President Coriolanus Snow Ladies and gentlemen, this is the seventy-fifth year of the Hunger Games. It was written in the charter of the Games that every twenty-five years, there would be a Quarter Quell to keep fresh for each new generation the memory of those who died in the uprising against the Capitol. Each Quarter Quell is distinguished by Games of a special significance. And now, on this the 75th anniversary of our defeat of the Rebellion, we celebrate the third Quarter Quell … As a reminder that even the strongest cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, on this the Third Quarter Quell Games, the male and female tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors in each district … regardless of age, state of health, or situation.
President Snow [observing a video of Katniss's actions in the Hunger Games]
Such bravery. Such spirit. Such... contempt.
President Snow. What an honor.
President Snow My dear, I think we can make this so much simpler if we agree not to lie to each other. What do you think?
Yes, I think that would save time.
President Snow Sit down, please.
President Snow [Katniss sits down in a chair on one side of the desk; President Snow sits down on the other.]
I have a problem, Miss Everdeen. A problem that began the moment you revealed those poisoned berries in the arena. If that Head Game-Maker Seneca Crane had had any brains at all, he would have blown you to bits then and there. But here you are. I expect you can guess where he is.
President Snow And after that fiasco, there was nothing left to do but let you play out your little scenario. [smiles] And you were very good. That whole love-crazed, besotted schoolgirl routine. Impressive. Truly. You convinced the people in the Capitol. Unfortunately, not everyone in the Districts fell for it. I mean, you can't know this, but in several of them, people viewed your little trick with the berries as an act of defiance, not as an act of love. And if a girl from District 12, of all places, can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed, what is to prevent them from doing the same? What is to prevent, say, an uprising? That can lead to revolution. And then in a fraction of time, the whole system collapses.
It must be a fragile system if it can be brought down by just a few berries.
President Snow Yes, it is indeed. But not in the way you imagine it.
President Snow You should imagine thousands upon thousands of your people dead. This town of yours, reduced to ashes. Imagine it gone. Made radioactive. Buried under dirt like it had never existed, like District 13. [pauses, looking at Katniss pointedly] You fought very hard in the Games, Miss Everdeen. But they were games. Would you like to be in a real war?
President Snow Good. Neither would I. [picks up a biscuit from the desk] Did your mother make these?
President Snow [smiles cruelly]
Ah. He's a lovely boy, isn't he? Tell me, at what point did he realize the depth of your...indifference towards him?
President Snow Don't lie! You promised. [Eats biscuit]
Why don't you just kill me now?
President Snow ...I don't want to kill you. I want us to be friends. But if not friends, then allies.
President Snow When you and Peeta are on tour, you need to smile. You need to be grateful. But above all, you need to be madly, prepared-to-end-it-all in love. Do you think you can handle that?
President Snow "Yes", what?
President Snow No. Convince me.
[plays video of Katniss and Gale kissing] Do convince me. For the sake of your loved ones.
President Snow Look at them. She's not who they think she is. She's not a leader. She just wants to save her skin. It's as simple as that.
PH Plutarch Heavensbee
I think that's true.
President Snow But she has become a beacon of hope for the rebellion, and she has to be eliminated.
PH Plutarch Heavensbee
I agree she should die, but in the right way. At the right time. It's moves and counter-moves, that's all we've gotta look at. Katniss Everdeen is a symbol. Their Mockingjay. They think she's one of them. We need to show them that she's one of us. We don't have to destroy her, just the image. Then we let the people do the rest.
President Snow What do you propose?
PH Plutarch Heavensbee
Shut down the black markets, take away what little they have, then double the amount of floggings and executions, put them on TV; broadcast them live. Sow fear- more fear.
President Snow It won't work. Fear does not work as long as they have hope, and Katniss Everdeen is giving them hope.
PH Plutarch Heavensbee
She's engaged. Make everything about that. What kind of dress she's gonna wear? Floggings. What's the cake gonna look like? Executions. Who's gonna be there? Fear. Blanket coverage, shove it in their faces. Show them that she's one of us now. [laughs] They're gonna hate her so much they just might kill her for you.
President Snow Brilliant.
