Katniss's focus on survival and her family's safety prevented her from fully considering romance, but her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged in the end. Katniss ultimately chose Peeta because he understood her trauma and she didn't want to lose him, proving her love for him.
Katniss made the choice to build her future with Peeta. If she didn't love him, she wouldn't have made that choice. Katniss made her whole world about getting the people she cared about to the next day, her choice to survive with Peeta proves her love for him.
Peeta thanks Katniss for finding him and she says that he would have done the same. He talks about what Katniss should do if he doesn't make it back. She's worried that he might die, and to keep him from speaking of such things, she kisses him. It's her first kiss.
Character List and Analysis Gale Hawthorne. Gale, Katniss' 18-year-old hunting partner, is well-liked by many girls in the District 12. When he first meets Katniss in the woods, he believes that her name is Catnip, and so this becomes his permanent nickname for her.
Hunger games 1-4 Recap | Everything you need to know before The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Is Cinna In love With Katniss?
Their relationship was all friends. They trusted each other, but that doesn't mean they had romantic feelings for each other. Plus, Cinna's too old for Katniss.
When Katniss comes home to District 12, Gale immediately confesses his love for Katniss, and she realizes she might have feelings for him, too — but she can't explore them, because she has to continue her fake relationship with Peeta or else her entire family, including “cousin Gale,” will be killed.
Snow's knowledge of Katniss and Gale's kiss confirms what Katniss has felt since she returned home: She is a prisoner of the Capitol, unable to escape the terrifying realities of her victory in the Games. The Capitol's suffocating grip on Katniss' life tightens during her conversation with Snow.
She stumbles into the snow at first, but then she dusts herself off, rises, and begins waving to the photographers, arm in arm with Peeta. The camera zooms out to a neutral angle, giving audiences a sudden, somewhat startling reminder that oh, that's right—Katniss is slightly taller than Peeta.
Before the Capitol battle, Gale had explained to Katniss his series of bombs designed to feed off human compassion: a small bomb would go off, and then when medical aid rushed in, a second bomb would go off, killing those people as well. Incidentally, it's this exact type of bomb that took Prim's life.
Katniss Fell in Love With Peeta During the Quarter Quell
However, it wasn't until Mockingjay -- when Peeta got kidnapped by the Capitol -- Katniss realized how much she cared about him and that she couldn't live without him.
It's only implied that they get it on via snuggling and other affectionate acts in close quarters — but if you have read the book, they really imply that they took their relationship to the next level.
Peeta used the dyes to paint a picture of Rue after Katniss covered her with flowers when she died. He says he wants to hold them accountable for killing Rue, and Effie tells him that that kind of thinking is forbidden. Katniss then tells the team she hung a dummy of Seneca Crane.
The Hunger Games series, much like Harry Potter is for young adults, and the themes and motivations are not hard to understand. Katniss NEVER hated Peeta. She figured she'd have to kill him to survive and had no desire to like him because of that.
Peeta, however, is genuinely in love with her, as is revealed on their train ride home, when Katniss admits that she has been partially faking her feelings for him, leaving him heartbroken and cold towards her.
When Gale is most in pain is when Katniss kisses him, and this is true again as we see her answer Gale's pain with a kiss. She wants to give Gale what he wants, but she can't yet completely commit to him, as she must think of her family and Peeta and being the Mockingjay for the revolution.
Chaff, of course, comes right out and kisses Katniss, though his reason is more to have fun with Katniss's image than to turn it to his advantage. Finnick's and Johanna's tactics, however, are clearly deliberate attempts to manipulate Katniss, and Katniss immediately distrusts both as a result.
Gale is jealous of Peeta and the relationship he has with Katniss, and he wants Katniss to decide between them, though he doesn't press Katniss during her recovery in District 13. Gale is an excellent hunter and excels at setting snares and traps.
The love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta is a major part of The Hunger Games franchise. There always appeared to be a spark between Katniss and her best friend, but when Katniss is reaped, everything changes. To survive, she's forced to fake a romance with Peeta, a boy who lives in her district.
Although she will never know for sure, Katniss does recognize that she cannot be with Gale. She will never be able to forgive him for his idea — the parachute bombs — that killed Prim.
He has betrayed her and is betraying all of District 12 by buddying up with the Careers, whom she calls the "Capitol's lapdogs." She decides that if the Careers don't kill him, she'd be more than happy to. Then, she wonders why Peeta hasn't told them about her bow and arrow skills yet.
Thus, the audience doesn't know how old Katniss is when she dies. The only information the audience has about Katniss' future is that she and Peeta have a child together 15 years after their experiences in the Rebellion (at 33 years old) and that five years later, they have a second child.
During the interviews for the 75th Hunger Games, Peeta lied about Katniss being pregnant to try to protect her from the Games, and Katniss later stated that she miscarried due to an electric shock in the arena to avoid further questioning.
Characterization. Peeta is the same age as Katniss, making him 16 years old in The Hunger Games and 17-18 in Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Peeta is of "medium height, stocky build" and has "ashy blond hair that falls in waves over his forehead." He has blue eyes.
