you see gaston is portrayed as being “self absorbed” when there’s a song dedicated to cheering him up because he’s feeling upset with himself, not confident anymore, and he says “I needed encouragement, thank you lefou,” so obviously he isn’t as narcissistic as everyone believes him to be. It’s more that everyone just expects him to be his heroic god-like figure, and when he falls short of that in a desperate grab for what he thinks will make him a hero (saving the town from a beast) he comes a “villain”

Gaston redemption arc 2k17

me: [reblogs every gifset of gaston singing, anything of him before and during the song Gaston, every still of him] me: [ignores the gifsets of him being a dick, yelling at lefou, and shooting the beast] me: see, gaston is barely a villain!

bruh... I know that gaston did some shitty stuff but I literally LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!!!!!! I am the #1 supporter of gaston redemption arc 2k17. he is pure but he fucked it up so bad. but I can't make myself get on board with being like "he a shitty excuse for a human bein and he should have suffered and died" bc I KNOW he has a good and wholesome soul deep down

You seee!!!!! This is something the 2017 version gives us: hope. In the 1991 version there was zero question of a gaston redemption arc. And that's the defining difference honestly. 2017 gaston has so many more sides to him, is a full, fleshed-out character. And I love him for that. Not because he's the best person, but because of his shades of gray. I think we can all relate to that.