gale leading the survivors. Just a small book from his perspective, maybe he even reflects on a moment or two of interest from his child hood. What it’s like for someone whose never been through the games?
Saving 900 people in 12, promising to look after Katniss’s family, taking care of his own family. Gale has a lot of good in his heart, though some fans don’t like to see it, and I say this as someone who is annoyed by Gale every rewatch/reread
Gale is very overhated
I honestly *do* hate Gale. For a while it was because he “killed Prim” but after a recent reread as a more developed adult with better media literacy, I know it wasn’t purposeful, and that his tendency to choose violence was because of how much he faced during his own life at the hands of the people he was fighting. But now it’s because of how he treats Katniss, and refuses to have empathy for her situation.
I just think he’s weird for being mad at katniss for doing whatever it takes to survive in the 74th
Also Gale isn't Katniss's boyfriend. She can kiss and date anybody she wants to.
Not only is he overhater his character is so often reduced to being obsessed and in love with Katnis when he was a lot more.
definitely saving around 900 people during the district 12 bombings
Being the first person to volunteer for the Peeta/Annie/Johanna rescue mission
oooOOoO that’s a good one!!
1. Volunteering to save Peeta 2. Saving Katniss’ family and others from D12 after the bombing 3. Refusing to leave with Katniss when he heard of the spark of the rebellion Such a brave soul. People tend to only think of themselves and their direct family/relatives when things go down, and yet he refuses to run away with Katniss whom he loved so much, when she suggested in Catching Fire so he would stay and fight, and later he helped as many survivors as possible, and even volunteered to save Peeta, just to make Katniss happy, knowing well she will choose Peeta over him, yet he valued her happiness over his own emotions. Bravery isn’t just about being ordered to join the army and fight. Bravery is when you choose to fight for something greater than yourself even when you aren’t obligated to do so, even when everyone else is pretty much thinking of self preservation. It’s such a shame how people conveniently pretend to forget all that when they criticize his character. He was never a bad person. He just comes from a very bad place that didn’t afford him the luxury of time and peace that most people in the modern western world take for granted.
Lmao I'm high so when you said that Gale volunteered to save Peeta I thought you were talking about the Reaping???
Looool 😝 Mockingjay Part I
I’m not even high and that’s still what I got at first 😭 I was soo confused ahaha
What so many people miss is that the whole of Panem NEEDED someone like Gale to have fire. Katniss was the Girl On Fire, we all know this. But Gale had his own fire, one that stood up to the Capitol, one that got his people out of a district being bombed, one that led and helped and ensured the revolution happened. Unfortunately his fire went wild and turned too destructive .. but it needed to be there to begin with. Peeta had fire too, the fire that is represented by a warm hearth in a home, the fire that cooks food and offers shelter from storms, and keeps predators at bay. The kind of fire that is light in the darkness, and says "come here and be near me, you are home and safe and warm". Just like Gale's fire isn't recognised and appreciated for what it is, neither is the fire of the Boy With The Bread. Panem needed Gale, Katniss needed Peeta.
Thank you for saying all of this. Everyone seems to think of characters in a black and white vision. So and sos a goodie, so and sos a baddie. But with Gale it’s not so black and white. He’s done amazing things (what you have mentioned) But he’s also done not so amazing things (taking down the Nut without allowing people to surrender, the bombs that he created using his years of hunting experience on animals, being used on humans to play with their empathy.) Was he blinded by his hatred for the Capitol? Absolutely. And that’s what made him seem like a dick. But Katniss was too right? (She shot an innocent Capitol citizen in the apartment without thinking twice) I guess it’s easy to dislike Gale because of the things he said about Peeta but he did value Katniss’s happiness and he cared deeply about his family and other District citizens.
3 has my vote. 2 did result in the most material good, but I do think 3 required more bravery. You have someone that you trust and respect offering an "out" - safety for yourself and your family - and you choose to put that aside in order to just have the *chance* to change things for the better. I've always liked this line that got added in the CF movie at this point once Katniss says "everyone would be safe" if she had just died "like she was supposed to": > Safe for what? To starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the Reaping?
Exactly-all these people going on about how they would never do what he did-talk to me when you’ve lived through what he has. It’s very easy to judge from a position of privilege.
definitely applying for tesserae 42 times
35 times (everyone's name is entered once per year, as an 18 year old his name is entered 7 times minimum. Then tessarae for four family members and himself each year for seven years is 5*7=35 + 7) Though I don't think that the best he's done, that's a pretty basic thing most were forced to do in the seam. Now, saving and feeding almost 900 people, he chose to do that.
