The latest silver screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ brilliantly designed world of Panem is finally here in the shape of Francis Lawrence’s new movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The prequel, set 65 years before the original trilogy, is centered around a young Coriolanus Snow (played by Tom Blyth) as he struggles in the war-ravaged Capitol and competes to win a cash prize that will turn his life around. His task? Making the Hunger Games appealing and increasing viewership. Although he’s initially discouraged by the tribute he must mentor, Lucy Gray Baird (played by Rachel Zegler), the female tribute of District 12, he soon realizes her true potential, and the two become a duo to be reckoned with.
Should you stick around after the credits roll on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
No. There is no post-credits scene in the new Hunger Games movie. The only thing you will find after the movie displays its final shot of Blyth as the vicious-President-in-the-making is an audio tag of the famous Snow line “It’s the things we love the most that destroy us.” Said in Donald Sutherland’s voice, the quote originates from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, in a scene where President Snow cryptically hints at Peeta’s condition while talking to Katniss.
The quote takes on a whole new meaning in this new chapter of Snow’s story as we learn about his borderline-obsessive infatuation with Lucy Gray that ultimately drives him over the edge into becoming the morally bereft monster we know from the original three movies. Whether his feelings for the elusive Victor of the 10th annual Hunger Games can be classified as love is down to the personal opinions of those watching the film and reading the book. Snow, however, truly believed he loved Lucy Gray and because he could not control the one he loved most, he would be bitter, resentful, and fearful of other rebels like her for the rest of his life.
