District 12 | 74th Hunger Games | Past Tributes | Capitol | Spoiler Characters | The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Characters from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, a prequel film to The Hunger Games. For character tropes as applied to the book, see here.
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Main Characters
Lucy Gray Baird
Lucy Gray Baird
"You really wanna take care of me in that arena, Coriolanus? Start by thinking I can actually win."
Portrayed By: Rachel Zegler
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
"I think there’s a natural goodness born into us all. No, really. You can either cross that line into evil… or not. And it’s our life’s work to stay on the right side of that line."
The female District 12 tribute of the 10th Hunger Games as well as its eventual victor (making her the only District 12 victor until Haymitch Abernathy). A strange girl who gains the attention of her Capitol mentor, future Panem president Coriolanus Snow.
- Action Survivor: Unlike Katniss, she has no training in any forms of combat or survival prior to the tournament and has to rely on her wit and will to survive.
- Animal Motifs: Songbirds and snakes. She has an affinity for both, and they usually return it. She often uses bird metaphors while speaking, is referred to as a "songbird" throughout the book due to her singing, is part of a group called "the Covey", and her last name is 'Baird'. At the Reaping, she uses a snake to get revenge on Mayfair for trying to kill her, and manages to tame the snake mutts in the arena (with help from Coriolanus).
- Beautiful Singing Voice: She is the singer of a traveling musical troupe, so this is to be expected. She uses her singing to help win her sponsors.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Falls for Coriolanus Snow because he did his best to care for and guide her both before and during the Games (while knowing it was for their mutual benefit)
- Bonding over Missing Parents: Their shared status as orphans is one of the first things that her and Coriolanus realize they have in common.
- The Charmer: Lucy is naturally very charismatic and good with people and figures out quickly how to endear herself to viewers of the Games and use their love of her to her advantage.
- Colourful Theme Naming: Like other members of the Covey, Lucy Gray have two given names, one of which is taken from a traditional ballad while the other is a colour. She's always referred to by both names, and is quick to correct a Capitol reporter who addresses her simply as "Lucy".
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Katniss in numerous ways:
- Katniss was a skilled hunter and fighter who had no interest in how she looked and wore exclusively drab and simple clothing when not on display for audiences while Lucy Gray is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about fashion, weaving, makeup and takes great pride in her appearance and so wears very colorful outfits.
- Katniss was aloof, distant, cynical and had terrible people skills while Lucy Gray is naturally charismatic, outgoing, has excellent social skills and knows how to charm others.
- Katniss is a very talented fighter but a poor planner and leader while Lucy Gray is not a combatant but is very good at using her charm and wits to survive and get people to root for her, even being the first Tribute to get sponsors.
- Katniss despised Snow and saw him as nothing more than a monster while Lucy Gray knows him decades before he became President and sees his softer side, genuinely caring for him.
- Katniss led a revolt against the government through her participation and later settles down with Peeta while Lucy Gray is simply trying to survive and disappears after she wins, her fate left a mystery.
- Katniss had a family and was born and raised in District 12 while Lucy Gray's past is a mystery and she simply arrived in the District after losing her own parents and siblings
- Katniss volunteered for the Games to spare her sister going while Lucy Gray was was forced into it simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- The contrast can be best summed up by the popular description that Katniss was a fighter forced into being a performer while Lucy Gray is a performer who was forced into being a fighter.
- Deuteragonist: She is the second most important character in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, after Coriolanus Snow.
- Establishing Character Moment: We first see her at the Reaping, where she slides a snake down Mayfair Lipp's dress while wearing an eye-catching rainbow dress and sings a song afterwards about how you can't keep her down.
- Final Girl: She is the lone survivor of the 10th Hunger Games, like in the book.
- Foil: To Volumnia Gaul, oddly enough.
- Both women have a strong and lasting influence on Coriolanus' life. One inspires love, defiance, freedom, and a departure from Capitol life. The other inspires brutality, betrayal, and support of the Capitol's classist ideals. After his failed romance with Lucy Gray, he ultimately chooses to side with Gaul.
- Both Gaul and Lucy Gray have snakes and birds as their animal motifs (though both are more prominent for the latter). Lucy Gray's musical talent earned her the nickname "Songbird" and her affinity for snakes helps her get revenge, though she never uses them to poison anyone to death in the film. Gaul has a whole tankard of rainbow-colored snakes, representing her desire to "see a rainbow of destruction engulfing the world" and is more than happy to use them to kill people for the sake of research and subjugation. Gaul also uses Jabberjays for espionage and torture while Lucy Gray's songs are mimicked by Mockingjays as a symbol of defiance and an echo of her legacy.
- Both women have a Cloud Cuckoo Lander side and they easily stand out in their respective environments.
- Friend to All Children: Is notably good with kids. The Capitol children she interacts with adore her.
- Girly Girl: Likes dramatic makeup, pretty dresses, and weaves wildflowers in her hair.
- Good Bad Girl: Downplayed. Lucy Gray is sensual and flirtatious, although she uses her charms to entertain, rather than seduce. She's also one of the more good-hearted characters in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, despite not being "made of sugar". She'll kill in self-defense and will play a humiliating prank on someone who tried to murder her, but she'll do anything for her family and is able to empathize with Mayfair even after the latter arranged for her to be sent into the Hunger Games.
- Guile Hero: Both she and Coriolanus know she's not really a physical threat, especially against the boys, so their strategy to is to be smart. She charms the audience into getting enough sponsorships to keep her well fed and from there it's just a waiting game to let the crowd thin from fighting, disease, and starvation. She gets the hell out of dodge as soon as it starts and stays hidden with Jessup, only coming out for food. From there, she lets the poison do its thing and never directly has to fight anyone.
- Hero Antagonist: While she's Coriolanus's love interest the majority of the film and the two are mostly on the same page, she's clearly not for the Capitol and their stronghold on everything while he is—or he at least is more uncertain about it. Lucy Gray immediately begins to realize how dangerous their connection is the moment that she suspects Coriolanus got Sejanus executed. It's once she confirms this suspicion that she tricks him into getting bitten by a snake and then attempts to make a run for it.
- History Repeats: Her conduct during her Hunger Games is similar to that of Katniss and Peeta, future tributes from her district. They both end up singing for the audience, become close with their mentors, and poison another tribute (though Peeta does this unwittingly). The only difference is that she wins her Games alone, while Katniss and Peeta do it together.
- Lucy Gray and Katniss are both affiliated with the song The Hanging Tree.
- Iconic Outfit: Her ruffled rainbow dress is her most remembered outfit, in part because she wears it so often. It also functions as this in-universe. She wears it to comfort herself on Reaping Day because it belonged to her mother, and its colorfulness stands out on such a somber occasion where most people are dressed for the serious event that Reaping is.
- I Don't Want to Die: She eventually admits that she is scared of dying in the Hunger Games after she becomes close with Snow. This motivates him to start helping her win the Games for real.
