The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Ending Explained

Warning: This post contains major spoilers for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Summary

Lucy Gray Baird's fate in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is left ambiguous, leading to various theories about her possible survival.
Dr. Gaul strategically sent Coriolanus Snow to District 12 to shape his views on the Hunger Games and lay the foundation for his future.
The film concludes with a voice cameo from Donald Sutherland, hinting at the destructive power of love and Snow's transformation over time.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ends on an ambiguous note that leaves one wondering what exactly happened to Lucy Gray Baird and how Coriolanus Snow’s hunger for power and prestige pushed him to become the man in The Hunger Games movies. The Hunger Games prequel is set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena and follows the 10th Hunger Games and the aftermath of Lucy Gray Baird’s problematic victory. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes helps answer questions about the large gap in the timeline, but its ending also raises questions.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is connected to the rest of the Hunger Games franchise as President Snow’s origin story, but it can also stand alone. It explains the history of the Games, how they became the modernized version that Katniss and Peeta competed in, and how President Snow became Panem’s most feared and hated dictator. The prequel also introduced Lucy Gray Baird as the first winner from District 12, only for her story to be erased by Dr. Gaul and her later disappearance.

Lucy Gray Baird’s Fate Explained - Is She Dead?

Lucy Gray Disappeared At The End Of The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

Lucy Gray Baird’s fate is as ambiguous in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film as it is in Suzanne Collins' book. Coriolanus shoots at her in the woods, but it’s unclear where the bullet actually hit Lucy Gray. It might have simply grazed her, which would explain why she was able to flee so quickly and why Coriolanus never found her. It’s also possible the Capitol found her somehow — on Dr. Gaul’s instructions — and killed her quietly, so she would never be a distraction.

Conversely, Coriolanus was also bitten by a snake in a trap Lucy Gray laid out for him, so it’s possible he was merely hallucinating her in the woods. There are multiple Hunger Games theories about Lucy Gray’s fate, most centering around her having survived and escaped to District 13, as she had planned on going north. What lies outside of Panem is unknown territory within the scope of The Hunger Games franchise, and it’s better to think Lucy Gray somehow survived than believe her dead.

Why Dr. Gaul Sent Coriolanus To District 12 After The 10th Hunger Games

Coriolanus Was Sent To District 12 After He Was Caught Cheating In The Games

Dr. Gaul proved to be calculating throughout The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She arranged for Coriolanus to be sent to District 12 as a peacekeeper so that he could see human nature as she truly believed it to be — violent. She needed Coriolanus to shed what he believed the Hunger Games to be about, collective punishment of the Districts, and embrace the Capitol’s role of keeping the Districts in check to control their violence.

Gaul thought it got out of hand before, but for the Capitol to survive, it needed a reminder of all that came before. Dr. Gaul knew Coriolanus had to see that first-hand to move forward. Though Coriolanus believed it to be a punishment, Dr. Gaul was grooming him to carry on her legacy.