By the Book: Catching Fire Predictions for Chapter 15
It’s time for our Chapter 15 installment of By the Book, where the Mockingjay.net staff predicts what parts of “Catching Fire” will make it from the book and into the film, what scenes we’re afraid might get cut, and what quotes we hope to hear included in the script.
By the Book contains spoilers for Catching Fire, so if you haven’t read the book and don’t want to ruin any surprises, STOP READING RIGHT NOW!
After arriving in the Capitol, Katniss is prepped by a very tearful Prep Team before having lunch with Cinna. He puts her in her Parade outfit and she goes down to wait it to start. Finnick Odair offers her a sugar cube before Peeta arrives and they get in their chariot. They capture the audience’s attention again this year, but don’t respond to the cheers. After the parade, she meets Seeder and Chaff from 11 and Johanna Mason from 7. Johanna strips out of her costume and rides naked in the same elevator with Katniss and Peeta. Once they reach their apartment, they find that the new Avox assigned to them in former District 12 Peacekeeper, Darius.
Carla
A large part of this chapter will definitely be in the movie. Smaller details like Katniss’s interaction with the prep team are probably going to be cut, as is the part at the end with the Avoxes, because that subplot was thrown right out with the first movie. I do believe her conversation with Cinna will be included for two reasons: 1) they need to give Lenny a decent amount of screentime as well as reinforce Katniss and Cinna’s friendship and 2) it’s clear foreshadowing of what happens to him later in the movie… and guaranteed to make the audience bawl like babies.
Finnick’s introduction will definitely be there– that we know for sure, as Sam Claflin has already spoken about it– though I can imagine they’ll tweak it a bit. The sugar cubes line will probably still be there because it’s so iconic, but I think because of the lack of a narrator, they might have Finnick introduce himself instead of walking up to her like they’ve been BFFs their whole lives. Something along the lines of: ʺHello, Katniss. I’m Finnick Odair, I won the 64th Hunger Gamesʺ and Katniss might simply not reply, or say ʺI know.ʺ And of course, the ʺsecretsʺ part of the conversation is definitely foreshadowing for Mockingjay, but I’m not feeling as confident that’ll be included.
I think her conversation with Peeta about beautiful things will probably be cut, though I do hope they include Katniss asking if they’ll hold hands again– or at least hopefully she’ll make the first move to hold his hand this time around. It would be a good way to show how things have changed between them in the year that’s gone by since their first Games.
The introduction of Chaff and Seeder will probably be uneventful or completely glossed over; I don’t think they’ll have Chaff kiss Katniss, as I’m sure they’re going to emphasize Finnick’s teasing over anyone else’s. For that same reason, I’m doubtful they’ll bother with having Johanna strip in the elevator. It would be hilarious to see, and if they include it I’ll be the first one to cheer (they can always just show her from the shoulders up and the knees down), but I think what’s more important in this scene is not the fact that Katniss is ʺpure,ʺ but what they say, namely Johanna pretending to have ʺgirl talkʺ with Katniss and Katniss pretending back but completely failing at it. And Jena Malone can do fake-pleasant-with-sarcastic-undertones flawlessly, so it would be a great introduction for her.
Lines I Hope Make It
Cinna: ʺI always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”
Finnick: “Want a sugar cube?”
Erin
I think we’ll see a very brief prepping with the crying Prep Team, and Katniss will tell Cinna that she can’t handle another session like that. Cinna and Katniss probably won’t have lunch, but they’ll talk briefly before she gets dressed and then we’ll see her downstairs, waiting for the Tribute Parade to start. We know that Finnick will be there in his net costume (although with a little extra material, as Sam Claflin mentioned in an interview). I’m not convinced that the sugar cube will play out like it does in the book, unless they’ve already given him a proper introduction while Katniss and Peeta watch the Reaping videos. I’m excited to see the Tribute costumes and sincerely hope they translate better to the screen than their costumes from the 74th games.
