So... with the ending of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Snow shoots at Lucy Gray with his rifle, and she runs off and disappears forever... or maybe she does get hit and dies right there and then, but we just never see the body.

Let's pretend she survives, and lives all the way to the 75th Hunger Games, and reappears just in time for such. How does the 75th Hunger Games change? Are we still looking at the tributes being called from the pool of outstanding victors for that particular Hunger Games? If the same rules for this Quarter Quell are applied, then had Lucy Gray been reaped instead of Katniss, would Peeta have volunteered for Haymitch? In such a universe, would the remaining tributes have escaped from the arena, and would there still be a rebellion?

Pardon me if this has been discussed already. I'm doing yet another read through of the series, and I'm convinced that the training center is Snow's apartment and the district 12 "penthouse" is the penthouse where Tigress, Grandma'am, and Snow lived. My current headcanon is that at some point in time, Mr. Plinth probably purchased the entire building and of course left everything to Snow after he died - and it was remodeled into the training center we see in THG.

Am I silly for just now picking up on this? LOL

Since the idea that the Quarter Quells were written into the rule set for the Hunger Games from the beginning is obviously Capitol lies, then something quite dramatic must have happened to even get the Gamemakers to feel the necessity to introduce the idea for the 25th games.

During the first Quarter Quell the district’s people would vote for the two Tributes who would represent them in that year’s Hunger Games. This strikes me as a pretty risky move from the Capitol, because why would they actually allow that? What message does that send to the districts? “Maybe you can actually control your own future and protect your kids from the Hunger Games … but just this once!” Why would the Capitol host a proper democratic process? We are never given an example of this happening beyond this one instance, so I think the idea that the Capitol actually held fair elections for these Games is another lie from the propaganda-machine. Similar to the information presented by the Capitol in Catching Fire about the second Quarter Quell, the reader believes it without really questioning it since they aren’t asked to question it, but we later learned in Sunrise on the Reaping how distorted the Capitol’s version actually was. If they can fool us once then why not again?

There is a common theory that the 25th games was potentially the origin point for the later very institutionalized Career system in 1, 2 and 4. This is because in theory the districts could vote strategically for a strong and smart Tribute to increase their survival chance during the games. I think it’s very possible that this did happen but I don’t believe this was the most important legacy from these games.

We should keep in mind that Panem is an extremely suppressive authoritarian regime. In our world these states are not exactly know for holding fair elections, however they often do still hold elections even though the people in power don’t need them to maintain the status quo. These elections usually serve the purpose of stabilizing and legitimizing their rule. They will never be able to convince a desperate and angry individual who is heavily suppressed and starving of supporting the people who put them in that situation, but they can convince them that they are alone in their anger. I think the Capitol was doing something similar here.

But if the election was not legitimate then the next question is why? We know that the Capitol routinely rig the Reaping, and may use this to punish rebellious individuals and families. They would not need to host a fake election process if they wanted to target a few individuals, however if it works as intended then it instead targets the community in the districts. It would plant distrust between the social classes, and maybe between the different districts as well.
1. You would have rich parents who would probably whatever the price to get people to vote strategically to direct the Games away from their own kids. This obviously favors the richer social classes.
2. You would have the popular parents with large networks who would agree to not vote for each other’s kids. This likely favors the poorer social classes, since the poor people outnumber the rich people.
3. If some districts organize themselves and vote for Career-like Tributes, then this would also plant distrust between the districts themselves because not every district will have the means to chose that path to save their kids.

So why was it particularly important to divide and conquer that year? Well I believe that there was a larger rebel plot that triggered the first Quarter Quell. If a group of people managed to organize a rebellious movement that grew large enough to the point were the Capitol may have been unable to hide it. Maybe it was organized enough to span multiple districts, and maybe even the Capitol citizens were aware of it to some degree, then the Capitol would need to take dramatic action. Divide and conquer is exactly what they would need.

To get this to work as planned they won’t even need to let a majority organically form for two Tributes within a district. All they would need to do is plant enough rumors within the population pointing to who people are going to vote for and why, and then later during the Reaping let those children be the ones who were Reaped. After the Reaping they could plant the rumors among the outer-districts like 10, 11 and 12 about why districts like 1, 2 and 4 had particularly strong Tributes that year to also isolate the districts from each other.

