The new The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes movie reveals the back story of one important character: President Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird, who may have been his one true love.
But let's dig deeper into their relationship. How did the two meet and did he really love her? More importantly, what happened to Lucy Gray Baird?
How Did They Meet?
As an 18-year-old teenager, Coriolanus Snow has always been an achiever. And because of this, he was chosen to be a mentor of one of the tributes of the 10th Hunger Games.
This is where he meets 16-year-old Lucy Gray Baird, the tribute from District 12. At first, he resents the task. But because of his desire to win the full college scholarship, he takes his role as mentor seriously, so much so that he helps Lucy cheat to win. After all, only the winning mentor gets to win the scholarship.
While training Lucy Gray, Coriolanus eventually falls in love with the charming young woman. Although he's been with other women before, Lucy Gray became his first love.
How Did He Help Her Win the Hunger Games?
Coriolanus went looking for Dr. Gaul, one of the the Games' sadistic architects, and stumbled upon a tank containing mutated snakes. He knew right away that these were to be used on the remaining tributes so that only one would survive.
In his desire to win the scholarship, and perhaps save his true love, Coriolanus drops Lucy Gray's used handkerchief into the tank. He knew that the snakes would not attack someone if they knew her scent.
So when the snakes were unleashed in the arena, all of the remaining tributes were attacked except for one: Lucy Gray. This helped her win the Games. At the same time, Coriolanus won the scholarship.
Unfortunately, the Academy's dean, Casca Highbottom, manage to learn of his cheating. Since the Snow family is respected in Panem, Coriolanus was allowed to enlist as a Peacemaker. He requests to train at District 12 so he could get close to Lucy Gray.
RELATED: How Does Lucy Gray Baird Win the Hunger Games?
Were President Snow and Lucy Gray Baird in Love?
For a while, it seemed like it. While training to be a Peacemaker, Coriolanus would see Lucy Gray Baird and her family on the weekends. This was something he looked forward to in the future. But when he earns an opportunity to return to the Capitol, he betrays his friend Sejanus Plinth, who was planning a revolt.
At first, he killed the mayor's daughter, Mayfair, who overheard Sejanus' plan to escape. But once Sejanus and another rebel get caught, Coriolanus reveals his plan to the authorities. This led to Sejanus' punishment of getting hanged.
While President Snow and Lucy Gray Baird planned to escape Panem, he later discovers he got accepted to Peacekeeper officer training again. This would allow him to return to his old Capitol elitism life. He chooses to escape with Lucy Gray.
Unfortunately, he accidentally reveals to her that he was responsible for the death of Sejanus. After that revelation, Snow returns to the Capitol alone where he would turn into a more sadistic game architect.
Lucy Gray is never to be heard from again.
What Happened to Lucy Gray Baird?
The ending of the books is pretty ambiguous. Since it is narrated by Coriolanus at a time when he was hallucinating and being paranoid, it may not be accurate.
From the book's perspective, Coriolanus worried that Lucy Gray would betray him when she went out to look for katniss. When he removed her scarf from a table, a snake from underneath bit him. He blindly started shooting and believed that he shot Lucy Gray since the singing stopped.
However, he never finds her body and her tracks in the mud disappeared. He eventually decides to return to the Capitol alone to discover that Dr. Gaul had set him up for this mission to learn more about the districts.
Dr. Gaul eventually erased Lucy Gray's name from the victors of the Hunger Games so it was always unknown.
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Fan Theories Around Lucy Gray Baird
So what really happened to Lucy Gray Baird? Unfortunately, the book doesn't reveal this to its reader. It is up for interpretation, depending on how the reader understood it.
There are some fans who speculate that Lucy Gray Baird could have been testing Coriolanus by planting the snake. While he was hallucinating, Lucy Gray could have escaped and hid from her estranged lover.
Some also speculate that she could have been pregnant at this point and gave birth to Katniss Everdeen's parent, which would explain why Katniss knows Lucy Gray Baird's song and why President Snow hates Katniss with a vengeance.
There is also a theory that Katniss is the granddaughter of Lucy Gray's cousin, Maude Ivory Baird. The speculation stemmed from the idea that Maude shares the same characteristic as Katniss since they both easily remember tunes. She could have shared Lucy Gray Baird's songs to her son, who later taught these songs to his daughter, Katniss.
Another fan theory is that Lucy Gray Baird never returned to District 12 and instead, found her way to District 13 where she eventually became President Coin. This would explain her hatred for President Snow and his surprise for seeing her alive all these years.
It's important to note that these are fan theories. The truth behind Lucy Gray Baird's disappearance has never been discussed in the books.
What is your theory on what happened to President Snow and Lucy Gray Baird at that moment in the woods?
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