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S4:E17 Part 2 - Mockingjay (2015 Film)
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This week, we’re discussing Mockingjay Part 2 and breaking down both the book and the second film as the rebellion reaches its devastating conclusion. In this episode, we talk about the emotional weight of the ending, the cost of war, the Capitol showdown, and how this final installment brings Katniss’s story to a close. We also get into the adaptation choices, the biggest moments from the book and movie, the characters, the heartbreak, and whether this ending felt satisfying after everything that came before it.
Hosted by Lindsey with co-hosts Crystal and Keri.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book—see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:16) Book vs Movie (SPOILERS)
(03:06) First Impressions — Book & Movie
(1:02:12) Final Verdicts & Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:08
Speaker
fallen, the cameras are still rolling, and we are back. This is Based on a Book, the podcast that's here to provide you with continued coverage of The Hunger Games. I'm your host, Lindsay, and I have been dreading and looking forward to this episode in equal measure.
00:00:25
Speaker
I'm Carrie, and I believe books with emotional damage cure reading slumps. I'm k Crystal, and just like Lindsay, i was emotionally invested in a cat.
00:00:37
Speaker
It's true. I really was. ah But welcome back to Hunger Games Month. This is part two. If you were with us last week, you know we spent part one breaking down the first half of Suzanne Collins' final book in the original trilogy alongside the 2014 film.
00:00:54
Speaker
Today, we are picking up with the second half of the book and putting it side by side with Mockingjay part two, the 2015 film that brought the entire Hunger Games saga to a close.
Spoiler Warning and Themes Discussion
00:01:06
Speaker
We'll be looking at what the movie got right, what it changed, what was lost in translation from page to screen, and whether the ending, that ending, landed the way Suzanne Collins intended.
00:01:22
Speaker
If you want to hear our ratings on the book, please go back and check out part one. Today, we're just going to go straight into the book versus movie comparison. But before we get into it, a quick word on spoilers and content.
00:01:38
Speaker
This episode contains full spoilers for Mockingjay, the book, and both films. If you haven't listened to part one yet, start there first. And if you haven't read Mockingjay or watched Mockingjay part two, and you want to go into this unspoiled, now is the moment to pause.
00:01:56
Speaker
And we will be here when you're ready.
Satisfying Conclusion?
00:01:58
Speaker
And as a reminder from last week, this is heavy material. Our content warnings from part one carry over into today's episode.
00:02:08
Speaker
We will continue to discuss war, loss, trauma, and grief. Part two specifically brings with it some of the most emotionally intense moments in the entire series. So please take care of yourself as you listen.
00:02:23
Speaker
But if you are ready, let's get into it. We have a war to finish. So again, last week we covered the first half of Mockingjay. We talked about Katniss becoming the Mockingjay, the propaganda war, PETA's captivity, and the rebellion spreading across the districts.
00:02:41
Speaker
We ended where part one ends, with PETA rescued, but not the PETA anyone remembers. Nope. And that is exactly where we're picking up today.
00:02:54
Speaker
Part two is where everything comes to a head. The rebellion marches on the Capitol. The mission becomes personal. And Susan Collins does what very few authors in this genre are willing to do.
00:03:08
Speaker
She refuses to give us an ending we think we want. And she gives us the one the story actually earns.
Impact of Character Deaths
00:03:17
Speaker
So with that...
00:03:19
Speaker
Did the second half of Mockingjay feel like a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy? Or did it feel too bleak? Carrie, what'd you think?
00:03:31
Speaker
That's such a good question. i think that it was a ah really good ending.
00:03:47
Speaker
Because... I think it would feel really strange for this story. Like, obviously, there has already been a lot of sacrifice that's already happened in this trilogy.
00:04:04
Speaker
But for so much to have happened and, you know, there is this entire rebellion, we're at this war, it hits this climax.
00:04:19
Speaker
I would have been, i don't want to say disappointed because that sounds kind of messed up. I would have been like surprised and shocked that there wasn't... I don't know what the right word is, but there wasn't an ultimate sacrifice or a bigger sacrifice at the end of this trilogy, if that
Emotional Investment in Books
00:04:37
Speaker
makes sense. Yeah. so I actually like that that happened. I like when stories go there unexpectedly.
00:04:53
Speaker
And but we're we're in our spoiler part, right? Okay. Okay. I didn't want to spoil anything. I like when the characters are killed off when you don't want them to be killed off. Sorry. i said it. Okay. I like when that happens. Like even when I don't want that to happen, even in my all time favorite series, my God tier series, like thrown a glass, like all my SJM stuff. I like when that happens, even when it kills me inside.
00:05:24
Speaker
I think sometimes it's necessary, especially when you're writing about war and you're writing about things like this. Sometimes I think that should be part of the story.
00:05:34
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Crystal? I think if this had a happily ever after, I would have been disappointed. Yeah. This is a story about a dystopian future war.
00:05:49
Speaker
This is literally a war for survival. And if everyone, if everyone survived, everyone we loved and cared about survived, it would be so unrealistic. It would be so, would,
00:06:07
Speaker
There has to be sacrifice. It's war. You know, it would have cheapened the ending. And so do I like how all these characters die? Absolutely not. But am i glad that this was a realistic approach? Did i was there an emotional toll that was felt? Yes. And there should be because it's war. Yeah,
00:06:32
Speaker
I totally agree with that for sure.
Katniss's Emotional Journey
00:06:36
Speaker
What about you, Lindsay? Oh, no, I totally agree.
00:06:43
Speaker
You have to take the bad with the good. and carrie you've said this before i love a book that just kills me i want it to hurt i want to feel something what is that about like like i said in my intro like emotion books with emotional damage will cure your reading slump i'll say it once i said it once i'll say it again yeah okay if you want to get out of a reading slump Read something that will provide you emotional damage. Because you want to know what? When it gives you emotional damage, it is the most memorable stories. Yep.
00:07:24
Speaker
If it has the most emotional impact, you will remember that longer, in my opinion. And it will have this effect on you. And because it has such an effect on you, it has a lasting impact. Mm-hmm.
00:07:45
Speaker
And that makes a good story. And it'll get you out of that reading slump. I already forgot what happened in Fifty de Shades Grey. Sorry. Like, I don't remember anything that happened in that story because there's no emotional damage. There's no emotional impact there. yeah There's no emotional investment there. Exactly.
00:08:04
Speaker
Exactly. Because, i like, I love a cozy mystery, a cozy fantasy. I love cozy books. But... I it's like you said, I don't remember half of them.
00:08:15
Speaker
They're good, quick reads to give me something to, to you know, zone out to when life is heavy. But sometimes when you're in a slump, when you need to feel something, these books art and there are, they're an emotional investment.
00:08:33
Speaker
And yeah if, again, if this had had a happily ever after for every character, I don't, I wouldn't have been as invested. it wouldn't have felt as big as these do.