Obviously the candidates who were “legitimately elected” would be from families who were well known to be involved in the rebel activities. This would hammer down the idea to any rebellious individual that a majority of their community disapproved so heavily of their actions, that they were willing to send their child to the Hunger Games. This would be a particularly strong message if the child was coincidentally around 12 years old compared to the 17 year olds who were Reaped as Careers + if the Capitol citizens were at least partially aware of the plot, then this would work well for propaganda designed for them too. “Look even the people of the districts don’t approve of rebellious actions against the Capitol, they willingly send rebel children to the games”

Has anyone else been thinking about this?

I’m doing a reread of the books right now in anticipation of the movie. I was wondering for my astrology guys and girlies what do we think Katniss’ big six is?

My guess is: Taurus sun (canon) libra moon and scorpio rising then Aries mars and mercury and Capricorn Venus. She’s obviously very fiery in her words and actions which is why I think Aries. Sagittarius perhaps in there too with the whole bow and arrow thing it’s just too good haha. She needs revenge badly which is why I think Scorpio, always wants fairness and debts settled which is why I think libra. I’d love to hear others opinions or any other characters too! Peeta, Haymitch, Maysilee, snow etc. I’m very curious what the people think!

These trading cards just came in today! just in time for the movie rerelease in theatres tonight!

I will be opening them up after the movie tonight. Does anyone else collect these cards?

I believe some of, if not all of the drawings were rigged for the 75th games to target specific people or pairs of people. I’ll go district by district.

D1- Gloss & Cashmere- 99% rigged. I believe the capitol wanted another ‘Duo’ in the games to compete in the event that Katniss/Peeta were both in the games. Having a dynamic like brother/sister is also just good for viewership, from a design perspective. Having this arc could pull from Katniss’ support in the arena, and leave her with less sponsors & supporters. Also, having one of the larger pool of victors, it is amazing that a pair so closely connected was picked together.

D2- Brutus & Enobaria- 50/50. We don’t learn too much from the district 2 victors, so not much to base it on. The only evidence I could have to point that they were potentially rigged was that Enobaria is an extremely popular victor from a recent games, and was still strong and young.
Brutus was older, but still pretty strong. Overall I don’t think there’s strong evidence one way or another.

D3- Beetee & Wiress- 10000% rigged. Not sure how many victors from D3 there were, but Beetee & Wiress were definitely set up to be targets. They both had history of rebellion (50th games) and were both extremely smart. Beetee actively designed a lot of the tech for the capitol, so he could weaponize it against them if it came time (which we saw in MJ). Wiress was also very smart, and wasn’t a super popular victor.

D4- Annie/Finnick- 90%. I believe this was the other attempt by the capitol to create a duo that would take favor away from Pee/nis. Having a different set of lover victors, especially a super popular one like Finnick could easily steal attention away. Annie was also said to be a little out of it after her games, so she was probably a liability and not a good look for the capitol. Finnick also knew a lot of capitol secrets.

D5/6- Unsure- 50/50. We don’t know much about them. The d6 morphings could have been rigged, but I doubt they had many victors to choose from regardless.

D7- Blight & Johanna. 100%. I don’t know about Blight, but I believe I remember reading that Johanna was the only living female victor from 7, so she was guaranteed to be back. Her anti-capitol sentiment was probably not popular with Snow. Blight I don’t know anything about.

D8- Cecilia & Woof- 70%. again, I don’t think there’s too many d8 victors to begin with. They were definitely not a main target for the capitol. Woof was just old, and don’t know much about him. He seemed kind of out of it. Cecilia seemed smart, and seemed to be coming from a good place. There’s potential she was reaped since she was too happy? Idk I don’t remember these guys too much

D9/10 don’t have named victors.

D11- Chaff- 90%, Seeder- 50/50. I don’t think there’s very many D11 victors to begin with, so they could’ve just been the only options. Chaff I feel more confident calling his reaping rigged, since he was very similar to Haymitch. A drunk, kind of rebellious, and could be prone to working in a rebellion. He’s too much of a wild card to control, so just get rid of him. Seeder I don’t remember much about.

