History Film / TheHungerGamesTheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes

* DirtyCop: Panem’s security forces are riddled with corruption. Sejanus is able to bribe a guard into [[spoiler:letting him ''enter the arena in the middle of the Hunger Games'']], and at the start of the third act Coriolanus uses all the money he has left to bribe an officer to [[spoiler:assign him to a post in District 12 instead of District 8, as Casca Highbottom had intended.]]

* MockMillionaire: The Snow family lost everything in the war and are barely eking out a living in a rented place. However, this isn't public knowledge so when Coriolanus shows up at the Academy, he's dressed as best he can, claiming he walked to give the driver a day off and his hunger is because "the cook burned the breakfast steak." Only Highbottom knows this is all an act.

* StarCrossedLovers: Snow and Lucy Gray. He does everything he can to ensure her survival in the Games, coming to care for her more than just for the prize winning. In time, their friendship turns romantic after the two reunite in District 12. [[spoiler:Their love ends, violently and bitterly when Lucy Gray realizes she can never trust Coriolanus, after learning he had set up Sejanus with the jabberjay recording, leading to his hanging. In turn she abandons Snow, and sets a trap with one of her pet snakes to punish him, causing him in rage to try and shoot her down after catching a glimpse of her in the forest]].

** After [[spoiler:Arachne is stabbed in the neck with a bottle]] the guards' reaction is to manhandle the only person trying to help her instead of giving her first aid.
** [[spoiler:The rebels are able to plant enough explosive in the Arena to nearly demolish the place and set them off when a large number of [=VIPs=], including ''the president's own son'' will be in attendance]]. The movie later implies that the people responsible for this are never identified or caught.
** Despite the precedent of [[spoiler:Arachne's death]] the mentors are able to get unsupervised access to the Tributes at all hours and pass along contraband to them, including [[spoiler:rat poison that can be used against the other Tributes once the Games start.]]
** Even in the aftermath of the [[spoiler:bombing, Sejanus is able to bribe a guard or guards into letting him enter the arena ''while the Games are in progress'']].

** At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Coriolanus kills Dean Highbottom by mixing the rat poison with his drink]].

* LoopholeAbuse: Coriolanus manages to get away with blatantly interfering with the games in progress and [[spoiler:attacking the tributes that have Lucy surrounded]] by [[spoiler:sending in 8 drones to deliver water bottles to her simultaneously, which then crash into the attackers]]. When he gets immediately called out on this, he hides behind the letter of the rules.

** [[spoiler:Billy Taupe cheating on Lucy with Mayfair Lipp, which then leads Mayfair to set up her romantic rival to be Reaped. This dual act of infidelity and petty spite sets off a chain of events that not only ironically gets Billy and Mayfair both killed, but which will eventually lead to the Hunger Games evolving into what they'll become by Katniss' era -- and as part of that evolution, concurrently unleashing a monster (i.e. Snow) upon Panem.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: As this is a prequel to ''Film/TheHungerGames'', Coriolanus will survive to eventually become the President of Panem. The trailers even conclude with words that he'll speak several decades later.

** Felix Ravinstill is still related to President Ravinstill like his book self, but takes Gaius Breen's role of being critically injured in the arena bombing, hospitalized for a few days before succumbing to his injuries (while his original counterpart survived), and his death prompting Gaul to unleash the snake mutts on the remaining tributes.

* CompositeCharacter: Since most of the mentors get DemotedToExtra, the few who actually do have speaking or any amount of prominence tend to combine traits from multiple different book characters.
** Arachne Crane in the book wasn't shown to be particularly pleasant, but didn't get a lot of characterization. For the film, she shares book-Livia Cardew's traits of an AlphaBitch and Coriolanus's most despised classmate.

* AdaptationalJerkass: Clemensia Dovecote in the book is a NiceGirl (at least until she temporarily TookALevelInJerkass thanks to the mental side effects of the snake bits) who's one of the students most disgusted by the brutality of the Hunger Games, and she and Coriolanus lie to Gaul that they both worked on the paper together to avoid her getting in trouble, since she was unable to focus the previous evening due to being distraught at [[spoiler:Arachne's brutal death]]. Here, her dislike of the Games is nowhere to be seen and replaced with a competitive drive to win the Plinth Prize like many of the other students, and she tries to claim sole credit for writing the essay that Coryo wrote himself ''[[ImStandingRightHere while he's standing next to her]]'' as an attempt to look good in front of Gaul and gain a competitive edge, though the latter sees through her lie.