00:08:50
Speaker
Yeah. And honestly, i even outside of the sacrifices that happened in the story, you know, in the second half of the story, second half of the, or second movie,
00:09:06
Speaker
you know i think Katniss herself, it gets even darker for her personally.
Character Development: Book vs Movie
00:09:15
Speaker
She takes in even darker turn emotionally, um internally,
00:09:24
Speaker
ah based on what she is going through. And not as much in the movie, I can tell you that right now. In the book, I was actually very shocked and surprised because I didn't remember...
00:09:37
Speaker
how dark it got and it like devastated me. Like it actually, like I want to cry right now just thinking about it. The things that this poor girl goes through in her thoughts and like she's just trying to survive and she's just trying to help people get through this rebellion and like she doesn't even want to live to after it, to deal with what happens after it and that is just so sad to me.
00:10:06
Speaker
I think, and we see, okay, so let's go back to the first movie for a second. I know we're on the second one, but in the first movie and in the first book or the first half of the book, she...
00:10:20
Speaker
is struggling with these propos. She can't hit the script, right? just it's It's awful. And they get everybody in a room that knows Katniss. In the movie, it's a little different. We have like Effie and Boggs and Coyne and Plutarch, which these are not people who know Katniss. These are people who have used Katniss.
00:10:39
Speaker
in the in the book, we get people who, like Greasy Say, and, you know, some of the other people from District 12 that saw her, um you know. and Her prep team's in there.
00:10:50
Speaker
Yeah. And, like, You know, hamish just says Hamish says, you know, when is a moment where Katniss genuinely moved you, made you feel something? Not when did she look great or whatever. When did she seem do something really cool? But when did she make you feel something?
00:11:11
Speaker
And everybody has something to say. And Katniss is like, oh wait, did I... i I really am doing something. I really, and in what she struggles for a minute to understand why these people feel anything for her because she's struggling so hard to recognize any sort of contribution that she has made, any sort of good that she's brought. because she, all she can think about the people that she's killed, the things that she's responsible for.
00:11:42
Speaker
and these people are pointing out that like, you've done so much more than that. Yeah. You know, watching her struggle like that. And we see it with Finnick.
00:11:53
Speaker
We see it with Hamish. But now in part two, we get to see this with Peeta, who is struggling to... unhijack himself yeah well they're trying to re-hijack him right to be back to pita himself jump start is the jump start the the opposite of a hijack maybe i don't know i don't know Poor Vita. Yeah, don't know. and
00:12:26
Speaker
And watching all like the the mental health struggles here, it's so dark. It's so heavy. And I feel like... We get way more of that in the book than we do in the movie. The movie kind of glosses over it. They're like, oh yeah, Katniss is struggling. Finnick did struggle, but he's got his rope. He's fine. You know, it's very yeah kind of surface level. In fact, we don't see Finnick struggle nearly as much. Like, Finnick's break it. Like, he's broken. He's breaking. He is frayed edges. he
00:13:02
Speaker
He's sitting right next to Katniss in the hospital. Yeah. And when like he's when he does get up, like he's wandering around, no pants. you know but he's He's not all there.
00:13:12
Speaker
And we don't see that in the movie at all. And I think also that's why Finnick instantly connects with PETA ah yeah because he understands. Also because he knows with Annie as well.
00:13:26
Speaker
Yep. So he instantly understands what PETA is going through and trying to help PETA um get through that. love Finnick so much. I know.
00:13:39
Speaker
I know. Finnick's character just hurt my heart. And then even Joanna coming back, we're we watching her struggle and she doesn't have anybody. She doesn't have anybody.
00:13:50
Speaker
She is literally going through this on her own. Nobody's there to remind her of the good things that she did. Yeah. In fact, at one point, you know, Katniss says that you should have been the Mockingjay. And she says, nobody likes me.
00:14:02
Speaker
Yeah. ah Like, okay, fair. You're kind of a bitch. But also, like, Joanna, damn, girl. like gut punch me. And then further in, when Katniss realizes why she hasn't been showering, I i lost it. I cried. like i hate that we don't have that in the movie.
00:14:23
Speaker
Yeah. We don't have a lot of Joanna at all. Yeah, like, I thought that that was really... i couldn't remember whenever I was reading it whether there was a lot of Joanna in the movie. Because, honestly, re-watching these movies, I realized that I never... I don't think I had ever re-watched them since the first time I had watched it. Same. Same.
00:14:51
Speaker
Because I had always rewatched Hunger Games and Catching Fire because I loved it so much. But I was like, I don't remember a lot of what's happening in these movies right now.
00:15:01
Speaker
I have a confession. Wait, what's your confession? This is my first time watching part two. who wait oh i Wait, I think I remember you telling me that before.
00:15:13
Speaker
I. Oh my gosh. I was doing a marathon of all of the Hunger Games movies at one point and I was really sick. i was just doing like laying in bed. Let's watch something. So I'm watching all the movies and I was really sick. I fell asleep.
00:15:30
Speaker
I did not watch part two. So this was a first time watch for me. Oh my gosh. That is crazy. i cannot believe this your first experience with this. It only took me like 10 years to finish it.
00:15:45
Speaker
I know. i I feel like most of this was the first time watching for me, even though like I have watched it, but I just didn't remember a lot of it. But I've seen so many freaking edits that a lot of the main, like the really good scenes, I have seen so many times because I've just watched so many freaking edits, Hunger Game edits. Yeah.
00:16:07
Speaker
Yeah. there It's a crazy, it's actually a crazy movie. Yeah. It's actually pretty intense. this In keeping with normal series finales, it's actually the lowest grossing film of the franchise. Yeah.
00:16:23
Speaker
Yeah. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me, to be honest, because i think it's due to it being split into two parts. Yeah. Yeah. I think people probably just got frustrated and they're like, nah, we'll wait until it comes out on video.
00:16:38
Speaker
On VHS. VHS. Like it's the 90s. I mean, that's probably how they felt at that point. because like Did it come out on streaming immediately after?
00:16:51
Speaker
like no it probably went out on DVD or Blu-ray or something. I don't know. I even own it on Blu-ray. Do you? I never watched it? Well, that's how i was watching. I was watching it on Blu-ray, but then i never and never watched it again. Did you get to watch... Were there deleted scenes? Because I saw the deleted scenes for part one. There's like a couple, but... I actually didn't watch the Blu-ray when I watched it this time. I watched it on streaming just because it was convenient.
00:17:16
Speaker
and so I have a couple of Blu-rays and a Blu-ray player, but I don't remember where I stashed my Blu-ray player because I can stream everything, so... I have a PlayStation 5 that plays my Blu-rays, but it's just so much easier to stream it.
00:17:29
Speaker
Yeah, true. have to look up um any deleted scenes on there, because I haven't seen them. I'm sure there are some. Oh, yeah, for sure. sure i wonder if there's any... Honestly, I wonder if there's any with Joanna Mason, because...
