“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is a rare prequel that actually works very well as its own standalone movie, while also making what came before even better — very much like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” did. While /Film’s own Jeremy Mathai wasn’t so enthusiastic about the film, writing that it “feels caught between its humbler, more character-driven aims and the blockbuster expectations of reinvigorating a brand” in his review, the movie was a giant hit, and gave audiences a new favorite District 12 victor.
Years before Katniss Everdeen’s revolution, and even years before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical dictator in charge of Panem, “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” follows Snow as a teenager trying to keep his family’s legacy alive. When the 10th annual Hunger Games approach, he is assigned to mentor a tribute from District 12 named Lucy Gray Baird, causing Snow to wrestle with his true allegiance and with how far he’s willing to go to gain power and wealth.
As many parallels as “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” draws with the original “Hunger Games” films, and as much as Lucy Gray is quite literally a stand-in for Katniss, is there a more explicit connection between the two characters? Given they kind of resemble each other and have relatively similar personalities, it doesn’t take a leap to speculate that the two could be related. The truth, of course, is that they’re not, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t linked in other ways.
How Lucy Gray Baird teases the arrival of Katniss
“The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is in constant conversation with the original “Hunger Games” movies, featuring another young tribute from District 12 that earns the heart of all of Panem and nearly starts a revolution. Indeed, in many ways, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” shows that Coriolanus Snow inadvertently yet directly led to the creation of Katniss Everdeen — think of it as “The Hunger Games” equivalent of Palpatine accidentally creating Anakin Skywalker through experimentation with midi-chlorians in “Star Wars.” By cheating his way through becoming top of his class, Snow created all the conditions that would make it possible for Katniss to become a revolutionary leader. He changed the conditions of the test by making the Hunger Games a popularity contest as much as it was a death game. By the end of the movie, Snow even inspires the song that Katniss will one day use as her rallying cry (“The Hanging Tree,” which was actually written by Lucy herself).
Though “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is filled with many references to the original “Hunger Games” films, what’s most noticeable are the parallels and callbacks (callforwards?) to Katniss and her story. In addition to the “Hanging Tree” song, there are plenty of mentions of literal katniss flowers and mockingjays in the prequel movie. Thematically, however, there is a throughline between Katniss and Lucy too; despite the pair being unrelated, the older Snow seems to actually admire Katniss even as he plots to have her destroyed, recalling the younger Snow’s feelings about Lucy. As /Film’s Michael Boyle put it, “It’s with the prequel that we realize that Katniss must remind him of his first love, the one he rejected due to his pursuit of power and wealth. The rebellious, straightforward Katniss represents the honest (if far more dangerous) life Snow could’ve picked for himself.”
Even if Lucy Gray and Katniss are not related, the two are thematically linked — something that makes pathetic little Snow furious.