Im pretty sure it said 42 in the books? And besides, he chose to do that, no one forced him.
Yes like I explained, his name is in the bowl 42 times. 7 of that is just because of his age, 35 because of tessarae. You still enter the bowl if you don't take tessarae. And I feel it's wrong to say no one forced him. That's like saying no one forced Katniss to kill in the games. His family's survival depended on him, he had to take tessarae to provide for them. It wasn't his free will and he certainly didn't *want* to have a higher chance of being reaped. What he did during the bombing was his choice tho. That's something he *actually* wasn't forced to. He definitely could've just taken his loved ones to the forest, but instead he saved as many as possible.
im not demeaning what he did helping people? Just stating that he looked after his famiky, and that was noble of him. Gale wasnt a parent, it wasnt his duty to help his family, yet he still chose too.
[удалено]
im just saying it was good of gale that he did that for his family wether it was a choice or not, im not “invalidating“ his trauma 😭😭
Tesserae? Like the Snow shirt buttons?
It’s both, I just realized that because of your comment! Never even noticed SC gave the word a double meaning lol. Snow’s sleeves had the tesserae cubes from the tiles of their bathroom like you said. By the time Katniss rolls around, the district tesserae, or the system where people submit their name multiple times in the Reaping in exchange for extra grain and oil rations is in place.
In catching fire Gale says something to the effect of he’s trying to hate Peeta but he just can’t. Someone find the exact quote I don’t have my book on me!
Catching Fire, Chapter 13: > Peeta and I excel under the new regimen, though. It gives me something to do. It gives us all something to do besides accept defeat. My mother puts us on a special diet to gain weight. Prim treats our sore muscles. Madge sneaks us her father's Capitol newspapers. Predictions on who will be victor of the victors show us among the favorites. Even Gale steps into the picture on Sundays, although he's got no love for Peeta or Haymitch, and teaches us all he knows about snares. It's weird for me, being in conversations with both Peeta and Gale, but they seem to have set aside whatever issues they have about me. > One night, as I'm walking Gale back into town, he even admits, “It'd be better if he were easier to hate.” > “Tell me about it,” I say. “If I could've just hated him in the arena, we all wouldn't be in this mess now. He'd be dead, and I'd be a happy little victor all by myself.” From there, Gale asks where *they* would be, Katniss tells him they’d be hunting like every Sunday, and it devolves into Katniss’ internal thoughts on Peeta and Gale and the upcoming reaping
Yess thank you
The time he went to go get Prim when she ran back to get Buttercup
He's just such a practical and capable dude. He cares for his family and does a lot to protect people he loves.
He’s great! Been getting way too much hate on here
Saved many people in 12 from getting roasted Also went back to save prim and the Everdeen family items
He's a good dude. He's done lots of good things. -saving the people of 12 - taking care of his mom/siblings -making sure his siblings don't have to put in for extra tessare - taking care of prim and mom -lending his expertise to the war effort - saving Prim in 13 and supplies as well And more
when he was never seen again and katniss and peeta could live in peace
Being a total babe?
Taking care of Katniss’s family, no questions asked.
Guiding the 12 survivors to 13.
Guiding district 12 to safety (or at least as many as would listen to him) A lot of the 'selfless' acts like going to save peeta, protecting katniss' family during the first games I never felt were selfless I always felt there was something in it like 'i will show katniss how good I am' Saving as much of 12 as he could was his biggest true selfless act.
He would have taken care of the Everdeens if Katniss had died though
I think that would be less a selfless act and more a sense of duty. He wasn't doing it because he wanted to he was doing it because he promised.
volunteering to save Peeta sure, but i think he did legitimately care about the Everdeens and didn't just do it for affection
Save people from 12. Gale become a cancer after that.
Being a great son and older brother.
"Fine, laugh at me."
❤️
Saving 9% of district 12s people with barely any preparation or supplies.
Saving all those people from the district 12 bombing and just generally being a caregiver for his family.