00:17:43
Speaker
i Like Jenna Malone, right? That's the actress. I think she she does an amazing job as Joanna too. But in the book, we see a relationship start to form between Joanna and Katniss. And at one point, even Katniss, she's like, I wouldn't call us friends, but we're definitely allies.
00:18:02
Speaker
You know? and and we see them working towards this goal of being able to go to the Capitol, being able to to like, and you know, I want want to compare Joanna in a lot of ways to Haymitch because again, Haymitch doesn't have anybody either except for like Katniss and Peeta and Effie. Like that's, yeah that's it. Like he doesn't have a family at home. He doesn't go home to his partner or his siblings that we never hear about. I'm sure that we're going to.
00:18:34
Speaker
And again, I'm scared about that in Sunrise. Sunrise on the Reaping. That's Haymitch's one, right? I get confused about which one is which. Bad is snow.
00:18:45
Speaker
Gotcha. Okay. Either way, I know we're going to learn more, I'm sure. But at the moment, Hamish doesn't have anybody and neither does Joanna. Hamish turns to alcohol. Joanna's turning to the Moorflame. She didn't before, but now that she's been injured or whatever, she's like, they're slowly weaning me off. So i'm going to steal yours, Katniss. And Katniss doesn't argue.
00:19:04
Speaker
And we start to see this mutual respect for each other. We start to see that blunt honesty between the two of them. We start to see this friendship.
00:19:15
Speaker
And we don't get any of that in the movie. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. They even become roommates in the book, too. Yeah. I mean, we don't even get the fact that they're working towards... Like, Coyne isn't even going to let them be on this mission to go to the capital unless they do like this whole training.
Katniss as a Symbol and Coin's Manipulation
00:19:35
Speaker
I mean, the whole having the schedule on their arm and all that stuff, not in the movie whatsoever. I think you get a glimpse of it.
00:19:44
Speaker
Like you get a glimpse of riding on someone's arm. Yeah. But it would yeah it's a very big deal in the book and like a very big part of the plot whenever they're in District 13. But Coyne is very strict about the fact that they need to have some type of training before they're even outside in the field to go to the Capitol.
00:20:06
Speaker
Hear me out. Who the hell does Coyne think she is to tell these Hunger Games tributes, Hunger Games victors, yeah right, that they need to have training before they're allowed? Excuse me.
00:20:25
Speaker
Those two in particular... are like, they're going to survive. Okay. They will do better than just about anybody else that you got set up going in there. Okay.
00:20:35
Speaker
They even made the comment that it was easier to win the games than it was to do their training. I mean, come. That made me so mad when she was like, you haven't trained a single... You haven't trained? What do you think I've been doing the last three years? You know?
00:20:51
Speaker
What do you think that quarter quell was? That was just fun. That was like... We were just doing it for funsies. Yeah. It was like... Team building exercise. It's very different training, though.
00:21:02
Speaker
It is, but still. it But it ends up not being. Because then they do go to the capital. And even Finnick is like, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Thunder Games. Because yeah they have all these pods that are going to go off. Just like the stuff in the hungry.
00:21:16
Speaker
They're back in the arena. Exactly. again, coin was wrong. The most experienced in the situation is actually Katniss. Right? Man, I hate Coyne. She was awful. and in the book, we see so much more of her being, it like, sketchy, too. we don't We see a bit of that in the movie.
00:21:37
Speaker
But there are even times when, like, she goes to Katniss and she's like, you know, they're not back yet or whatever in part one. Or she's, like, trying to comfort Katniss a little bit. Like, we're here for you. or And it's like, I don't i don't think Coyne in the book would have done that.
00:21:53
Speaker
now it was the fact that they kept trying to feed the line to katniss and joanna and finnick you're safe now you're safe from the capital while also like staging this rebellion and training for it and like actively sending in people like how can you say that they're safe they're clearly not safe nobody's safe they will never be safe mm-hmm Can we talk more about PETA's recovery, though? Because honestly,
00:22:27
Speaker
i'm i they also took out an entire character Whenever Deli, who is someone from his childhood that was talking to him ah to kind of convince him that everything is okay, that he's in a safe, a quote, safe place, right? Right. Mm-hmm.
00:22:51
Speaker
And that Katniss isn't trying to kill him, which is what the Capitol has you know hijacked his brain to think. And he and instead they change it in the movie to ah be Prim that actually goes in and talks to him. But we actually get so much more after that. That is like the initial interaction that we have with Peeta right when the book starts off.
00:23:16
Speaker
Or right when the second half of the book, I keep thinking it's two different books because I'm thinking two different movies. It's one book. It's one book. Second half of the book starts off that way.
00:23:27
Speaker
But we have a lot more snippets of PETA's recovery in the book versus the movie. I feel like the movie, you know, he's really far gone. and then all of a sudden he is, he's here.
00:23:43
Speaker
and yeah yup you know, He ah we just have to kind of like go along with it. Like he's immediately threatening her. And then all of a sudden he's here and kind of OK, kind of not OK. But in the book, we were slowly seeing not seeing but hearing about his progress. Right.
00:24:05
Speaker
ah Even like there was one time when he like came and tried to sit sit with them like while they were eating and stuff like that. Or at at Annie and Finnick's wedding, we find out that he decorated the cake. Yeah. no Because they are they're they're trying to like bring back to him these things that he should be used to. These things are real in his life. Like explaining to him who he is and the truth of, you know, his favorite color and whatever. Like they're trying to...
00:24:34
Speaker
get him back to who he was. And so he gets to decorate this cake. That's not in the movie. And which I feel like it could have easily been in the movie because we had the wedding. They did the dancing. Why didn't they like pan to the cake and Katniss being like, did PETA do this? And, you know, Hamish could have said something along the lines of like, yeah, he he really wanted to contribute. And we thought this would be a really good way for him to, you know, feel connected to his past self or something. It could have just been a 30 seconds, 15 seconds. Yeah. And they left it completely out. And so we really get that like shocking.
00:25:11
Speaker
Peeta is just gone off in the deep end. He's he's crazy. And then he's like, kind of okay. Probably won't kill you. Have fun. Yeah. Brought in whenever they're um heading towards the capital with the pods everywhere. all of a sudden randomly brought in. And Katniss had to sneak onto a A thing to get to the capital where she earned her spot in the book. She yeah earned that.
00:25:40
Speaker
Yeah. A little different there, which I was like, um I don't know how i feel about that. I think it was to make it more shocking in the movie. Like if you hadn't read the book, more shocking in the movie where PETA like randomly is dropped off there and you're like, oh what the heck?
00:25:56
Speaker
right Also, like i hate i mean I understand why Katniss did this. I think maybe to like protect herself. But the way that she completely cuts Peeta off, basically, whenever she realized like he's just too far gone. like Done.
00:26:17
Speaker
like'm not gonna help him that That's not done Like she was like so done with him. So done with his recovery process. Not even interested in helping him. She had a tunnel vision focus on her last check mark, which was to kill Snow. And that's all that mattered.
