10 Genius Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Theories That Totally Change The Hunger Games

Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes gives context to what happens during the events of The Hunger Games, but the theories that have stemmed from the prequel change everything. If any of these theories are true, they give deeper and darker motivations to President Snow’s actions during The Hunger Games trilogy and make Katniss’ (Jennifer Lawrence) fate seem even more like destiny. Many speculations revolve around what happened to Lucy Gray Baird after the end of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Told from the perspective of a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), the prequel follows the events of the 10th Hunger Games, and the tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) that Coriolanus mentors. They quickly form a tight bond, and their lives become irreversibly intertwined, but in the end, it’s Coriolanus’ betrayal and thirst for power that makes him into the President Snow (Donald Sutherland) of The Hunger Games. There’s no question that without the events of the 10th Hunger Games, Katniss wouldn’t have become the Mockingjay.

Related

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Ending Explained

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ends ambiguously for one major character. We break down the prequel’s ending & what’s next.

10 Lucy Gray Baird Is President Alma Coin’s Mother

She gives birth after escaping to District 13

Whether or not Coriolanus is Coin’s (Julianne Moore) father is up for debate, but the timeline does match up for Lucy Gray to be her mother. Both of them are the right ages to be mother and child in the events of the books. If Lucy Gray lived after running from Coriolanus in the woods at the end of Ballad, she may have escaped to District 13.

There she would have met someone, fell in love, and had a child who grew up to be President Coin, explaining Coin’s deep hatred of President Snow and The Capitol. If Lucy Gray discovered she was pregnant after escaping and Coriolanus was her father, it would explain the light eyes and hair of Coin’s appearance. This would tie Coin’s knowledge of District 12 and desire for power directly to the events of Ballad.

9 Maude Ivory Is Katniss Everdeen’s Grandmother

Making Katniss a relative and descendant of Lucy Gray

Maude Ivory is a small part of both the film and the book but is a member of the Covey, and Lucy Gray’s cousin. The Covey are the nomadic singers that Lucy Gray is part of who end up trapped in District 12 after the war. In Ballad, Maude Ivory is shown to love music and learns the name “Katniss” from Lucy Gray, as well as the lyrics to her other songs. If Maude Ivory later gave birth to Katniss’ mother or father, this would explain her knowledge of the songs and her name. Additionally, Maude Ivory had blonde hair and blue eyes, two traits that Katniss’ sister Prim inherited.

8 Lucy Gray Became Greasy Sae

Returning to District 12 after leaving Coriolanus in the woods

Greasy Sae is a much larger part of the books than in the movies and is shown to be an ally to Katniss in many ways throughout the story. She is a mainstay of the black market, the Hob, in District 12, and is later chosen to be on President Coin’s small council in Mockingjay. If Lucy Gray decided to return to 12 after a few years and change her name and appearance, it’s plausible that no one would recognize her. Few people remembered the events of the 10th Games because the Capitol never re-aired them. As Greasy Sae, Lucy Gray would have been in Katniss’ Hunger Games all along.

7 Tigris Turned Her Back On Coriolanus Snow Because of Finnick’s Games

Because she saw herself in Finnick

It’s implied in the Ballad novel that Tigris used sex work as a way to get food and resources for her and Coriolanus during their time of poverty after the war. After the events of Ballad, Tigris became a stylist for the Games, and it’s possible that she was involved at the time of Finnick’s (Sam Claflin) Games. Finnick was only fourteen when he won his Games but was forced into sex work by The Capitol not long after that. Witnessing Finnick suffer similar abuse because of Snow after already having sympathy for the Districts would be enough to make Tigris happy to see Snow dead in Mockingjay — Part 2.

6 Lucy Gray and Coriolanus Are Katniss’ Great Grandparents

But Snow doesn’t know

Unlike the theory that Katniss is related to Maude Ivory, this places Katniss as the direct descendant of both Lucy Gray and Snow. If Snow was aware of this connection, it would make his actions all the more despicable. However, it seems more likely that he is merely reminded of Lucy Gray by Katniss, and that’s why he hates her so much.

