A refresher of each movie for those about to see the new prequel
I think it’s safe to say that a majority of Gen Z had a Hunger Games phase at one point or another. In my experience, I went through an obsessive phase during seventh grade when I first watched the movies and read the books. I constantly watched and rewatched the movies, fell in love with the characters and even bought merchandise (yes, I admit it, I had my very own Mockingjay pin). When plans were announced that the added prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was going to be made into a movie, I was ecstatic.
Over Thanksgiving break, I saw the new movie, and it did not disappoint. The storyline, music and characters made the prequel a hit. Ever since seeing it, my mind has been back on The Hunger Games nonstop. That same night, my sister and I rewatched the first movie, which led to me rewatching the whole series over the week. If you’re planning on seeing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and need a refresher on the original four movies, I’ve got you covered.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games series takes place in a fictional country, Panem, where citizens live in either the Capitol or the districts. Each year, two children are selected from each district to participate in The Hunger Games, where they are thrown into an arena to fight and only one tribute comes out alive. During the reaping ceremony for the 74th Games, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to be the female tribute in place of her little sister, Prim.
The movie follows Katniss and her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, through their preparation for games and time in the arena. Key moments to remember:
- During tribute interviews, Katniss wears a dress that lights up in flames when she spins. Her nickname “the girl on fire” originates from this.
- Peeta helps start the “star-crossed lovers from District 12” trope by revealing he has a crush on Katniss. This sparks interest among the Capitol viewers and leads to everyone being invested in their “relationship” when they play it up during the Games.
- Katniss befriends Rue, a very young tribute from District 11, and avenges her death when she is killed by another tribute. She sings to Rue as she passes and honors her by surrounding her body with flowers.
- A rule change is announced, stating that two tributes can win if they belong to the same district. When Katniss and Peeta are the two left standing, a new announcement revokes the rule change. Katniss and Peeta refuse to kill one another and instead plan to both eat poison berries. Before they can, an announcement tells them to stop and they both get to live. For the first time, two tributes are crowned victors, and this moment is viewed as an act of rebellion by President Snow.
Catching Fire
The second installment of the series is my personal favorite. In Catching Fire, everything we thought we knew about the rules of the Games changed. Every 25 years, there is a “Quarter Quell” where the rules of the Games are modified. This year, for the 75th Games, President Snow announces that the tributes will be selected out of the victors from each district. Because of this, Katniss and Peeta end up being thrown back into the arena a year following their victory.
The movie follows Katniss and Peeta in a new arena as they navigate allyships with other tributes throughout the Games, with the ending marking a shift in the series. Key moments to remember:
- President Snow visits Katniss at her home before the new Games are announced to threaten her. He views the berry moment that won her and Peeta last year’s games as an act of defiance, not an act of love. Because of this, he tells Katniss she needs to make him buy the love story.
- Katniss and Peeta play up the star-crossed lovers trope. For the cameras, they act madly in love, and they even fake a proposal. However, there is a disconnect between them off-camera, as Peeta’s feelings aren’t completely an act.
- Once the Quarter Quell victors-as-tributes Games are announced, Katniss makes Haymitch promise to protect Peeta in the arena over her. She wants him to be the one to make it out.
- Agitated about having the promise of safety associated with winning the Games stripped, the tributes all try whatever they can to stop the games. During the interviews, Katniss wears a wedding dress that transforms into a Mockingjay costume with wings.
- In the arena, Katniss and Peeta have many allies. In the end, the two are separated within their ally group. A plan to electrify the other tributes fails and instead, Katniss fires an arrow wrapped in wire at the sky as lightning strikes. The electric wire destroys the arena, and Katniss is airlifted out.
- Katniss discovers in the end that there was a plan the whole time to protect her and get her out as she is the Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion. Peeta was not one of the tributes rescued from the fallen arena.
Mockingjay Part 1
Mockingjay Part One is a massive shift in the series. Katniss has been taken to District 13, a district that was thought to have been destroyed years ago but has secretly survived underground. She is introduced to Coin, the leader of District 13, who along with Plutarch wants her to serve as the face of the rebellion: the Mockingjay.
The movie follows the beginnings of the full-blown rebellion against the Capitol inspired by Katniss as the Mockingjay. Key moments to remember:
- Katniss discovers her arrow that ended the Quarter Quell Games was a turning point – the fuel needed for the districts to fully begin the rebellion against the Capitol.
- She refuses to serve as the Mockingjay until Coin promises to rescue Peeta and the other tributes at the first chance, along with pardoning Peeta from any “crimes” he commits while under the Capitol’s influence.
- Katniss begins work as the Mockingjay filming videos to rally the districts and continue fueling the uprising. The infamous “Fire is catching. If we burn, you burn with us,” speech takes place.
- The Capitol uses Peeta similarly to how District 13/the rebellion uses Katniss. The two go back and forth communicating messages to the citizens of Panem from opposing sides of the war. Peeta is forced to say things backing the Capitol, until one point where he warns Katniss of an attack heading toward District 13.
- A mission to rescue Peeta and the other captive tributes is successful. When Peeta sees Katniss for the first time, he violently attacks her.
Mockingjay Part 2
The conclusion of the movie series takes us through the final stretch of the war between the districts and the Capitol. Katniss along with the other surviving tributes and main characters make their way to the Capitol, all while Peeta is battling his distorted memories and the effects of his torture by the Capitol.
The movie follows Katniss and the rebels on their mission leading to the conclusion of the war, ending in the aftermath of the rebellion victory and life after The Hunger Games. Key moments to remember:
- It is revealed that Peeta was tortured and brainwashed into believing Katniss is the enemy while at the Capitol. It takes time for him to recognize the distorted memories and regain some of who he was before. To help with his memories, he continuously asks Katniss whether things are “real or not real.”
- Katniss along with other faces of the rebellion are sent out into the field as the “Star Squad.” They follow behind an actual squad as the on-screen faces of the rebellion. Some members of the team die during the mission, including Finnick.
- The war comes to an end when bombs are dropped on a group of Capitol children, followed by a delayed bomb that kills people who rushed to help them. Prim is one of the casualties in the second bombing. The aircraft appears to belong to the Capitol, and this makes the people of the Capitol lose all trust in President Snow and turn against him, ending the war with the rebellion winning.
- In a discussion with Snow, Katniss finds out that the bombing was actually orchestrated by President Coin. When Gale doesn’t visit Katniss after the incident, she asks him if he had any part in the bombing, and it’s revealed that he somewhat did.
- President Coin declares herself interim president and puts out the idea of having a “symbolic Hunger Games” with the Capitol children. From this, it can be assumed that with Coin in power, not much will change. Katniss votes yes on the condition that she gets to be the one to kill Snow, but she has another plan in mind. When the time comes, instead of firing her arrow at Snow, she shoots it at Coin.
- The government restructures under new power and ends the Games for good. The ending flashes forward and shows Katniss and Peeta together with two children. Katniss soothes their baby from a nightmare, telling the child that she plays a game in her head to make herself feel better when she has nightmares. The movie concludes with Katniss saying “There are much worse games to play,” a hopeful end as we know their children will get to live better lives in a world without The Hunger Games.
Rewatching the movies all these years later proved that The Hunger Games series is truly timeless, and I feel just as obsessed as I did when I was first introduced to the story. While some additions to a previously completed series end up being unnecessary, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does not fall into that category. The new prequel does an amazing job adding to the story, and will likely make you want to go back and rewatch the whole series.