With two prequels under its belt, The Hunger Games has expanded well beyond just Katniss Everdeen’s story. After the initial trilogy, which followed Katniss and Peeta on their journey to rebellion, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes presented audiences with President Coriolanus Snow’s villain origin story, as well the untold history of District 12’s first victor, Lucy Gray Baird. Now, Sunrise on the Reaping dives into the final District 12 victor, Haymitch Abernathy, revealing long-buried secrets regarding the second Quarter Quell. Readers have been delighted to learn that each of District 12’s winners has a rebellious streak, but one victor stands head and shoulders above the rest in this department.

Katniss might seem like the obvious choice, considering she became the face of the Second Rebellion in the original Hunger Games trilogy, but it turns out that all of District 12’s victors have defied the Capitol’s rules to some extent. As her mentor, Snow helped Lucy Gray cheat so she could win her Games. Years later, Katniss and Peeta forced the Gamemakers to spare both of them, making the 74th Games the only year with two victors. Fans already knew that Haymitch showed up the Gamemakers by turning the force field around the arena into his own personal weapon, which didn’t go over well with Snow. However, Sunrise on the Reaping reveals that the force field was just the tip of the iceberg of what Haymitch did during his Games, making him District 12’s most rebellious victor by a long shot.

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Haymitch Openly Challenged President Snow Before the Games Even Started

District 12’s Other Victors Played Along as Best They Could

None of District 12’s victors were happy to be in the Hunger Games, but most of them went along with the process to try and survive. In contrast, Haymitch quickly puts a target on his back in Sunrise on the Reaping by directly challenging President Snow during the tributes’ parade. It turns out there was a chariot accident during the parade that resulted in the death of Haymitch’s fellow tribute and ally, 13-year-old Louella McCoy. Haymitch then took her body to Snow’s balcony seat, where he laid her down and mockingly applauded the president in front of a crowd of Capitol viewers. While the audience ate it up, he spat in some of their faces as he was escorted away. Haymitch wants to hold Snow accountable for Louella’s death, but his confrontational act immediately puts him on Snow’s radar.

The feud was just as heated behind the scenes. When Plutarch brought Haymitch to meet Snow and face the consequences of his actions, the president was recovering from his latest poisoning and asked for some milk. Plutarch sent Haymitch to get a pint from the fridge, so Haymitch drank the whole container and claimed it was missing. Snow still got his milk and made Haymitch pay in the end, but Haymitch sent a clear message with his disobedience. His boldness even extends to the Gamemakers, with Haymitch getting under their skin with some brutal honesty during his individual assessment. It may have earned him a score of one, but even with his life on the line, Haymitch wasn’t afraid to call out their callousness.

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While Katniss, Peeta and Lucy Gray still found other ways to resist, they didn’t outright defy the powers that be. Lucy Gray may have defiantly sung at her reaping and made a few pointed remarks during her interviews in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but she wasn’t nearly as direct as Haymitch. Likewise, Katniss may have famously shot an arrow at the Gamemakers in The Hunger Games, but it was mainly to get their attention. She and Peeta don’t come close to Haymitch’s level of open hostility until Catching Fire, when he paints a picture of Rue for the Gamemakers and she hangs a dummy of Seneca Crane. Like Haymitch, Peeta wants to force the Gamemakers to face what they did, and Katniss wants to show that she’s done playing by their rules and take some of the heat off of Peeta. They are emboldened because, unlike in their first Games, they’re both more preoccupied with saving each other than themselves, and while they’re not officially in the rebellion yet, they’re more aware of growing resistance in the districts. Even so, out of all the District 12 victors, Haymitch is the only one who takes the fight directly to the people in charge right off the bat and makes little-to-no effort to hide his true feelings.

Haymitch Knowingly Joined a Rebel Conspiracy to Stop the Hunger Games

Catching Fire’s Rebels Kept Katniss and Peeta in the Dark

Once they’re in the arena, all of District 12’s victors take matters into their own hands, but Haymitch goes a step further in Sunrise on the Reaping by joining an organized effort to stop the Hunger Games. It starts when he gets the idea to break the arena, something he mentions to District 3 victor Beetee Latier, who’s given a station to run during training. Beetee then conspires with his mentors, Wiress and Mags Flanagan, and Plutarch Heavensbee to help him do just that, giving Haymitch the tools and information he needs to disable the arena. Although Haymitch does manage to briefly disrupt its command center, their plans are thwarted when the backup generator kicks in, allowing the Games to continue. Haymitch then tries to blow up the force field surrounding the arena to get to the generator, but the Games are over by this point, and he’s at death’s door. While the bomb still explodes, Snow and the Gamemakers make sure he survives to face his punishment.

Katniss successfully takes down the arena in Catching Fire, but she and Peeta are kept completely in the dark about the rebel plot to break her out of the Games. Even after they rescue her, she’s very reluctant to join the fight because Snow has Peeta in the Capitol, and she never meant to start a war anyway. Peeta doesn’t appear to share the rebels’ aspirations either, as he just wants to save Katniss and maintain his humanity. They may force the Gamemakers to spare them both in their first Games, but they’re not trying to stop the Games altogether in that moment. Meanwhile, Lucy Gray gets caught in the crossfire when the rebels try to stop the 10th Games by blowing up the arena and doesn’t even take the opportunity to try to escape. She might not play by the rules, but she’s not trying to take down the Capitol, either. As such, Sunrise on the Reaping shows that Haymitch is the only District 12 victor who aspires to tear down the whole awful system while he’s in the Games.

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Haymitch Was Almost the Mockingjay 24 Years Before Katniss

The Capitol Nearly Erased Haymitch’s Rebellion From History

Many readers have noticed that Sunrise on the Reaping puts Haymitch in a very similar position to Katniss in Catching Fire. However, unlike his future mentee, he’s more aware of what’s going on behind the scenes, and despite his best efforts, he doesn’t succeed. If he had, Haymitch might have kicked off the Second Rebellion before Katniss was even born. He may not have matched her level of popularity, but he could easily have become the face of the movement, given his role in taking down the arena. In fact, Plutarch highlights the real difference between Haymitch and Katniss when he says the rebellion needs someone like Haymitch, but “Luckier, or with better timing.” Haymitch may have been more rebellious at the beginning and had a few key allies to help, but Katniss had luck on her side, and her timing allowed the rebels to learn from their previous attempts. She also had Haymitch himself to guide her through it, even if they bickered much of the time.

If Katniss had known the full extent of what Haymitch did in Sunrise on the Reaping, she might’ve been more willing to listen to him. Sadly, the Capitol heavily edited the broadcast, erasing most of his rebellious activities throughout the entire event. His use of the force field was the only thing they couldn’t cut around, hinting at the true rebel within. Even if it’s not as thorough as the Capitol’s attempts to erase Lucy Gray from history, it’s still a testament to how much of a threat Haymitch was to the system that the Gamemakers had to alter so much of the footage. He may not have started a revolution, but no one who knows the truth could accuse him of not trying. Thankfully, Haymitch survives long enough to see the Capitol overthrown, allowing him to take control of his own narrative again and share his story.

The Hunger Games

Created by

Suzanne Collins

First Film

The Hunger Games

Cast

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Amandla Stenberg, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis

Where to Stream

Peacock, Fubo TV, Philo