Gale's ending could be better if it were rewritten to be consistent with FR lore. It would be the good aligned choice if we saw Gale get a Gawain and the Green Knight like moment where he sacrifices himself and we all get a scene where Mystra tells Gale he has redeemed himself that would nice. And Mystra would be acting like the Mystra of the forgotten realms novels, not like one of the gods from DOS2
Warning - discussion of depression, etc.
For that to be satisfying, they would also have to rewrite Gale a bit, so that his story doesn't seem like that of someone struggling with depression and suicidal ideation. He socially isolates himself after he gets the orb. There's explicit possible dialogue at the circus where we find out he thinks that he, and the world, might be better off if he were dead.
If the player picks the dialogue that pushes him away from suicide in his stargazing scene, his dialogue the next day sounds like someone who was contemplating suicide (for non-wold saving reasons). The non-romantic version is:
"I wanted to... to thank you. I was sinking into a dark place, but you reminded me there is still light in the world, if I should care to look for it. You... you may well have prevented me from doing something very rash in the near future. I count myself lucky to call you a friend."
Even if he isn't literally depressed in universe (I personally think he is), his story invokes the idea and feelings of depression and suicidality. In light of that, I think having the main "good" ending being a depressed man deciding that suicide was the answer would be icky.
@KillerRabbit, you seem more familiar with Forgotten Realms lore than I am. Do most of the people on the Sword Coast understand the role the Gith play in preventing the reformation of the mindflayer empire? If not, that opens up a lot of roleplay options. I could imagine a barbarian having no concept of multiverse politics. For my own games, I tend to play my characters as hoping that an Orpheus who sacrifices himself for his people will serve as a potent symbol for the rebels, and they hope that will help balance out the loss of his powers.