I think they will delete Chaff’s kiss and Johanna getting naked, especially since they skipped over the part of Peeta taking his pants off in the Arena. There’s no evidence that anyone would think Katniss is ʺpureʺ based on the last movie, so there’s no reason for the characters to try and make her uncomfortable in this movie. I think Johanna will talk to them, and she’ll be all snarky and sarcastic, but she won’t be naked– not because of rating, but because it’s not necessary to the plot. And, sadly, we know that Darius has been cut, so we won’t have that awful moment when Katniss discovers that he’s now an Avox.
Lines I Hope Make It
Cinna: ʺI always channel my emotions into my work.ʺ
Finnick: ʺWant a sugar cube?ʺ
Tash
There is just so much going on in this chapter! Not really sure where to begin with this one, so I’m just going to tackle it piece by piece. First up, I have no doubts that time with the prep team will be cut again and I actually hope that it is because it gives us more time between Katniss and Cinna. This would help strengthen what was shown in ‘The Hunger Games’ and ultimately really make his departure later on truly heartbreaking.
Of course though the importance of this chapter is revealing the other tributes and the big moment is Finnick’s grand entrance, which I can see play out exactly as it does in the book, with Katniss lingering in the Remake Center deliberately avoiding the others before Finnick sidles up behind her and whispers ʺHello Katnissʺ. Given the picture we have already seen of the pair in the Training Center (thanks EW!) I am highly confident their first exchange will be magnificent. The infamous ʺwant a sugar cube?ʺ line will make the cut, though I can see some variations in the conversation afterwards, but more in terms of the words that will be used rather than what occurs. I expect to see a remark from both Katniss and Finnick in regards to each others costumes as well as their short exchange regarding secrets, giving the audience just enough to leave some mystery to Finnick as he spies Peeta and leaves.I don’t think there will be much time spent between Katniss and Peeta before they climb aboard the chariot, other than a quick exchange about what Finnick wanted, so prepare for the ʺbecause you have a weakness for beautiful thingsʺ conversation to be cut (even though the book fan in me can argue reasons as to why it should stay!).
Hopefully we will get to hear Seeder tell Katniss that Rue and Thresh’s families are alive, but this all hinges on their speech in the Victory Tour, and we should get a quick introduction with Chaff too, but both of these moments can easily be shifted to later in the film i.e. the training center. However, the next character I’m most interested in seeing is Johanna and I really hope they include the elevator scene where we are introduced to a very fiery young woman. Much has been said about the PG-13 rating and whether she will strip off or not, they can quite easily just show her shoulders/back and easily convey that she has no clothes on, so I hope this is included – Katniss is clearly put off by it and I think that’s important to show, especially as Johanna quips about wanting to tear Katniss’ dress off her back (even if this line doesn’t make it I’m sure there will be some snarky comment!). I imagine the chariot sequence will finish with some kind of remark from Effie and Haymitch again, we know that Darius has been cut so don’t expect any Avox backstory, and I don’t think the conversation about Katniss’ ʺpurityʺ has a home on screen either. At any rate this is where the film really starts to ramp it up, so I can’t wait to see how it all translates! 
Lines I Hope Make It
Cinna: ʺDon’t worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.ʺ
Finnick: ʺWant a sugar cube?”
Finnick: ʺWith secrets. What about you, girl on fire? Do you have any secrets worth my time?ʺ
I agree that some major portions of this chapter will be in the movie. I hope that Katniss has at least a short conversation with CInna. I think the largest portion, though, will be spent on Finnick’s introduction. Considering all that we have already heard, I am sure the sugar cube line will be in there. I hope that they keep the secrets part of the conversation because it will play into Mockingjay. I would not be surprised if they change Johanna’s entrance to just be a more sarcastic exchange, mostly because I agree that if the “purity” conversation is cut there would be no need for her to strip. I think this chapter and the next will have some major time in the movie, as they will want to spend some time on introducing all the new characters at this point. The viewers will need to get to know, especially the ones that will be important later on. I look forward to the tribute parade here to see the exchange between Katniss and Peeta this time. It should be interesting.
CANT B BOTHERD READING ALL THIS 2 DAY!!
I don’t know if they are going to have Finnick wear nothing but a net over his nude body, I too agree that the kiss between Chaff and Katniss won’t exactly be deleted. Maybe altered, like instead of Full on the lips, maybe he’ll kiss her on the forehead, hand, cheek, etc. They most definitely will not have Johanna Stark naked in front of the camera because of the PG 13 rating, maybe just the upper torso, like her bare shoulders and back.
