hayaaaaa

constrast hyunju's death with the birth of the baby and this all makes sense. we're told in season two that all hyunju wanted was to finish her surgeries and move to thailand. she wanted to live a fulfilling life fully as herself in a place where she feels that she can do that. same with the mother and son. they wanted to go back to their house and have dinner with everyone, clear the son's debt then just live simply, maybe open a shop if im not mistaken.

but then season three happens and all of that hope becomes pointless. hyunju literally finds the exit in the hide and seek game, she steps on the threshold, she's almost right there, but then she remembers. she remembers the others and that baby. so of course she goes back for them because there's no man left behind, and in doing that she's killed. she was right there, she was almost out, she had her dreams within reach, her hope hit the ceiling then it was gone. pointless. except not really because there is a baby. and i know that people have mixed feelings about the baby but you guys literally need to understand what symbols are for. the baby is new hope and purity. something that, at the time is untainted by the games, by the greed of the people in power. whereas every other player has been. they've fought and killed for this money. they've done everything they could for the money. they're soaked through with the blood of greed, with lives of everyone who died before them.

so it makes perfect sense that people would die for the sake of the baby. for the sake of new hope. the old lady mother literally kills her son for the baby. it doesn't matter if she just met this baby and the mom only days ago, it's still a baby. the baby hasn't done anything to anyone. the baby is an ushering of hope. the baby kills the futility of fighting against the system.

gihun's silence in the first couple of eps spoke volumes on how pointless the fight against the system had become. he'd forfeit his votes and nothing would change. they were still stuck there, they were still trapped. and so to see all of that change with the baby is brilliant, im sorry. to see gihun find new hope and purpose in a character who is literally the symbol of new hope and purpose is the most direct metaphor in current media. to see gihun die for the baby is exactly what i would expect him to do.

Starting with Prim. She was reaped, which led to Katniss volunteering to save her. It's, of course, very unlikely that Prim would have won the Games like Katniss did. Prim innocently playing with the crown that could have never been hers is also a reference to how excited she was when Katniss' wedding was happening, how she looked at it with children's eyes, impatient for her to try on the dresses. But she's also not as naive or helpless as Katniss believes, which is why her expression is grave and not cheerful.

Asterid is kissing Katniss' forehead in a very motherly gesture. Katniss is unmoved, though she still takes her hand. This is a reference to Katniss' resentment towards her mother when she stopped caring for them after Burdock's death, but also to Katniss' attempts at forgiving her in Catching Fire.

Effie is sitting at Katniss' feet, holding her hand. This represents the sincere -yet sometimes misguided- dedication that Effie has to Katniss. It also felt like an interesting placement, as Victors are often idolized by Capitol citizens.