The Hunger Games Movies Failed To Show 1 Significant Part Of Katniss & Peeta’s Story

While The Hunger Games franchise did a good job of bringing Suzanne Collins’ books to life, there are many smaller details the movies left out which, in hindsight, could have made the story better. The Hunger Games trilogy was first adapted to film in 2012. Four movies later, the franchise is one of the most popular and well-known young adult stories of all time. The series takes place in a dystopian version of America called Panem, where children are forced to fight to the death in a competition called the Hunger Games. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, becomes a tribute.

Despite the fact that the film franchise was split into four Hunger Games movies to accommodate three books, there are still plenty of aspects of the original books that the on-screen adaptations left out. Katniss may have been notable due to her iconic braid in both the book and the movie, but in just two hours, it was impossible for the movies to include everything, especially when it came to Katniss’ backstory. In this way, the movies missed out on details that could have shed more light on the Hunger Games story, its characters, and their actions.

Katniss & Peeta’s Disabilities Are Missing From The Hunger Games Movies

Katniss goes deaf and Peeta loses his leg in The Hunger Games

One notable part of the original The Hunger Games book is that Katniss and Peeta both leave the 74th Hunger Games with major injuries that the movie doesn’t include. First, Katniss becomes deaf in one ear halfway through the Games after she blows up the Careers supplies. This occurs while she is allied with Rue. Meanwhile, Peeta is stabbed in the thigh by Cato, and by the end of the Games, his leg is injured yet again by a Hunger Games Mutt. This leaves Peeta’s leg destroyed, and he is given a prosthetic leg once he returns from the arena.

Katniss does lose her hearing after the Careers’ explosion, however this deafness does not last like it does in the book. If anything, it heals itself right away. In a similar fashion, Peeta’s leg injuries are depicted in the movie, however they are very quickly fixed at the end of The Hunger Games with a healing gel. In this way, Peeta’s prosthetic leg is completely erased, and Katniss’ deafness is reduced to a single scene.

How Katniss Being Deaf Changed Her Hunger Games Story

Katniss’ deafness made the Hunger Games harder

Although Katniss’ deafness doesn’t last beyond the end of The Hunger Games, it is still an important moment for her journey. Katniss enters the Games as a very serious threat, however, the competition continuously raises the stakes against her. When she gets stung by the Tracker Jackers, she is set further behind. When she allies herself with an injured Peeta, she struggles even more. Therefore, when Katniss is made deaf by the Careers’ explosion, her game is seriously affected. Without hearing in one ear, her natural skill as a hunter is lessened, making her and Peeta vulnerable.

By not maintaining her deafness, The Hunger Games movie makes Katniss’ Hunger Games journey easier. Though it is only one seemingly small detail among many, removing it makes Katniss’ struggle to win the 74th Hunger Games less difficult than it was in the books. In this way, it is less accurate, less messy, and less exciting. Furthermore, this detail is arguably more important than the other setbacks Katniss faces, because it directly affects her greatest strength: hunting. If Katniss’ deafness was portrayed on-screen, it may have offered a representation that never occurred elsewhere in The Hunger Games.

How Peeta’s Prosthetic Leg Changed His Hunger Games Story

Peeta’s leg affected him for the rest of the series

While Katniss’ deafness is significant in The Hunger Games, Peeta’s leg injuries affect him for the rest of the series. In the first Hunger Games movie, Peeta’s leg is the reason why Katniss teams up with him in the first place, and ultimately, why they end up winning the Games together. Beyond that, Peeta’s prosthetic affects his performance in the Quarter Quell depicted in Catching Fire, making it difficult for him even to travel around the island, much less fight. This aspect of Peeta’s sacrifice and character is sadly forgotten in The Hunger Games movies.