The Hunger Games arrived and left pretty inexplicably. The books and films exploded into popularity out of nowhere, and the series now feels like it’s not much of anywhere. Still, there are loyal fans that remain to this day, and these fans love any kind of insight we can find on the story.
There’s a good reason for the fans wanting more information too, as there were many parts of the plot that we didn’t get to see resolved. These can be seen as plot holes, character traits unexplained, or unresolved storylines that weren’t elaborated upon. Here are 10 such parts of The Hunger Games series that we’re still waiting for the answers to.
What Happened To Haymitch?
The ending of the series was rushed enough to not allow Haymitch’s eventual end to be played out. Instead, we got an overview of what he did now - raise geese. That really was all we got to find out about him directly, which was a shame since earlier on his ruined relationship with Katniss was alluded to.
Due to Haymitch keeping many secrets from Katniss and using her as a kind of pawn in Catching Fire, their relationship was soured; although the implication was we’d see them make up. Not only that, but Haymitch evidently resumed his drinking too, making pretty much everything about him unresolved.
Gayle’s Eventual Fate
Like it was with Haymitch, Gale’s last appearance was also seen where his relationship with Katniss took a hit. He was the one responsible for creating the bomb that killed Katniss’ sister, which was something she could never forgive him for.
Except, we did find out that Gale had found work in District 2 and that he found another love interest, leaving out a certain chunk of what Gale was up to. If Katniss knew at least that much about him, then there was certainly more that we never got to find out.
Katniss And Gale’s Love Story
Rather than wondering on how it ended, our question is how this relationship exactly started. In The Hunger Games, Katniss strictly explained that she and Gale were only friends, and that she was flabbergasted by the idea of being with anyone; Gale too didn’t make any overtly displays of romantic liking to her.
This makes it a mystery as to how he suddenly seemingly loved her by Catching Fire, where Katniss being torn between Peeta and Gale was a major storyline. We learned why they didn’t become a couple, but it remains unresolved how Gale started loving her in the first place.
Peeta’s Mental State
Mockingjay was full of times where Peeta’s mental hijacking kicked in and he would want to kill Katniss. This was eventually done away with by the end of the main course of events, only for the distant finale to confirm that he was still affected by it.
The only explanation we got of him coping with the mental problem was that he would clutch something until the episode passed, but that really can’t be the only effects if it’s still an issue twenty years later. There was quite obviously more to his mental hijacking than we know of, but the ending of the book left it hanging.
Katniss’ Depression
The climax of Mockingjay dealt with Katniss being severely depressed due to her sister’s death, to the point that she wanted to take her own life. Although this was averted and we saw an adult Katniss two decades in the future, her depression was still there.
How do we know that? Well, the entire epilogue was narrated in an extremely morose manner. Katniss did have children, but it took her over a decade to have any because of her paranoia and she was still terribly fearful of any future Hunger Games. This level of fear indicates there was a lot more baggage Katniss was carrying that we didn’t see.
Why Is It Called The Hunger Games?
A significant part of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire was the backstory behind the Hunger Games. There were several chapters in both books dedicated to bringing the reader up to speed with what had happened before the birth of Katniss, but none explained what was up with the name.
There was definitely something up with the title, though, as the event marked a reminder to the other districts over a former rebellion, making the “Hunger Games” naming something that was of significance. Unfortunately, the meaning behind the name was only alluded to, never fully explained.
Why Is There Cake Dressing In District 12?
This wasn’t so much a storyline as it was a plot device that wasn’t elaborated on; it still counts, though. From what we heard from Peeta, he was well versed with decorating cakes because his family was into the line of work, which doesn’t make sense since District 12 was a poverty stricken place.
The question is - why would anyone want to get cakes decorated here? It doesn’t have any purpose because cake decorating is a luxury the citizens of the district couldn’t afford. Since this skill allowed Peeta to survive in the Hunger Game (due to him being able to camouflage), we missed out on some vital piece of story related to Peeta’s family profession.
Foxface’s Backstory
It was a missed opportunity that we didn’t get to find out more about this character, as she’s too mysterious to not be interesting. Foxface, as Katniss called her, was a slippery competitor who was marvelously skilled in stealth and acrobatics.
Her death was accidental due to Foxface eating poisonous berries, but there was always more than met the eye with the character. Katniss’ fascination with her implied we’d get to know her backstory, but ultimately we don’t even know her name. Her frequent appearances during The Hunger Games make us feel there was hidden subplot we didn’t see unravel.
The Circumstances Behind Thresh’s Death
The dark horse of the Hunger Games was Thresh, a huge competitor who was confirmed to be stronger than the favorite to win, Cato. Cato himself was fearful of Thresh, and kept his distance throughout the contest.
This made it all the more bizarre how Thresh was stated to have died under mysterious circumstances near the end of the Hunger Game. Katniss only speculated that Cato killed him, but there was no other indication that was the truth. Being so enormously strong, it would have taken something remarkable to bring Thresh down, and this is something we’d still like to know.
The Obsession With The Games’ Ratings
The Hunger Games were made deadlier and more immersive because of dwindling ratings, causing new gamerunners to be hired by the Capitol to keep viewers interested. Except, that shouldn’t have been a problem in the first place because viewership was mandatory.
Since everyone was required by law to watch, then how could ratings be a problem in the first place? And yet, we were told that ratings were a huge factor in making these games; we’d believe that, but there needed to a proper explanation our way in order to wrap this part of the storyline up.
