The ending does pack a wallop but I think that's the point. War is about loss. It's about good people being killed. It's about people being changed for ever. Re. Gale - it wasn't about Katniss forgiving him. It was about forgetting. Katniss, with her burn scars, was also a reminder to him. He had let her go before she could make a response. That's evidenced by him not visiting her in hospital. The conversation that Katniss overheard between Gale and Peeta indicated that Gale already knew where Katniss' choice lay. He told Peeta that she had never kissed him like she had Peeta and that Peeta had won her over. Prim's death didn't end the romance - that was already over. It's debatable whether if it had ever begun from Katniss' POV. In the final chapter Katniss ruminates whether she would have fallen in love with Gale if she hadn't been reaped. She doesn't say that she loved him and circumstances had got in the way. This indicates that Katniss had never begun to love Gale romantially, but she acknowledged that she might have done if things hadn't happened the way they did. I agree she didn't want to hurt him because she knew of his feelings for her. It was an impediment in her relationship with Peeta but not the main one. Katniss was determined not to marry and have children that could end up in a Hunger Games. Other factors were that she didn't know Peeta very well, she thought he had been acting too and he was part of the Capitol plans for her. Katniss and Gale had different values. His attitude to war and what is permissible played a major part in the gulf that began to exist between them. And where does Gale end up? In District 2 and on TV - a public life in the media that Katniss hated. Another reason why they weren't suited. Prim's death was merely the final severance in a relationship that had turned sour. It actually gave Gale the reason to walk away. She simply didn't have the strength or inclination to fight it. Katniss is in District 12 'until further notice' because she assassinated a head of state. Peeta follows her there because he loves her. But where else would they want to live? Where else do they belong? District 12 was their home. Their houses still existed. Peeta and Katniss are homebodies. Katniss likes to hunt. Peeta likes to bake and paint. Remember them bonding over Katniss' plant book when Katniss recovers from an ankle injury in CF. They're not isolated for long anyway. Some people move back to District 12.
All wars in death are unnecessary but especially so if they are children. The Hunger Games series is essentially about war and Prim's death showed the tragic waste that results from it. From a plot POV, it also added to the effect of the 'weakened' Mockingjay that allows Coin to relax her guard as Katniss as a threat. So much so, she's present when Katniss is armed with a bow and arrow.
Re. Gale - it wasn't about Katniss forgiving him. It was about forgetting. Katniss, with her burn scars, was also a reminder to him. He had let her go before she could make a response. That's evidenced by him not visiting her in hospital.
The conversation that Katniss overheard between Gale and Peeta indicated that Gale already knew where Katniss' choice lay. He told Peeta that she had never kissed him like she had Peeta and that Peeta had won her over. Prim's death didn't end the romance - that was already over. It's debatable whether if it had ever begun from Katniss' POV. In the final chapter Katniss ruminates whether she would have fallen in love with Gale if she hadn't been reaped. She doesn't say that she loved him and circumstances had got in the way. This indicates that Katniss had never begun to love Gale romantially, but she acknowledged that she might have done if things hadn't happened the way they did.
I agree she didn't want to hurt him because she knew of his feelings for her. It was an impediment in her relationship with Peeta but not the main one. Katniss was determined not to marry and have children that could end up in a Hunger Games. Other factors were that she didn't know Peeta very well, she thought he had been acting too and he was part of the Capitol plans for her.
Katniss and Gale had different values. His attitude to war and what is permissible played a major part in the gulf that began to exist between them. And where does Gale end up? In District 2 and on TV - a public life in the media that Katniss hated. Another reason why they weren't suited.
Prim's death was merely the final severance in a relationship that had turned sour. It actually gave Gale the reason to walk away. She simply didn't have the strength or inclination to fight it.
Katniss is in District 12 'until further notice' because she assassinated a head of state. Peeta follows her there because he loves her. But where else would they want to live? Where else do they belong? District 12 was their home. Their houses still existed. Peeta and Katniss are homebodies. Katniss likes to hunt. Peeta likes to bake and paint. Remember them bonding over Katniss' plant book when Katniss recovers from an ankle injury in CF. They're not isolated for long anyway. Some people move back to District 12.
All wars in death are unnecessary but especially so if they are children. The Hunger Games series is essentially about war and Prim's death showed the tragic waste that results from it. From a plot POV, it also added to the effect of the 'weakened' Mockingjay that allows Coin to relax her guard as Katniss as a threat. So much so, she's present when Katniss is armed with a bow and arrow.