THEY SAID THAT THEY MADE HIS COSTUME A LITTLE MORE APPROPRATE THAT WAS SAID IN ANOTHER ARTICLE
I think the prep Team part will be cut, and because of that cinna might (and I really hope he does) get a little more screen time. Since the beggining i HIGHLY doubted they would let finnick’s actor wearing nothing but a net, not even while reading the book i could imagine it. I think sam WILL be wearing a net, but will be also wearing underwear. Chaff’s kiss is another part of CF that not even in the books I could imagine, i just think it’s useless and weird, so i’m betting it will be cut, but i do belive that we will have the distric 11 tributes introduction, just without the kiss. Johanna’s scene… I really want them to keep Johanna ripping off her clothes, and I dont think that the cut of the “purity” dialogue will affect it, because, let’s be honest, you never saw that person in your life, and she gets naked in front of you, it’s obviously unconfortable! I’m really looking forward to see Jena’s acting in this scene, because Johanna is my favorite character and I want her to have an introduction as expressive as in the books. The avox thing will be cut. Obviously. If it didnt make in to the first movie I actually prefer it to be totally cut.
Why does everyone think that Johanna can’t be naked because of PG-13 rating? A lot of people seem to be confusing PG-13 with G. You can have nudity in PG-13, especially if the camera angles hide the ‘naughty bits’ – although you can push it even further if it’s not in a sexual context (e.g. A Room with a View got PG-13 for showing full frontal nudity from 3 men after they get out of a lake where they were swimming naked; granted, that was otherwise a very G movie).
I have to disagree, I want the “purity” conversation to be there and I think it should be. By that time, the audience is going to be wondering about things like Katniss and Peeta sleeping in the same bed and doing nothing more than that (and at least Katniss not seeing that as something that pushes the boundaries of friendship between 17-year old boy and girl), and Katniss generally showing a lack of sexual interest or awareness (some readers have even argued that she’s “asexual”, despite the fact that the beach scene and the scene at the end of Mockingjay prove otherwise), or her repeated statements she can’t have a romantic relationship because she doesn’t want to get married and have children – as if that’s what it’s all about and nothing else. A non-book reader can either see that as Katniss being clueless/repressed about sexual matters i.e. an actual point in the characterization, or the movie itself being ridiculously prudish in its attempts to ‘not spoil the kids’. That’s why it would be pretty important to address it and show that it’s not the latter. It also shows some tension between Katniss and Peeta related to this particular matter, and it’s also one of the very few moments of humor in that part of the book. As to why the other Victors would think that about her without the nudity scene from the first book, there really are a lot of ways to show Katniss looking a bit prudish – particularly since the audience will likely think that about her by this time so I doubt they’ll be giving it much thought how others came to the same conclusion.
Ivana, while I think you make good points, I think that if the “Johanna strips” scene is cut, it will be cut mostly because while the character development for K and P in that scene is important, it is not quite as important as other parts of the story, and there is only so much time available in a movie. (Same as the Avox subplot, which tells us a lot about the Capitol’s cruelty even to its own citizens, but is not essential.)
While I agree that some viewers will be confused by the whole “K and P sleep together without anything sexual happening” scenes unless they are handled very well, it is only Book!Katniss, so far, who has stated that “she can’t have a romantic relationship because she doesn’t want to get married and have children”, not Movie!Katniss. I tend to agree with Erin that the THG movie didn’t establish anything about Katniss being “pure” or squeamish about nudity and sexuality, or having any negative feelings toward romantic relationships. So, unless they decide to squeeze this into the beginning of the CF movie, the elevator scene, even if filmed, will not have the same impact as it does in the book.
I don’t think too many viewers would find the movie “ridiculously prudish” without an explicit explanation that it’s Katniss herself who is the “prude”. (IMHO, I don’t think she is a prude at all, but I guess that’s a debate for another day.) The last few HP movies were PG-13, and showed teenagers sleeping in close quarters without anything sexual happening, and I don’t recall anyone accusing them of being “ridiculously prudish”.
