I was only ever a friend with Gale, but I kept him with me at every turn. Watching him go from a lost puppy crying over the power he has lost and is ready to die at his goddess command to a power hungry second Karsus and then to his last scene with me where he says "If this journey has taught me anything, it's that power means very little compared to such great company." had me in tears for my bro.
The character development he gets while in a romance is top notch writing (and the VA is fantastic) and really emotionally powerful. I get now why he's almost always ranked in the top 3 in all the romance review articles I've seen. His poetic style of speech and the esoteric and dramatic subject matter could have so easily been super corny in the wrong hands.
A few of his lines are shiver worthy. Like his “come here” line in the sex scene. Honestly this scene it self has SO many good lines: “Then have me-but have the best possible version of me,” and “You’d really prefer me as I am?” Also “But don’t be alarmed-I’m here with you,” and “…with you by my side.” All of it is so well done.
Tim Downie's performance completely sold Gale as a character! He had a lot of intense romance scenes and lines that could've come off as cringy or cheesy, yet he performed everything with innate sincerity, charisma, and intimacy. He (and the writers) really gave Gale layers of complexity and vulnerability that I genuinely did not anticipate, which made his scenes all the more heartwarming/heartbreaking. The entire BG3 team did an unbelievably incredible job!
I was going to go with Karlach or Shadowheart, but then I got to know Gale more, and his eagerness and passion and magical aesthetics definitely pulled me in.
He is although I actually really like the Halsin romance (the bear scene is SO much better when you ask him not to be a bear). It's the Wyll romance where they really dropped the ball, I like him a lot as a character and a party member but his romance is SO dull.@@psivampire13
Thanks to this game I will be doing four play throughs. The first for Astarion, the second for Gale, the third for Halsin and the last for Karlach. LOL
honestly the astarion > gale pipeline is so real, i’m taking my time with my first playthrough rn and romancing astarion but by the time my love for gale hit me with a steel chair, it was too late and i was locked out of his romance 😭
I went into my first play through intent on romancing Astarion, I even had Gale be my guinea pig for Volo's "surgery" because I was quite indifferent to him... now he has my whole heart, Astarion romance be damned.
I swear I have watch everyone's romance and I just want to cry all of the characters are so perfect. Like please Gale I would turn into a power ranger and destroy Mystra for you 😭
@@ladyselin35 Mystra is not “amazing” lol, she views mortal lives as tools, as almost all gods do. She is a lawful-neutral god that only really cares about the state of magic / the weave. She likely set these events with Gale into motion deliberately, so that he would be able to stop the Absolute with the netherese orb. In the lore of Faerun, she essentially sets certain tragic life-events into motion for a wizard, since she knows he will later create the first dracoliches and advance the study of necromancy (while being extremely evil lol).
@@ladyselin35she also groomed him and grooms other young talented mages? (Minsc has a dialogue about Rashemen hiding their young mage boys away to keep them from her). I know this is fantasy, but I still think she's a predator 🤷♀️
I did my first playthrough with Astarion and now running my second playthrough with Gale. My gods, what a difference his attitude and love makes to the game and the story. After this cutscene I was absolutely astounded that people preferred Astarion's romances over Gale's. Are people so afraid to open up and show love to each other? I'm a trauma survivor myself and I understand Astarion's story and his behaviour - I went through a lot of the things he did, including changing who you are to ensure you don't get hurt, but his story is raw and sad and he needs help more than any romance. Gale is just full of love and affection and care and he just needs someone to tell him he's enough, that he doesn't need power, he just needs to recognise his own value. It isn't needy. We all need this.