- Meaningful Name:
- "Lucy Gray" is the title of a poem by William Wordsworth. In the poem, the titular Lucy Gray disappears during a snowstorm, though her body was never found. Like her namesake, Lucy Gray eventually disappears after Snow tries to kill her, although it's not explicitly stated whether she dies, decides to retreat to the wilderness, attempts to make it to what we know is District 13, or changes her identity to escape her pursuers.
- Her last name, Baird, sounds similar to 'bird' and 'bard', which fits both her connection to mockingjays and her occupation as a writer and singer of ballads.
- Mistaken for Murderer: Mayor Lipp suspects Lucy Gray of murdering his daughter, Mayfair. The actual murderer was Coriolanus Snow.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She's visibly remorseful over accidentally killing Dill with a poisoned water bottle meant for Coral and the tributes allied with her and quietly apologizes after seeing Reaper mourn her.
- Mysterious Waif: Her past and overall life is an enigma. She herself states that, as a Covey, she didn't actually come from District 12 and only got stranded there because of Capitol policies. Her parents and two siblings are all dead, she shares her name with a very old poem in which her namesake died a mysterious death, and finally, she disappears from the face of the earth without any explanation at the end of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
- Never Found the Body: After she finds out Snow's betrayal of Sejanus, she disappears without leaving a trace on the world.
- Proud Beauty: Is a pretty girl who likes to take care of her appearance.
- Rainbow Motif: One of the most memorable pieces of imagery in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is her attending the Reaping in her rainbow dress. She wears the same dress during her time at Capitol Zoo, at her Interview, and in the Arena.
- Shrouded in Myth: She was until now (see Unseen No More). What happens to her at the end of the book is never revealed.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Turns up at the Reaping in a frilly rainbow dress with flowers in her hair... and then proceeds to stuff a snake down Mayfair Lipp's dress.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Develops feelings for Snow because he worked hard to care for her and protect her during the Games. Unfortunately, his ambition and loyalty to the Capitol eventually overshadow any feelings he had for her in return.
- Southern Belle: Her accent, dress, and overall demeanor give her the impression of one.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With Snow. Even after she wins her Games, she's a District 12 citizen and Snow is a Capitol loyalist. They do eventually get a chance to be together, but it falls apart after Snow inadvertently reveals that he killed Sejanus.
- Theme Naming: All Covey have a system on how to name their children. Their first name is a reference to a ballad, while their second name is a color. Lucy Gray is special in that regard, as both her names refer to the poem "Lucy Gray", though she herself says that the "Gray" part also refers to the gray sky of a snowy day.
- Uncertain Doom: Just what happens to her at the end of the film? Does she return to District 12 and adopt a new persona after she's sure Snow has left the woods? Does she succeed in escaping Panem? Or does she die in the woods trying to get to what we know is District 13 in the north or when Snow shoots her? Like the character from the poem she was named for, her fate is unclear.
- Unperson: Downplayed. Thanks in no small part to Snow and Dr. Gaul, Lucy Gray is all but scrubbed from the record, only recognized as an obscure victor from District 12. The legacy she inspired, however, proves far harder to erase.
- Unseen No More: She's the unnamed previous District 12 victor who's mentioned a handful of times in the original books. She's also the composer of The Hanging Tree.
- You Cannot Kill An Idea: It takes a few generations, but her legacy will eventually come to fruition. Just in time for Snow himself to still witness it.
Coriolanus Snow
See his entry here.
District 12
The Covey
In General
Portrayed By: Vaughan Reilly (Maude Ivory), Honor Gillies (Barb Azure), Eike Onyambu (Tam Amber), Konstantin Taffet (Clerk Carmine)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The Covey are the family of musicians Lucy Gray Baird comes from. They were originally nomads who travelled around the country to entertain, but by the time of The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, they are stranded in District 12 due to the Capitol's polices. Aside from Lucy Gray, the members include Maude Ivory, Barb Azure, Clerk Carmine, Tam Amber, and Billy Taupe. Maude Ivory and Barb Azure are both Lucy Gray's cousins and her sole living relatives, while Clerk Carmine and Billy Taupe are brothers.- Colourful Theme Naming: Members of the Covey all have two given names, one of which is taken from a traditional ballad while the other is a colour. They are always referred to by both names.
- Demoted to Extra: Aside from Lucy Gray and Billy Taupe, all of them have lesser roles in the film.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Covey seem to be inspired by the Romani, being a group of itinerants who feel that they don't belong to any single regional border, wear colorful clothing, and provide musical entertainment to make a living.
- Living Relic: The Covey are a leftover of sorts from an earlier era in Panem’s history, before the Dark Days and the restrictions on travel between the Districts.
- Meaningful Name: A covey is a group of quails, tying in with Lucy Gray's avian theme.
- Musical Theme Naming: All members of the Covey are named after real-life ballads and poems. The most prominent, of course, is Lucy Gray (named after the poem by William Wordsworth; this is even pointed out in-universe). Another is Barb Azure (named after Barbara Allen
).
Billy Taupe
Billy Taupe
Portrayed By: Dakota Shapiro
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The brother of Clerk Carmine and a former member of the Covey. Dated Lucy Gray Baird until Lucy Gray found out he was cheating on her with Mayfair Lipp and broke up with him.- Domestic Abuse: He acts entitled and controlling towards Lucy Gray both during and after their relationship, and two-times her for the mayor's daughter, Mayfair, whom he continues to date even after she tries to get Lucy Gray killed. Despite this, he continues to pursue her, even though she made clear that she wants nothing to do with him.
- Inter-Class Romance: Billy Taupe, who comes from the Seam, is in a relationship with Mayfair Lipp, the Mayor's daughter.
- Morality Pet: He actually seems to care about Mayfair to the point of turning on his fellow Rebels when they shoot her.
- Token Evil Teammate: The only member of the Covey to be antagonistic, and he was kicked out because he cheated on Lucy Gray.
Other District 12 Residents
Jessup Diggs
Jessup Diggs
Portrayed By: Nick Benson
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The male District 12 tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Lysistrata Vickers.- Dies Wide Open: Lucy has to close his eyes after he falls to his death.
- Meaningful Name: His surname refers to the act of digging, which is something coal miners would do a lot.
- Not The Illness That Killed Them: He doesn't succumb to the rabies he contracted. Instead, he dies when Coriolanus convinces Lysistrata to send a drone with water to hit him (as people with rabies have hydrophobia) which makes him plummet to his death.
- Undignified Death: He contracts rabies from a bat biting him in the filthy train car he and Lucy Gray were transported to the Capitol in. In his death throes, he runs around in a confused state as he tries to reach Lucy Gray, who understandably stays away from him, before Coriolanus manages to convince Lysistrata to send a drone with a water bottle to scare him off, causing him to fall to his death.
- Worf Had the Flu: He's a fairly big and strong guy which should've made him a decently formidable tribute. Unfortunately, he gets bitten by a bat and contracts rabies while protecting Lucy Gray on the train ride, and since nobody in the Capitol bothers to give the poor guy any proper medical attention, he can barely even walk by the time the game actually starts.
