The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

“You hear that boy? It’s the sound of snow…falling.”

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a clear reminder that making decisions based simply on emotion, rather than logic, can have a domino effect on the rest of your life. No matter how much time passes.

A re introduction to Coriolanus Snow.

While this film develops the character arc of a villain that we have known since 2012, this is not the 'villain' President Snow that we are accustomed to.
Tom Blyth plays a young Snow that adds several layers of character development that we were not aware of with the Hunger Games series, and he does it wonderfully. This film adds more context to his distain for District 12, something I never really understood until now.

The Songbird, Lucy Gray.

It’s important to note that Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray does not have the same type of tribute presence as Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen did. Lucy is the ‘songbird’, while Katniss is the ‘mocking jay’. The only comparison between the two, that the viewer should keep in mind, is that both girls are from District 12.Introducing Game Maker Dr. Volumnia Gaul.

Even though it may not get any buzz for awards season, it has my favorite Viola Davis performance and I have watched all of her projects. It is something that I have never seen her dive into before and she absolutely killed it. From the wardrobe, her body language, her line delivery, her tone, and the power she displays in her scenes with Tom. It’s incredible.

Tigris Snow as Hunter Schafer.

Hunter Schafer doesn’t get as much screen time as Tigris, as I thought she would have, but she did a good job with the limited screen time she was given. I’m interested to see if Suzanne Collins will write a story for her as well.

An insightful villain origin story.

There has been a pattern within the film and television industry for the past few years. Make the villain understandable. Make the viewer able to sympathize with the circumstances that made the character a villain before they actually became one.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes does just that. I actually like young President Snow. By the end of the film, I understood why he made the choices he did.

My understanding of his actions do not give him a pass when it comes to what he did to Katnis, Peeta, Cinna, Johanna, Finnick, and God knows how many more tributes, victors, and anyone associated with them..

Snow lands on top.

He is still the bad guy at the end of The Hunger Games series, some may still consider Snow a villain at the end of Songbirds & Snakes prequel.

However, to me, he was able to succeed in the situations he was placed in, in order to protect his family. In the end of this installment, Snow landed on top indeed.