That being said, I do hope the scene will be included in some form, because it does introduce Johanna in a very memorable way, and shows K and P having a conflict that is more “normal” for a couple of teenagers, provides some much-needed humor, etc. I just won’t be *that* upset if it is cut or considerably shortened.
As for Finnick’s introduction, they could actually do that using the District 4 reaping that is referenced in Chapter 15. The reaping scene could include Capitol commentary about how Finnick won his Games, or there could be a brief discussion about Haymitch on the train; I can easily see Effie gushing about Finnick’s good looks, how he was the youngest Victor ever, how much his trident cost, etc.
Oops, I meant to type “there could be a brief discussion about Finnick on the train”, not a brief discussion about Haymitch. Sorry!
Katniss didn’t have a reason to discuss the issue in the first movie. I assumed that she would say that she can’t have a romantic relationship and doesn’t want to get married and have children at some point early on in the CF movie because this is a big part of her characterization and it would be a real mistake to leave it out. And Movie!Katniss needs to say some of these things because there is no narration. In the book, IIRC she was preparing to say it to Gale if he started to talk about romance after he kissed her, but instead he acted as if nothing happened the next time they saw each other, so she didn’t say anything. In the movie, she could actually say those things to him.
“Prude” is not the word I’d use for Katniss, I’d rather say that she’s half clueless, half repressed when it comes to sexuality and romance. But the movie may actually end up giving the impression of prudishness. I’ve already seen people make such comments to that effect about the K/P relationship in the book.
I should perhaps also add that it’s important to establish that Katniss doesn’t want a romantic relationship because it’s one of the things that makes her an unusual heroine and one of the reasons why the “love triangle” is different than in most other books/movies/TV shows. If you leave that out, not only would her characterization suffer, but you’d get viewers complaining that it’s yet another story about a girl who can’t decide which guy she likes better.
While I agree that it would be a good idea to establish that Katniss doesn’t want a romantic relationship, your earlier comment seemed to imply that her stated reasons for not wanting one, that she doesn’t want marriage or kids, showed that she was clueless or repressed about sexuality.
Maybe my take on healthy sexuality is completely different from yours, but I just didn’t see Katniss deciding she can’t afford to get married or have kids, and therefore foregoing romance, is a sign that she’s clueless about sex. I’m not saying there aren’t other signs in the books about her being sexually clueless or naive; I think her denial that there is anything sexual about sharing a bed with Peeta, and her confusion when hijacked!Peeta brings it up in MJ with the insinuation that it was sexual, certainly counts as evidence. However, I never saw her attitude about dating and marriage, by itself, as counting.
My take on Katniss is that not only is she concerned about having children she could lose to the Games or other sad fate, she is also concerned about becoming attached to a lover only to lose him to death, abandonment, etc., and suffer the emotional consequences like her mother did. I don’t think the mere fact that it never occurs to her that she could just enjoy romance and sex without commitment, means she’s clueless or repressed. Because many people do not find casual sex to be meaningful or satisfying, and I don’t think “healthy sexuality = seeing sex as just about physical pleasure and recreation, without any emotional involvement”.
I don’t think this is SC’s vision of healthy sexuality, at least. She shows even the Capitol women, who are mostly *buying* Finnick’s company, becoming excited when he reads his poem to his “one true love”, hoping he is talking about one of them. She seems to think that, at least for women, it is impossible to completely separate sex from emotion and commitment.
I also find it odd that after describing Katniss’s aversion to romance as a sign that she is clueless or repressed about sexuality, you then seem to extol this aspect of her, as it something you like for being different than the standard YA fare.
Anyway, to get back to the topic, I do actually hope the Johanna stripping scene is included, but I do think that without actually showing Katniss to be uncomfortable with *nudity*, it will not have the same impact. I really can’t see anyone thinking, “Katniss doesn’t want to date, marry, or have kids, which means she doesn’t want to just have casual sex to fulfill her sexual desires, so obviously that means she’ll freak out if a woman gets naked in front of her”.