Spruce
Spruce
Portrayed By: George Somner
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
A District 12 rebel who wants to escape Panem.- Gun Nut: He has a large cache of firearms. He eventually uses one to kill Billy Taupe when he tries to attack Coriolanus for killing Mayfair.
- Hide the Evidence: After killing Billy Taupe, he hides the guns used to kill him and Mayfair in the cabin where the Covey frequented whenever they had their lake picnic.
- Run for the Border: He was already planning to get out of there but really lights out of there after being forced to shoot Billy Taupe. Unfortunately, he ends up caught.
Commander Hoff
Commander Hoff
Portrayed By: Burn Gorman
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The Head Peacekeeper in District 12 during Coriolanus Snow's and Sejanus Plinth's time working there.- Adaptational Badass: Actually puts in effort to thoroughly search the district for the murder-weapons of Mayfair and Billy Taupe instead of brushing it off as a random act of violence like in the books, thus raising the stakes in the final act.
- Police Brutality: As the head of the District 12 Peacekeepers, it's in his job description. Hoff is very fond of public executions and arbitrary arrests.
- Pet the Dog: He wonders what the son of General Crassus Snow is doing as a grunt Peacekeeper in the ass end of Panem, and assigns Coriolanus to officer school to give him a path to climb back to the top, as well as to better apply his talents.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Hoff is generally pleasant with his men but quick to order executions.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Zig-Zagged. Commander Hoff is good-tempered and decent to the Peacekeepers he commands, but rules over the citizens of District 12 with an iron fist.
Mayfair Lipp
Mayfair Lipp
Portrayed By: Isobel Jesper Jones
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The daughter of Mayor Lipp. Has a personal vendetta against Lucy Gray due to Lucy Gray being the ex-girlfriend of Mayfair's boyfriend, Billy Taupe.- Asshole Victim: She was a horrible person, so there isn't much sympathy for her when she's shot to death by Snow.
- Evil Counterpart: To Madge Undersee from the original series. Madge is Spoiled Sweet and a close friend of Katniss, Mayfair is a Spoiled Brat and hates Lucy Gray. The only thing they have in common is that they are both the mayor's daughter.
- In the Back: Snow shoots her from behind when she tries to tell her father about the rebel's plans.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Sets Lucy Gray up to be Reaped in order to remove her as a romantic rival for Billy's affections.
- Nepotism: She used her father's influence to send Lucy Gray to the Games, which of course prevents her from being Reaped as well.
- Rich Bitch: She's the mayor's daughter and uses her wealth and status for her advantage, like getting rid of Lucy Gray by sending her off to the Hunger Games.
- She Knows Too Much: Snow shoots her dead when she tries to squeal to her father about the rebel cell.
- Too Dumb to Live: Telling a group of rebels who have rifles that she'll report them to her father so they'll get hanged is just plain idiotic. The fact that it wasn't one of the rebels who decided to pick up one of these rifles and gun her down is just the cherry on top.
- Uptown Girl: Is the Mayor's daughter, and is dating Billy Taupe, a boy from the Seam.
Mayor Lipp
Mayor Lipp
Portrayed By: Marc Aden Gray
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The Mayor of District 12 during President Snow's youth and father of Mayfair Lipp.- Corrupt Politician: Uses his power to try and get the innocent Lucy Gray killed, all because his daughter has her eyes on Lucy Gray's boyfriend and wants her out of the way.
- Mayor Pain: He's the evil variety. He sends Lucy Gray off to what he thinks is her death, and assaults her.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Mayfair, his only known child, dies in the book.
- Would Hit a Girl: Hits Lucy Gray, leaving a purple bruise.
- Would Hurt a Child: He slaps Lucy Gray, a 16 year old girl, in the face for putting a snake in his daughter's dress—not to mention he may have knowingly read her name because Mayfair asked him to too.
Other Tributes of the 10th Hunger Games
Facet and Velvereen
Facet and Velvereen
Portrayed By: Tim Torok (Facet), Varvara Kanellakopoulou (Velvereen)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 1 tributes of the 10th Hunger Games. They are mentored by Livia Cardew and Palmyra Monty, respectively.- Demoted to Extra: The film does not show their bodies being dragged by horses during the opening of the Games.
- Meaningful Name: Since both Facet and Velvereen hail from District 1, both of their names reference their District's industry of producing luxury items for the Capitol.
- The word 'facet' refers to a small flat surface cut onto a precious stone.
- Velvereen is one letter away from 'velveteen', a type of cloth which imitates velvet.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: They take advantage of the sabotage to try and run for their lives.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Before the Games even start, both are shot dead when they attempt to flee the arena during the rebel bombing.
Marcus
Marcus
Portrayed By: Jerome Lance
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 2 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Sejanus Plinth, who also happens to be his former classmate from school.- Cold-Blooded Torture: After the Capitol captures him, they put him on display during the opening of the Games, still alive but battered and bloodied and an easy prey for other tributes to kill.
- Commonality Connection: Defied; he and his mentor Sejanus come from the same district and were even once classmates, but this only serves to make Marcus hate Sejanus more, and thus he refuses to engage with Sejanus on any level, not even to improve his own chances of survival in the Games.
- Great Escape: When the stadium is bombed, Marcus flees and tries to escape the Capitol. However, sometime before the Games start, he is captured and then put on display in the stadium.
- History Repeats: Like Cato, the District 2 male tribute in the 74th Hunger Games, he was tortured by the Gamemakers and eventually mercy killed by a female tribute.
- Mercy Kill: When Lamina approaches him during the Games, he begs her to end his misery. She proceeds to slash his throat.
- Slashed Throat: Lamina kills him by slashing his throat three times.
- We Used to Be Friends: Or rather, classmates. Before Sejanus moved to the Capitol, he and Marcus attended the same school. Sejanus still keeps a class photo featuring him and Marcus.
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: He and Sejanus. They were both raised in the same District 2 neighborhood and even attended the same school. However, Sejanus' family rose up the ranks and moved to the Capitol, freeing him from having to participate in the Hunger Games. Marcus, on the other hand, did not. He is still bitter about this and refuses to talk to Sejanus during their mentorship.
Sabyn
Sabyn
Portrayed By: Yuli Lam
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 2 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. She is mentored by Florus Friend. Circ and Teslee
Circ and Teslee
Portrayed By: Felix Audu (Circ), Vanessa Blanck (Teslee)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 3 tributes of the 10th Hunger Games. They are mentored by Io Jasper and Urban Canville, respectively.- Demoted to Extra: Perhaps the most egregious examples of the film. While in the book they were huge threats in the games, here they are both killed on the first day.
Mizzen
Mizzen
Portrayed By: Cooper Dillon
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 4 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Persephone Price.- Badass and Child Duo: With him as the child and Coral as the badass, though Mizzen's not bad himself.
- Devoured by the Horde: He meets his end when snake muttations devour him to death.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: He dies being devoured by the snake mutts rather than falling from a great height and breaking his neck.
- Meaningful Name: His name brings to mind the mizzen-mast of a ship.
