Gale Hawthorne might not be the main hero of better match for Katniss: Peeta or Gale. And, even outside of the romance, fans have some strong feelings about Gale and his actions in the books and movies.
While at times Gale could be very heroic and irable, he also did some things that were morally grey and that have been criticized by fans. But, just like most of the main protagonists of the series, he has both positive and negative characteristics.
Worst: He had a bit of a hero complex
Gale is very much the image of a more stereotypical masculine hero in an adventure of a dystopian story. He’s handsome and strong, and he is a bit more stoic and harsh in personality than someone like Peeta.
While Gale is never made a Tribute, he does have understandably strong feelings about the Games. He wants to make a difference and change things, which is good, but he can come off as a bit arrogant at times.
Best: His ability to take care of and defend himself
In the world of Panem, unless you’re in the Capitol, life is harsh and terrifying. Being able to take care of yourself, especially in a place like District 12, is a very valuable asset.
Just like Katniss, Gale was able to hunt to find food for himself and could survive in the wilderness. He was very self-sufficient in survival skills and was able to defend himself. These were all skills that would serve him well as the narrative progressed.
Worst: Being too jealous
Overall, Katniss wasn’t nearly as interested in the romantic potential with either Gale or Peeta as they were with her at times. While she cared about both men a lot, she was a bit more concerned with the pressing conditions of being in the Games and dealing with the oppression of the Capitol.
Gale was often overly jealous of her relationship with Peeta, and while it made sense to an extent, it wasn’t entirely fair. Katniss was trying to keep herself and her loved ones alive above all else.
Best: He risked his life to save Peeta
While Gale might not have handled his relationship with Katniss very well all of the time, it’s also true that Katniss wasn’t always very sure how to handle these situations either. While Gale’s motivations for volunteering to be the one to save Peeta from the Capitol might be complicated, he did offer to do so.
Gale was often willing to put himself in difficult situations, and while he might have been a bit bitter about Katniss’ love of Peeta, he did help to save Peeta’s life.
Worst: There were times he was manipulative
One of the biggest reasons why Team Peeta fans liked him for Katniss over Gale was that they felt Gale could be too emotionally manipulative. He tried to make Katniss feel bad for caring about Peeta, and he even used his hurt feelings to get Katniss to kiss him.
This came off as immature and made him seem like he was just emotionally manipulating Katniss because he wanted to be with her.
Best: He wanted to fight for people’s freedoms
While Gale starts out in the story wanting to run away with Katniss and live off the grid, he soon realizes that he has a responsibility to try and fight back against the Capitol once Katniss starts a rebellion.
He knows that President Snow is a tyrant, and he’s seen firsthand the way everyone else is controlled and kept down. So, the fact that he wants to change this is irable.
Worst: Being overly focused on if Katniss loved him
Critics and fans of the series alike have pointed out that only talking about the love triangle is rather reductive as the story features many important themes of war, governments, and freedom. And, people have also pointed out that both of the two male love interests put too much pressure on Katniss to focus her energy on them.
Katniss had a lot of stress and trauma she was dealing with, and she was trying to survive the Games, twice, and then a literal war. The fact that Gale was so insistent on focusing on romance wasn’t always a good thing.
Best: He was very self-sufficient
One of Gale’s biggest strengths was his aforementioned ability to look out for himself. He and Katniss made quite a formidable pair when they would hunt and bring back food for their families and to make money.
While Gale didn’t have to use these skills in the Games as Katniss did, he was able to use these abilities when he became part of the Rebellion and was planning how to take the Capitol down.
Worst: He targeted innocent people
The main reason why Katniss stopped considering Gale as a potential love interest is the same reason why many fans don’t like him much. Gale was responsible for creating weapons that would trigger a second wave of bombs to target first responders and combat healers.
This invention potentially ended up killing Prim, but even if he wasn’t directly responsible, Katniss found this tactic so abhorrent that she lost her affection for him.
Best: He looked out for his and Katniss’ family
For much of the story, Gale was the one who was looking out for Katniss’ mom and sister. Katniss was forced to be in the Hunger Games twice, and she trusted Gale to protect her family while she couldn’t.
He got Prim and Mrs. Everdeen out of District 12 before it was destroyed. So, it’s rather upsetting and a big twist that all of this work was for naught when Pim ended up dying, potentially because of Gale.