** Snow's partner Clemensia blatantly attempts to steal the credit for Snow's work on the essay on how to improve the Hunger Games. [[spoiler:For her trouble, Gaul subjects her to apparent death by snake bite, a death she wouldn't have suffered if she had ever actually laid hands on the essay.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Clemensia. While playing like she is friends with Snow, after leaving him to write the entire proposal for Gaul by himself, she takes credit for the entire project. [[spoiler:Gaul tests her, stating the proposal had "accidentally" been placed in a cage of venomous snakes. She assures Clemensia that since ''she'' wrote the proposal and not Coriolanus, then the snakes will recognize her scent from the proposal and leave her be. In turn a frightened Clemensia tries to retrieve it, but is bitten by one of the snakes. In turn [[AssholeVictim she is led away screaming in agony,]] while Gaul comments that it will be good research to see how the venom affects her.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Clemensia. While playing like she is friends with Snow, after leaving him to write the entire proposal for Gaul by himself, she takes credit for the entire project. [[spoiler:Gaul tests her, stating the proposal had "accidentally" been placed in a cage of venomous snakes. She assures Clemensia that since ''she'' wrote the proposal and not Coriolanus, then the snakes will recognize her scent from the proposal and leave her be. In turn a frightened Clemensia tries to retrieve it, but is bitten by one of the snakes. In turn [[AssholeVicim she is led away screaming in agony,]] while Gaul comments that it will be good research to see how the venom affects her.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:After coming to terms with his betrayal of Sejanus and break-up with Lucy Gray, Coriolanus decides to believe that the Capitol's subjugation over the Districts is right, returning to the Capitol so he can study under Dr. Gaul. He also poisons Highbottom so no one can stop his rise of power. Essentially, by the end of the film, [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Coryo has fully transformed into President Snow]]. The only ray of hope is that Snow doesn't know what happened to Lucy Gray; she might have died from being hit by one of his bullets, or she might have gone into hiding in District 12, or she might have escaped the district only to die on her way north, or she might even have survived and been able to reach District 13 or flee Panem altogether. As implied by Music/OliviaRodrigo's song "Can't Catch Me Now" which plays as soon as the film's credits begin, this agony of never being certain, and the memory of Lucy Gray herself, will haunt Snow for the rest of his life...right up until another young woman from District 12 rises to defy him, and uses Lucy Gray's song to rally the Districts to her cause.]]

* LoopholeAbuse: Coriolanus manages to get away with blatantly interfering with the games in progress and [[spoiler:attacking the tributes that have Lucy surrounded]] by [[spoiler:sending in 8 drones to deliver water bottles to her simultaneously, which then crash in the attackers]]. When he gets immediately called out on this, he hides behind the letter of the rules.

** Coriolanus is able to [[spoiler:put his handkerchief in the snake-mutt tank without any of the guard in Dr. Gaul’s lab being the wiser]].

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Billy Taupe cheating on Lucy with Mayfair Lipp, which then leads Mayfair to set up her romantic rival to be Reaped. This dual act of infidelity and petty spite sets off a chain of events that not only ironically gets Billy and Mayfair both killed, but which will eventually lead to the Hunger Games evolving into what they'll become by Katniss' era -- and as part of that evolution, concurrently unleashing a monster (i.e. Snow) upon Panem.]]

* AdaptationalJerkass: Clemensia Dovecote in the book is a NiceGirl (at least until she temporarily TookALevelInJerkass thanks to the mental side effects of the snake bits) who's one of the students most disgusted by the brutality of the Hunger Games, and she and Coriolanus lie to Gaul that they both worked on the paper together to avoid her getting in trouble, since she was unable to focus teh previous evening due to being distraught at [[spoiler:Arachne's brutal death]]. Here, her dislike of the Games is nowhere to be seen and replaced with a competitive drive to win the Plinth Prize like many of the other students, and she tries to claim sole credit for writing the essay that Coryo wrote himself ''[[ImStandingRightHere while he's standing next to her]]'' as an attempt to look good in front of Gaul and gain a competitive edge, though the latter sees through her lie.

* AdaptationExpansion: The Games are covered in more detail. There is a proper Cornucopia bloodbath in the film, compared to most tributes running away in the books. As well, the pack are shown in more detail, chasing Lucy Gray and trying to kill her.