- Villainous Friendship: He seems to have a good rapport with Coral, and she gives a look of sadness when she sees him being devoured by the snakes.
Coral
Coral
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Portrayed By: Mackenzie Lansing
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 4 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. She is mentored by Festus Creed.- Adaptational Villainy: Her Pet the Dog moments with Mizzen from the books did not make the film edition (though she does briefly look back as Mizzen is killed with regret), and she's much more overtly aggressive in leading her pack, ruthlessly hunting down Lucy Gray after taunting Coriolanus about it.
- Alas, Poor Villain: As the snakes kill her, she laments that she killed several children, and it was All for Nothing.
- Badass and Child Duo: With her as the badass and Mizzen as the child, though Mizzen's not bad himself.
- Big Sister Instinct: She seemed protective of Mizzen, her thirteen-year-old district partner.
- Combat Pragmatist: She betrays Tanner and uses the beam to kill Lamina.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: She was killed by being bitten to death by the snake mutts.
- Dark Action Girl: She is the most dominant tribute during the Games, and effectively the leader of the Career pack.
- Devoured by the Horde: She meets her end when snake muttations grab her feet and bite her to death.
- Evil Redhead: She has ginger hair and is the most brutal and aggressive tribute of the 10th Hunger Games.
- The Heavy: She's the main physical threat during the second act, even if she's ultimately another victim in the grand scheme of things.
- Meaningful Name: She's most likely named after the underwater organism known as coral.
- Prongs of Poseidon: Her weapon of choice is a trident.
- What You Are in the Dark: She begs Lucy Gray to help her from the snake mutts, at first suggesting a hypocrite given her mercilessness previously. But as she is about to die she reveals she really is a Punch-Clock Villain at worst as she weeps that all the wicked things the Games forced her to do amounted to nothing. This more or less supports Lucy Gray's belief that the Arena reveals nothing as Coral would likely have never hurt anyone if she didn't have to.
- You Have Failed Me: Kills Tanner by stabbing him with her trident because he let Lucy Gray go free.
Hy and Sol
Hy and Sol
Portrayed By: Kittipong Ace Cunjanagan (Hy), Samia Hofmann (Sol)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 5 tributes of the 10th Hunger Games. They are mentored by Dennis Fling and Iphigenia Moss, respectively. Otto and Ginnee
Otto and Ginnee
Portrayed By: Nova Just (Otto), Kyra Reinert (Ginnee)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 6 tributes of the 10th Hunger Games. They are mentored by Apollo and Diana Ring, respectively.- Adaptational Badass: Otto, who never got to show his skills before his death in the book, reveals himself to be quite deadly when given a crossbow.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Otto makes it to the Games instead of dying in the arena bombing. Averted with Ginnee who dies the same way she did in the book.
Treech
Treech
Portrayed By: Hiroki Berrecloth
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 7 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Vipsania Sickle.- Adaptational Villainy: He becomes part of the Career pack in the film.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Lucy Gray kills him through the rat poison, rather than her pet venomous snake.
- Everyone Has Standards: He refuses to hunt Lamina when the Careers corner her, since she came from his district.
- Meaningful Name: His name is Treech, from the District filled with trees. You do the math from there.
- Mighty Lumberjack: He's a very good fighter from the lumber District.
Lamina
Lamina
Portrayed By: Irene Böhm
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 7 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. She is mentored by Pliny Harrington.- Adaptational Wimp: The film depicts her as extremely hysterical upon being Reaped, even until the Games start. That said, she still manages to survive the opening bloodbath.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Blonde in the books, ginger in the film.
- History Repeats: She gets cornered by a pack of tributes, just like Katniss does in her Games. Unlike her, however, Lamina does not survive the encounter, being speared by Coral.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gets skewered by Coral using her trident.
- Last Stand: Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner corner her in the stadium and ultimately kill her.
- Meaningful Name: Her name refers to the botanical term of the flat part of the leaf, or in layman's terms, the leaf blade.
- Mercy Kill: Does this to Marcus on the first day of the Games to put him out of his suffering.
- Morton's Fork: Coral and Mizzen force Lamina into one of these by cornering her on the beam from opposite sides, giving her only enough time to attack one before the other is upon her. She is subsequently knocked off the beam by Coral and falls to her death.
- Mighty Lumberjack: A skilled axe-wielder.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: She thought that staying on the beam would keep her safe, and didn't expect Coral, Mizzen and Tanner to team up on her.
Bobbin
Bobbin
Portrayed By: Knox Gibson
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 8 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Juno Phipps.- Bludgeoned to Death: Snow kills him by picking up a piece of concrete and whacking him in the head with it multiple times.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: He is an amputee in the film, but there is no mention of him having any sort of disability in the book.
- Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Coriolanus beats him to death with a piece of concrete attached to a rebar when he hits Coriolanus in the back with his sword and wounds him. Initially, Coriolanus was just planning on defending himself with that rebar but after he got hit, he got consumed by anger.
- Handicapped Badass: Having only one arm doesn't stop him from being a Pint-Sized Powerhouse.
- Meaningful Name: He's most likely named after the spindle/cylinder which holds thread in a sewing machine.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He is small, but still able to spar with Coriolanus and Sejanus at the same time.
- Start of Darkness: Bobbin is Coriolanus' first kill. Even when he tries to justify his murder as self-defense, his death obviously impacts his mental state, as he becomes more ruthless after that.
Wovey
Wovey
Portrayed By: Sofia Sanchez
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 8 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. She is mentored by Hilarius Heavensbee.- Desperate Plea for Home: When the snake mutts are being carried to the Arena, she hopefully mutters whether the Games have ended and they can go home now.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Devoured by the snake mutts, rather than being poisoned by Lucy Gray's rat poison.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: She has Down syndrome in the film, but there is no mention of her having any sort of disability in the book.
- Meaningful Name: "Wove" is the past simple form of 'weave', which is something her District is known for — woven products.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: The most innocent and harmless of the tributes and one that faces a horrible death at the hands of snake mutts.
Panlo and Sheaf
Panlo and Sheaf
Portrayed By: Lucas Wilson (Panlo), Joan Marie Laux (Sheaf)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 9 tributes of the 10th Hunger Games. They are mentored by Gaius Breen and Androcles Anderson, respectively. Tanner
Tanner
Portrayed By: Kjell Brutscheidt
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 10 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Domitia Whimsiwick.- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gets impaled by Coral.
- Meaningful Name: His name is a occupational name denoting a person who makes leather from animal skins.
Brandy
Brandy
Portrayed By: Luna Kuse
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 10 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. She is mentored by Arachne Crane.- The Dog Bites Back: After Arachne treats her like an animal too many times, Brandy slits her throat. Though she is immediately gunned down after this, making it a Pyrrhic Victory.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: How she kills Arachne, when the latter was taunting her with a drink bottle, she manages to grab it, smash it against the bars of the cage, and shove the broken end into her neck.
- Meaningful Name: Her name references the branding of farm animals to mark who they belong to.
- Multiple Gunshot Death: The peacekeepers riddle her with bullets after she kills Arachne.
