I think Gabe is a great character, and here's why...
I think the reason why everyone hates Gabe so much is because he isn't Clementine. Let me explain.
We know Clementine. We've raised her, watched her grow, and know exactly why she is the way she is-the hardships she's been through, the kind of people she has met, etc. But we haven't had the same experience with Gabe. In order to truly understand why a character is the way they are, why they say the things they do, and what leads them to do what they do, we have to understand where they're coming from-their history.
Obviously, we can all say that by the time of ANF, Clementine has almost fully matured. Her struggles, early progression into motherhood, and her overall fight for survival has toughened her to the point where she can reasonably control her feelings and make rational decisions. It is also obvious that Gabe has been through none of those.
When we first meet Gabe in the present, we can see that he has had life pretty dang good since the apocalypse, almost to the point where he's just plain lucky. He is safely coddled in the family van that is running smoothly and hasn't been stolen or damaged. He has the majority of his family surrounding him (which if we compare to Clementine, is very fortunate), every member of which, including himself, appear healthy and well-fed, with little problems to deal with other than finding the next gallon of gas. And because of all this, he has had the luxury of living an almost flawless childhood. He doesn't have much to really complain about. So what does he do? He acts angsty and hormonal. And that's because he can. Because again, he has had the luxury of acting his age, apart from Clementine who has to act above her age to survive. This is why Gabe is such a realistic character-because he's the paragon of a typical teenager, not another Clementine.
Is he a perfect little angel? No. Does he make mistakes, like, really stupid and irrational mistakes that can seriously backfire on him? Heck yeah. But what teenager doesn't? What teenager is a saint? Don't tell me you were. In his determinant death, he even admits his own shortcomings to you, and how he could have been a better nephew. His admitting that is him coming to reconcile with himself and attempting to learn from the mistakes he's made. Which to me is one hell of a rounded character development.
Comments
personally, i really like gabe. i feel that he isn't that similar to ben or sarah, although people claim he is a pussy for some reason. he is actually pretty brave, which has led him to his screw-ups. a lot of the hate he recieved has decreased though, due to him proving himself in episode five. like he became much more similar to clem when he actually tried to help his family, put david down, and was less of an asshole. he was literally one of two characters that i gave a shit about in the season, but that doesn't justify the fact that his character was written so inconsistently. like the whole snitching situation was written so poorly. in episode five, he looks down on his dad when he sees how violent he is, yet he is willing to leave javi and kate in order to be with him. although i really liked him, i would say that he isn't very well written.
Am I just going crazy or have I already seen this thread before?
Yes, a lot was written inconsistently this season, but I agree with your perspective.