Astarion's romance was meh to me as a Tav player, I don't know there's just something incredibly boring about it. Gale is much better if you're doing Tav. Durge is different though, they shared a writer so they could expand on it more so their romance is much more meaningful. I can't romance Astarion as anyone other than when I am a Durge character, it falls flat. Two people fighting monsters trying to redeem themselves in a world that would rather want them dead? Very romantic. Also 'don't become his' and 'precious little Bhaal-babe' live rent free in my head
Ive romanced Astarion twice so far and both times I was so pissed at Mystra for asking Gale to die and vehemently opposed it and it was great to see Gale grow and give up a ruinous path and just live as the great Wizard he has always been. After I do a Durge x Astarion playthrough ill start romancing Gale xD
Part of me wants to rush through the game so I can get to scenes like this with him. But the other part of me wants to take my time and enjoy exploring this amazing game world. No wonder this game has received the accolades it has. Thank you for sharing this, Ashe!! :)
Thank you so much for this video. I was becoming crazy not understanding why Gale was so hungry for power in this run. It's the first time I romance him and I went straight to Mystra after reading the book. Almost missed that beautiful scene and the chance to change his mind. Really thank you for explaining how you got it in the description it really helped me!
I love how passionate he is to show he can be more and better. As for this Tav, I love her expressive face: the brim on tears for both "how do I convince you you are enough" and "you believe me now?"
You: tells Gale he's good enough as a human Me: has lost all control after my terrible choices at hand and has decided maybe a last ditch efforts to become gods is the best bet
Wyll is such a sweetheart! I really appreciate he wants a storybook romance. I think Golden Retriever characters are underrated. But, yeah, the aesthetics of Gale’s scenes are just so good.
@@azureashes-i8v I know right? I asked Wyll "what am i to you?" (after we dance and kiss) and he said very beautiful things like a poem. He didn't directly say "i really like you" or smth but he definitely expressed what he feels beutifully. The way he uses words almost makes my heart melt. He's such a gentleman.
I may be wrong what your issue with triggering this scene is but don’t go to meet Mystra the same day you find *the book*, long rest first and you will get the scene. It was an issue for me my last playthrough
Thank you so much for posting this. I didnt get this during the long rest after the discussion with him where he said we would talk privately. I dont know what happened.
I feel like the game kind of treats Gale's godhood as the "evil" option but... I kind of agree with Gale - the gods are a*holes that don't care about the struggles of the people who worship them. I feel like at the very least since Gale has experienced being mortal before that he would have more compassion for them as a god and actually care about using his power to help them 🤷♀
I think what’s so interesting about Gale is that two different things can be true at the same time-meaning, he isn’t wrong about the gods, but he isn’t right, either. Namely, the gods rarely intervene on behalf of mortals, but they certainly have their own reasons for this behaviour. In Act I, he seems aware that his hubris has lost him everything: his gifts, Mystra’s favour, his life. He lost all of that because he wanted to impress Mystra, but for the wrong reasons; there’s no way that she would have invited him beyond the boundaries limiting spellcasters until she knew she could trust him, which honestly seems fairly reasonable, because Mystra has been killed multiple times already throughout history. So, caution is warranted on her part, because every time she dies-to some mortal’s ambition or otherwise-the very fabric of reality begins to unravel and a lot of people die. Now, Gale claims he is on the road to redemption in Act I, but the second he sees the Crown of Karsus, ambition immediately seizes him, and his motivation becomes to ascend. It’s like he’s forgotten how he was trying to learn a lesson, the Folly of Karsus he told Tav about washed from his mind with the flood of grand possibility. Which is to say, I don’t think Gale really truly means what he says in Act I, just as I don’t think Mystra actually wants him to kill himself unless he makes the choice to. If you actually do end Act II with the orb, it has a really bad outcome. I think the point of stabilising the orb was to try and get Gale to learn an actual lesson. To be sure, if she wanted to kill him and be rid of the problem, she could have stopped feeding the orb Weave, let it go off, and sent level 20 champions properly loyal after the Crown. As for Gale’s assertion that he would be a different sort of god, I think he is coming from both a good and an ignorant place. The gods act the way they do for a reason; there are literally Rules written for them that not even they are fully aware of by Ao on tablets meant to keep the fabric of reality together. And, when the rules are broken or even destroyed, a lot of people die, mortals and immortals alike (I.e. the Second Sundering). If Gale *actually* wanted to be a god who was active among his followers, there might have been a way if he reached level twenty and amassed a bunch of powerful artefacts and explorers, but instead he thinks he can challenge Mystra at level 12, armed only with a sliver of the Karsite Weave that has already drained him dry, a Crown he didn’t even design himself, and his ambition. It’s an unbelievable act of folly that he easily should have seen coming. But, because he always been so confident without any real self-awareness, he lacks the wisdom to realise how foolish he is being. (Which is a great example of the difference between Wisdom and Intelligence, just saying.) Anyway, that is my screed about Gale, thank you for coming. He is my favourite companion, just to be clear. I really resonate with the themes of his character: letting being exceptional go to your head, how self-confidence without self-awareness is poison, and that fulfilment can be found even if you don’t live up to the full potential of your promise.