- Sympathetic Murderer: She kills Arachne... after Arachne taunted her with a sandwich when she was in the monkey cage and starving. The fact that she was scheduled to be publicly executed as a message to the districts doesn't hurt her cause either.
Reaper Ash
Reaper Ash
Portrayed By: Dimitri Abold
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 11 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. He is mentored by Clemensia Dovecote.- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He makes a defiant tirade at the Capitol after wrapping the tributes' bodies in a Capitol flag, which briefly encaptivates everyone, before it is cut off by Gaul's speech.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Devoured by the snake horde rather than being poisoned by Lucy Gray's rat poison.
- Due to the Dead: After Dill's death, he wraps bodies of the dead tributes in a Capitol flag.
- Face Death with Dignity: When the snake mutts reach him, he calmly closes his eyes and lets them bite him.
- The Grim Reaper: Befitting his name, he picks up bodies of dead tributes and respectfully arranges them inside the stadium, wrapping them with Capitol flags.
- History Repeats: He shares elements with Thresh, a future male tribute from his district. Like Thresh, he is isolated during the Games, as no one dares to approach him because of his reputation. He is also close with the female tribute from his district, as seemingly looking after her and having a breakdown when she dies.
- Meaningful Name: Outside of his status as a Scary Black Man as perceived by others, to 'reap' means to "cut and collect a grain crop".
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: A person named Reaper is not someone you want to mess with.
- Scary Black Man: Aside from Lucy Gray, he is the most mysterious and undoubtedly the most feared tribute of the 10th Hunger Games, having killed a Peacekeeper back home and not being afraid to physically intimidate Snow, a mentor, when he wanders into the tributes' truck.
Dill
Dill
Portrayed By: Luna Steeples
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The District 11 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games. She is mentored by Felix Ravinstill.- Blood from the Mouth: Accompanies her constant coughing.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Dies drinking a water bottle that has been poisoned by Lucy Gray, rather than succumbing to her tuberculosis.
- Dies Wide Open: Her eyes are seen still open when Reaper turns her cadaver over.
- Incurable Cough of Death: She constantly coughs during the pre-Games stage. Just before she dies, Lucky identifies her as a sufferer of tuberculosis.
- Meaningful Name: Her name refers to a type of herb.
- Not The Illness That Killed Them: Rather than succumbing to her tuberculosis like in the book, she instead dies by drinking a water bottle poisoned by Lucy Gray.
The Capitol
President Ravinstill
The President of Panem during the early years of the Hunger Games.
- Corrupt Politician: For funding the reconstruction of Panem, the president allowed the Plinths to move to the Capitol. It's mentioned that the Plinths can get away with basically everything, since they have money.
- The Ghost: He is never actually seen.
- Greater-Scope Villain: As the President of Panem, he is in charge of the Capitol's authoritarian regime which holds the people of Panem in chains and institutes the Hunger Games. Indeed, it's his consideration of ending the Hunger Games that drives the plot, and he ultimately is the one who decides to keep it going—as implied heavily though, Gaul likely holds a lot of pull over him.
- Last-Name Basis: His first name is never revealed.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His son, Felix, eventually succumbs to the injuries he sustained during the stadium bombing.
- President Evil: While we never see much of his villainy onscreen, he is the leader of the Capitol's brutal rule over Panem.
- Puppet King: He's ultimately displayed as being so despite being the President of Panem, as most decisions for what happens in both the Districts and the Capitol seem to be made more by Gaul than anyone else—either that or her input is that indispensable to Ravinstill that he can't rule without it.
- Would Hurt a Child: While Dr. Gaul was the catalyst for the start of the Hunger Games, the president was likely the one who approved it, since he had the final say in state matters.
Volumnia Gaul
Volumnia Gaul
"I want my enemies to see a rainbow of destruction engulfing the world."
Portrayed By: Viola Davis
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
"You wanna protect people, Mr. Snow? To govern them like your father? Then it’s essential you accept what human beings are and what it takes to control them."
The Head Gamemaker of the 10th Hunger Games who oversees the Capitol's experimental weapons division, including the infamous muttations.
- Corrupted Character Copy: Volumnia Gaul is one for Professor Annalise Keating, a character Viola Davis had portrayed in How to Get Away with Murder before playing Gaul in this movie. Both Gaul and Annalise are well-known professors working for universities who have taken a special liking to one of their students (Snow for Gaul; Wes for Annalise), excel at their profession (science for Gaul; law for Annalise) and are very manipulative. However, Gaul has none of Annalise’s sympathetic or redeeming qualities, with even Gaul’s liking to Snow being just something she can mold into sharing her nihilistic view on the world, which contrasts with Annalise’s genuine love for Wes.
- Destroy the Evidence: Dr. Gaul at the end has a hand in scrubbing all incriminating data pertaining to the 10th Hunger Games, in no small part to to erase Lucy Gray from the record in all but name.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Gaul has Clemensia injected with snake venom for lying to her about working on an assignment that both she and Snow were supposed to do.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Any decisions President Ravinstill makes in ruling Panem pretty much seem to be effected directly by whatever she thinks or wants—as displayed by her insistence that the Hunger Games be implemented when the idea was first introduced to her.
- Evil is Hammy: Courtesy of Viola Davis, who leaves no doubt about Gaul being the biggest villain of the film.
- Eviler than Thou: However terrible a person Coriolanus is, Snow never even comes close to just how sociopathic, vindictive, petty, insane and misanthropic Gaul was. Case in point, she arranges for Clemensia to be poisoned due to the girl lying to her over an assignment Clemensia was supposed to work on with Snow. Snow himself indulges in Disproportionate Retribution, but never for something so banal as lying on a homework assignment.
- Evil Mentor: To Coriolanus both before and by the end of the story.
- Evil Old Folks: Gaul is depicted as an old woman, and she is a vile woman who performs experiments on innocent people and was responsible for the Hunger Games becoming a part of Panem.
- Fashion-Victim Villain: Invoked, and she's implicitly the first in the series, chronologically. Gaul wears ostentatious outfits with bright colors, big hair, and patterns that feel very out-of-place in the solemn postwar Capitol, and her flashy clothing makes her stand out in her role as a ruthless monster—her fashion sense was chosen to evoke both Frankenstein and Willy Wonka. It's indicated that Gaul's unusual tastes had a big influence on the gaudy, freakish style later adopted by the whole ghoulish Capitol.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Volumnia is this for the entire series, and in multiple ways.
- Even though Casca Highbottom was the one who wrote it and Crassus Snow suggested it, it was Gaul who proposed to actually implement the Hunger Games as a way to punish the Districts to the extent that their ability to rise again will be severely diminished. As a result, she's responsible for the deaths of at least 23 children every year up until the 74th Hunger Games, even though by that time, she's long dead.note
- She is also the one who grooms Snow into the ruthless president he is today, by engaging him in mind games to harden him up and make him believe that only the Capitol is able to provide control over the Districts.
