Over Thanksgiving break, I got to watch The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and it’s rekindled my love for The Hunger Games series, as it has for most people. The Hunger Games is one of those classic YA series that drew everyone in, and the movies only caused that love to grow. With the release of the prequel novel and it’s new movie, there’s been a Hunger Games resurgence. And I am here for it.
I’m going to talk about some of the best aspects of the new Hunger Games movie and some of the things that it left me wanting to know more about.
If you want to avoid spoilers, stop reading here! Spoilers below!
- Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth)
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Lionsgate Movies / YouTube Tom Blyth does a fantastic job portraying young Coriolanus Snow and showing the character’s ascension into becoming the evil President that we all know. Towards the beginning of the movie, we almost doubt if the young Snow could really turn out as bad as we know he does, but by the end of the movie (I’m looking at you forest scene), we know it’s inevitable. Blyth adds subtle hints that correlate with Donald Sutherland’s original portrayal of the character, and as the movie progresses, he even starts to talk in the same cadence that Sutherland used in the original movies. It makes the character all the more dynamic and creepier.
Now, those of us who are fans of The Hunger Games (and maybe those who aren’t), have all seen the fan edits of young Coriolanus Snow. When I told the other members of Her Campus at Gettysburg that I would be writing this article, one of them immediately said that I needed to include something about the Snow thirst edits. So, it would be a disservice not to mention them.
We’ve all seen them, and maybe that’s what has fueled people to see the movie a second or third time, but the important thing to remember here is that young Coriolanus Snow turns into the Snow that we all come to hate! The man is a walking red flag. I do recognize that this won’t stop some of the fandom from thirsting over the character, but c’mon people! Snow gets Finnick killed!
That’s enough to make me go back to hating him… not to mention Sejanus…
- Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler)
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Rachel Zegler was the perfect Lucy Gray Baird. And to think, she originally turned down the role! She brought the character to life perfectly, and a particular favorite scene of mine is when she speaks to Lucky Flickerman after entering the zoo cage with the other tributes. I also got chills when Zegler sang “The Old Therebefore / Singing at the Snakes” in the arena. Between the acting and the singing… absolutely amazing.
Not to mention, Zegler sang all of the songs live on set! I talk more about the music in the next section, so I’ll digress from saying anything more on the subject for now.
Zegler has also been posting tons of behind the scenes photos, videos, and stories through her social media pages. As a huge fan of The Hunger Games, I really appreciate all of the content and fun insights that she’s sharing, so be sure to check that out!
- the Music
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The music in this movie is phenomenal, both the soundtrack and the score.
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” is absolutely perfect for this movie, and I had it on repeat before the movie even officially released. The same could be said for Zegler’s rendition of “The Hanging Tree,” which is haunting in all the best ways possible. Some of my other favorites that Zegler sings in the movie include “Nothing You Can Take From Me (Boot-Stompin’ Version),” “Pure as The Driven Snow,” and “Lucy Gray (part 2).”
The Covey overall were just perfect, and I personally wish we got to see some more of their family dynamic! Perhaps in an extended version? Please.
The movie’s score was completed by James Newton Howard, who completed the scores for all of the original Hunger Games movies. I’ve been exploring the score in the past couple of days, and here are two of my favorites: “Coryo in the Capitol” and “Snow Land on Top.”
Funnily enough, that second song has some clear parallels to a song that is featured in the ending of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Listen to the last thirty seconds of “Snow Land on Top” (which is played at the very end of the movie with a victorious Snow) and the last thirty seconds of “Victory” (which is played when Katniss lays her eyes on a tortured Peeta at the end of Mockingjay – Part 1). Coincidence? I think not!
- Hints to the Original Movies
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This movie pays homage to the original Hunger Games movies, and I was eating up every single reference or nod. Of course, there were the ones that stuck out easily, like Lucy Gray unknowingly name-dropping Katniss when talking about the swamp potato, but there were more subtle hints that I appreciated as well.
Costume designer Trish Summerville did a brilliant job bringing some of the iconic outfits to life, one of these being Lucy Gray’s rainbow dress. In an interview with Vogue, Summerville revealed that the corset of the dress includes primrose and katniss flowers, evidently paying homage to Prim and Katniss.
Another hint towards the original movies is in relation to the cornucopias in future Hunger Games arenas. In this movie, rebel bombs hit the arena and change its landscape, and the resulting rubble forms a large pile in the arena’s center that takes a cornucopia-shape. Director Francis Lawrence shared in an interview with Vanity Fair that he believes this serves as the inspiration for the cornucopias in following Hunger Games.
Another quick hint to the original movies comes from Zegler, who improvised the bow that Lucy Gray takes during the reaping ceremony in District 12. This iconic move obviously pays homage to Katniss’ bow during her evaluation in the first Hunger Games movie (I always love a good callback).
- Tigris (Hunter Schafer)
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Rotten Tomatoes Coming Soon / YouTube Hunter Schafer was absolutely amazing as Tigris in this movie, and I don’t think anyone else could have done it better. Not to mention, Schafer absolutely embodied the character while on the movie’s press tour as each of her outfits looked like they came right off a Capitol runway. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, she shared that once as a kid for Halloween, she made her own Capitol costume. Icon!
Also, Tigris’ last line in the film? Her subtle dig at Coriolanus by saying he looks just like his father? Calling him Coriolanus instead of Coryo?! AMAZING.
- A Want for More!
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I would read and watch so many new Hunger Games stories if Suzanne Collins decided to come out with them. This movie has made me think about what stories in The Hunger Games universe I would love to see and learn more about: Haymitch’s games (which was the second Quarter Quell where each district sent four tributes instead of two), Mag’s games (which was the 11th games, the one right after The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), and Finnick’s games (I simply just love Finnick). I would also love to know more about Tigris and see how her character develops from this movie to when we see her in Mockingjay – Part 2!
A member of the Her Campus at Gettysburg chapter (shoutout to Sophia Kenny) brought up another great idea: a story about the Avoxes. I think this would be so interesting to delve into!
So, those are some of the topics that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes made me appreciate and think about. This movie, like the original Hunger Games movies, stayed significantly true to the source material, and I greatly respect it for doing so. While I wish that we could have seen some aspects of the book that weren’t included (like what happened to my girl Clemensia?!), I loved this movie and cannot wait to see it again.
If you haven’t seen the movie, go see it (after reading all of the books and seeing the prior movies of course)! And if you’ve already seen the movie… go see it again! Let’s keep The Hunger Games resurgence going for as long as we can.
Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!