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Elinor


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  • I'm rewatching The Hunger Games after having a few days to sit with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and a few observations.

    First of all, I don't think Lucy Gray and Katniss are anything alike, other than being female victors from District 12. I don't even feel like Katniss would even remind Snow of Lucy Gray that much. I never got the sense that he really cared about her beyond being attracted to her. Even in the book it's like "dude you just want to get in her pants, just take a breather". Which, of course, is fine! Snow pretty much states in no uncertain terms that he doesn't care about anyone or anybody except himself, and like:

    Spoiler! :
    He kills her with no hint of remorse when she gets in his way. So. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


    She was obviously an important person in Snow's life, but I honestly think he would have found a different way to his ultimate destiny regardless of whether ever met her.

    It's been ages since I read the books, but I seem to distinctly remember them saying that Haymitch was the only other winner from 12. However, I can 1000% believe that she would have been written out of history, so I'm willing to let this slide, but maybe there's an explanation in the part of the book that I didn't read.

    I feel like TBoSaS has been a bit mismarketed because it's really Snow's story. When I first watched it, I liked Tom Blyth's performance a lot but I wasn't connecting him Donald's Sutherland's version of the character, even 64 years apart. A part of the reason I didn't love it because I didn't really feel like this was the same person (until the end, at last). BUT, I think I just needed my memory refreshed because he clearly did his homework, and the mannerisms and tone of voice are all the same. Someone described this an Anakin Skywalker story, and maybe that was Suzanne Collins' intention, but to me, that's not how it comes across. Snow is 1000% just not a good person, and he never was. Yes, he cares about Tigris and his friend (to a degree) but even sociopaths can have people they care about.

    The most interesting thing about TBoSaS, especially now that I'm watching The Hunger Games, is how the show starts off as a fairly simplistic arena match, and it's become an elaborate pageant pretty much singlehandedly due to Snow's input and contributions. The only thing is they may have gone too primitive for the 10th games, because the tech has changed so much I'm having a hard time believing in all happened in one person's lifetime.

    And oh, the nostalgia. But The Hunger Games is so much more than that. It's always been great and people don't take it seriously because it was YA, when it should be.

    Lately, I feel like I've been bathing in memories and interacting with people from high school that's really making high school feel more potent that it has in a really long time. I'm not sure what to make of that, but hopefully I can process and move forward.

    It's been a shit year, but it's moving up, and next year is going to be better.


    EllieMae I love the new movie so much- I like what you said. I think the real arena in TBOSBAS isnt in the games, its really snows life.
    Nov 21, 2023


    Elinor I'm glad you loved it! I liked it but didn't love, but there was lots I thought it did really well, and that last scene where young Snow goes full evil is great. I totally forgot about the line in the original where he says he's been to the outlying districts but that brought things full circle nicely.
    Nov 21, 2023


    Snoink I'm going to have to disagree with you on the technology bit, lol. I'm middle-aged. Technology can change a LOT. Like, reading AoY and pointing out all the little historical inaccuracies that you accidentally wrote in about something as recent as the nineties (and you try your best to keep things historically accurate!) is just... eye-opening how much technology can change within the last twenty-five years. XD
    Nov 21, 2023


    Elinor @Snoink XD

    That's true, and 64 years ago would have been 1959 and I guess a lot has changed since then. I guess what got me is the trains; in this they're using like WW2 era trains and then in HG it's a full high speed magnetic levitating train. I don't recall how long after our time Hunger Games is supposed to be, but I guess I could believe the technology already existed and they just repurposed it once the Capitol was able to rebuild a little bit more.

    Nov 21, 2023


    Snoink I mean. The Wright Brothers first flew in 1903, and we walked on the moon in 1969 and in space before even that, and that was 66 years, which is just crazy, so those technological leaps aren't completely impossible.
    Nov 21, 2023



Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that.
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