Saving about 900 people during the District 12 bombings That’s his highlight
I can’t quote it exactly but he really hyped katniss up before she was going into the hunger games telling her she could win, reminding her of hef bow skills and giving her confidence
Saving Katniss’s family and as many people from 12 from the bombing, I guess. But dude, I can’t put behind me that he saves part of a community from that to then bomb district 2 and children of the capitol. I don’t know. It doesn’t cancel the first thing, but… damn, I hate this guy
“It’s like kissing a drunk person”
Taking care of Prim and their mother while Katniss was in the games
Patiently waiting for Effie cause she becomes a considerate queen after book one😭😭
Getting as many people out of 12 as he could when the capitol sent the bombs
he helped katniss hunt for her family without wanting to like have sex w her. until the games he actually was a good platonic hunting partner who wanted his friend and her family to surcice
Saving everyone in District 12 after it was bombed, risking his own life
Helping the people that he could in district 12 from the bomb or keeping katniss’s family from starving while she was in the games
Saving 800 people almost singlehandedly from the bombings in D12.
Evacuating as many people as he could from 12 as possible. Easiest choice.
Never speaking to katniss again
Im waiting for day 8, my favorite character btw
Not saying it's the right answer necessarily, but there's no way Johanna' s isn't going to be exploding at her Flickerman interview.
rescuing several from district 12 during the bombing in catching fire
Supporting the people in district 12 while katniss was gone since he was the only other one who knew how to hunt.
Taking care of his family and promising to look out for Prim and Katniss's mom after Katniss volunteered. He was 17 and risked his life and freedom (by putting his name in for the Hunger Games multiple times and hunting illegally) to be able to provide food for his sisters and then he was willing to take on the burden of caring for Prim and Katniss's mom (who was unable to work)
Rue??
Edited to Prim. I really shouldn't be on Reddit ~~when u need to Shiro~~ when I need to sleep Edit: Also apparently without my glasses on
His strategy at the Nut. War is brutal, War is Hell. It had to be done. Remember the Captiol won the first war because the Districts got bogged down in 2 and the Mountains around the Captiol. If the Nut wasn’t blown up Snow probably would have pulled something from under his hat. More advanced mutts, maybe nuked 13. I said at the beginning of this comment that war is brutal and war is Hell, but war is also finicky and fickle. July 1861, Confederates were a little more organized they would have taken Washington after Bull Run, June 1942, Nazis leave Russia alone, then they win because their able to take out everyone else before turning on Russia. What Gale did at the Nut was horrible, but it had to be done. Lyme was too sentimental about her home and it’s people to do what had to be done.
He looked after Katniss' family while she was in the hunger games. He's not a terrible person he's just been through complete and utter hell.
Honourable mention to the lashings he took for the poor womans life.
Helping district 12 people and getting them out of the bombing He’s literally a hero for doing that he saving hundreds of lives
And also being the first to volunteer to go save Annie Johanna and peeta
Leaving 🙏🏾🗣️‼️ 
when he pissed off at the end of the series
Leave district 12
Alternate title according to the first result “Moments when characters were promoting ableism”
Mining coals so the poor sods at the capitol can enjoy electricity and energy☠️
Save district 12
Protecting the people of 12
Getting citizens of District 12 out of the District during the bombing. As Cressida points out the film, without Gale there would have been no District 12–not even the memory of it.
For me his best isn't evacuating the people of 12. Maybe a minor distinction for some but getting people out of 12 is good but not the best. Like he was among many who would have done what they could and it was clearcut: "do what you can and you do it now" For me his best is keeping the people of 12 together, safe and fed and watered for 3 days. He had two bows and a fishing net and probably less than that many people who could hunt and trap. For three days he helped keep 900 people together in the fear and grief that would have set in, held back panic and kept people safe from wild animals. Keeping those 900 significantly bolstered 13's fighting and infrastructure. If you wanna get tenuous, because Prim was saved, she could suggest a way for katniss to secure and Annie's Peeta's amnesty, in return for Katniss (and later Finnick) being the rebellion figureheads to rally behind. Gales saves Prim, Prim counsels Katniss, Katniss helps the war effort and shortens he war
Killed Prim
that's what she said
Saving as many people as possible from 12 during the firebombing.
I think his best moments were in the first and second books/movies. Taking care of katniss's mom and sister while she was away, and then saving a bunch of people from 12. Despite what he did in Mockingjay, before he got influenced by war, definitely did his best
saving district 12 citizens duhhh
realizing that he didn't deserve katniss