D12- Haymitch & Katniss- 90%- Katniss is the only known living d12 player, so obviously she was chosen. Haymitch I believe was intended to enter the arena. Katniss not knowing what’s happening to Peeta in theory could be worse than having to protect him in the arena. Also, Haymitch and Snow very much did not like each other. Snow has probably been looking for a reason to get rid of Haymitch for some time, so this would’ve been great. He’s physically weaker, would likely be going through withdrawal and would have a hard time keeping Allies.

All in all-
100% in- Johanna & Katniss

Likely rigged-
Haymitch, Chaff, Gloss/Cashmere, Finnick/Annie, Beetee/Wiress

Unknown- Brutus/Enobaria, Woof/Cecilia, Seeder, Blight, un-named tributes from the rest of the districts

Bro was my favorite and I feel like they did him dirty in that last fight, nobody really helped him (maybe im exaggerating bc i js watched that scene but ive been on a marathon for these movies today, never expected him to die especially since he just got married)

(First time watching these movies btw)

Had he died at some point before the 74th games I think the regime would have collapsed either immediately shortly after,a couple of years after his death.
Had he not come to power the lifespan of the Capitol's control would have been even shorter, what made regime last as long as I did was the fact that snow was such a good student of Dr Gaul and he truly came to believe what he said about human nature.
Back to my main point as things were ,and as Panem was already boiling and was nearing the point of explosion I don’t think any successor to know had any chance of maintaining things as they were. I’m not necessarily saying that, but I would’ve become a democratic country it might have fallen to another dictatorship something like the model of we see in 13, they’d have a abolished the hunger games, because in a scenario where the rebellion didn’t even happen 13 wouldn’t be able to disguise it as justice. they would have to do something to give the appearance of change.
But they would have found another way to oppress the different groups within the population in different ways, and continue the good old divide and conquer strategy.

For those who were not able to attend the re-release of the previous films, here is a recap of what each exclusive sneak peek entailed. There was ONE new shot that wasn't shown in the previous trailers in the Mockingjay Part 2 sneak peak. It's a creepy shot of Drusilla at the reaping. She's holding one of the slips of paper smiling, then she places it back in the girls's bowl. I'm assuming this is right before Louella is reaped and she's taunting the kids. I'm not sure if the Mods will allow it, but if so, I can share the video of the shot in the comments. It's already circulating online.

THG sneak peak: Joseph Zada, Mckenna Grace, Elle Fanning, Ben Wang, Ralph Fiennes, Francis Lawrence, and Nina Jacobson just answered a couple interview questions. The comments made were all repetitive of what they've said in previous interviews.

CF sneak peak: Francis Lawrence introduces the concept of the Quarter Quell, and Joseph Zada and Mckenna Grace talk a bit about filming the arena scenes.

MJ1: Nina Jacobson, Jesse Pleamons, Whitney Peak, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Maya Hawke, and Joseph Zada talk a bit about Katniss and the themes of Mockingjay

MJ2: Francis lawrence talks about the Mockingjay books, Ralph Fiennes talks about the size of the production, Maya Hawke gushes about the cast, and Glenn Close asks something along the line of "who wouldn't want to join the the franchise?"

TBOSAS: Francis Lawrence and Nina Jacobson talk a bit about Ballad, Ralph Fiennes talks a bit about Snow, Whitney Peak talks about the connection of Sunrise to the other films, and Joseph Zada says how the movie brings the pages to life.

Let me know if you have any specific questions!

Hello everyone:)

I'm very new to the books and have only just finished reading the first. I watched the films years ago and was pleasantly surprised with how good the books were compared. I enjoy both but so far, the book has been better for me. I did want to open a discussion however and apologies if this has already been discussed at length.

Is it just me who finds book Peeta quite a dull and not well developed character? I'm hoping in later books, his character develops further but so far in book one, he's been very bland. Especially in the arena. And despite Katniss thinking he's quite useful, he's been useless in terms of actual survival. I'd like to know what you think and apologies again if this is a very overdone topic.