The thing is, it's suggested many times that Gale will be corrupted if he accepts the power of the crown or usurp Mystra. At the very minimum, he'd lose who he is and has grown to be. Look what happened to Astarion. Not that he and Astarion are the same, but it's definitely possible.
@@PlayfulFruitLPer Audio files in the game suggest that if Gale gets hold of the Crown, even if he’s romanced and he says all of his efforts for ascension are about his partner, he basically leaves his partner behind because “ambition doesn’t like to share.” Which, yeah, makes sense, and it’s a mistake he has already made.
This is actually such a good explanation@@azureashes-i8v, consider making this a college thesis in literary analysis, lmao! Forreal though, I love Gale vehemently, and have played D&D for a good 5+ years consistently- but I didn't know much Forgotten Realms lore as all campaigns I've been in have not been set in Faerun. This really enlightened me to how Gods work and Ao themselves, I had no idea they had a 'Ten Commandments' of the gods or sorts- limiting their involvement. I had assumed it was just Godly hubris and ego. It helped me reassess my thoughts on Mystra, as I honestly disliked her for asking Gale to literally explode. I saw her as egotistical, unforgiving. I understand I now was partially biased towards Gale, and see Mystra's side much more clearly. He really tried to screw her over, now that I understand the Faerun lore a bit more. Thank you so much for writing this!
@@eldritchseraphim Ahhh, thanks, you're really kind to say so! I just really like understanding character motivation, so I am glad if I could help spread that. I thought Gale's character was almost contradictory at first, but then I realised he was just well-written, since his behaviour really does mirror human behaviour. Mystra on the other hand is acting like the True Neutral god she is, which is a fact I think a lot of people miss when they try to understand her actions through mortal terms: emotional or logical motivations, etc. Even her super icky grooming of Gale makes a perverse sort of senes when you think of it in her terms. I think the Ao lore is super neat too (he literally appeared in the sky as a giant floating beard, so he's definitely got like, wrathful Old Testament vibes) and I hope 5E does some more with him.
Gale definitely has the most picturesque romance scenes, which I love since he's my favorite companion. Wyll is def a slow-burn while having less grand or intimate scenes due to being a more 'noble' character (idk if that's the right term). Which when surrounded by the advances of the other companions, makes him come off as boring. But I've seen a lot of people say he's their favorite romance- so different strokes for different folks!
Some people misunderstand him as manipulative and narcissistic. I definitely felt that way for a while in Act 1 but if you give him the time of day as others do for Lae'Zel or Astarion, you change your mind easily - especially as he loves animals. I feel that some people hold to first impressions and project their own issues onto him. That and then you have homophobic gamers who found his romance bug intimidating and uncomfortable and decided to be angry about it. He's still probably one of the more popular companions as he's undeniably funny and very handy.
@@selty I've learned that the ppl who call Gale 'manipulative' are basically projecting their own negative experiences on him, an ex or an abuser they know. It's just that his dialogue tends to be very straightforward, dramatic, and verbose when he's vulnerable (he's not as poetic as Wyll, and Astarion's sass/flirtation is a more "desirable" form of manipulation so that players are less inclined to call him out on the fact that he's pretending to reciprocate Tav's attraction for protection) and players don't recognize the nuances of Gale's character/trauma and that he's a victim of emotional exploitation, too. In reality, most of his 'threats' such as saying he'll blow himself up during any minor inconvenience need to be taken with a grain of salt. Only if you haven't paid attention to his character would think those words are manipulative, when the whole time he's been saying the LAST thing he wants to do is kill himself or hurt others with the orb- he even thinks the world would be better off without him. He himself admits a lot of what he says is a facade to protect himself and his vulnerability; plus he's the only companion where if you break up with him while in a relationship, he doesn't even ask you why, hides his emotions, and accepts it without question, which is the exact opposite of being manipulative. Another thing... why would Larian ever make a ROMANCEABLE/friendly side character a toxic abusive manipulator that could trigger players who might be actual victims?? Even pre-ascended Astarion and Minthara who are evil-aligned characters aren't that bad and are redeemable. Basically all the companions are prejudiced, have their 'burdens', are victims of power imbalances/exploitation, and can go through arcs to grow as people or break away from their abuser- so singling out Gale for this is definitely just bad media literacy or projection.