- Even with her only being the Gamemaker and leading the Science Department at the University, being the head of the War Department as well, she still being the one to implement the Games and having overseen them since their inception—as well as having asked for creative and cruel new ways to punish the Districts—and ordering the snake attack on the Tributes—be it to wipe them all out or not, would indicate that she despite not being the President is the true malevolent ruler of Panem in her lifetime more than anyone else—and basically indicates that actions against the Districts pretty much always go through her before they do anyone else as well.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: By the end of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, she gets everything she wants, including an understudy to succeed her reign of terror. Since there's no mention of her in the main series, it can be assumed that she died in peace—though would still have died obviously. On the other hand, Finnick in Mockingjay: Part 1 reveals that Snow killed allies as well as enemies, so there's a strong possibility that Snow killed her and took her resources once he graduated and had learned everything he could from her—and it would also be a Karmic Death for her at that too (especially with all her varied crimes over the decades making it all the more well-earned).
- Mad Scientist: To say that she's a mad scientist is putting it mildly. Gaul has wild hair, wears an ominous lab coat that looks like it was dipped in blood, and conducts genetic experiments on animals to serve the purposes of espionage and torture, with absolutely no empathy for any living being.
- The Man Behind the Man: She serves this role to President Ravinstill. In a story where Gaul is both told and implied to be singlehandedly responsible for the biggest problems with the Capitol (implementing the Hunger Games and becoming Head Gamemaker, seeking to increase viewer retention on the games through spectacle, pioneering muttations, grooming Coriolanus Snow into the villain he becomes, dictating war policy, and even setting tastes for vain and ridiculous fashion), President Ravinstill, the ostensible chief authority of Panem, is never seen or heard even once and could be as good as her puppet for all we know.
- Meaningful Name: Volumnia is the name of the domineering mother of Caius Martius Coriolanus, the protagonist of the Shakespearean tragedy from whom President Snow got his name. Gaul was the nation that would become France, and was an enemy of Rome's characterized as barbarians who needed to be civilized. Dr. Gaul is a cruel, ruthless person in power in the Roman-styled Capitol who believes all people are barbarians and need to be tamed with measures like the Hunger Games.
- Misanthrope Supreme: She is firmly of the opinion that all humans are inherently evil and in fact uses this to justify the Capitol's totalitarian rule over Panem, because of course those savage animals of the Districts couldn't possibly dream of placing themselves to order.
- Obviously Evil: Gaul sticks out like a sore thumb with her extravagant fashion, dresses like a textbook Mad Scientist in her laboratory, and has a dominating, contemptuous, grandiose demeanor that singles her out immediately as a very classical theatrical villain to the audience.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Everything she does while also For the Evulz is rooted in it too and not because of any special kinds of standards. Specifically when she has Clemensia bitten by a snake to prove she's lying, has Coriolanus retrieve Sejanus from the arena so the Capitol isn't embarrassed—which involves the latter endangering himself as well, takes on Coriolanus as her associate at the Academy to further instructing him in her ideals, treating his injuries just to assure her Mentee stays healthy, allows Lucy Gray to live just because she wanted to prevent an uprising if she died and when she decided to execute all the Tributes left in the 10th Games before that just because she wanted to send a message and retaliate for their mockery—claiming it's because of the President's son dying. Anyone she keeps around is always in service to her agenda and not because she actually cares about any of them.
- Professor Guinea Pig: Alluded to with her character design having scars, mismatched eyes, and always-covered hands, with suggestions that her experiments have backfired and damaged her when she got too close or tested things on herself.
- Psychological Projection: Gaul believes people are brutes and animals who must be kept in check with reminders of their cruelty, while being the objectively most brutal and cruel person in the story as an authoritarian Mad Scientist who engineers death for a living. It's implied she has placed her own alarming flaws onto society to justify herself.
- Secret Test of Character: She sends Snow to take part in Peacekeeping duties in District 12 to make him be able to see the chaotic world, realize that the Capitol's domination over the Districts is right, and, by sneaking and reporting on Sejanus' treachery, prove that he is loyal to the Capitol.
- The Sociopath: She shows no remorse for the various atrocities she commits.
Capitol Academy
Casca Highbottom
Casca Highbottom
"Do you hear that, boy? Finally. The sound of snow falling."
Portrayed By: Peter Dinklage
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
"Eager to learn who’s won that Plinth Prize, no doubt. And a golden future. However, I am here to tell you that there has been a change this year. One final assignment to prove your worth."
The dean of the Capitol Academy in the early years of the Hunger Games who presides over its first mentorship program. He is historically significant as the man who drafted the plan to pit District children against each other in a game of death as punishment for their rebellion during the Dark Days, a spectacle that later came to be called the Hunger Games.
- Addled Addict: He has become dependent on Morphling due to his guilt over unintentionally creating the Hunger Games to the point that he is only barely functional. His students even express surprise that he's allowed to speak at public functions.
- Alas, Poor Villain: He's partly (if somewhat unwillingly) responsible for the Hunger Games and abused Coriolanus to take out his hatred of the boy's father. It's still hard not to feel pity for him when he becomes one of the first of many victims of Snow's rise to power, especially as he dies a guilt-ridden addict.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Deconstructed Trope - while part of his reasoning for treating Snow the way he does is because he does not want Snow to Turn Out Like His Father, a significant portion of it is also a case of Revenge by Proxy on said father for using Highbottom to create the Hunger Games in the first place. Because Highbottom never explains why he and Crassus had a falling out, though, Snow just views the Dean as someone who bullies him for no reason and grows to hate him. By the time Highbottom finally explains his actions, Snow no longer cares and is already in the process of poisoning the older man.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: He has dwarfism in the film, but the book contains no mention of him being of below average height.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After his plans for the Hunger Games were carried out without his consent, Highbottom became addicted to Morphling and is always seen intoxicated as a result.
- Et Tu, Brute?: He felt personally betrayed when his erstwhile best friend, Crassus Snow, stole his plans for the Hunger Games and then presented it to Dr. Gaul without his consent.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Highbottom never intended for the Hunger Games to be carried out. No matter how much he hates the Districts, even he puts a line on pitting their children into gladiator games.
- It's also seen in how he treats Lucy Gray. He could easily have had her executed for her role in cheating in the Hunger Games, but he states that sending her back to District 12 is punishment enough, and in private he apologizes to her for what she's been through and gives her a wad of money, which she admits that she's grateful to have since the Covey couldn't perform while she was gone.
- Hero Antagonist: His goal is revealed to ultimately let the Hunger Games fall from grace enough to be canceled. Sadly, his antagonism of Coriolanus only furthers the young man's desire to see them continued.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Highbottom was horrified when his draft plan of the Hunger Games was stolen and subsequently proposed by Crassus Snow, as he considers it inhumane. However, he was too late to stop the plan from being carried out.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His decision to send Snow to the Peacekeepers gave Gaul a chance to fully assess the boy's loyalties and cement his devotion to the Capital, ensuring the perpetuation of the Hunger Games. More generically, his intentional humiliation of Coriolanus and unwillingness to explain why he hates Snow only cemented the boy's classism and other issues, which play a large role in Snow turning out so evil in the future.
