21 November 2023 , 05:46
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More than 60 years before Katniss Everdeen fires her arrow into the chest of President Coin, another Hunger Games adventure made history and shaped the horrifying annual competition for decades to come.
The latest film in the franchise - Hunger Games: The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes - hit cinemas this week to the delight of fans desperate to learn more about the beginnings of Panem. It tells the story of a young Coriolanus Snow becoming a Mentor during the 10th Hunger Games and his relationship with his District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird.
The film is split into three parts, the first focusing on the lead up to the Games, the second the events in the arena itself, and finishing with the fallout in the weeks that follow.
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Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & SnakesHowever the films ending left many fans confused, with many questioning what happened to Lucy Gray - and if she lived or died. Now another warning, there are about to be a LOT of spoilers so stop scrolling now if you haven't watched the film yet.
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As Coriolanus and Lucy Gray walk away from District 12 and towards the cabin by the lake, she tells him that trust is the most important thing. Then later on, the couple are talking about killing when Coriolanus carelessly says he's killed three people. Lucy Gray only knows about two of them, asking who the third is.
Panicked, Coriolanus comes up with a (terrible) lie that the third was the old him, the one from the Capitol, but it's clear his love doesn't believe him.
The ending left many fans confusedThey then arrive back at the cabin and Lucy Gray is clearly trying to get away from him. Using the excuse of going out to pick some Katniss plants (see what they did there?), she does a runner. Once Coriolanus realises what's going on, he goes after her with a gun.
He finds his mother's shawl, which he gifted to her, on the floor - but finds out the hard way it was actually a trap, covering a snake that then bites him. He then sees what appears to be Lucy Gray running through the bushes and fires at her. However the movie doesn't show whether his shots hit, and if she made it to safety.
Author Suzanne Collins's book, which the film is based on, leaves this question very open - and it's something the filmmakers were keen to do as well. Speaking to Buzzfeed, director Francis Lawrence said: "We always stuck by the fact that we wanted to embrace the mystery of Lucy Gray, like we never waffled on that in any way."