00:26:37
Speaker
Yep. Can we, i want to talk about something that is really important to me. Okay. it In the second half. Okay. So in the second book, in Catching Fire, Katniss is like, into fashion that's supposed to be her thing.
00:26:53
Speaker
And so we see some odd fashion choices. And then in the second half of the movie, there's one fashion thing that stands out to me that I don't understand. And that is these uniforms that the Yeah.
00:27:17
Speaker
and they are like gray quarters quarter button henley's but the buttons are to the left of center they're not centered And the first, like, it was so distracting to when I first saw it. I was like, why didn't someone on set twist her shirt back? Like, I thought it was just, like, twisted wrong. Like, she, you know, like, why didn't anybody fix that? And then I realized everyone's were like that.
00:27:45
Speaker
And it, I don't, and I don't, okay, listen. i'm I'm not a fashion designer. Okay? I'm not. i can't even use, I don't know how to thread a sewing machine. that's That's rocket science right there. That's.
00:27:58
Speaker
Some black magic. I don't know what's happening. But I know that military uniforms, unless they are a dress uniform... are utilitarian. they are like They are for a purpose. They for they are for a function, right?
00:28:15
Speaker
They're not designed to be interesting. They're not designed to be cute, fashionable, you know, avant-garde. None of this crap. they So why why were the buttons left of center?
00:28:28
Speaker
It's gotten messed up. but I have been thinking about this for three days. Yeah. Why? And it reminds me of like in Battlestar Galactica, they did like these weird racer back, but they were racer front shirts, like, which made no sense because racer back is to allow for movement of your shoulder blade, right? So why the military would wear racer front? Nothing's moving there. It doesn't matter.
00:28:54
Speaker
So now I'm over here like, why were the buttons left of center? Because like, was there like a pocket? somewhere where is there is that what is there like I don't know i don't know I'm so messed up about this And Sina's not alive, so we can't blame him.
00:29:09
Speaker
ah What's a design flaw? And that feels so, like, dystopian movie to me where they do, they make, like, a costume design like that where it makes absolutely no sense. It makes no sense. It's just for. It's a military. like Yeah. if we saw that, like, we saw Katniss's weird sweater thing yeah in Catching Fire. That was instantly what I thought.
00:29:37
Speaker
yeah And she, you know, she's trying to be fashion, like making these weird ass fashion choices because she's a fashion designer with Cine now whatever. But what when they do that, when these dystopian films do that with military uniforms, military gear, military, way i'm I'm always just like, it's not functional anymore.
00:30:01
Speaker
There is no functional purpose for that. And it just takes me right out of the story. Mm-hmm. Sorry, i didn't i just that was... It's been on my mind for a while. i had to get had to let it out. Thank you for allowing me space.
00:30:14
Speaker
Yeah, it's a safe space. It's a safe space for uniform complaints. You're safe. You're safe from the capital. I'm never safe. I'll never be safe.
00:30:28
Speaker
from bad fashion overall do we feel like the movie captured the absurdity and the horror of katniss being used as a propo asset like in the middle of a real war like i mean really how did the movie do with katniss on the battlefield but not really it's So at this point, we're supposed to believe, because they've sent in PETA, that Coyne is wanting Katniss to die.
00:31:06
Speaker
that That is the best thing that could happen for the the Rebellion, or for Coyne in particular, is for Katniss to die. Because Coyne doesn't trust that Katniss will support her after the Rebellion's over, after Snow is dead.
00:31:25
Speaker
And so... I think the absurdity of sending her in into these propos kind of hit. It was right. She's not supposed to be safe now.
00:31:37
Speaker
Coin is actively working to kill her now. She sent PETA in. Like, we know that that's Coin's endgame is to kill Katniss. So it makes sense that she is put into battle.
00:31:52
Speaker
Now, yeah again... Plutarch could have said something, but no, he's trying to make good television. Hamish probably tried, but he's up against Plutarch and Coyne, you know, so there's only so much he can do.
00:32:11
Speaker
And now we're down to just Boggs. That's the only one on Katniss's side right now. And we're not absolutely certain that he is. We're starting to think that he probably is.
00:32:23
Speaker
You know, like, I don't know about you guys. I kind of liked bugs from the beginning. i was like, this might be my guy, but he's also coins guy. And so there was always that little bit of doubt in the back of my mind.
00:32:35
Speaker
So I think the movie did really well kind of capturing that. Like we shouldn't be here, but this is where they put us kind of vibe. Yeah. I feel like I feel that way also whenever they sent her to district two, right?
00:32:53
Speaker
Whenever they sent her to... They said that they had to take over District 2 in order to finally take go to the Capitol. That was like their final piece to get to that point.
00:33:08
Speaker
And she was like, take me to District 2. And I think... That whole scene was really well done in the book and in the movie ah because she was used as a symbol.
00:33:23
Speaker
it was She was still being used in decisions, but she wasn't the decision maker. Okay. She was just like, I'm the symbol of the rebellion, but not necessarily part of the decision making.
00:33:36
Speaker
So I think that was... really interesting.
Finnick's Death and Sewer Sequence
00:33:42
Speaker
And the fact that also whenever everything went down, which that is also something that I think is really annoying with Gail and her when he's like, yeah, blow it all up. Everything is done. Like, I don't care who's under that mountain or whatever, because it doesn't matter because it all has to deal with people in the Capitol. Yeah. We have that same conversation again between her and Gail where she's like, there are innocent people in there. And he's like, no one's innocent if you're working for the Capitol.
00:34:20
Speaker
And no one's listening to her. you know and And she does say like people should be able to surrender and you know they eventually come out through the train and stuff. I think right there where she is such an important symbol to the rebellion, particularly, like <unk>re they're like, we're not done yet. We're not at the final point of like being to the going to the capital yet so you can't die. So when that train comes so that she can make like her final speech or whatever, and all these people are like protecting her.
00:34:55
Speaker
i felt like that was such a, a good representation of what she was like in the worst way, obviously of being this symbol of the rebellion and what she was going through.
00:35:12
Speaker
And honestly, I think Jennifer Lawrence did. I said this in the last episode and I'll say it again. She does such a good job specifically at this moment. And then the scene where the guy, you know, she is saying, no, like don't hurt them and all this stuff. And then the guy, you know, points the weapon at her and she, he's like, why shouldn't i kill you right now?
00:35:38
Speaker
She's like, I don't know. I really don't know why you shouldn't. Like, there's no reason to not do that right now. But this is just going to go around and around and around. And the only person that wins is going to be Snow.
00:35:52
Speaker
like Let's work together and get this shit done. yeah That was such a good scene in the book, too. Going back to the last episode, I said that Suzanne Collins, when she ends her chapters, like she knows how to end a chapter. And that's the scene where she says that she sees herself on TV and she sees herself get shot. Yes. Yes. That was so good.
