The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Sequel Should Focus on This

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

The Big Picture

• The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes concludes Coriolanus’ arch, but there’s still much to explore about Tigris as she becomes a rebel and Coriolanus’ enemy.
• Tigris represents a larger group of rebels within the Capitol and her perspective would provide a unique angle to the franchise.
• The addition of Tigris’ story could delve into the culture of the Capitol, particularly the fashion and the people who don’t support the Hunger Games, highlighting the much-forgotten Capitol rebels.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes audiences back to Panam as it explores the youth of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) before he became the infamous man in the original films. But by the prequel’s end, his journey is complete. Beginning poor and desperate, Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) cunningly works his way up, becoming a mentor in the 10th Annual Hunger Games and catching the attention of the head game maker, Dr. Gaul (Viola Davis). After a brief detour in District 12, Coriolanus returns to the Capitol with his rise to power nearly assured, meaning Coriolanus’ story is essentially complete. After all, everyone knows how it will end for him. But the success of this film has inspired a renewed interest in the franchise, which often means more films will be made. There is no end to the ideas that could continue the story, with so many intriguing characters in the series. Fans have long wanted to know about the other victors seen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, especially Haymitch’s (Woody Harrelson) win in the second Quarter Quell. But if The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes gets a sequel, there is one character who should be the protagonist: Tigris Snow (Hunter Schafe).

She is one of only two characters to appear in both the prequel and the original series, but Tigris’ fascinating story is largely unknown. As Coriolanus’ cousin, she shares his struggles but not his way of dealing with their situation. But their biggest difference comes at the prequel’s end when Tigris disapproves of what he became. She remains sympathetic towards the tributes and eventually helps Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) in the rebellion. Though she is less prominent in Katniss’ story than her cousin, appearing only in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, Tigris represents a larger group of rebels within the Capitol. While she and Coriolanus are close in the prequel, they stand on opposite sides of the later conflict, showing how much they grow apart in the following 64 years. Telling Tigris’ story can give more details about Coriolanus’ rise to power while providing a small taste of hope through Tigris. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shows how Coriolanus became President Snow, but it doesn’t explore how his meek cousin became a rebel, which would be an equally interesting story.

What Happened to Tigris After ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’?

When the film ends, Tigris is seemingly better off than she was at the beginning. With Coriolanus becoming a game maker and the rich Plinths taking him under their wing after the death of their son, Sejanus (Josh Andrés Rivera), Tigris and Grandma’am (Fionnula Flanagan) can live as they were once accustomed to, without the fear of starvation. But, despite the change in circumstances, Tigris is less happy than before as she watches her cousin closely. She was more horrified by the Hunger Games, and particularly Dr. Gaul, than many of the other Capitol citizens, and that reaction only grew until it inspires her to rebel. By her appearance in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, it’s clear that many things are different, most notably her appearance. In the years between the two stories, Tigris underwent significant surgical enhancements to be unrecognizable. Her skin bears the stripes of an actual tiger, and she has whiskers.

But much more happens during this time. In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Tigris is a young woman interested in fashion, shown by her ability to flawlessly mend Coriolanus’ old shirt without spending money. This could be cited as the reason for the enhancements, as the Capitol styles grew strange, but they also made her unrecognizable as Snow’s cousin, which could have been a bonus. By the time she meets Katniss, Tigris had a long career in fashion, likely enabled by Coriolanus’ success as she didn’t have to concern herself with meeting basic needs. She became a stylist in the Hunger Games, a position that didn’t yet exist in the prequel as the tributes were treated inhumanely and sent into the arena in the same clothes they wore to the reaping. As Coriolanus makes the brutal Games more of a show, the need for stylists arose, meaning she worked closely with tributes in the intervening games. Despite their connection, Coriolanus personally had Tigris fired due to her appearance. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 also reveals that she was familiar with Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and other rebels, establishing a conflict for her.

‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Doesn’t Address Tigris and Coriolanus’ Falling Out

Both orphaned at a young age and raised by their Grandma’am, Tigris and Coriolanus are more than cousins in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. They are essentially siblings. She cares for him, fixing food and mending clothes between her work schedule, and he confides in her secrets he shouldn’t share with a soul. Coriolanus admits that he was sent inside the arena and tells Tigris about his struggles with Dr. Gaul, giving her a unique insight into the workings of the Hunger Games. While it seems like she would do anything for him, by the end, things have changed. Tigris tells him he’s like his father, which is not an insult without the look on her face. Certainly, it’s reasonable that she wouldn’t care for her uncle, who, as The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes reveals, was instrumental in establishing the Hunger Games. And she certainly disapproves of Coriolanus’ path, though it’s not clear how much she knows of what her cousin did to get there, but their falling out has a long way to go.

When Katniss tells Tigris that she intends to kill Snow, Tigris smiles, proving that there is no love left between them. Clearly, there is more to this relationship and its destruction than seen in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Even her brief explanation about Coriolanus having her fired is an interesting fact in their history, but it doesn’t quite add up without more information. For Coriolanus to get involved, there must be a deeper reason to remove her, with the excuse about her appearance used to cover his tracks. There are any number of ways she could have earned his wrath. Tigris’ involvement in the rebellion shows that she has different priorities than her cousin, and her interaction with the tributes or early rebel contacts could have incited Coriolanus to action. His treatment of Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler) establishes that Coriolanus reacts violently when his secrets are on the verge of being revealed, and Tigris seems to know him better than anyone, but why would she be allowed to live? The series could continue to explore Coriolanus’ development into President Snow while providing his antithesis in Tigris. Their relationship and eventual hatred for each other proves there is more to this story than fans have seen.

Why Should the Hunger Games Tell Tigris’ Story?

There is a lot unknown about Tigris’ life, especially when it comes to her relationship with Coriolanus, that could be explored in a sequel to The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Differentiating itself from other installments in the franchise, it would be about the people putting on the Hunger Games rather than the tributes. While there are many characters fans would love a backstory for, Haymitch, Finnick (Sam Claflin), and Mags (Lynn Cohen), to name a few, Tigris’ story could relate more directly to The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes than anyone else’s, and it would be unique. Focusing on Tigris’ life would provide a chance to delve into the culture of the Capitol, not just the political side that concerns Coriolanus, but also the fashion and, more importantly, the people who don’t support the Hunger Games. Tigris’ perspective would be something different for the franchise that could highlight the often-forgotten Capitol rebels.

With so much story potential, it could begin at any point in the world’s undefined history. Tigris would be the perfect way to explore the addition of stylists to the Hunger Games as they become more exhibition than punishment to the people of the Capitol. A game maker himself, Coriolanus could be involved in this development directly, expecting Tigris to be thrilled about it while she struggles with the proximity to the brutality. Or this story could show the seeds of rebellion that existed before Katniss ignited the war. Tigris has an established connection to Plutarch, but he is far from the only Capitol citizen to be a rebel. Another stylist who followed Tigris’ example of defying the Capitol is Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Responsible for making Katniss the girl on fire, Cinna’s past isn’t explored, but even he could appear in a Tigris-centric film. There are 64 years to work with between The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Katniss’ first Games, and Tigris’ story could take place anywhere in that time period while being a valuable addition to the story. By the end of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it’s impossible to cheer for Coriolanus. But Tigris’ perspective could show his continued progression while providing a true hero and even expressing sympathy for the boy Coriolanus once was. As Coriolanus improves his situation in the prequel, he reveals a selfish nature, but the one thing he never does is betray his family. Yet his future with Tigris changes that, offering a catalyst for his final state. Tigris is uniquely equipped to continue the story The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes began, and she should get that chance.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is now in theaters.

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