* AdaptationalJerkass: Clemensia Dovecote in the book is a NiceGirl (at least until she temporarily TookALevelInJerkass thanks to the mental side effects of the snake bits) who's one of the students most disgusted by the brutality of the Hunger Games, and she and Coriolanus lie to Gaul that they both worked on the paper together to avoid her getting in trouble. Here, her dislike of the Games is nowhere to be seen and replaced with a competitive drive to win the Plinth Prize like many of the other students, and she tries to claim sole credit for writing the essay that Coryo wrote himself ''[[ImStandingRightHere while he's standing next to her]]'' as an attempt to look good in front of Gaul and gain a competitive edge, though the latter sees through her lie.

* AdaptationalJerkass: Clemensia Dovecote in the book is a NiceGirl (at least until she temporarily TookALevelInJerkass thanks to the mental side effects of the snake bits) who's one of the students most disgusted by the brutality of the Hunger Games, and she and Coriolanus lie to Gaul that they both worked on the paper together to avoid her getting in trouble. Here, her dislike of the Games is nowhere to be seen and replaced with a competitive drive to win the Plinth Prize like many of the other students, and she attempts to claim sole credit for writing the paper that Coryo wrote himself ''[[ImStandingRightHere while he's standing next to her]]'' as an attempt to look good in front of Gaul and gain a competitive edge, though the latter sees through her lie.

* CheatersNeverProsper: Coriolanus is punished by being sent to work as a Peacekeeper after Highbottom learns of his cheating. Averted with Lucy Gray herself, who is merely sent back home despite winning through underhanded means, and even receives some money from Highbottom.

* CrucifiedHeroShot: Marcus is strung up in the arena [[spoiler:for his botched escape attempt]].
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Felix Ravinstill survives the stadium bombing in the book, whereas he is gravely injured and eventually dies in the film.]]

* AdaptationalJerkass: Clemensia Dovecote in the books is a NiceGirl (at least until she temporarily TookALevelInJerkass thanks to the mental side effects of the snake bits) who's one of the students most disgusted by the brutality of the Hunger Games, and she and Coriolanus lie to Gaul that they both worked on the paper together to avoid her getting in trouble. Here, her dislike of the Games is nowhere to be seen and replaced with a competitive drive to win the Plinth Prize like many of the other students, and she attempts to claim sole credit for writing the paper that Coryo wrote himself ''[[ImStandingRightHere while he's standing next to her]]'' as an attempt to look good in front of Gaul and gain a competitive edge, though the latter sees through her lie.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"You hear that, boy? It's the sound of snow... falling."'']]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:After coming to terms with his betrayal of Sejanus and break-up with Lucy Gray, Coriolanus decides to believe that the Capitol's subjugation over the Districts is right, returning to the Capitol so he can study under Dr. Gaul. He also poisons Highbottom so no one can stop his rise of power. Essentially, by the end of the film, [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Coryo has fully transformed into President Snow]]. The only ray of hope is that Snow doesn't know what happened to Lucy Gray; she might have died from being hit by one of his bullets, or she might have gone into hiding in District 12, or she might have escaped the district only to die on her way north, or she might even have survived and been able to reach District 13 or flee Panem altogether. As implied by Olivia Rodrigo's song "Can't Catch Me Now" which plays as soon as the film's credits begin, this agony of never being certain, and the memory of Lucy Gray herself, will haunt Snow for the rest of his life...right up until another young woman from District 12 rises to defy him, and uses Lucy Gray's song to rally the Districts to her cause.]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: Billy Taupe cheating on Lucy with Mayfair Lipp, which then leads Mayfair to set up her romantic rival to be Reaped. This dual act of infidelity and petty spite sets off a chain of events that not only ironically gets Billy and Mayfair both killed, but which will eventually lead to the Hunger Games evolving into what they'll become by Katniss' era -- and as part of that evolution, concurrently unleashing a monster (i.e. Snow) upon Panem.]]
* UptownGirl: Inverted with Capitol boy Coriolanus Snow falling in love with District girl Lucy Gray Baird.

