#I feel so often Gale just gets painted as this one dimensional villain that was just hiding his true evil all along

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

Hot take but… “Gale was a teen soldier who got brainwashed, by a manipulative dictator, into the idea that sacrificing a small number of troops was worth it to definitively stop the government that had spent years ruining the lives of him and his people” and “Gale’s gross disregard for human life directly led to the death of Prim and thousands of other civilians including children, and Katniss is justified in her anger and has no obligation to ever forgive him” are two statements that can and should coexist together.

[sweeneytodddemonbarber]

The way I see it, Gale could have waited patiently until the right moment to seize the opportunity to overthrow Mr. Snow. He was in the wrong for killing off innocent civilians when considering what the consequences were, and believe me, I know what that’s like waiting impatiently for the perfect moment to dive in. And what happened with Prim was ‘eart wrenching for Katniss. Gale could have been just as compassionate as the Mockingjay herself.

@iloveyoutoinfinity

Hot take but… “Gale was a teen soldier who got brainwashed, by a manipulative dictator, into the idea that sacrificing a small number of troops was worth it to definitively stop the government that had spent years ruining the lives of him and his people” and “Gale’s gross disregard for human life directly led to the death of Prim and thousands of other civilians including children, and Katniss is justified in her anger and has no obligation to ever forgive him” are two statements that can and should coexist together.

[noonemonitorsmyscreentime]

And the thing is, Gale had a very small part in Prim's death. Those who killed her were Coin and Plutarch. Coin didn't want a free Panem, Coin wanted Panem and Plutrach wanted power.

Sacrificing Prim made sense. The war was over, and we already had the warning from Boggs about Coin. Sacrificing Katniss was a move that would've brought no real gain to Coin, but bringing the Mokingjay fully on her side by killing her sister?

Prim's death really was a brilliant move. The people loved her. She was the reason why the rebellion started. Katniss volunteered to keep her safe, alive. Well, she and later, Peeta.

And Coin had already failed at killing Peeta. He represented hope and optimism to Katniss. And having her kill that? She would lose her power over the people, and it would further traumatize her- taking her out of the political game.

With Prim dead, Katniss would have one goal and one goal in mind: revenge. And by the time it would all be over, Coin would've become the new Snow. And how could Katniss turn against the woman who helped her avenge her sister?

Prim was a great 'martyr': young, clever, and beloved by both Panem and District 13. A much better instrument to use in bringing the two sides together

Gale might've given the idea, but those who took it to barbaric levels were those who took advantage of a traumatised young man who had been a defacto father to his siblings from the time he was 14 and had to keep alive his family by risking his own life and grew up knowing that he would have to spend the rest of his life working in the same place and under the same conditions as those who killed his father. And they are the same people who get none of the blame.

I'm not saying that Katniss should or can forgive Gale, no matter how big his part had been in Prim's death because he still played a part. But Gale suggested a way to kill more enemies of war, and it sure as hell wasn't him who had the idea to drop bombs on the kids. He saw his whole district being bombed into ashes by the Capitol, and he wanted to give the same thing back.

By killing Prim, Coin also removed Gale as one of the few people Katniss could relay on. Peeta was in no way able to support her. Her mother would be mourning Prim. Really, the only person left in her corner would've been Haymitch- a known and lifeling drunk who had himself just gone through a war. Killing Prim took away Katinss's soul and almost everyone in her life away.

Snow and Coind were to sides of the same, well coin: stopping at nothing to keep and maintain power. And using the lives of children for this purpose: Katniss, Prim, Peeta, and yes, Gale.

And yet, Gale is the one that gets most of the blame for Prim's death.

Hot take but… “Gale was a teen soldier who got brainwashed, by a manipulative dictator, into the idea that sacrificing a small number of troops was worth it to definitively stop the government that had spent years ruining the lives of him and his people” and “Gale’s gross disregard for human life directly led to the death of Prim and thousands of other civilians including children, and Katniss is justified in her anger and has no obligation to ever forgive him” are two statements that can and should coexist together.

[themockingjaykatniss]

Gale wasn’t the only one responsible for my sister Prim’s death. It was President Coin. Snow was telling the truth all along before he died.

@sweeneytodddemonbarber

Hot take but… “Gale was a teen soldier who got brainwashed, by a manipulative dictator, into the idea that sacrificing a small number of troops was worth it to definitively stop the government that had spent years ruining the lives of him and his people” and “Gale’s gross disregard for human life directly led to the death of Prim and thousands of other civilians including children, and Katniss is justified in her anger and has no obligation to ever forgive him” are two statements that can and should coexist together.