00:36:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So it was, in it was crazy.
00:36:27
Speaker
and yeah and that And there were so many moments in different chapters that are like that too. h Yeah. There's the scene when they're supposed to be filming the propos and they're like goofing off and having fun and laughing at each other, like trying to reenact their reactions and stuff. And then shit hits the fan.
00:36:50
Speaker
And Boggs's legs are blown off. And then they're reminded immediately that they while they are this star squad and they're only there to film Propos, they are still in a war.
00:37:04
Speaker
and it is still dangerous. Yeah. Yeah. It's... Like, she's such a good writer and she just makes you nonstop want to keep turning the page.
00:37:19
Speaker
And it's so good. Yeah. Honestly, in the movie... That whole part when they are trying to go to the Capitol and that part when Boggs dies. Mm-hmm.
00:37:33
Speaker
And they set off a bunch of pods. You know, everything is going to crap. And they got Peeta there who is, you know, he's going through it, you know. yeah And, you know, and Katniss is kind of like doesn't really want anything to do with Peeta. And Hamish also does like reminds her, you know, you made a deal to save him one time.
00:37:58
Speaker
Mm-hmm. You still need to be a part of that deal, girl. Like, you need to get it together. And Peeta would never give up on you. Yeah. So you need to not give up on him.
00:38:09
Speaker
Get it yeah together. It was when Haymitch was like, how would Peeta be treating you right now if you were the one that was hijacked? And that hit me. I was like, oh, that's a good point. Yeah, someone needed to tell her that immediately because I was getting a little concerned that she just did not care.
00:38:28
Speaker
she had She had tunnel vision on this mission. i You know, she was she was going through so much of her own, you know, her own trauma.
00:38:40
Speaker
and And then Peeta, who's supposed to be her safe space, who is the place that she can go suddenly is definitely not a safe space.
00:38:50
Speaker
Yeah. and And she doesn't have the I'm going to go straight corporate jargon. She doesn't have the bandwidth to deal with this right now. Yeah. yeah and But she literally didn't. She didn't have the emotional bandwidth to be able to handle that.
00:39:07
Speaker
And now she's just kind of like, you know what? Then I won't handle it. I'll be done with it. That's the best way I can deal with this. and And then, like you said, tunnel vision. I'm going to kill Snow.
00:39:18
Speaker
Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Yeah. Well, also her plan was, yes, she was going to take out Snow, but she was also going to get taken out in the process. So there was no after Snow.
00:39:31
Speaker
Exactly. She knew this is it. This is it. this is it yeah And then I'm i'm a goner too. This is a, you know, death by a cop situation. You know, she knew she was going to go in there, shoot Snow, and then get shot.
00:39:47
Speaker
She knew it. Yeah. it It didn't... Yeah, it didn't matter to her whatsoever. And it's not that i I didn't blame her for it. I just I felt sad for PETA because I knew PETA would have never let that happen. And yeah, like you said, that was her safe space because she never knew PETA to be violent towards her. Right. So it was like a shocking thing.
00:40:17
Speaker
Like she never knew for him to have violent like hands on her. I mean, it was shocking to the audience. Yeah. Like it as a reader, I was. Yeah. Choked, you know, like god yeah literally. It was insane.
00:40:31
Speaker
It was so terrifying. Yeah. And then when everything is going to crap and all the pods are going off, we got with the oil like coming in and all this stuff, ah you know, people are dying. Part of your team has just died. PETA's triggered.
00:40:48
Speaker
PETA's triggered and attempts to kill. Everything's gone to shit. And now you got PETA trying to kill you. Yep. When he does that, I literally lose it Like, I'm like, what are you doing? We are barely surviving and you just threw me to the ground. Mm-hmm.
00:41:07
Speaker
And he's, like, throwing people, like, into the oil and they're dying. And and freaking Finnick has to, like, grab him by the back of the neck, practically, and drag him away to make him stop. Mm-hmm.
00:41:22
Speaker
Yeah. It's just insane. That scene, i like that scene a lot in the movie. I think it's really well done. I really liked that scene too. It's pure chaos.
00:41:33
Speaker
I also want to talk specifically about the whole sewer sequence. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Honestly, this was like, it was genuinely terrifying. Okay, yeah yeah. It was actually very scary. And the movie made it feel like a horror movie. Mm-hmm.
00:41:52
Speaker
mean, it was. it was Yeah. It was. They're in the capital, like, from Warzone, right? Yeah. For what in the book feels like 10 business days.
00:42:06
Speaker
Right. They're there forever. In the movie, they make it feel like they're there for, like, two days. Yeah. They make it feel like this is moving fast. Yeah. Right.
00:42:17
Speaker
But they're down in these like sewers, the like Capitol Underground for like three days
Katniss and Peeta's Relationship
00:42:24
Speaker
in the book. They like have to take turns on watch to sleep. And and it's and like poor Pollux, who is legitimately one of my favorite side characters, is.
00:42:37
Speaker
is terrified to be down there, but doing this again for the sake of the mission, you know, for ah for the sake of the rebellion, because he believes in the Mockingjay and he's leading them through this underground, you know, struggling with his own past trauma. Mm-hmm.
00:42:58
Speaker
and and And then his brother dies. my gosh. i was lo And then like the the the horror movie starts. like Yeah. I was dreaming about those mutts. It was so suspenseful. Literally so suspenseful to the point where i was like, can they just pop out already? like Oh my gosh. like I'm terrified.
00:43:25
Speaker
Yeah, and jump scares are no like ah the build-up to that jump scare. I know, that was not bad That was really bad. was actually really scary. was three-hour build-up. It was just forever.
00:43:38
Speaker
Forever. The music is going to sound. The trickle of the water. The flashlights going. They're like like waving each other down into the dark tunnels. And then they have to crawl through the like small galvan. I just got goosebumps just thinking about it. Freaking Jackson. it was Is that her name? Jackson or something? Yeah. She just keeps, like, looking back. And they keep... Also, they keep um sending, like, arrows with fire the stair. Okay. Also, is that safe? Like, to be honest. just You're just telling them where you are. That's a flare. That's what flares are for. Just show people where you are, okay? Yeah. You're literally doing that. And then you see, like, the fire slowly going out. Mm-hmm.
00:44:22
Speaker
And as she keeps looking, oh, I hated it. I absolutely hated it. Don't ever do that again. when When they finally jumped out, like, the relief I felt is like, we didn't have to deal with that tension anymore. my god.
00:44:39
Speaker
Yeah. That was insane. Because also, when it started, like, the whispering of Katniss's name, and then Peta, Peta knows it too, because he, well, also was trying to understand how Peta knows. Like,
00:44:55
Speaker
Is it because he has the same, like, stuff in him that that what they're made of? Well, okay. Remember in the book, though, they gave him the Tracker Jacker Venom yeah to convince him that Katniss was a mutt.