* MismatchedEyes: Dr. Gaul has one brown eye and an icy blue one.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:After coming to terms with his betrayal of Sejanus and break-up with Lucy Gray, Coriolanus decides to believe that the Capitol's subjugation over the Districts is right, returning to the Capitol so he can study under Dr. Gaul. He also poisons Highbottom so no one can stop his rise of power. Essentially, by the end of the film, [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Coryo has fully transformed into President Snow]]. The only ray of hope is that Snow doesn't know what happened to Lucy Gray; she might have died from being hit by one of his bullets, or she might have escaped and been able to reach the north and District 13. As implied by Olivia Rodrigo's song "Can't Catch Me Now" which plays as soon as the film's credits begin, this agony of never being certain, and the memory of Lucy Gray herself, will haunt Snow for the rest of his life...right up until another young woman from District 12 rises to defy him, and uses Lucy Gray's song to rally the Districts to her cause.]]

** Coriolanus himself fares a bit better here. While still bitter and ruthlessly ambitious, Coriolanus in the film is depicted as more of a genuine, conflicted individual, due to the lack of his inner narration from the book, where he comes across as an incredibly calculating young man with an ego the size of Jupiter who detests nearly everyone around him.

* ItGetsEasier: Coriolanus is shown ''extremely'' traumatized after killing the District 8 male tribute, Bobbin, in self-defense, with him on the verge of tears upon meeting Tigris afterwards. When he later deliberately shoots [[spoiler:Mayfair]] dead, however, he is considerably much less shell-shocked.

* MockMillionaire: The Snow family lost everything in the war and are barely ekeing out a living in a rented place. However, this isn't public knowledge so when Coriolanus shows up at the Academy, he's dressed as best he can, claiming he walked to give the driver a day off and his hunger is because "the cook burned the breakfast steak." Only Highbottom knows this is all an act.

** Even in the aftermath of the above, [[spoiler:Sejanus is able to bribe a guard or guards into letting him enter the arena ''while the Games are in progress'']].

** After [[spoiler:Arachne is stabbed in the neck with a bottle]] the guards’ reaction is to manhandle the only person trying to help her instead of giving her first aid.

* CrucifiedHeroShot: Marcus is strung up in the arena [[spoiler:for his botched escape attempt]]. Also, Reaper [[spoiler:stands up and spreads his arms before he is devoured by the snakes]].

** [[spoiler:The rebels are able to plant enough explosive in the Arena to nearly demolish the place and set them off when a large number if [=VIPs=], including ''the president's own son'' will be in attendance]]. The movie later implies that the people responsible for this are never identified or caught.
** Even in the aftermath of the above, [[spoiler:Sejanus is able to bribe a guard or guards into letting enter the arena ''while the Games are in progress'']].

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:After coming to terms with his betrayal of Sejanus and break-up with Lucy Gray, Coriolanus decides to believe that the Capitol's subjugation over the Districts is right, returning to the Capitol so he can study under Dr. Gaul. He also poisons Highbottom so no one can stop his rise of power. Essentially, by the end of the film, [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Coryo has fully transformed into President Snow]].]]
* DueToTheDead: After Dill dies, Reaper wraps the bodies of the dead tributes in Capitol flag.

** [[spoiler:The rebels are able to plant enough explosive in the Arena to nearly demolish the place and set them off when a large number if VIPs, including ''the president's own son'' will be in attendance]]. The movie later implies that the people responsible for this are never identified or caught.

** Related to the tributes not being seen as celebrities, the Hunger Games in general don't seem to be a very popular entertainment among Capitolites compared to the spectacle of later ones. Nobody cares that Sejanus is sneaking to the Arena to pay respects to Marcus, and the Capitol cuts the feed for one hour so Coriolanus can get him out. Perhaps a blatant example is that nobody objects when [[spoiler:Dr. Gaul announces on live television that, thanks to the death of President Ravinstill's son, the 10th Hunger Games has been considered a failure and ''all surviving tributes will be executed''. The entire Games would have become a pointless endeavor had Coriolanus not rigged to let Lucy Gray survive long enough to gain sympathy from the Capitol Academy students, forcing Gaul to declare her a winner.]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: Billy Taupe cheating on Lucy with Mayfair Lipp, which then leads Mayfair to set up her romantic rival to be Reaped. This dual act of infidelity and petty spite sets off a chain of events that not only ironically gets Billy and Mayfair both killed, but which will eventually leads to the Hunger Games evolving into what they'll become by Katniss' era -- and as part of that evolution, concurrently unleashing a monster (i.e. Snow) upon Panem.]]