I never got very caught up in the Team Peeta/Team Gale talk. To be entirely honest, it always seemed very clear to me that Katniss would choose Peeta—no matter how much I like Gale. And I like Gale. A lot.

Because, see, Peeta is enjoyable to read about. He’s sweet. He loves Katniss. He bakes, and my love of baked goods is only rivaled by my love for ice cream.

But Gale? Gale is a warrior. He’s a rebel. He’s a badass.

He’s a knight.

And when I say it was always very clear that Katniss would choose Peeta, that’s why—because Gale is a knight. Or, if you prefer roundups instead of the Renaissance, he’s a cowboy. The mysterious, dark, brooding boy who values honor, the greater good, and justice over any worldly thing, including the person he loves. Gale’s development from a poacher in the forest to a full-fledged knight/cowboy archetype—a man who fights and sacrifices for the greater good—makes him one of the most interesting characters in the entire series, if you ask me.

Baked goods be damned.

From Everyday Man to Honorable Man

Some would say the English knight and the American cowboy are historical figures; others would call them literary. Others still might say they’re more myth than man. And everyone in this random room full of people voting on cowboys and knights would have a point.

See, they had some historical basis—there were knights, so to speak, in the Medieval period, but they originated as mounted thugs hired by rulers like William the  …