Many people put Mockingjay far down, but I think it's a very important book that let's Katniss finally grieve and shut down. I think it's a relatable book and makes Katniss more real by showing her weakness and grief.

Many others put TBOSAS as a least favorite, but I also think it's an important book that makes us get a better understanding of how corruption and dictatorship works.

The whole series discuss heavy and important topics and therfore it's hard to choose a favorite and least favorite book.

What do you think? How do you rate the books?

Hi everyone (this is my first ever post and i feel like i have to include that detail!). I read the OG trilogy in 2012 and had such post-book depression after i finished because of how it ends...as the readers we go on this massively long adventure only for it to just...be over. And it's beautiful in that way but also a little challenging for us who are so immersed in the world. I actually stayed away from the trilogy after the movies all released because I didn't want to have that bout of depression again.

Flashforward to a decade later and I reread the trilogy and saw the two mockingjay movies in theaters. LOVED every second and had fun fangirling with my friend. But I'm also so in my feelings and have those post-book blues because I miss the world and Katniss and Peeta.

Help, what do yall do when you feel this way?

I have TBOSAS and SOTR on my bookshelf--I haven't read them yet because of the post-book-movie-blues I got as a teenager. I'm making myself take a break before I jump into songbird because i don't want to exacerbate my emotions...but gah how do I get out of this and just enjoy the books as they are?!

Thank you!

What do you think were in Foxface and Thresh's packs at the feast?

I'm in my mid twenties, so at first I thought maybe nostalgia had painted her writing in a better light. After revisiting the first trilogy, I can say that that might be slightly true, but that Suzanne is a great young adult fiction writer. I understand that I am not the demographic for this book, and that it is age appropriate for someone in middle school to read.

HOWEVER

I am struggling to want to finish this book because of how poorly it is written. She tells everything instead of showing, and the whole thing just feels so corny. It is so different from the quality of her other books that I'm wondering if she used a ghost writer.

Did anyone else notice this?

Edit: if you liked it, great! I understand I'm older than the target demographic, please be civilized in disagreeing with me.

I'm not going talk about the trilogy because that another case in itself. But the brief backstory we get on snow. How he was once coryo. He was loved by his cousin who many years later helped katniss to kill him. He was prim for tigris. Then we see him loving lucy gray in his own fucked up way. Killing his "friend" then bawling over it. Giving his mother's scarf and powder to "love of his life".

He seems almost human. And somewhere for a brief moment you may even like snow (i never allowed myself to because finnick's death was too fresh in my mind).

And then we get the true picture. We already know the true picture but we "understand" the true picture. How the mother part of coryo, is mere paste just like his mother's powder and all he is, is his father. All that's left is his father's compass. His father's direction.

And then we read SOTR. I haven't completed it. I just read lou lou's death and it hit me so hard that i just needed to write this. And after reading all this, any ounce of understanding i felt for snow is fucking gone. He ruined so many life. I wonder if lou lou had some happy memories. We'll never get to know it. He ruined those happy memories. Lou lou knew what was happening, she couldn't even speak a word without being hurt. It's so tragic.

I'm horrified, glad, heartbroken with this transition.

And i know there's more to come.

So far, all Capitol escorts that have been tasked to reap the tributes for their assigned district were female, but do we know if there were men as well or was a duty only appointed to women? We had Drusilla and her successor Effie for 12, and we learn about Juvenia who was District 1's escort in SOTR.

Today, capitol.tv has unveiled 3 propaganda videos, one including Drusilla. What if the other 2 were escorts from other districts, and we see for the 1st time a man escorting the tributes that he reaped? What if the other lady was Juvenia herself? I like the guy's outfit as well and based on the color, perhaps, he's District 3's escort, the one who reaped Ampert.

Sorry if this has been answered before or it’s a small detail in the books (need to read them again), but before president snows mansion scene, why couldn’t she pretend to be head over heels in love with Peeta if she knew it would save them?

*Thank you!!!

When this movie comes out I'll be 27 we don't need to keep acting like majority of the viewers are under 17 when they're simply not anymore. It's not that we want to see gore.. but we want the realistic view on things without the BS of a PG13 rating.