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So You Think Gale Was Cute?

Having recently finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy, I enjoyed characters such as Haymitch, Peeta, and Rue, and was perturbed by other characters such as Coin, Snow, and Gale. But wait. Surely, you're thinking, there's a mistake. Haymitch and Gale should be swapped. No, this is no typo.

I can't account for the fact that I like Haymitch, but I have reasons for disliking Gale. I present you with…
So You Think Gale Was Cute
*DISCLAIMER: THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION*
SPOILERS AHEAD
(For Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter)
“I'm in pain, Katniss,” he says, “that's the only way I get  your attention.”
I have many things wrong with this. This is desperate. This is self-centered. This has the tone of a pathetic, begging fool. Saying you're in pain is an extremely obvious way of trying to get attention, so he's not even subtle. In fact, he points that out in his next sentence. So he has no subtlety, and thinks mainly of getting her attention for himself, rather than her family, who needs her.


“...I have been following the same rule book President Snow used…”
Background to this quote is that Gale is developing weapons and strategy against the Capitol, and he is saying he is willing to play the same game, do the same awful things Snow did. This is inexcusable. For instance, if Harry Potter split his soul to survive and murdered the young the old and the in between to kill Voldemort no one would like him.


"Not if we blow it up," says Gale brusquely. His intent, his full intent, becomes clear. Gale has no interest in preserving the lives of those in the Nut. No interest in caging the prey for later use.
This is one of his death traps.
This is a similar concept to my previous point. He has appeared to, many different times, have no regard for human life. At least not if he doesn't know them personally. He does not consider the lives of each person, and how they all have families and friends. For example, if Aragorn blew up Minas Tirith to crunch the orc army everyone would hate him. Gale did this. It seems, dare I say it...bloodthirsty.


Then suddenly, as I was suggesting I take over the daily snare run, he took my face in his hands and kissed me.
Ok, I have serious problems with this. Why is he randomly launching kisses? Anyway, this is not an acceptable thing. When Chaff randomly kisses Katniss, it is portrayed as extremely awkward and shocking. Admittedly, Chaff is not a close friend. But that doesn't mean it's alright for him to kiss her without permission! Peeta, who was in love her for his WHOLE life, did not spontaneously kiss her.


Now, I apologize if I dumped a bunch of criticism on your favorite character. You see, he has good traits, and did many good deeds, but I am merely stating my opinion and showing how being cute (debatable) does not make one perfect. So if Gale is, “kissing another pair of lips”,  then I say good riddance!


May the odds be ever in your favor,

Brynbellion

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