- Opposed Mentors: He and Gaul are this to Snow, with Casca being the good mentor to Gaul being the evil one. Deconstructed, though, in that Casca hates Coriolanus for being the son of the man who betrayed him and treats Snow like shit, making Snow much more receptive to Gaul's advice than his.
- Revenge by Proxy: He has a personal vendetta against Crassus since their falling out. Since Crassus died during the first rebellion, however, he resorted to making the life of his son, Coriolanus, a living hell as a result.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: At the end of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Coriolanus poisons Highbottom to eliminate a potential opponent of his rise to power.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The Hunger Games is revealed to have been a drunkenly-made draft plan that was never intended to be proposed at all.
- We Used to Be Friends: He and Snow's father used to be best friends but had a falling out and now Highbottom takes out his hatred of Crassus on his son. Said falling out was caused when Crassus gave Highbottom's draft plan for the Hunger Games to Gaul against his own wishes to have them burned.
Sejanus Plinth
Sejanus Plinth
"You're monsters! All of you!"
Portrayed By: Josh Andrés Rivera
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
A student of the Capitol Academy who is the son of an influential Capitol family and Coriolanus Snow's best friend. His family originally came from District 2.
- Child of Two Worlds: His family were residents of District 2 who moved to the Captiol in his youth thanks to his father's wealth and influence. This earns him disdain from both the Capitol natives, who view him as a Nouveau Riche District boy, and the District 2 citizens, who see him as a Category Traitor for escaping subjection to the Hunger Games and participating as a mentor.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: It's strongly implied that he was subjected to this before his public hanging.
- Death by Newbery Medal: Sejanus is Coriolanus' first real friend, and Coriolanus' betrayal of him, which leads to his death, serves as his definite Start of Darkness.
- Defector from Decadence: Sejanus always has a rebellious mind and loudly voices his opinion against the Capitol's mistreatment of the Districts. It all culminates with him joining the District 12 rebels' plot to escape Panem and head north, which eventually costs him his life.
- Didn't Think This Through: One of his defining traits. He wants to help the people of the Districts, but he always fails to think about the potential risks, complications, or consequences of his actions. He fails to understand how patronizing Marcus would find him loudly trying to give him some food while the tributes were on display at a zoo, risks his life to give Marcus a District 2 funerary custom, joins Coriolanus in exile as a Peacekeeper instead of using his family's wealth to better the Districts, tries to help a woman that is imprisoned for making a scene at her husband's execution and ends up unknowingly arming a Rebel cell and leading to the deaths of the mayor's daughter and her boyfriend. He ends up getting executed for that last one. His dad constantly bailing him out of trouble with their money probably contributed to this.
- Due to the Dead: He goes to cover up Marcus's corpse while the Games are still going on.
- Fatal Flaw: His Hot-Blooded personality makes him impulsive and prone to making bad decisions which eventually gets him killed.
- Face Death with Dignity: Tragically averted. When his execution is carried out, he screams for his mother.
- Friendless Background: The only friend he ever had was Coriolanus Snow. Who betrayed him.
- Hot-Blooded: Is impulsive and prone to having pro-District/anti-Capitol outbursts in class.
- I Want My Mommy!: Played seriously. His last words, which the jabberjays pick up and which visibly haunt Coriolanus, are "Ma! Ma! Ma!".
- Killed Mid-Sentence: He gets hanged while screaming for his ma.
- Meaningful Name: "Sejanus" was the name of a powerful friend and confidant of the Roman emperor Tiberius. This story's Sejanus is powerful and influential due to his family's wealth and is a confidant of future president Coriolanus Snow. Like the historical Sejanus, he is also suddenly executed on accusations of treason.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After he and Coriolanus escape the arena, he's visibly shaken up and apologizes to Coriolanus since he got injured and was forced to kill one of the tributes to save Sejanus and himself.
- Nice Guy: He's a kind, caring young man who has compassion for the people in the Districts.
- Nouveau Riche: His family were wealthy residents of District 2 who were allowed to move into the Captiol after the Rebellion was crushed. They're still viewed with disdain from Capitol natives.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red (impulsive, passionate, outspoken) to Coriolanus Snow's Blue (reserved, composed, less emotional).
- La Résistance: Is sympathetic to the rebels and ends up betraying the Capitol in order to aid them.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Sejanus faces few, if any, consequences to his rash actions by way of his father throwing money at the problem. He mentions how his dad had to buy a new gymnasium for the Academy so he could still graduate after he snuck into the arena during the Games to give Marcus a Due to the Dead. Unfortunately, this lack of consequences leads him never thinking his actions through and he gets swiftly executed for treason for one of his misguided attempts to help. His family is never even told about his arrest or execution to keep them financially supporting the Capitol.
- Spoiled Sweet: Despite his family's wealth, Sejanus is a kindhearted and compassionate young man. Despite this, he foolishly believes that his family's wealth can allow him to get away from any consequences his reckless actions bring him. This ends up getting him killed in the end.
- Too Dumb to Live: Entering the arena late at night to mourn and pay respects to Marcus's dead body when the games are still ongoing and there are still tributes in the arena was just plain stupid of him. Had Coriolanus not come there to convince him to leave, a tribute would have certainly murdered him without hesitating.
- Treachery Cover Up: Since his family is still influential, the Capitol opts not to reveal the fact that Sejanus is working with the rebels. Even after he is publicly executed, he is merely reported to have died in his Peacekeeping duties and his parents decide to financially adopt Coriolanus in good faith, believing that he is upholding Sejanus' legacy, when in truth he betrayed him.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Many of his reckless actions indirectly lead to Coriolanus' descent to villainy. Entering the arena to cover up Marcus' corpse leads to Coriolanus going there to rescue him and being forced to kill Bobbin to defend himself and Sejanus, which ends up being Coriolanus' Start of Darkness and allying himself with the a rebel cell leads to Coriolanus killing the mayor's daughter to protect Sejanus again, which leads to Sejanus being hanged and Lucy Gray disappearing. The latter event ends up cementing Coriolanus' turn to villainy and jumpstarting his path to becoming the ruthless, tyrannical president of Panem.
- With Friends Like These...: Having Coriolanus Snow as a best friend does not work out well for Sejanus.
Arachne Crane
Arachne Crane
Portrayed By: Lilly Cooper
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The mentor of the District 10 female tribute of the 10th Hunger Games, Brandy.- Alas, Poor Villain: She is an incredibly unpleasant Alpha Bitch and Coriolanus doesn't even like her, calling her "poison with perfect teeth". She even brought her death onto herself by taunting her tribute. Nevertheless, Coriolanus is deeply upset when she's killed, and the incident is portrayed as an example of what the system of Panem makes people into.
- The Gadfly: She always knows how to rile people up and she loves doing so. This ends up costing her her life when she pushes the buttons of her tribute too much.
- Girlish Pigtails: Wears her hair like this in her later scenes, including the scene where she dies.
- Jerkass: She badmouths both Snow and Sejanus, and later treats her tribute like an animal. The latter ultimately kills her.