I didn’t get this event, I think it might be because Gale went through the vault alone by using the button from the wizard tower instead of the portal in the vault.
Man I did these exact same dialogue choices but in the end he still chose to get the crown and dumped my ass to become a god LMAO. He said I told him to take the crown and I was like??? NO I DID NOT GALE. Idk what happened 😓 I wonder if you need to choose the “you’re already everything I need you to be” option instead of the “stop his protests with a kiss” one, because in another playthrough I did, I chose that route and we ended up getting married which was such a better ending. Still, him dumping tav doesn’t make a lot of sense ugh
Gale always wants to prove himself and his impatience and self doubt inside forces him to make mistakes. He literally had the goddess of weave. Yet he managed to screw it up.
He tries to convince you that you're wrong, and if you still argue, he almost breaks up with you. You get one last chance to either reject him or save the relationship. There's a particular line that Tim delivers with so much hurt in his voice, I actually teared up. Such an amazing performance.
@@azureashes-i8v Thank you for uploading this. He asked for the private audience, but the scene never triggered at camp when I long rested after. He went full power mode at the end and I couldn't figure out what went wrong. This scene was so lovely! I wish I had a save to revert back to.
But he's not pining after her, he's just devoted to magic and she happens to be THE goddess of magic, not just his ex. He just wants her forgiveness bc she's the goddess he worships, but also there's the power imbalance of her controlling everything he cares about. Being with her stripped him of his self-worth by making him think his only value is gaining power, since she only valued him for his talents.
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
Gale is kenough
more like Galenough
his job is books
@@kyojins9467I'd pay good money for books ken
I love that!!!
Perioddd
I was only ever a friend with Gale, but I kept him with me at every turn. Watching him go from a lost puppy crying over the power he has lost and is ready to die at his goddess command to a power hungry second Karsus and then to his last scene with me where he says "If this journey has taught me anything, it's that power means very little compared to such great company." had me in tears for my bro.
The character development he gets while in a romance is top notch writing (and the VA is fantastic) and really emotionally powerful. I get now why he's almost always ranked in the top 3 in all the romance review articles I've seen. His poetic style of speech and the esoteric and dramatic subject matter could have so easily been super corny in the wrong hands.
I was searching for this, so it's possible to convince him to stay human if you don't romance him?
"With you I forget my goddess. I love you." I can't say this line didn't give me a shiver haha!
A few of his lines are shiver worthy. Like his “come here” line in the sex scene. Honestly this scene it self has SO many good lines: “Then have me-but have the best possible version of me,” and “You’d really prefer me as I am?” Also “But don’t be alarmed-I’m here with you,” and “…with you by my side.” All of it is so well done.
@@azureashes-i8v Agreed! I am completely enamored!
Do not forget you "bring the stars to shame". Had me screaming and blushing
His name's Gale
And he's enough
Guess he's great at doing stuff
and drawing aggro harder than a bard could ever dream. and then subsequently dying the very next turn.
And it’s his destiny
✨To live and die a man who eats magical artifacts✨
His job is Weave
@@IAmKenough_098the man who eats my boots
Tim Downie's performance completely sold Gale as a character! He had a lot of intense romance scenes and lines that could've come off as cringy or cheesy, yet he performed everything with innate sincerity, charisma, and intimacy. He (and the writers) really gave Gale layers of complexity and vulnerability that I genuinely did not anticipate, which made his scenes all the more heartwarming/heartbreaking.
The entire BG3 team did an unbelievably incredible job!
So well said. Can’t agree more ❤
I was going to go with either Halsin or Wyll as my romance, but holy moly the Gale scenes I've seen are just gorgeous. I'm Team Gale all the way now.
