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Peeta will always be no. 1 on the "book boyfriend" tierlist.

Getting the girl by being the genuinely good loving supportive guy should from now on be known as The Peeta Principle.

Every single person who's ever said that 'empathy is weakness' is someone who doesn't actually care about other people and wants to have their nastiest impulses validated. Empathy is the foundation of society.

Peeta is such a well written character. He’s not a nice guy, but he’s a kind man. He’s patient, safe, gentle, emotionally intelligent and knows how to handle business when the situation arises. Oftentimes we think of masculinity as just acting on impulse, however a man who can assess the situation, strategize and then act is top tier.

I love how Peeta's love was never about "getting" Katniss. Obviously he wanted to be with her, but her happiness and safety were what mattered most to him.

Difference with book Peeta giving Katniss the burnt bread- I think they were 11, Katniss was shooed away by Peeta's mom for looking through their trash cans, Peeta saw her and scorched two loaves on purpose, consequently he received a hefty smack across his face by what is assumed his mother using a wooden spoon. He did this knowing he would get punished just so that he could give her some bread. And he never mentions this to Katniss, it's all from her own memories. This moment creates a spark for Katniss which leads her to hunting and foraging for her family, ultimately becoming who she is.

Katniss is so used to everything in her life being transactional, and with strings attached, that when Peeta is genuinely kind towards her, she's genuinely surprised. No matter how much she tests him, Peeta keeps being his authentic self, which eventually causes Katniss to let her guard down.

Like Katniss said, Peeta “is the dandelion in spring… the promise that life can be good again, no matter how bad our losses.” He’s literally perfect for her 😭

"being mad because youre being sacrificed on the altar of hypercapitalism IS FINEEE"
so true thank you alan for your wisdom

We forget that in the first movie Katniss and Peeta are 16.  They are teens.  Gale is 18--and growing into manhood quickly.  Since Katniss was 11 she has been in survival mode trying to keep her family alive.  She has only barely noticed that Gale is a boy, and has not developed any romantic feelings for him.  Might she if she survived the reapings and never went to the games?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But even before she becomes a tribute, Gale is burning with rage at the system, and she understands his feelings but really doesn't see the point.  She just wants to survive.  By the second movie she is only 17, as is Peeta, and Gale is 19 and a war hero--having rescued people from 12.   Gale cannot understand what Katniss is going through.  He can empathize and support her, but he doesn't understand the depth of her trauma.  He feels (perhaps he's right) that he would immediately jump at the chance to be the Mockingjay and would be out there leading the fight.  That is simply not helpful at all for Katniss.  They are fundamentally incompatible.  It's not that Gale doesn't really love her, or that his love is transactional--it's just that he is incapable, ultimately, of understanding HER.  Peeta can, and in the end, she saves him, he saves her, and they save each other.  It was never a love triangle.  It was Katniss too young and traumatized to deal with romance, and two boys--one who couldn't understand that, and one who could.  To me, once we really met Peeta, there was never any question at all about who she should be with--when she was ready, some day.

I love Katniss’ take on Peeta vs Gale in the book too. She talks about how she realizes that she needs Peeta’s softness, his kindness, and his light- how even his love of the color orange shows his soft side and she needed that over Gale’s harsh, war mindset, revenge mindset.

4:19 new favorite Alan quote "being mad because you're being sacrificed on the altar of hyper-capitalism is FINE"

To me, the ultimate blueprint for positive masculinity is a man that uses his strength to uplift, not to oppress.

28:14 in the books, katniss repeatedly points out in narration that she doesn’t want kids. from the first book forward, she acknowledges that while she could maybe love gale romantically at some point, maybe even marry him, she could never feel safe having kids knowing that they could be reaped. so while i typically hate the “flash forward and the main characters are married with children” ending- for so many reasons, with the hunger games, it’s a perfect fit.

Peeta giving Katniss a pearl in the middle of the games means everything to me.

Even if a "safe" man is considered vanilla, think of how much pairs so well with vanilla, and how much vanilla adds to other flavors.

When I was a young teenager, Peeta was such a refreshing representation of other YA Male protagonists during this era. He's not traditionally masculine, or tough and brooding, but he's extremely emotionally intelligent and caring, providing support to Katniss just when she needs it the most. Peeta Mellark is a walking green flag.

Even Gale admits, “It’d be better if he were easier to hate.” Grumbling about how nice Peeta is 😂

I've always liked how in the books the whole "love triangle" idea was Peeta and Gale loving Katniss while she's just like "Guys I have hella ptsd and we're fighting for our lives here, can we figure this out later?"