00:45:13
Speaker
Yes. So he must have been exposed to images of Katniss and mutts in order to confuse those.
00:45:25
Speaker
That's how I think of it. That's my headcanon. Yeah, that makes
Uncovering Coin's Manipulations
00:45:30
Speaker
sense. I was trying to, I'm like, how does he know that that's what they're doing? Like, how can he sense that?
00:45:36
Speaker
I mean, I don't know, but if I were in a dark underground sewer and somebody was half whispering, half hissing my name, I would know it was bad. I would know it was bad. I wouldn't need any sort of capital, you know, manipulation or torture to tell me that I'm not in a spot.
00:45:56
Speaker
I hated that so much. And then we have friggin Finnick. Oh, God. Oh, my God. yeah Here's the thing. This is where I put the book down and walk away.
00:46:08
Speaker
He had to go. he was too good. Also, we're still in the Hunger Games.
00:46:18
Speaker
And he was a tribute. He wasn't going to survive. Katniss and Peeta were the only ones that were going to survive. They were in the arena. Katniss and Peeta are the only ones that survive.
00:46:32
Speaker
That's why I'm so glad that Joanna didn't go. yeah Yeah. And Snow was, you know, manipulating them in the sense of putting their faces up on the TV screen like it was the cannon and all that stuff. Like they had died.
00:46:53
Speaker
Yep. It was really messed up. But you want to know what? it like obviously messed up overall, you know, but this is a fictional story.
00:47:05
Speaker
Suzanne Collins wrote this story. I think this is very clever. I think it's a clever way to still incorporate a quote other games, but in a different way without being repetitive. Exactly.
00:47:21
Speaker
Yep. So I think it's actually really well done and really good.
00:47:28
Speaker
you think the movie did just as well as the book? No. No. No, the book is way better. The book is way better. Sorry. The book is better. I don't believe the movie was bad. I i liked it i'm I'm glad I watched it.
00:47:42
Speaker
um But the book is just, yeah you know, so much better. Far and away. honestly, after Finnick's death, that whole sequence, I will say after that entire sequence of them running and it just is so chaotic and um all these people are also like dying with like the lights coming down. It's like practically like disintegrating um these people and you know, Peeta and Katniss are running and they have that moment where she's like, stay with me always. my God, love that scene. I,
00:48:20
Speaker
I have to say in the movie, I hate that she kissed him right then.
Prim's Death and Its Impact
00:48:24
Speaker
I don't remember if she did in the book or not, but I feel like she didn't.
00:48:31
Speaker
I kind of see. you I feel like she, but it don't get me wrong. i'm not mad about it, but I just feel like it kind of cheapened the moment. Katniss and Peeta didn't have to have a kiss to convince each other that they cared for each other. They kissed each other to convince Panem that they cared about each other. Right? Well, Peeta kissed Katniss because he loved her.
00:48:58
Speaker
Well, yeah. But I mean, like, in the She does kiss him. I just, I kind of wish she hadn't. Because I just feel like it was, like, they usually, when when when shit sits in the fan like this, they kiss in the arena In order to get sponsors. They kiss in order to. You know what I mean. Like in Hunger Games. In Catching Fire.
00:49:20
Speaker
And so it was a tool to to manipulate other people. Not each other. Yeah. You know. and And I feel like it was. don't know. And she does the same thing to like.
00:49:35
Speaker
um To Gail, Gail points it out to her. He's like, I knew you were going to do that because I'm hurting. Yeah. You know always kiss me when I'm in pain are like when you know i'm in pain. Yeah. Like she she doesn't kiss people because she loves them.
00:49:50
Speaker
You know? And so it's it just felt weird in that moment yeah to me. Well, this is opinion. this is This is just my opinion. But maybe she kissed him...
00:50:04
Speaker
In front of Gale to prove that it was real. Like, this is real. This is happening. You are here. Because they they were playing the real, not real game. And maybe that was just to help.
00:50:17
Speaker
Bring them back. Bring them back. Maybe. This is real. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Yeah. And honestly, after that whole thing goes down, um they have Peeta and Gail have this like conversation. I think while she's like asleep or something, or maybe she's like just sitting to the side. pretending to be asleep. Yeah. And I don't know if Peeta or Gail say this, but they're kind of like saying the same thing where they're like, Katniss would pick whoever she can't live without.
00:50:48
Speaker
And Katniss was like, I live without both of you, okay? Like, I don't need either of you. You know, that honestly made me annoyed. Like, you know what? Shut up. And I think it was Gail who said that. And Gail always annoys me because he sits here and he he acts like like everything will be going to crap, right?
00:51:08
Speaker
And for some reason, he's over here like... Oh, you like Finnick or something like that. Like she'll be like around Finnick or something. And he comes over and is like upset about her being around Finnick or is like jealous. Like things will be going to crap. And for some reason, this is what you're talking about.
00:51:27
Speaker
But again, Gail doesn't try to understand where Katniss is coming from. Ever. Now, he sat here and defended Coyne Katniss, saying things like, did you ever think that she had to do blah, blah, blah? Or did you ever consider that blah, blah, blah, blah blah whatever? But he never, ever defends Katniss to everyone else.
00:51:49
Speaker
He never, ever tries to understand where Katniss is coming from. Ever. and now here he is being all like, she'll choose whoever she she can't survive without or whatever. And it's like...
00:52:02
Speaker
That's not fair. She doesn't need either of you. She's already proved it yep i exact I hate Gail, too. And that scene, you what that scene reminded me of?
00:52:16
Speaker
That scene reminded me of freaking Twilight when Bella is in the tent, okay? And Jacob is laying down with her and she's asleep and Edward and Jacob are, like, having a conversation.
00:52:30
Speaker
That's what it reminded me of. Yep. That's funny. i was like, ah another love triangle that's pissing me off. Something I didn't, I don't know if this was intentional or if it was in the book at all. um i didn't realize that Tigress is President Snow's cousin.
00:52:47
Speaker
i don't think it is mentioned in this book, but I think that is going to be relevant in the next one that we're reading. I wondered if she was going to come up in any of the future books. I saw her name. Her name is Tiger Snow in the movie.
00:53:07
Speaker
I was like, oh, wow. Okay. A relation. There was just enough backstory to that character. Just enough backstory in Mockingjay that it made me wonder if we're going to see more of her.
00:53:22
Speaker
So. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, I have no idea. Like, I have not... I've seen bits and pieces because, you know, I'd be knee-deep in those edits, okay?
00:53:34
Speaker
I've seen bits and pieces of the movie, but I don't really know, like the plot or anything like that of what happens. So, but I did hear that that character is significant in the next one. so Okay. Yeah.
00:53:54
Speaker
interesting i read the jacket on the book of what the book's about and that's all i know i don't know anything about the movie i don't know anything about the story over here and part of me is like let's look like no not yet not yet unfortunately we do have to talk about another death which is prim's death This one gets me, man. The most controversial moment in the entire trilogy.