I was going to go with Karlach or Shadowheart, but then I got to know Gale more, and his eagerness and passion and magical aesthetics definitely pulled me in.
and romantic
@@azureashes-i8v
The Halsin romance kinda sucks. Gale’s is so much better.
He is although I actually really like the Halsin romance (the bear scene is SO much better when you ask him not to be a bear). It's the Wyll romance where they really dropped the ball, I like him a lot as a character and a party member but his romance is SO dull.@@psivampire13
Thanks to this game I will be doing four play throughs. The first for Astarion, the second for Gale, the third for Halsin and the last for Karlach. LOL
honestly the astarion > gale pipeline is so real, i’m taking my time with my first playthrough rn and romancing astarion but by the time my love for gale hit me with a steel chair, it was too late and i was locked out of his romance 😭
I went into my first play through intent on romancing Astarion, I even had Gale be my guinea pig for Volo's "surgery" because I was quite indifferent to him... now he has my whole heart, Astarion romance be damned.
I swear I have watch everyone's romance and I just want to cry all of the characters are so perfect. Like please Gale I would turn into a power ranger and destroy Mystra for you 😭
Come on. Mystra is amazing. It was all Gale's fault. Its up to us to make him see the light.
@@ladyselin35 Mystra is not “amazing” lol, she views mortal lives as tools, as almost all gods do. She is a lawful-neutral god that only really cares about the state of magic / the weave. She likely set these events with Gale into motion deliberately, so that he would be able to stop the Absolute with the netherese orb. In the lore of Faerun, she essentially sets certain tragic life-events into motion for a wizard, since she knows he will later create the first dracoliches and advance the study of necromancy (while being extremely evil lol).
@@plannedtuna8293 I know no gods are Saint s but Mystra at least gave him alternatives.
@@ladyselin35 yeah, she’s at least one of the better ones
@@ladyselin35she also groomed him and grooms other young talented mages? (Minsc has a dialogue about Rashemen hiding their young mage boys away to keep them from her). I know this is fantasy, but I still think she's a predator 🤷♀️
I did my first playthrough with Astarion and now running my second playthrough with Gale. My gods, what a difference his attitude and love makes to the game and the story. After this cutscene I was absolutely astounded that people preferred Astarion's romances over Gale's. Are people so afraid to open up and show love to each other? I'm a trauma survivor myself and I understand Astarion's story and his behaviour - I went through a lot of the things he did, including changing who you are to ensure you don't get hurt, but his story is raw and sad and he needs help more than any romance. Gale is just full of love and affection and care and he just needs someone to tell him he's enough, that he doesn't need power, he just needs to recognise his own value. It isn't needy. We all need this.
Astarion's romance was meh to me as a Tav player, I don't know there's just something incredibly boring about it. Gale is much better if you're doing Tav. Durge is different though, they shared a writer so they could expand on it more so their romance is much more meaningful. I can't romance Astarion as anyone other than when I am a Durge character, it falls flat. Two people fighting monsters trying to redeem themselves in a world that would rather want them dead? Very romantic. Also 'don't become his' and 'precious little Bhaal-babe' live rent free in my head
Ive romanced Astarion twice so far and both times I was so pissed at Mystra for asking Gale to die and vehemently opposed it and it was great to see Gale grow and give up a ruinous path and just live as the great Wizard he has always been. After I do a Durge x Astarion playthrough ill start romancing Gale xD
Part of me wants to rush through the game so I can get to scenes like this with him. But the other part of me wants to take my time and enjoy exploring this amazing game world.
No wonder this game has received the accolades it has.
Thank you for sharing this, Ashe!! :)
Off topic but yassss for the Carrie 1988 PFP!!!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I was becoming crazy not understanding why Gale was so hungry for power in this run. It's the first time I romance him and I went straight to Mystra after reading the book. Almost missed that beautiful scene and the chance to change his mind. Really thank you for explaining how you got it in the description it really helped me!
You're so very welcome! The reason I included those details was to hopefully help other people, so I am glad that I was able to.
the soundtrack is godly in this scene
it really is beautiful
I love how passionate he is to show he can be more and better. As for this Tav, I love her expressive face: the brim on tears for both "how do I convince you you are enough" and "you believe me now?"