Lucy Gray giving birth to Snow’s child in 12 and that child later being a parent to Katniss’ mother or father is a more plausible timeline than Lucy Gray being her grandmother or mother. The two revolutionaries share many traits, but it’s up for debate whether this is genetics or the reality of living under an oppressive government. Being so closely connected to Lucy Gray would only make Katniss’ victory even more triumphant and Snow’s spiral into corruption more tragic.

5 Lucy Gray Is President Coin

She will stop at nothing to get revenge on Snow

Instead of being Coin’s mother, some theories point to Lucy Gray becoming President Coin if she escaped to District 13 after Ballad. For this to be true, she would have to have used the advanced technology of 13 to slow her aging and have fully committed herself to the path of revenge. Coin turns out to have the same corrupt desire for power as Snow, and to be as ruthless a dictator. Though Lucy Gray’s past with Snow tracks with Coin’s hatred of him, Lucy Gray never wanted to be a leader or to enact violence, she only wanted to be free.

Related

5 Hints That President Coin Was The REAL Hunger Games Villain

Katniss may have had her eyes on President Snow, but President Coin was the true villain of The Hunger Games. Thankfully, Katniss noticed the clues.

4 Tigris Was Inspired By Lucy Gray In Creating Capitol Fashion

She used it to secretly undermine Snow all along

It’s clear by the end of Ballad that although Tigris and Snow are still family, she’s starting to see him in a different light and is growing wary of what he will become. Her fears and suspicions were slowly confirmed over the years, and that could have led to Tigris retaliating in the only way she could. Tigris was a stylist for the Games and part of a powerful Capitol family.

Through this, she used her influence to create the colorful and flamboyant fashion that was all the rage by the time of Katniss’ Hunger Games. When Lucy Gray appeared in rainbows and ribbons it was hardly the style of the time, but Tigris may have woven her memory and style into the fabric of the Capitol to subtly punish Snow. Though the memory of Lucy Gray and her Games was largely erased by the Capitol, Tigris was too kind to let her disappear for good.

3 Lucy Gray Died In The Woods

Or disappeared into legend

Though not the most fun theory, it’s plausible that Lucy Gray simply died that day in the woods when she tried to escape from Coriolanus. Or, sometime after that, when she was living in the woods by herself. It would have been difficult to find District 13 or secretly reenter District 12 on her own, and while she knew how to live off the land, it’s a hard life to sustain.

Part of what drives Snow crazy is the mystery of what happened to her, and if she died alone and in obscurity she would forever remain that mystery. It would also mean that her memory and legacy were powerful enough on their own to be passed on to Katniss through the traditions of 12. Or, maybe she was still out there living well into old age and surviving in the woods all those years.

2 Snow Was The Head Gamemaker In The First Quarter Quell

To solidify the legacy of the Hunger Games

When Snow returned to the Capitol after being a Peacekeeper in District 12, Dr. Gaul (Viola Davis) took him under her wing and had him work on the Games. In Ballad, Snow is shown to be a big part of bringing new elements to the Games, like betting and sending parachutes to the tributes in the arena. Snow would have been in his early 30s at the time of the 25th Hunger Games, and he was being groomed to become Head Gamemaker early on. Due to this, he could have made his mark on what the Quarter Quell would represent, and the events of Catching Fire from the very beginning.

1 Snow Planned For Prim’s Name To Get Called At The Reaping

He knew who Katniss was all along

Another angle of the theory that Katniss and Prim are descendants of Lucy Gray, is that Snow was aware of this the whole time. He purposely planted Prim’s name to be called at the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games to end Lucy Gray’s lineage. Prim’s name was only in the reaping bowl once, so there was a very slim chance of her being called without there being something shady going on behind the scenes.

In Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,Lucy Gray’s name is called by the Mayor of District 12 on purpose to punish her. This would be an intriguing parallel between the 10th and 74th Hunger Games. In doing this, Snow would have inadvertently sealed his fate of being overthrown by Katniss and losing control of Panem.