00:54:27
Speaker
Katniss volunteered as tribute in book one to save her sister. The entire series begins with that act of love. And Collins kills Prim in the final pages.
00:54:41
Speaker
And it wasn't even by Snow, but potentially as a result of a bomb designed by Gale. So... Did Prim's death hit as hard in the movie as it did in the book?
00:54:56
Speaker
And I think, you know, we talked about it a little bit that we but we all agree that, you know, it had to happen. we We needed a death in the war.
00:55:07
Speaker
so what what do you guys think? Book versus movie. I think it hit way harder in the book for me. Yeah. Way harder. Yeah.
00:55:18
Speaker
But not only do I think that this had to happen because we're at a war, but I think this had to happen because it might be the only thing that convinced Katniss 100% that Coyne was evil.
00:55:37
Speaker
Because she starts piecing it together that You know, because obviously like President Snow tells her some crap to kind of get her thinking along these lines. And then she starts thinking, why was Prim even there?
00:55:50
Speaker
Prim was only 13. Soldiers are 14 and up. There is no reason Prim should have been there. She would have had to have gotten special permission for that. And there's no way that their mother would have said that that was okay.
00:56:05
Speaker
So that the permission or whatever had to come from somewhere else. So there's that. Number two, was this Gail's bum? And even Gail has to say, i don't know and neither does Beattie.
00:56:18
Speaker
We don't know. And if they don't even know where that call came from, then that call had to come from higher up than Beattie, right? So she starts piecing this together.
00:56:31
Speaker
if that had been anyone other than Prim, if if if Prim hadn't been there, would she have bothered to think this hard about it? would You know what I mean? It yeah had to be prim.
00:56:45
Speaker
Had to be. Yeah. i totally agree. Also, i think it hits harder in the book, in my opinion, not only because of, obviously because of what happens, but because of Katniss's following actions after that.
Katniss's Decision on Leadership
00:57:10
Speaker
I think is way different in the book versus the movie. It's much darker in the book. The way that she deals with what happened, um like what Crystal is indicating here.
00:57:33
Speaker
that's what leads to her instead of during that whole execution to snow. She actually, and I think also that kind of turns it to is coin saying that we should have another hunger games too. Yeah.
00:57:50
Speaker
For the capital's children. and so, and I think it's something I also really love. I'm kind of sidetracking a little bit. Whenever they do the vote for that, and she says yes. And Hamish is looking at her. Like Katniss is like, yeah, for Prim.
00:58:08
Speaker
And Hamish is looking at her for so long. And then he's like, I'm with the Mockingjay. like i like the line in the book for this. with her. Katniss's thought is, um this is when we really test how close Hamish and I really are. Yes.
00:58:25
Speaker
Yep. Yeah, it's so good. And then she eventually kills Coyne instead of Snow, and she just lets the people do whatever they want with Snow. I think Hamish knew it. hamish Because the minute she said for Prim, I think Hamish was like, that's my message. She's telling me something. What is she telling me?
00:58:45
Speaker
I'm with her. You know, it's it they are lockstep. It's just... Like the way they think, the way their brains work is so in sync.
00:58:57
Speaker
And I just love that. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's so good. But and then after that, she so she has like the night long pill.
00:59:09
Speaker
in on her person. And so she tries to instantly take that because she's like, done. I'm done. I'm ready to They're going to kill me anyways. Yeah, like they're going to kill me anyways because I just killed who's going to be the next. And also Coyne was like, we're not going to have like an election because, you know, they're everyone's too unstable to do that. So I'm going to be here and, you know, for whatever time being. And she's like, Candace is like, absolutely not. Goodbye.
00:59:39
Speaker
Pretty much. And so she thinks she's going to be killed immediately. So she tries to take the night lock. And in the book, she says Peeta puts his hand like in her mouth to stop her from taking it.
00:59:53
Speaker
I thought he just like put it over the pouch. But she bit it. Yeah, but she bit ah In the book, it read... She bit flesh. i was like, what? She bite her shoulder? I was really confused for a second. Me too. I was like, damn, she ran hard for that necklock bill. Yeah, she like bit his hand and and he like stopped her. And it I feel like that was also a huge moment.
01:00:20
Speaker
Where also for PETA to where we're like, OK, PETA is not as far gone as we originally thought. yeahp But then after that, ah like I said, a huge difference between the book and the movie is like she is actively trying to do everything in her power to end her life. Yeah. She's hunger striking. She's. Refusing to to, you know, eat, to bathe, to talk to anyone, whatever.
01:00:46
Speaker
and in the movie, it's literally like two hours goes by and Hamish comes to get her. Yep. Like she hasn't even changed clothes. But yeah in the in the book, she's there for like weeks.
01:00:59
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And also whenever she um is sitting there like waiting for what they're going to say. They have Hamish comes in and he reads like a letter from Plutarch that was actually supposed to be a scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman. But obviously they didn't because he did most of his scenes already for both part one and part two, but he had died during.
01:01:28
Speaker
Yeah, that whole filming process and they had to read like a letter instead. i was sad. I think there were literally two scenes that he didn't film before his passing and that was one of them.
01:01:39
Speaker
Yeah. Whenever they started reading a letter, i was like, oh, I bet you this was one of those scenes that he was supposed to film. yeah I think they handled it well. yeah Yeah. You know, that like, I wish I could be here with you, but I don't think it would look good. And that makes sense for his character that Plutarch is going to protect the message, that the image, the entertainment value. so Yeah.
01:02:02
Speaker
I'm going to be honest. I didn't realize when we watched the long walk that the guy who played Garrity is Philip Seymour Hoffman's son in real life. i I didn't realize that when I watched it.
01:02:14
Speaker
Yeah. I thought that was sweet. Yeah, that's cool. So you guys, what's, what's our final verdict on this last book and these two movies? Yeah.
01:02:26
Speaker
what Which do you prefer? ah well Okay. Sorry. Crystal. Book. Book. Definitely the book. Okay. So can I say one more thing? Now that I've talked for way too long, I have to say one more thing.
01:02:44
Speaker
I have to talk about the epilogue. Okay. I feel like this epilogue is super important. i I really have to talk about it. Mm-hmm. Because there is like, it's not a happily ever after, but there is this moment of peace in the story. And I want to say something because I usually don't like my, foot I don't love like this epilogue where it's like, then they have kids and they live happily ever after kind of thing. But I want to say something that there is like a bigger,
01:03:23
Speaker
A really good message in this epilogue that I really grasped this time because I read them and, you know, we've done a deep dive on these so, so much is that I remember in the first book in Hunger Games,
01:03:40
Speaker
where Katniss says that she would never have kids because of how unsafe it is and yeah how she would just she was talking to Gail. She would never do that. It's not safe. And she that's why she didn't want them.