You: tells Gale he's good enough as a human
Me: has lost all control after my terrible choices at hand and has decided maybe a last ditch efforts to become gods is the best bet
This was heartbreaking.... damn. Wow....
I definitely cried the first three or four times I watched it.
he is galenough
he's my favorite character in the game together with karlach
This really reminds me of the whole story arc in Divinity Original Sin
I thought so too. I also thought Gale looks a bit like Ifan, haha.
Now I’m gonna cry like a fountain
You may cry like a normal human then. I allow it.
@@lightningguardian331 Too late I’m a human fountain TvT
His job is just... magic.
Gale really has puppy eyes.🥺
Damn I'm just sitting here with the biggest smile on my face. This was so wholesome! The more I learn about Gale the more I like him!
I'm romancing with Wyll now and he is great but this dude has the best dates :D
Wyll is such a sweetheart! I really appreciate he wants a storybook romance. I think Golden Retriever characters are underrated. But, yeah, the aesthetics of Gale’s scenes are just so good.
@@azureashes-i8v I know right? I asked Wyll "what am i to you?" (after we dance and kiss) and he said very beautiful things like a poem. He didn't directly say "i really like you" or smth but he definitely expressed what he feels beutifully. The way he uses words almost makes my heart melt. He's such a gentleman.
@@adelia1841Wyll is the classic prince charming romance xD
He's really sweet
My game bugged and I never got this scene. So jealous! I just finished my first playthrough and now i nerd to replay and hope to get this scenario
I may be wrong what your issue with triggering this scene is but don’t go to meet Mystra the same day you find *the book*, long rest first and you will get the scene. It was an issue for me my last playthrough
im playing as Astarion romancing Gale and whenever he calls me mortal i laugh
Can't believe the dialogue to trigger this bugged in my first playthrough where I romanced him 😭😭😭 I MISSED THIS!!!!
i saw under his trousers alright, hes enough for me!
Thank you so much for posting this. I didnt get this during the long rest after the discussion with him where he said we would talk privately. I dont know what happened.
Don’t make me romance him, I already had to apologize for not being into him because I breathed in his direction
IM HERE TO SAY I LOVE GALE 🗣️🗣️🗣️
does anyone have footage of the first option of 3:43? 🥺 "You're already everything I need you to be"
I have another variation of this conversation with that response I’ve been meaning to upload! I’ll link it when I do.
I love Gale forever! ❤
He's just Gale and he's Galenough, look at that Galergy
Im romancing Gale. I love Astarion but he keeps rejecting me.
How he's rather forward with me
I was on Gale’s path when Astarion swooped in. Gale was too slow and I was too easy
"You put the stars to shame. Let's sit here for awhile, I want to drink you in." 🥵
Amazing romance.
I feel like the game kind of treats Gale's godhood as the "evil" option but... I kind of agree with Gale - the gods are a*holes that don't care about the struggles of the people who worship them. I feel like at the very least since Gale has experienced being mortal before that he would have more compassion for them as a god and actually care about using his power to help them 🤷♀
I think what’s so interesting about Gale is that two different things can be true at the same time-meaning, he isn’t wrong about the gods, but he isn’t right, either. Namely, the gods rarely intervene on behalf of mortals, but they certainly have their own reasons for this behaviour. In Act I, he seems aware that his hubris has lost him everything: his gifts, Mystra’s favour, his life. He lost all of that because he wanted to impress Mystra, but for the wrong reasons; there’s no way that she would have invited him beyond the boundaries limiting spellcasters until she knew she could trust him, which honestly seems fairly reasonable, because Mystra has been killed multiple times already throughout history. So, caution is warranted on her part, because every time she dies-to some mortal’s ambition or otherwise-the very fabric of reality begins to unravel and a lot of people die. Now, Gale claims he is on the road to redemption in Act I, but the second he sees the Crown of Karsus, ambition immediately seizes him, and his motivation becomes to ascend. It’s like he’s forgotten how he was trying to learn a lesson, the Folly of Karsus he told Tav about washed from his mind with the flood of grand possibility.
