Summary
- The Hunger Games prequel reveals the backstory of Coriolanus Snow, showing that he was once a sympathetic character and suffered greatly during the war and after.
- Coriolanus Snow's lack of empathy and remorse in The Hunger Games is potentially explained by his experience of living in poverty and witnessing the atrocities committed during the war.
- Coriolanus Snow's involvement in the early Hunger Games as a mentor and his close relationship with Lucy Gray Baird contribute to the development of his brutal nature and his rise to power as the cruel dictator fans know.
Content Warning: This list contains mention of infant loss.
The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tells the story of Coriolanus Snow and how he gains power in Panem. This movie is based on the novel of the same name, which author Suzanne Collins wrote to give a backstory to her dystopian world, as well as Panem's cruel dictator, Coriolanus Snow. In the original Hunger Games movies and books, President Snow relentlessly tortured the District citizens and is known for poisoning and killing his political enemies. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes reveals that Coriolanus was once a sympathetic character.
The cruel dictator that Hunger Games fans met and cheered for his defeat was once a good man who wanted nothing more than to help his family and overcome a ruling system that held him down. However, his ability for empathy and remorse was greatly stunted by the war that ravaged his childhood and the Hunger Games event that showed him his first true love and also broke his heart and made him unsympathetic to many around him. Thanks to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, audiences learn about the story's protagonist, who, in the future, harms so many.
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10 The Snow Family Suffered Greatly During The War
Snow Lost Both Parents At A Young Age
During the rebellion of the 13 Districts, Coriolanus was only a young Capitol boy from a prodigious family. However, social status quickly began to mean very little during the war. Corio (as his family called him) had to say goodbye to his father, who was required to fight in the war. His father was killed in combat, but this did not affect Corio nearly as much as the loss of his mother. Mrs. Snow died in childbirth when she was unable to leave the family apartment for the hospital. Corio had no choice but to watch his mother and infant sister die, and he never fully recovered from it.
9 He Secretly Lived In Poverty After the War
The Family Lost Everything After Rebels Killed Snow's Dad
During the war, the Capitol was completely cut off from supplies. Even the richest of citizens went without food, and Corio was exposed to the atrocious lengths citizens would go to fill their stomachs. On one occasion, Corio and his cousin, Tigris, witnessed one of their wealthy neighbors cannibalizing a dead woman in the street. After the war, most families rebuilt their wealth, but the Snows were unable to recover. The family depended on their good name for social survival but lived on cabbage and beans. This could potentially explain Snow's lack of empathy and remorse in The Hunger Games, which supplied some of his best quotes from the series.
8 He Was Among The First-Ever Mentors
Snow Took Part In One Of The Early Hunger Games
Due to the unpopularity of the Hunger Games in the Capitol, the head Gamemaker, Dr. Gaul, decided to pair each tribute with a Capitol student, who would act as their mentor, hoping this would increase the audience's interest. This held up, as The Hunger Games saw the use of mentors during Katniss' time. Corio was one of the early mentors chosen (during the 10th Hunger Games). The mentorship was treated as a school project, with the promise of a university scholarship to those who did well. Since Corio could secretly not afford college, he enthusiastically took advantage of the opportunity.
7 He Developed A Close Relationship With The District 12 Female Tribute
Corio Ended Up Partnered With Lucy Gray
To Corio's disappointment, he was given a District 12 girl to mentor. Even at this point in the games, District 12 didn't stand a chance compared to tributes from other Districts, who were seen as more valuable to the Capitol. However, once Corio met this tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, he found himself interested. Lucy Gray was a member of a nomadic group of performers known as the Covey. They were not from District 12, which would later home Katniss from The Hunger Games, but they found themselves stuck there after the war. Lucy Gray was charismatic, beautiful, and had a voice that easily caught the attention of the Capitol, including Corio.
6 He Accidentally Wound Up In The Games
Snow Killed His First Person In The 10th Hunger Games Event
The 10th Hunger Games ended up being far more dangerous for the mentors than they anticipated. One mentor taunted her tribute so much, that the tribute got hold of a knife and killed her, while another mentor lied to the Head Gamemaker and found herself attacked by snake mutations. For Coriolanus, the Games became dangerous when he was forced to enter the arena to retrieve another mentor who entered to help his tribute. While inside, he experienced the true horror of the Games as he was attacked by one of the tributes. He fought back and brutally killed the boy himself; his first official murder.
5 He Became A Peacekeeper In District 12
Snow Was Sent To Katniss's Future Home As Punishment
Lucy Gray won the games, but largely as a result of Corio's cheating. He had introduced Lucy Gray's scent to snake mutations that would be released into the games, ensuring they only attacked the other tributes, but not her. He thought he had gotten away with it until he was confronted by his school's dean, Casca Highbottom. The dean had a negative history with Corio's father, so he was all too pleased to send his old enemy's son to join the ranks of the Peacekeepers. Of all places, he was stationed in District 12, so for a time, Corio called the place that would later be Katniss Everdeen's birthplace in The Hunger Games, home.
4 He Began Murdering Remorselessly At A Young Age
Snow Began Remorselessly Killing As A Young Man
Coriolanus' future brutal nature slowly began to show itself throughout his story. He made compassionate decisions, but only so that people would see him as a noble person. However, as the pressure grew around him, he found it harder and harder to maintain the image of good morality. After killing a tribute in the games, murder became easier and easier for Corio. Subsequently, he betrayed his friend, Sejanus, leading to his being hanged. He shot the daughter of District 12's mayor, knowing that she could implicate him and Lucy Gray in Sejanus' crimes. Finally, Snow attempted to murder Lucy Gray after she realized his crimes.
3 He Became An Apprentice Gamemaker
Snow Began Helping Design Future Hunger Games Events
Coriolanus was sure that he would be executed for his crimes. However, he was pleased to discover that the Head Gamemaker, Dr. Gaul, wanted him to return to the Capitol to work under her as an apprentice Gamemaker. Dr. Gaul was a brutal woman, and if she knew about his crimes, they only contributed to her decision that he had what it took to run the games. The 10th Hunger Games were considered a disaster, and the record of them was erased, which is why no one ever saw the part that Snow played in them, but he used the events to construct the future Games that audiences would come to know.
2 He Created The Positive Incentives Of The Game
Snow Is Who Turned The Tributes Into Celebrities
In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Hunger Games look very different from how audiences are used to seeing them. The tributes were brought to the Capitol on cargo trains and kept in a zoo without food or water. The Capitol audience was disgusted by the games, and very few wanted to watch. Coriolanus came up with the idea of treating the tributes like celebrities. They were fed, cleaned, and paraded around a stage, all to get the Capitol citizens to be more involved with the Games. He established the betting system and the sponsor systems that allowed even the weaker tributes to stand a chance.