I know he killed Finnick, but was Snow always bad?

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a cinematic journey into the grey shades of morality

Image by: Herbert Wang
‘TBOSAS’ is a story about the future president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow.

This review contains spoilers for the newest Hunger Games movie, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’

Last week I was transported back to 2013 as I sat in theatres fangirling over a new Hunger Games movie.

A prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (TBOSAS) came out in theatres Nov. 17. The film follows the life of future antagonist and President of Panem, Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blythe, as a young man and mentor during the 10th annual Hunger Games.

The cinematic narrative establishes a contextual framework of adversity, depicting Snow as an imposter as he sits around wealthy, privileged Capitol children, all while residing in a life of poverty himself.

As the 10th annual Hunger Games approaches, the Capitol best and brightest students are tasked with mentoring the tributes and make them “spectacles, not survivors.” The mentor whose tribute is most positively received by the Hunger Games audiences, regardless of if the tribute wins, will be awarded the Plinth Prize—a monetary award that would ensure the financial stability Snow desperately needs to maintain his place in the Capitol.

I expected to watch a film riddled with the considerable hardships and obstacles of Snow’s upbringing, shaping him into the antagonist he would become. The potential narrative trajectory being a sob story about the antagonist—which would engender an overly sympathetic response from the audience and rationalize the future villain’s actions.

Instead, the film diverged from this conventional approach.

The film opted for a story that afforded the audience an opportunity to reflect on the complexities of the character’s ethics, comprehensively ensuring Snow’s character and actions weren’t black and white, but rather quite grey.

The film’s plot is meticulously refined; viewers can’t help but be engulfed in the priorities of its characters, particularly Snow. The plot consistently pushed audience members to reconsider whether characters were making decisions informed by love, selfishness, goodness, or utter evil.

Snow is the designated mentor for Lucy Gray Baird, a girl from District 12. Initially, Snow’s motivations are clear—he’ll do anything for Baird’s triumph solely for the allure of the prize money. However, challenges arise when audiences see Snow grappling with moral quandaries, opting to prioritize Baird’s safety and well-being at the risk of his own status in the Capitol.

Within the games, Snow’s adoration for Baird becomes conspicuously evident. Against the established rules, he clandestinely gives her a lethal poisonous powder to use against tributes, cognizant this action would lead to his disqualification for the Plinth Prize.

During the climax of the games, a large container of lethal snakes was placed in the arena as the final obstacle for the tributes. As the glass container cracks, the snakes are released to kill the tributes and bring the game to an end.

Snow strategically places a cloth used to wipe away Baird’s tears into the tank, ensuring the snakes recognize and spare her during their release in the arena. This action led to Baird winning the games.

Though Snow may have done this for the prize, his intent doesn’t undermine his love for Baird. When he is caught cheating, Snow is banished to become a peacekeeper and kicked out of the Capitol—notably, he heads to District 12 to find Baird.

It’s easy to fall in love with Snow’s affection for Baird. Though the book depicts Snow’s adoration as possession more than love, the movie deftly sidesteps this narrative, rendering a more captivating and emotionally resonant viewing experience.

Just as audiences begin to challenge their initial thoughts about the malevolence present in Snow’s heart, Snow gets his best friend, Sejanus Plinth, killed.

Fully aware that revealing Plinth’s plan of rebellion-related activities would lead to his public execution, Snow exposes Plinth’s plans, believing his loyalty to the Capitol would secure his return to a privileged Capitol position.

Snow justifies his cooperation in Plinth’s murder by reasoning he himself would have been implicated as an accomplice in Plinth’s plans and killed as well. This is the primary instance audiences see Snow’s true desire for power, when he kills his best friend in exchange for status.

Snow then runs away with Baird, deciding a life in the Capitol isn’t worth it if he isn’t with her. Again, audiences are drawn back into his good heart, admiring his love for her.

It isn’t until the end of the movie that Snow becomes the villain we’ve come to know. As Snow and Baird sit alone in a cabin, Baird makes a comment about how she’s the last string stopping him from running to the Capitol.

In his desperation for power, and paranoia that she could take his return to the Capitol away, Snow attempts to murder Baird. He stands in the forest outside the cabin, screaming for her to come out, waiting to shoot her. Baird runs and is possibly shot, though a body is never found. The love of Snow’s life is gone, exchanged for the power he so desperately craved.

Snow returns to the Capitol, his power restored and a with it a clear understanding of the blood he was willing to spill to maintain it. His morality is shattered, and the film perfectly concluded with a black screen and the line “It’s the things we love most, that destroy us.” This final line provides a fresh understanding and connection back to a scene from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay where President Snow speaks to the face of the rebellion, another girl from District 12.

Tags

Hunger Games, movie, Review

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