Which is to say, I don’t think Gale really truly means what he says in Act I, just as I don’t think Mystra actually wants him to kill himself unless he makes the choice to. If you actually do end Act II with the orb, it has a really bad outcome. I think the point of stabilising the orb was to try and get Gale to learn an actual lesson. To be sure, if she wanted to kill him and be rid of the problem, she could have stopped feeding the orb Weave, let it go off, and sent level 20 champions properly loyal after the Crown.
As for Gale’s assertion that he would be a different sort of god, I think he is coming from both a good and an ignorant place. The gods act the way they do for a reason; there are literally Rules written for them that not even they are fully aware of by Ao on tablets meant to keep the fabric of reality together. And, when the rules are broken or even destroyed, a lot of people die, mortals and immortals alike (I.e. the Second Sundering). If Gale *actually* wanted to be a god who was active among his followers, there might have been a way if he reached level twenty and amassed a bunch of powerful artefacts and explorers, but instead he thinks he can challenge Mystra at level 12, armed only with a sliver of the Karsite Weave that has already drained him dry, a Crown he didn’t even design himself, and his ambition. It’s an unbelievable act of folly that he easily should have seen coming. But, because he always been so confident without any real self-awareness, he lacks the wisdom to realise how foolish he is being. (Which is a great example of the difference between Wisdom and Intelligence, just saying.)
Anyway, that is my screed about Gale, thank you for coming. He is my favourite companion, just to be clear. I really resonate with the themes of his character: letting being exceptional go to your head, how self-confidence without self-awareness is poison, and that fulfilment can be found even if you don’t live up to the full potential of your promise.
The thing is, it's suggested many times that Gale will be corrupted if he accepts the power of the crown or usurp Mystra. At the very minimum, he'd lose who he is and has grown to be. Look what happened to Astarion. Not that he and Astarion are the same, but it's definitely possible.
@@PlayfulFruitLPer Audio files in the game suggest that if Gale gets hold of the Crown, even if he’s romanced and he says all of his efforts for ascension are about his partner, he basically leaves his partner behind because “ambition doesn’t like to share.” Which, yeah, makes sense, and it’s a mistake he has already made.
This is actually such a good explanation@@azureashes-i8v, consider making this a college thesis in literary analysis, lmao!
Forreal though, I love Gale vehemently, and have played D&D for a good 5+ years consistently- but I didn't know much Forgotten Realms lore as all campaigns I've been in have not been set in Faerun. This really enlightened me to how Gods work and Ao themselves, I had no idea they had a 'Ten Commandments' of the gods or sorts- limiting their involvement. I had assumed it was just Godly hubris and ego.
It helped me reassess my thoughts on Mystra, as I honestly disliked her for asking Gale to literally explode. I saw her as egotistical, unforgiving. I understand I now was partially biased towards Gale, and see Mystra's side much more clearly. He really tried to screw her over, now that I understand the Faerun lore a bit more. Thank you so much for writing this!
@@eldritchseraphim Ahhh, thanks, you're really kind to say so! I just really like understanding character motivation, so I am glad if I could help spread that. I thought Gale's character was almost contradictory at first, but then I realised he was just well-written, since his behaviour really does mirror human behaviour. Mystra on the other hand is acting like the True Neutral god she is, which is a fact I think a lot of people miss when they try to understand her actions through mortal terms: emotional or logical motivations, etc. Even her super icky grooming of Gale makes a perverse sort of senes when you think of it in her terms. I think the Ao lore is super neat too (he literally appeared in the sky as a giant floating beard, so he's definitely got like, wrathful Old Testament vibes) and I hope 5E does some more with him.
There seems to have a bug in my game so he never actually followed through on that date and now this is all kind of skipped. I'm very sad
I'm so fucking sad my game bugged and I missed this scene 😢
Another reason i cant see why people dislike gale, if anything Wyll is the only boring romance option imo 😂
Gale definitely has the most picturesque romance scenes, which I love since he's my favorite companion. Wyll is def a slow-burn while having less grand or intimate scenes due to being a more 'noble' character (idk if that's the right term). Which when surrounded by the advances of the other companions, makes him come off as boring. But I've seen a lot of people say he's their favorite romance- so different strokes for different folks!
