A heartbreaking connection in Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was entirely improvised. An adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ book, Ballad serves as a prequel to the original Hunger Games movies. It is centered around the 10th Hunger Games, as future president Coriolanus Snow begins to gain power and influence in the Capitol and in District 12. Along the way, he meets tribute Lucy Gray Baird, who seemingly wins his heart.
Lucy Gray’s relationship with Snow is complicated, but her bond with her other tributes is difficult to deny. In one tragic scene, Lucy Gray and her fellow tribute, Wovey, hold hands as they walk out into the arena, where they will soon be forced to fight to the death. The tragic hand-holding was unplanned, however, as Wovey actor Sofia Sanchez told The Messenger that the hand-holding was not exactly scripted. Check out her quote below:
“When we were walking, they pushed Wovey, and I was like, ‘I want to keep holding Lucy Gray!’ It was improvised, but they kept it. They let me be on the spot. That was an amazing scene.”
Wovey’s Moment With Lucy Gray
It can be a challenge to humanize tributes in a setting like the Hunger Games. Because they are so often embroiled in a miniature war, it is easier to view them as soldiers or brutes than as the terrified children they actually are. With Snow viewing them as steps to climb on his way to the presidency, that equivocation is even more stark. Even Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ ending shrouds Lucy Gray’s true intentions in mystery.
Yet the moment with Wovey is one that truly betrays Lucy Gray’s nature. She might be willing to fight to survive, but she still has an empathetic connection with her fellow tributes. When Wovey is afraid, Lucy Gray is willing to hold her hand to give her courage. It proves the bond that she forges with other human beings, no matter what horrors await them.
The entire cast of the Hunger Games prequel puts in effort to ensure that the tragedy of the tributes is properly communicated. From their ages to their desperation, every element goes into effectively distracting from the bloodshed to emphasize that the movie is not about action but about suffering. Wovey, who is played by an actor with Down Syndrome, is one example of that tragedy. After holding Lucy Gray’s hand, Wovey is later brutally murdered by a storm of snakes. The contrast is what makes the themes of Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes so stark.