- Slashed Throat: Brandy kills her by stabbing her throat with a broken glass bottle.
Clemensia Dovecote
Clemensia Dovecote
Portrayed By: Ashley Liao
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The mentor of the District 11 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games, Reaper Ash. She is the daughter of the Secretary of Energies.- Adaptational Jerkass: Chooses to try and steal credit for writing the proposal from Snow in front of Dr. Gaul in this adaptation, rather than merely claiming to have cowritten it in the original (and Coriolanus had promised to cover for her earlier in the books). Her friendliness to Coriolanus in this version is implied to be more of a case of her being a False Friend and Academic Alpha Bitch rather than a genuinely close relationship, bringing up that they were often academic partners in order to edge her way onto the proposal writing team in the first place (in the original she was elected along with Snow to do it).
- Demoted to Extra: Her trials after being bitten by the snake mutt are not shown. The film thus makes it ambiguous as to whether she survived her ordeal.
- Everyone Has Standards: While not to the extent of Sejanus, Clemensia disapproves of the Hunger Games, considering it cruel and sadistic.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Non-lethal example. Everyone except Coriolanus, Dr. Gaul, and the doctors think that Clemensia just has a bad flu. The truth is that she is infected by a powerful snake venom which requires days to heal.
- Meaningful Name: Her name means "mild" or "merciful". She is usually one of the nicest students in the Academy.
- Token Good Teammate: One of the few mentors who actively questions the Games, viewing them as amoral.
- Uncertain Doom: It's unknown what happens to her after she is bitten by the snake mutt. Gaul even invites Snow to think of the possibilities of her fate.
Lysistrata Vickers
Lysistrata Vickers
Portrayed By: Zoe Renee
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The mentor of the District 12 male tribute of the 10th Hunger Games, Jessup Diggs.- Affectionate Nickname: Coriolanus briefly calls her "Lyssie".
- Enemy Mine: Since both are mentoring District 12 tributes, she briefly teams up with Coriolanus to look out for their tributes together.
- Everyone Has Standards: Like Sejanus and Clemensia before her, she realizes how cruel the Hunger Games are. When Jessup is rabid and delirious, Lysistrata manages to protect Lucy Gray from him by sending water bottles to distract him..
Felix Ravinstill
Felix Ravinstill
Portrayed By: Aamer Husain
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The son of the President and the mentor of Dill, the District 11 girl.- Death by Adaptation: In the film, he is one of the casualties of the stadium bombing, and, although he initially survives, he eventually succumbs to his injuries.
- Jerkass: Like Arachne, he doesn't think too highly of Sejanus for being from the Districts.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: He is President Ravinstill's son instead of his great nephew.
Family of Coriolanus Snow
Grandma'am
Grandma'am
Portrayed By: Fionnula Flanagan
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The patriotic, slightly senile grandmother of Coriolanus Snow and Tigris.- Fantastic Racism: She makes no secret of the fact she views people from the Districts as inferior.
- Granny Classic: Her racism towards District people aside, she seems genuinely nice and is a classic grandmother figure to Coriolanus and Tigris.
- No Name Given: We never find out her real name.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Tigris and Coriolanus call her "the Grandma'am" and we never find out her real name.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlived Coriolanus' and Tigris' parents, forcing her to raise them by herself.
- Racist Grandma: Sort of. While Panem is a post-racial dystopia, the Grandma'am sees District people as barbaric and inferior to Capitol culture.
- Riches to Rags: Comes from the Old Money Snow family, who lost their money during the Dark Days.
- Something about a Rose: Grows roses on the roof of the Snow's penthouse apartment.
Crassus Snow
The father of Coriolanus Snow. He was killed by a rebel sniper in District 12 during the Dark Days.
- Blue Blood: The patriarch of the aristocratic Snow family.
- Disappeared Dad: Died when Snow was eight years old.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His second child was stillborn with his wife dying while giving birth to her.
- Posthumous Character: Dies during the Dark Days, but his shadow looms large on the Snow family.
- Small Role, Big Impact: While he doesn't appear, and we only know of him from Snow and Casca Highbottom talking about him in the prequel, his actions had a big influence on the series. He was the one who presented Casca Highbottom's draft of the Hunger Games to Volumnia Gaul, who thought they were a good idea and put them into action (despite Highbottom not wanting his idea to become a reality), so the Hunger Games are partially his fault.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Casca Highbottom and Tigris Snow note that Coriolanus Snow greatly resembles his father, Crassus.
Mrs. Snow
The deceased mother of Coriolanus Snow.
- Death by Childbirth: She died giving birth when Snow was five years old. Her unborn child didn't survive either.
- No Full Name Given: We never find out her first name.
- Posthumous Character: Died years before the Dark Days.
- The Tragic Rose: Smelled like roses and died in childbirth.
Tigris Snow
See her entry here.
Other Capitol Residents
Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman
Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman
"Keep your chins down, heads up, shoulders back. And smile. It’s why we have teeth."
Portrayed By: Jason Schwartzman
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
"How wonderful is this night that we all get to be here for someone’s final performance."
The Capitol TV weatherman around the events of the 10th Hunger Games. He is assigned to interview tributes before the Games, in a show called The Hunger Games: A Night of Interviews, as well as to provide commentary during the Games itself.
- Ambiguously Related: To Caesar Flickerman, the host of the Hunger Games 65 years later. While they share a last name and job, no exact relation is confirmed, as this is a prequel. This is emphasized in the film adaptation, where Jason Schwartzman as Lucky is made up to look very similar to Stanley Tucci's take on Caesar. Also in the film, there's a scene during the first night of the Games where he reschedules a restaurant reservation for two "and a highchair", revealing he has a young child who is likely meant to be Caesar.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Lucky is an amateur magician, and does a magic coin trick whenever he opens the show.
- The Host: The very first host of the Hunger Games, in fact.
- Large Ham: He is overly excited about everything
- Slime Ball: Despite being a Large Ham, he comes off as a lot less charismatic than his successor and shows a lot less sympathy for the tributes as well, showing more disgust at when a mentor throws up at the pure horror of the games.
- Smarmy Host: Like his successor.
- Weather Report: His permanent job is this. Whenever the Hunger Games runs slow, he will return back to providing weather forecast.
Strabo and Ma Plinth
Strabo and Ma Plinth
Portrayed By: Michael Greco (Strabo), Daniela Grubert (Ma Plinth)
Appearances: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Sejanus' parents. Strabo is a very wealthy man who made his money in the munitions industry. Originally from District 2, he managed to buy his family a place in the Capitol with his incredible wealth.- No Full Name Given: Ma Plinth's first name is not revealed.
- Nouveau Riche: They're originally from District 2, but Strabo made a fortune in munitions during the war and managed to buy his family a place in the Capitol.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Ma Plinth. Apparently, Sejanus' peculiar term for his mom is well-known among the Capitol Academy, since Felix briefly references it.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Their only known child is executed.
- The Quisling: Strabo was a district resident who sold out to the Capitol for citizenship.
