Even after four books and five movies in The Hunger Games franchise, several mysteries surrounding the characters remain unanswered, including Katniss Everdeen’s vague family history, leading some to believe she might be related to her arch-enemy, President Coriolanus Snow. The popular franchise began in 2008 when Suzanne Collins published The Hunger Games, a dystopian young adult book revolving around Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl living in the nation of Panem, led by President Snow. Katniss volunteered to take her sister’s place as the female District 12 tribute in the 74th Hunger Games, and the rest is history.
Throughout the Hunger Games movies, Katniss and Snow remained at odds. She outsmarted him when she and Peeta Mellark threatened to eat poisonous berries unless the Gamemakers declared them both the winners. Katniss’ rebellious act led to her becoming the Mockingjay and lit the spark that set the Second Rebellion into motion, much to Snow’s dismay. Aside from being on opposite sides of a war, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes revealed that Snow also resented Katniss because she undoubtedly reminded him of Lucy Gray Baird, which is the basis of the theory that Snow and Katniss are related.
Katniss’ Family Tree Is Filled With Mystery In Hunger Games
At the beginning of the Hunger Games series, fans learn that Katniss’ family consists of herself, her mother, and her sister, Primrose. The Girl on Fire briefly mentions in the book that Katniss’ father died (along with several other workers) during an accident at the mine in District 12 when she was 11 years old. Katniss was evidently close with her father, but neither the novels nor the films offer much information about him (including his name) or his family history. Meanwhile, Katniss’ mother is also a mystery despite her being alive throughout the entire series.
Katniss occasionally reminisced about her time with her father in the novels, so readers were able to visualize their relationship and how he helped shape her character. Mr. Everdeen taught Katniss about music in the Hunger Games universe and passed on numerous songs like “Deep in the Meadow” and “The Hanging Tree” to his daughter. He also showed Katniss how to hunt, forage, and swim. Based on this information and Lucy Gray’s character in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Katniss might be related to the winner of the 10th Hunger Games.
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Hunger Games Theory Suggests Katniss Is President Snow’s Granddaughter
Lucy Gray was from District 12 and a member of the Covey, a group of musical performers, but her connections to Katniss seemingly run too deep for them to be a coincidence in the Hunger Games franchise. Katniss’ father taught her “The Hanging Tree,” written by Lucy Gray, and the Covey are from the Seam like the Everdeens. According to a fan theory on Reddit, it’s possible that during Lucy Gray and Snow’s brief romance in District 12, Lucy Gray got pregnant, and the baby was Katniss’ father, making Snow her grandfather and Lucy Gray her grandmother.
Following the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (the book), fans began speculating if and how Katniss was related to Lucy Gray, given their similarities and histories. Some believe that Lucy Gray’s cousin, Maude Ivory Baird, could have been Katniss’ father’s mother, while others thought it could have been Lucy Gray herself. Nevertheless, like Lucy Gray’s fate, Collins left Katniss’ familial history a mystery, leading to various fan theories. But if Katniss is related to Snow, that information changes a lot about The Hunger Games series.
How Katniss Being Related To President Snow Would Change Hunger Games
If Snow is Katniss’ grandfather, the meaning of their rivalry throughout the Hunger Games books and movies completely changes. Of course, if they are related, neither knew about it. Otherwise, their familial connection would have come up in the story. But Katniss and Snow’s possible (unknown) relationship surely alters how one views their intense hatred for one another and complicates their bitter feud. They wanted each other dead, after all, and Katniss was almost the one to end Snow’s life in Mockingjay before she killed President Alma Coin instead.
Snow is a vile person who has no regard for human life, but the films show a warmer side to him when he is with his (confirmed) granddaughter. If Katniss is also his granddaughter, Snow’s bitter dynamic with her could be significantly juxtaposed with his loving relationship with his younger family member. Plus, the fact that Snow was trying to kill a teenager he had no idea was his granddaughter throughout the Hunger Games series is a complex storyline with numerous layers in and of itself.
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The Problems With The Katniss Is Snow’s Granddaughter Theory
Unfortunately, many holes exist in the theory that Katniss is Snow’s granddaughter in The Hunger Games. For starters, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes never suggests that Lucy Gray and Snow have sex during their time together in District 12. So, logistically, Lucy Gray probably wasn’t pregnant before she died or left District 12. As mentioned above, Lucy Gray’s fate in The Hunger Games is ambiguous, so it’s unclear what happened to her after she ran from Snow in the woods and he tried to shoot her.
However, the most glaring problem with the theory that Katniss is Snow’s granddaughter is that, even if Lucy Gray survived, there’s no evidence suggesting she ever returned to District 12. If Lucy Gray survived Snow’s wrath that day in the woods, she probably retreated to District 13 or died from the elements outside the lines of District 12. So, even if she was somehow pregnant, that baby wouldn’t have grown up in the Seam, meaning that Mr. Everdeen’s mother is most likely not Lucy Gray, and the chances of Katniss being related to Snow are slim.
Of course, anything is possible in this franchise, and Snow could be Katniss’ grandfather by some miracle. Suzanne Collins will likely never confirm or deny this theory or any assumption regarding the Girl on Fire’s familial history. Ultimately, though, the theory that Maude Ivory is Katniss’ grandmother is more plausible than Lucy Gray being her grandmother in The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is a multi-movie franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. The films are based on the young adult dystopian book series by author Suzanne Collins. The first film was released in 2012, followed by Catching Fire in 2013, Mockingjay Part 1 in 2014, and Mockingjay Part 2 in 2015. In 2023, the fifth film in the series was released, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
- Created by
- Suzanne Collins
- Cast
- Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth , Elizabeth Banks , Woody Harrelson , Stanley Tucci , Donald Sutherland , Lenny Kravitz , Willow Shields , Phillip Seymour Hoffman , Rachel Zegler , Tom Blyth , Viola Davis , Peter Dinklage , Hunter Schafer , Jason Schwartzman
