Contains spoilers for The Hunger Games Trilogy’s books and movies
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins is a modern classic. With heavy political themes, gut-wrenching plot twists, and complex characters, the books and their movies became cultural landmarks. However, some themes, plots, and symbols receive more attention than others. Collins’s storytelling is layered and multifaceted, and in that complexity, certain characters fall through the cracks. One character I found slipped right through these cracks, however small, is Annie Cresta.
The first time we hear of Finnick’s love was in a pivotal moment of the book. The Hunger Games were a yearly country-wide punishment, where children from twelve different “districts” were “reaped” in a deadly game. To “get rid” of the rebellious Katniss Everdeen, for the third quarter quell anniversary, the reapings came from the pool of current victors in each district. Finnick was one of these victors. Each “tribute,” or player, was employing different creative strategies to make the Capitol cancel this special victors’ game. And Finnick’s strategy was similar to that of our protagonists in District Twelve: appeal to the Capitol’s emotions through romance.
Finnick’s good looks and charming demeanor were sold to the Capitol in exchange for “secrets,” a powerful currency. The one secret he didn’t share was his wife Annie, but he did share something when he addressed the crowd in the famous pre-game interviews. He said to the Capitol spectators, “My love, you have my heart for all eternity, and if I die in that arena, my last thought will be of your lips.” He may be speaking to Annie, or he could simply be giving the audience what they want, a flirty heart throb. But who was the woman he was trying so hard to hide from the Capitol, and why was she being hidden?
We never hear Annie’s voice in the writing. Her story unfolds only through the people who love her — Finnick, Mags, and eventually, the child she and Finnick have together. To get to know Annie, we must take a look at Finnick and ask why. In Catching Fire, all we know is that the two are separated, and that their mentor Mags decided to volunteer for young Annie. But why were the two separated? And why did Mags volunteer? To better understand Annie, those questions must be answered in full.
The two could have been separated by President Snow and his Capitol for five main reasons.
- To maintain a certain image
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Image was everything on the Capitol’s TVs. As mentioned earlier, Finnick had crafted a carefully curated persona during his time as a victor. Separating Finnick from the person he truly loves adds to the story of romance created within the Hunger Games by making Finnick look like an available bachelor. Finnick may not have liked the image, but it aided him in his mission to discover the hidden messages of the Capitol and Panem.
- To create a certain image
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Finnick wanted secrets but was reluctant to share his own. The biggest secret he kept was his genuine love for another victor, Annie. They share experience, trauma, and most importantly, hope. All that Catching Fire shared with its readers was that Annie exists. But as their love story evolves in the rebellious District Thirteen throughout the later books, we get a sense of what’s at stake. They got married in a war-torn country, and Annie had a baby without a father present. She created a life in the chaos of war, finding a way and hope in the ashes of her country, with and without Finnick.
@mockingjaytweets via Instagram - To follow capitol trends
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Katniss had obviously become a trend amongst people in the Capitol. Kids were wearing their hair in her iconic braid, and her wedding dress became a template for others. Her fame came from the story woven by the people around her: a woman stuck in a tragic love story. While it wasn’t what Katniss wanted, it succeeded in getting people’s attention. Finnick could have used his relationship with Annie to mirror the famous District Twelve star-crossed lovers, Katniss and Peeta, and get the attention he needed to survive his second Hunger Games and return home to Annie. He did his best to follow the trends while also protecting the person he was doing this all for: Annie.
- She’s “crazy”
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After Annie’s games, which are never described in detail, she was said to have gone “crazy.” The Capitol didn’t care about her game or winning because she was crazy. The Capitol dismissed both her victory and her pain, branding her instability as madness rather than acknowledging her trauma. But “crazy” and “traumatized” are not the same. Surviving such a brutal game, stuck with each Hunger Games tribute. Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, Johanna, and Haymitch all described the nightmares and fears that stuck with them since their near-death experience. Trauma leads to mental health conditions such as PTSD, something I can’t imagine the Capitol being accepting of. Perhaps Annie wasn’t crazy; she was suffering from PTSD in an unaccepting world of cameras and brutal fame.
Mags may have understood this and sympathized with Annie. The two women shared this experience and understood the way a woman’s experience could be twisted by the Capitol. Mags certainly could have been protecting Annie from further backlash and triggers found in the arena.
- She’s full of life
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Annie and Finnick aren’t just “star-crossed lovers;” they are smart individuals playing the game in different ways. Mags saw the game they were playing and decided to help. They would have lost if they died together on the battlefield, so Mags stepped in to save the day.
Haymitch did the same for his victors. He saw their life and their game and sympathized, attempting to stop Peeta from entering the reaping and supporting the rebellion to get both Katniss and Peeta out of the games alive. Both Mags and Haymitch did what they needed to do to get their team out safely. But more than that, they saw potential in their allies. They knew that the victors, younger than them, could complete the mission they had never seen finished.
@thehungergames via Instagram
Mags enters the third quarter quell with Finnick, even though Annie’s name was pulled first in the reaping. Mags volunteered for the games, knowing it meant certain death for a woman of her age (approximately 80 years old). You don’t face death for just anyone, and so Annie must have been special to Mags. Here’s what made Annie worth the sacrifice.
It’s sad that we only get to see Annie Cresta through the eyes of other characters, but I am glad she’s represented by Finnick and Mags. They tell the story of a hopeful but traumatized women, hiding from unwanted fame alongside a beautifully misunderstood man, Finnick Odair. What a joy it is to have Annie included in such a powerful series.