01:03:56
Speaker
And I think that with this epilogue, it was like Suzanne Collins doing the show instead
Epilogue and Conclusion
01:04:03
Speaker
of telling. Instead of telling us that we did this. Like all these things happened that helped Penham like recover from this entire situation. We've done A, B, C, D to make the place better kind of thing. Instead of giving us the rundown of like,
01:04:24
Speaker
15 pages. All she had to say was that Katniss and Peeta had a family, you know, and that was our indication. The fact that Katniss would even want to have children or have a family or anything that, yeah and that was her biggest fear ah in this state of the world. That meant that this place was at peace.
01:04:52
Speaker
Yep. And I thought that I was like, it clicked with me this time. And I was like, oh my God, that's so good. And like an epilogue that's like two pages of showing instead of telling where you don't have to tell me how you got there.
01:05:07
Speaker
I just know that's what that means. Right. Was so perfect. I love how she talks about... Katniss talks about her fears for her children are how she's going to explain her own nightmares.
01:05:20
Speaker
How she's going to explain what the games meant for her. Like, her fears are not that my kids will end up in the games. Yeah. Her fears are not that they might have too many entries because we were hungry.
01:05:35
Speaker
You know, they had to take extra. Right. You know, this... just that changed. My fears are how I'm going to explain this one day. Yeah. That was just a really beautiful way, like you said, of showing, not telling.
01:05:48
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And it wasn't immediate that they had kids. They explained it. It took 20 years for PETA to convince Katniss that they were safe and that they could have children.
01:06:02
Speaker
Yeah. Can we talk? I want to talk. we We skipped over it. It's my turn to be like, can i say one more thing? ah The stupid cat. The stupid cat when they're back in District 12 and Katniss is home.
01:06:17
Speaker
saw it. Oh my god. Katniss was losing it and I was losing it. Katniss broke down. I broke down. I had to pause the movie. like i cried in the book. i had to I had to stop reading and let myself feel my feels. and in I had to do the same thing in the movie all over again. and My son comes in the room and he goes...
01:06:38
Speaker
and canis is screaming at the cat like to go away and and he my son comes in the room and he goes she does not like that cat ah you yeah i think she actually really loves that cat and then of course i i'd pause it he left the room he he was done with me but man that cat that's all but That is so good. Oh wait, Lindsay, what did you say? Book versus movie.
01:07:08
Speaker
Which one for you? I'm going book. Okay. Yeah, absolutely. Book. As far as like the whole series goes, like, are you going book series or movie series overall?
01:07:22
Speaker
I mean, I have to go book series. I'm sorry. Even though this movie series is so good. Like, yeah I have to say that it is a movie series where if it's on TV, I'm watching it. Sometimes, like, this is like a sick day series for me. Yeah. Where I'm sick.
01:07:42
Speaker
I want to binge a series. It's going to be Hunger Games, you know? i I think they're so entertaining to watch. They have like a good like emotional payoff on them. Plutarch would be proud.
01:07:58
Speaker
Yeah.
01:08:02
Speaker
Like I just I just really like them. I really enjoyed them a lot. But I will say the books are better because there's just a lot more emotional depth there. Yeah. A lot more detail behind the character's journey and overall.
01:08:19
Speaker
And I recommend, if you've read it a long time ago, you should reread it. Yeah, now's the time for a reread. Absolutely. Yeah, for sure.
01:08:31
Speaker
Crystal? Same. Same. 100%. Exactly what Carrie said. Okay. Yeah. What about you, Lindsay? Yeah, i mean, like Carrie said before, this is a god tier series. I have to go books on this.
01:08:44
Speaker
yeah And they were all rereads for me, but I didn't remember a lot. So it was like reading it for the first time again. And this series is just, it's untouchable. Like this is perfection. Yeah.
01:08:57
Speaker
That's literally how I feel for sure. ah But for our question of the episode, I do have a bit of a heavier question. It is something that we've discussed before, but was Katniss Everdeen a hero, a symbol, or a victim?
01:09:18
Speaker
And I'm going to start with Crystal on this one. i think she was all three, and that is why this is a God Tier series.
01:09:29
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I feel that. i Like... I think she was a hero in some senses of the story.
01:09:47
Speaker
i do think there are other heroes that were more significant in the story, like to the rebellion as a whole, you know?
01:09:58
Speaker
But I think... She is the main thing. She is the victim of the consequences that comes with being a symbol.
01:10:11
Speaker
If that makes sense. Yeah.
01:10:16
Speaker
i I think I agree with Crystal on this one. I think she is a bit of all three. i think she starts out as a hero, but Mockingjay spends the entire story basically dismantling that.
01:10:30
Speaker
She never wanted to be the Mockingjay. She never wanted to lead a revolution. But she wanted to protect her sister. And then you get Mockingjay, and then she couldn't even protect her sister.
01:10:45
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So I feel like Mockingjay, it's showing us what it costs to be a symbol of a revolution. And everyone is pointing a camera at Katniss and deciding what she means.
01:11:01
Speaker
And she has almost no say in any of it. Like, it's it's exploitation, basically. Yeah. yeah And then by the end of the story, you you know, she has her trauma, the loss, and the grief.
Episode Wrap-up and Future Content
01:11:16
Speaker
It was just so much for her to survive. So yeah, I think she's a hero, a symbol, and a victim. That's so true. That's tough. Katniss! Love you, girl.
01:11:28
Speaker
And with that, that's a wrap on Mockingjay Part 2. Oh my gosh, and we're gonna about to get into new material. Uh-huh. I'm so excited.
01:11:39
Speaker
New material. I'm terrified. Yeah. The war is over. The cameras are off. And honestly, we need a minute. yeah yep But we are not done with Panem just yet.
01:11:53
Speaker
We still have the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes coming up. And then the episode you have been asking for, Sunrise on the Reaping, where we will be diving into the book and sharing our predictions for the film hitting theaters on November 20th. So stay subscribed because the revolution may be over, but based on a book is just getting started.
01:12:16
Speaker
Make sure you are following us on social media. We want to hear your thoughts on Mockingjay, your feelings about the ending, and whether you think the films did the book justice.
01:12:27
Speaker
Come find us and let's keep the conversation going. And don't forget, if Mockingjay has you wanting to revisit the entire series or experience it for the first time in audio form, we have partnered with Libro.fm to bring you a link to the Mockingjay audiobook right in the show notes. Every purchase through Libro.fm supports an independent bookstore of your choice, so you can feed your reading habit and support a local bookstore at the same time.
01:12:56
Speaker
Thank you for your comments, your hot takes, your strong PETA opinions. We see every single one of them and they mean everything to us. If you have been enjoying the show, please take a moment to leave us a review wherever you listen. It helps more book lovers find us and growing this community is basically everything.
01:13:18
Speaker
Until next time, the war is won, the Mockingjay has sung, and somewhere in District 12, the primroses are blooming. We'll see you in the next chapter Based on a Book.
01:13:30
Speaker
Bye! Bye! Bye!