The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel that takes place 64 years before The Hunger Games. Like with the first four Hunger Games films, many characters die in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
We know that Coriolanus Snow and Tigris Snow are alive at the end of the film as we later see them in the films starring Jennifer Lawrence.
But the fate of some characters in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is not clear, and there are also deaths of characters who are not tributes. So, who dies and who survives in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
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Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie and book!
Did Clemensia Die?
Clemensia Dovecote does not die in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Clemensia is Coriolanus’ classmate who’s also a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games.
Coriolanus was asked to write about his proposal for the Games, and Clemensia insisted that she would help. However, Coriolanus ended up doing the assignment himself.
When Coriolanus and Clemensia were summoned by Dr. Gaul, Clemensia lied about doing much of the work. Dr. Gaul then asks Clemensia to dip her hands in the snake mutt tank to retrieve the copy of the essay.
Because the snakes did not recognize her scent, they bit her. Clemensia is then taken away. Coriolanus asks if she will die, and Dr. Gaul responds that it’s anyone’s guess.
Clemensia is no longer seen in the film after this incident, but the book reveals what happened to her after. She survived the incident and was recovering at the hospital, but she was also dealing with mental and physical side effects.
Clemensia had a bigger role in the book, but her role was reduced in the film. Talking about the reason for this, director Francis Lawrence told Digital Spy:
"There's much more of a story with her. There's more time with her in the hospital, recovering from the snakebite, and more of her relationship with Snow.
The truth is, when you're distilling these things down, there's gonna be some attrition. You're gonna have to lose some things, and those were things that had to go away. But we really stayed true to the spirit of the story, and I feel like the important things are all there."
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Does Sejanus Die?
Unfortunately, Sejanus Plinth dies in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Sejanus was formerly a resident of District 2. His family became Capitol citizens because of their wealth.
But Sejanus never felt that he belonged in the Capitol and always regarded District 2 as his home. He was also labeled as a rebel sympathizer.
Like Coriolanus, he was chosen to be one of the mentors for the 10th Hunger Games. Sejanus was assigned to District 2’s tribute, Marcus, who used to be his classmate.
Sejanus ends up becoming a Peacekeeper like Coriolanus, but during his time at District 12, he tries to help rebels escape to the North. Sejanus later reveals his plans to Coriolanus, but unbeknownst to him, Coriolanus uses a jabberjay to record him.
Coriolanus later sent the jabberjay to the Capitol, addressed to Dr. Gaul. The recording is what led to Sejanus’ arrest. He was then executed at the Hanging Tree, and his last words were for Ma.
Does Dean Casca Highbottom Die?
Dean Casca Highbottom, credited with creating the Hunger Games, dies in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
At the end of the film, Coriolanus visits Dean Highbottom and gives him Sejanus’ belongings. Highbottom then reveals why he does not like Coriolanus.
It turns out that Highbottom and Coriolanus’ father, Crassus, used to be classmates and best friends.
For the final project, the assignment was to create a punishment for one’s enemies so extreme that they would never be allowed to forget how they wronged you.
Highbottom was drunk one night and Crassus got him even more drunk. This was when he came up with the idea of the Hunger Games. To Highbottom, it was only meant to be theoretical.
But Crassus submitted the proposal to Dr. Gaul to get a good grade, and the latter then made the Games a reality. Highbottom never forgave Crassus for what he did.
After Coriolanus leaves, Highbottom takes the morphling, unaware that it was poisoned by Coriolanus. This leads to Dean Highbottom’s death in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Did Lucy Gray Die?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes leaves Lucy Gray Baird's fate ambiguous. Towards the end of the film, Lucy Gray and Coriolanus plan to run away together.
However, Coriolanus later reveals that he killed three people, and Lucy asks who the third one is. Coriolanus lies about this, saying that he killed his old self.
Lucy Gray and Coriolanus arrive at a cabin near District 12’s lake. Coriolanus then finds the weapon he used to kill Mayfair Lipp.
Lucy Gray realizes that Coriolanus could destroy the guns, which would wash away all physical evidence of his connection to the deaths of Mayfair and Billy Taupe. Lucy Gray is aware that she’s the only witness left who could tie him to the crime.
She then tells Coriolanus that she would go dig up some katniss. But Lucy Gray does not come back, so Coriolanus looks for her, bringing the rifle with him.
He finds the orange scarf he gave her but then gets bitten by a snake. This angers him, and he estimates her position and shoots into the trees.
He becomes confused about her location when Lucy Gray sings "The Hanging Tree" and the mockingjays pick up the song.
In the film, it appears that Coriolanus was able to shoot Lucy Gray, but when he went to the spot where he thought she would be, Lucy Gray wasn’t there. We do not see Lucy Gray again after what happened in the forest.
When Coriolanus returns to the Capitol and converses with Dean Highbottom, the latter asks if Lucy Gray is sad about him leaving District 12. Highbottom also tells Coriolanus that people think the mayor killed Lucy Gray.
In the book, it is mentioned that Snow would sometimes remember a moment of sweetness and almost wish that things had ended differently. But he did not like love because it made him feel stupid and vulnerable.
And so, he decided that if ever he would get married, he would choose someone he hated so that they could not manipulate him the way Lucy Gray had. So, Lucy Gray’s fate is a mystery.
Other Characters Who Died in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Other characters who died in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes include:
- Arachne Crane – the first mentor to die. She was killed by her own tribute, Brandy.
- Mayfair Lipp – the daughter of District 12’s mayor, Billy Taupe’s girlfriend, and the one who arranged for Lucy Gray to be reaped. Mayfair was killed by Coriolanus.
- Billy Taupe – Lucy Gray’s ex-boyfriend. Spruce shot Billy.
- Spruce – a rebel who was executed at the Hanging Tree along with Sejanus.
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