“My take on Katniss is that not only is she concerned about having children she could lose to the Games or other sad fate, she is also concerned about becoming attached to a lover only to lose him to death, abandonment, etc., and suffer the emotional consequences like her mother did. ”
This is my take, too. But it’s something that Katniss never articulates even to herself, and I don’t think she’s consciously aware of it. She seems to think of sex as either a part of “marriage and children” package, or the kind of thing Cray does with the starving women from D12.
The way she does articulate it to herself is that she can’t afford “the kind of love” that apparently inevitably leads to marriage and children.
“I don’t think “healthy sexuality = seeing sex as just about physical pleasure and recreation, without any emotional involvement”. ”
I think that healthy sexuality comes in different forms. I happen to be one of the people who can’t separate sex and sexual desire from emotional attachment, but that doesn’t mean that I would consider the sexuality of those who are able to have sex without any stronger emotional attachment “unhealthy”. However, emotional attachment/romantic relationship does not equal (or inevitably lead to) “marriage and children” (when you’re still a teenager?!). I don’t know about you, but this strikes me as a very conservative idea by our contemporary standards. Now, maybe this is a more prevalent attitude in District 12, but we know that, for instance, Gale was kissing (just kissing or more?) lots of girls in the Seam, so it’s not like everyone in D12 thinks that it’s impossible to do much more than hold hands without getting married immediately. Now,. one may argue that there was no contraception in D12, so regular sex was likely to result in pregnancies, like it or not. However, what we know doesn’t support this idea – there is no mention of the inhabitants of D12 typically having lots of children; the Everdeens had only two over at least 12 years of marriage. In real life, poverty and tough conditions have rarely been enough to stop people from having sex and having lots of children if they didn’t know anything about contraception. On the other hand, various ways of contraception were known from ancient times, so it’s possible that quite a few people from D12 knew about some of them, even though Katniss didn’t seem to know such things existed.
“I also find it odd that after describing Katniss’s aversion to romance as a sign that she is clueless or repressed about sexuality, you then seem to extol this aspect of her, as it something you like for being different than the standard YA fare. ”
I don’t think it’s odd at all. I don’t just extol those traits of hers that make her a “role model”, I extol everything that makes her an interesting character, different from your usual (YA) protagonist. Flaws and quirks and emotional issues make a great fictional character as much as positive attributes.
To tell you the truth, Katniss’ cluelessness about emotions/romance/sexuality, together the way she often struggles to understand herself, is one of the things I find oddly endearing and lovable about her. A lot of readers attack her the way she acted towards Peeta and Gale, and accuse her of being a “tease” or “leading on” or “playing with the hearts” of Peeta and Gale in CF, which to me seems very unfair, since she doesn’t want to hurt either of them but genuinely doesn’t understand how some of the things she does or says could affect them. It never occurs to her that Peeta, a boy who’s in love with her, might feel sexual desire while they’re cuddling and sleeping in the same bed. When she does feel sexual desire on the beach, it seems that it’s the first time she’s become really aware that there is such a thing; when she feels strange looking at Peeta the next morning, at one point she wonders if that’s how he always felt when they were kissing.
And it’s not just about sex, it’s also things like, that if you tell a boy who has more than friendly feelings for you that you want to run away with him, he might misunderstand it as a proposal for romantic elopement. Take away Katniss’ lack of understanding about feelings related to romance/sex, and she would just seem really insensitive and uncaring.
“…healthy sexuality comes in different forms. I happen to be one of the people who can’t separate sex and sexual desire from emotional attachment, but that doesn’t mean that I would consider the sexuality of those who are able to have sex without any stronger emotional attachment “unhealthy”.
Ivana, thanks for clarifying what you meant. I actually agree with everything you posted above. I wouldn’t say that people who have sex without emotional attachment have “unhealthy sexuality”, but some people seem to equate “healthy sexuality” with “always fulfilling your physical sexual desires”, think that people need a really strong reason to justify NOT doing that, and do NOT see lack of emotional connection to a potential sexual partner, as a strong enough reason.
Which seemed to me what you were implying with your first post, and I thought it odd that you’d think that, because in previous comments you’ve stated that you think it’s unfair that people need to justify or explain why they’re NOT in a sexual relationship. But it seems you don’t think that either approach to sexuality (the with-emotion or the without-emotion) is necessarily “unhealthy”.
