Lucy Gray Baird probably won’t appear in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be important to the story. This very first District 12 victor was introduced in Snow’s prequel story, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and her ultimate fate being left ambiguous has ignited hope that she will again reappear. However, this seems unlikely, given the timeframe and the way her character was left. Still, Lucy Gray’s story has massive implications for the remainder of The Hunger Games timeline, and her importance to the overarching story can’t be overstated.

The announcement that another Hunger Games book and movie is on the way has created a lot of buzz, especially since the story will cover the highly requested 50th Hunger Games. Set 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this new prequel should follow Haymitch Abernathy through his own games, filling in the details of this portion of the timeline for the first time. Of course, Lucy Gray’s death or escape from District 12 means she likely won’t have a place in Sunrise on the Reaping, but her story is still tightly linked with that of Haymitch.

President Snow’s Experience With Lucy Gray Makes All The Difference To Haymitch’s Story

Lucy Gray Left Quite a Mark On Snow In The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

Though The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was set 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games, Snow and Lucy Gray’s stories provided valuable context to Katniss’ time in the arena. Everything from Katniss’ Mockingjay pin to the songs she sang would have reminded President Snow of the girl he believed betrayed him. This also means that Katniss’ rebellious victory would have felt personal, which explains why Snow became so fixated on Katniss and didn’t notice District 13 closing in on him.

Similarly, Lucy Gray’s impact on President Snow explains why the dictator was so angry when Haymitch Abernathy won the 50th Hunger Games. Snow was so enraged that he murdered all of Haymitch’s loved ones before the boy could even return home, which is strange since the president often used family and friends as leverage against his victors. Though he had no idea of Snow’s history, Haymitch being the first District 12 tribute to win since Lucy Gray put him in astounding danger. So, while the victor of the 10th Hunger Games is unlikely to appear in Sunrise on the Reaping, her legacy is pivotal to the story.

A Different Tribute In the 50th Hunger Games Is Sure To Remind Snow Of Lucy Gray As Well

Maysilee Donner Is Another District 12 Tribute With A Connection To Lucy Gray

There’s another character that took part in the 50th Hunger Games that may be even more important than Haymitch in some regard. According to Catching Fire, one of the girls reaped from District 12 (there were two boys and two girls from each District in the 50th Hunger Games) was named Maysilee Donner, and she had been best friends with Katniss’ mother. She and Haymitch teamed up in the arena, and Maysilee was a surprisingly capable survivalist. She held her own in the arena, using the poison from various plants to create deadly darts to use against the other tributes.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Maysilee is that she was the original owner of the gold Mockingjay pin, which Katniss eventually inherited and used as a token within her own games. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes established that Snow despised Mockingjays, and the fact that Lucy Gray used them to disorient and taunt her murderous lover is highly significant. A District 12 girl being so successful in the arena and bearing a Mockingjay pin might have reminded Snow of Lucy Gray, causing him to put a target on Maysilee’s back. This would also make Katniss bringing the Mockingjay pin back into the arena all the more personal to Snow.

Could Sunrise On The Reaping Reveal What Happened To Lucy Gray?

Lucy Gray’s Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Fate Is Still A Mystery

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins has proven that nothing in her books is random. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes wasn’t the kind of prequel that existed simply for the sake of expanding Snow’s story. There are cleverly subtle bits of connective tissue that bind the prequel with Katniss’ tale, and the same can likely be expected from Sunrise on the Reaping. It should be the final piece of the puzzle, adding context that retroactively changes both Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Hunger Games in mind-rattling ways. This is sure to connect to Lucy Gray somehow.

Lucy Gray’s ending was left ambiguous for a reason, since it reflected her namesake song in which a girl named Lucy Gray disappears without a trace, becoming a ghost. Because of this, Sunrise on the Reaping is unlikely to give definitive answers regarding what happened to the 10th Hunger Games victor. However, some subtle hints may be spread throughout Haymitch’s story. Perhaps there will be clues that Lucy Gray returned to District 12. Or maybe some mysterious pearly white bones will be found in the forest. Only time will tell, but we can be assured that Sunrise on the Reaping won’t have forgotten Lucy Gray.