The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Both Coriolanus and Sejanus are wounded in their escape—the Peacekeepers instructed not to act by Dr. Gaul—and one tribute is killed. Dr. Gaul questions Coriolanus about the experience, pushing him to recognize her vision of human nature: “What happened in the arena? That’s humanity undressed. The tributes. And you, too. How quickly civilization disappears” (243). She gives him another assignment, to elaborate on his previous essay’s section about control.

The next day, Coriolanus returns to his mentor’s chair and oversees the Games. The rest of the audience isn’t privy to what happened overnight; they only see Marcus’s body abandoned near the entrance with another dead tribute nearby, and assume that others were responsible. But Coriolanus knows the truth: He killed Bobbin, the tribute who attacked him with a knife. He worries about the murder being used against him.

Sejanus appears in a televised interview with Flickerman; he announces that the Plinth family plans to give a full-ride scholarship to the mentor whose tribute wins the Games. It is likely that Sejanus’s wealthy father, Strabo Plinth, “bailed” his son with the gesture, and Coriolanus cannot help but wonder—eagerly—if he plans to buy his silence as well.

Lucy Gray finally makes an appearance, albeit chased by fellow District 12 tribute Jessup.