Some people misunderstand him as manipulative and narcissistic. I definitely felt that way for a while in Act 1 but if you give him the time of day as others do for Lae'Zel or Astarion, you change your mind easily - especially as he loves animals. I feel that some people hold to first impressions and project their own issues onto him.
That and then you have homophobic gamers who found his romance bug intimidating and uncomfortable and decided to be angry about it. He's still probably one of the more popular companions as he's undeniably funny and very handy.
@@selty I've learned that the ppl who call Gale 'manipulative' are basically projecting their own negative experiences on him, an ex or an abuser they know. It's just that his dialogue tends to be very straightforward, dramatic, and verbose when he's vulnerable (he's not as poetic as Wyll, and Astarion's sass/flirtation is a more "desirable" form of manipulation so that players are less inclined to call him out on the fact that he's pretending to reciprocate Tav's attraction for protection) and players don't recognize the nuances of Gale's character/trauma and that he's a victim of emotional exploitation, too. In reality, most of his 'threats' such as saying he'll blow himself up during any minor inconvenience need to be taken with a grain of salt. Only if you haven't paid attention to his character would think those words are manipulative, when the whole time he's been saying the LAST thing he wants to do is kill himself or hurt others with the orb- he even thinks the world would be better off without him. He himself admits a lot of what he says is a facade to protect himself and his vulnerability; plus he's the only companion where if you break up with him while in a relationship, he doesn't even ask you why, hides his emotions, and accepts it without question, which is the exact opposite of being manipulative.
Another thing... why would Larian ever make a ROMANCEABLE/friendly side character a toxic abusive manipulator that could trigger players who might be actual victims?? Even pre-ascended Astarion and Minthara who are evil-aligned characters aren't that bad and are redeemable. Basically all the companions are prejudiced, have their 'burdens', are victims of power imbalances/exploitation, and can go through arcs to grow as people or break away from their abuser- so singling out Gale for this is definitely just bad media literacy or projection.
I didn’t get this event, I think it might be because Gale went through the vault alone by using the button from the wizard tower instead of the portal in the vault.
Man I did these exact same dialogue choices but in the end he still chose to get the crown and dumped my ass to become a god LMAO. He said I told him to take the crown and I was like??? NO I DID NOT GALE. Idk what happened 😓 I wonder if you need to choose the “you’re already everything I need you to be” option instead of the “stop his protests with a kiss” one, because in another playthrough I did, I chose that route and we ended up getting married which was such a better ending. Still, him dumping tav doesn’t make a lot of sense ugh
I feel so robbed. Gale's romance really does seem to be the best. I wish I were a gay man or a straight female. Oh well.
play as a straight woman ;)
I mean, nothing's stopping you from romancing him besides yourself lol
Gale always wants to prove himself and his impatience and self doubt inside forces him to make mistakes. He literally had the goddess of weave. Yet he managed to screw it up.
How does he respond to the cleric option in the end?
He tries to convince you that you're wrong, and if you still argue, he almost breaks up with you. You get one last chance to either reject him or save the relationship. There's a particular line that Tim delivers with so much hurt in his voice, I actually teared up. Such an amazing performance.
Awwww😭🩷
is this scene in act 3? I'm currently in act 2 and scared i might miss it
(just had that astral projection one)
This is in Act III. It is available after advancing his personal quest.
How long after you let him read the books does he ask to speak?
He asks for a private audience immediately.
@@azureashes-i8v Thank you for uploading this. He asked for the private audience, but the scene never triggered at camp when I long rested after. He went full power mode at the end and I couldn't figure out what went wrong. This scene was so lovely! I wish I had a save to revert back to.
You stole shadow heart wears 😂
but gale is not good enough. That’s why he kills you in act 4
I don’t like the idea of dating a guy who dated a literal goddess and still pines over her
But he's not pining after her, he's just devoted to magic and she happens to be THE goddess of magic, not just his ex. He just wants her forgiveness bc she's the goddess he worships, but also there's the power imbalance of her controlling everything he cares about. Being with her stripped him of his self-worth by making him think his only value is gaining power, since she only valued him for his talents.