IMHO, I think many people with the attitude that *any* limit on sexual expression, means someone is unhealthily “repressing” their sexuality, wind up seeing others merely as objects to be used for their own sexual gratification. In the extreme, this kind of attitude toward sex leads to the kind of exploitative behavior that Cray engages in, and I can see him justifying it as “I need to satisfy my sexual needs, and these women need cash, so this is merely a mutually beneficial arrangement; besides, some of these girls actually enjoy it!”
I think that just as Katniss is often clueless about the sexual or romantic implications of her behavior, Cray (and many Capitolites) might be clueless that even if a sexual act is technically consensual, it could still be exploitative and abusive. Or worse, they just don’t care. To me, this “I have the right to sexual fulfillment even if it hurts others” attitude is just as unhealthy as a prudish “sex is dirty and can only be tolerated as a necessary evil for the procreation of children” attitude.
“I don’t know about you, but this strikes me as a very conservative idea by our contemporary standards.” Well, I think it’s significant that D12 is located in Appalachia, a part of the US that has historically been poor, socially conservative, and encouraged early marriage and parenthood. (As well as being known for being distrusful of government, and producing “moonshine”, which I’m sure is what the “white liquor” Haymitch drinks is a reference to.)
It’s also rare for people in D12 to live to old age, to the point where Katniss points out that wrinkles and other signs of age are a status symbol, not targets of plastic surgery as they are in the Capitol. Such a low life expectancy is also associated with people getting married and procreating early, even as teenagers. And while Katniss never specifically mentions infant or child mortality, she does mention, when talking about her neighbor Leevy, in CF, that “My mother kept her little brother alive last year when he caught the measles.”
If Katniss lives in a world where measles is deadly, then I can see people having many babies in the knowledge that many will not survive beyond a few years. So, the fact that we don’t hear of Seam families with kids in the double digits, doesn’t mean they all had access to contraception. Also, women who are literally starving will naturally lose their fertility.
Also, Katniss may not mention “large families” because to her, a family with 4 kids (like the Hawthornes) or more doesn’t count as a “large family”, it’s a normal family. Though I have read comments from people criticizing Hazelle for being “irresponsible” by having “so many kids”. And for all we know, if her husband didn’t die when he did, they’d had even more kids.
As for Gale, I got the feeling that his “confession” about kissing so many girls was a tad exaggerated, as a way to make Katniss jealous. Anyway, even in “traditional” societies, there have always been people who break the rules; and “traditional” societies have also tended to have double standards in which men who act out sexually are not shamed or condemned nearly to the same extent that women are.
All that being said, I agree that Katniss demonstrates a more than average level of cluelessness about sex and romance, even accounting for a socially conservative upbringing. I come from such a background myself, (I even know people from my culture who had arranged marriages), but I could totally understand why Peeta would feel sexual desire while lying in bed with Katniss, or why Gale would misinterpret Katniss’s plan to run away as a romantic elopement. I also agree that without establishing this aspect of Katniss’s character, she comes across as uncaring, or, ironically, a user along the lines of Cray; which is 180 degress opposite from what’s really going on.
(I do still think, though, that it is possible to establish this without the Naked!Johanna scene.)
I agree, they could easily show the part where Johanna strips down by just showing her from the shoulders up or the legs, down. Just look at Sherlock Holmes 2 and the scene where Sherlock’s brother walks into the room naked in front of Dr. Watson’s wife. They showed a lot more of him than just from the shoulders up and still maintained the PG-13 rating.
i hope the johanna elevator scene is kept for slightly selfish k and p reason. I thought it was funny how katniss was jealous that peeta was chatting jo up while she was nude. The ignoring part was adorable because it showed the romantic feelings were not completely one sided. Like how dare peeta talk to her while im here holding his hand. The hand holding thing was cute too because it showed they remained hand in hand through out the parade, snows speech, all the was up til the end of the elevator ride. Shows how comfy she is with peeta.
pure XD
I don’t mean to be rude but if I could kindly ask people to stop talking like well… if you read some of these you know beacause im 10 I really don’t want to be reading this stuff it just makes me feel uncumfortable