10th Hunger Games

The 10th annual Hunger Games is the first of its kind due to the introduction of the mentorship program. 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, the future President of Panem, mentors the District 12 female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, who won the Games. The 10th Hunger Games are considered to be disastrous, and all recordings of the events except one were destroyed.

Key Facts of the 10th Hunger Games

• Arena: A dilapidated amphitheater 
• Head Gamemaker: Dr. Volumnia Gaul
• Arena Costume: No set costume. Tributes wore whatever clothes they had worn in the Reaping Ceremony.
• No. of days the Games lasted: 5
• Victor: Lucy Gray Baird 
• Alliances: Coral’s Alliance (Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner), Reaper’s Alliance (Reaper and Lamina)

List of Tributes and Their Mentors in the 10th Hunger Games 

• District 1: Facet and Velvereen mentored by Livia Cardew and Palmyra Monty
• District 2: Marcus and Sabyn mentored by Sejanus Plinth and Florus Friend
• District 3: Circ and Teslee mentored by Io Jasper and Urban Canville
• District 4: Mizzen and Coral mentored by Persephone Price and Festus Creed
• District 5: Hy and Sol mentored by Dennis Fling and Iphigenia Moss
• District 6: Otto and Ginnee mentored by Apollo Ring and Diana Ring
• District 7: Treech and Lamina mentored by Vipsania Sickle and Pliny Harrington
• District 8: Bobbin and Wovey mentored by Juno Phipps and Hilarius Heavensbee
• District 9: Panlo and Sheaf mentored by Gaius Breen and Androcles Anderson
• District 10: Tanner and Brandy mentored by Domitia Whimsiwick and Arachne Crane
• District 11: Reaper and Dill mentored by Clemensia Dovecote and Felix Ravinstill
• District 12: Jessup and Lucy Gray Baird mentored by Lysistrata Vickers and Coriolanus Snow

Major Events of the 10th Hunger Games 

The Reaping and the Capitol Zoo

The top 24 students from the Capitol Academy were chosen for the mentorship program in the 10th Hunger Games. Much to his chagrin, Coriolanus Snow is tasked with mentoring Lucy Gray, the girl tribute from District 12. The male tribute reaped from District 12 is Jessup Diggs. His mentor is Lysistrata Vickers.

The tributes are escorted to the Capitol in a cattle car and then transported to the Capitol Zoo via a truck. Young Coriolanus Snow travels in the car as well. Dill warns Coriolanus against her district partner, Reaper Ash, as he is notorious in District 11 for having killed a peacekeeper and gotten away with it. 

Bobbin then suggests killing Coriolanus, and several tributes agree until Lucy Gray Baird chimes in, stating that she might need Coriolanus as a mentor. Dill mistakes the word for a “mender” and asks the reason why none of the other mentors have come to meet their tributes. Lucy Gray corrects her and says that the other mentors are not inspired enough to meet their tributes. The tributes are later dumped in the monkey house at the Capitol Zoo. 

In the subsequent days, Coriolanus and the other mentors familiarize themselves with their designated tributes. Coriolanus and his classmates take it upon themselves to provide sustenance to the tributes who are being neglected.

Among Coriolanus’ routine activities are his sessions with Dr. Gaul, the Head Gamemaker. Dr. Gaul assigns the students a task to enhance the excitement of the Games. On the same day, Arachne Crane, one of the mentors, meets her demise at the hands of her tribute, Brandy. Brandy slits Arachne’s throat for being cruelly taunted with food.

Coriolanus performs the national anthem, “Gem of Panem,” during Arachne’s funeral. A sad procession follows, where Brandy (who has been shot dead) is displayed on a crane and paraded through the streets.

Capitol Arena Bombing

The mentors and tributes journey to the arena to scout the surroundings. Suddenly, 2 rebel explosives detonate, resulting in casualties and injuries among them. The deaths include the District 6 tributes and their mentors, Diana Ring and Apollo Ring. The tributes from District 1 attempt to take advantage of the situation and escape. However, they are caught and shot dead by Peacekeepers.

The tributes from District 9 are injured, as well as their mentors, Gaius Breen and Androcles Anderson. In a daring act, Lucy Gray rescues Coriolanus from danger by removing a burning beam. Amidst the chaos, Marcus, the tribute from District 2, manages to escape, while his district partner, Sabyn, falls to her death in an attempt to escape.

Unfortunately, the two tributes from District 9 are only treated by a veterinarian, and the request to be treated by doctors is denied. As a result both the tributes succumb to their injuries. A hunt begins for Marcus.

Interviews 

The remaining mentors and tributes prepare themselves for upcoming televised interviews. The interviews are optional and only half of the remaining tributes choose to attend them. For the first time, the interviews are broadcast to the rest of the nation. They are hosted by Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman and filmed in front of a live audience.

During her interview, Lucy Gray captivates the audience by singing “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird”, a heartfelt song about her beloved in the district, which sparks jealousy in Coriolanus. Jessup lifts his mentor, Lysistrata Vickers, over his head in a display of strength. Other tributes who claim their strengths in the interview are Circ (starting a fire with his glasses), Bobbin (5 ways to kill a person with a needle), Coral (trident skills), Tanner (slaughterhouse techniques), and Dill, who is too weak to support the claims of her mentor, Felix Ravenstill.

On the eve of the Games, the mentors are shown at the Games headquarters how to use drones to deliver sponsor gifts in the arena. Coriolanus entrusts Lucy Gray with his mother’s compact and instructs her to lace it with rat poison. The tribute from District 5, Hy, dies overnight from asthma complications.

Day 1 of the Games

The 10th Hunger Games commences, featuring several of Coriolanus’ ideas that Dr. Gaul has put into action. The Capitol inhabitants can now place bets on their favored tributes and send them sustenance while they compete in the arena. Shockingly, Marcus is captured and displayed in the arena, hanging from his wrists yet still breathing.

There is no Cornucopia. Instead, weapons are placed in a heap in the center of the arena. There is no food or water available. At the sound of the gong, most tributes scatter and hide in the tunnels caused by the rebel bombings. Stronger tributes such as Reaper, Tanner, Coral, and Jessup retrieve weapons before running away. Reaper, the only one visible to the cameras, climbs to a stand, armed with a long knife and a pitchfork.

Later, Lamina emerges from one of the tunnels and grabs a small ax and a knife. She climbs the poles from which Marcus is hanging and kills him by driving her ax into his neck thrice. She hacks away at his restraints, and his body falls to the ground. As a result, she is rewarded with a bottle of water and a slice of bread. In the evening, Dill, who is suffering from tuberculosis, succumbs to her disease.

Upon returning home for the night, Coriolanus is met by Sejanus’ mother, who reveals that Sejanus has gone missing. They soon discover that Sejanus has voluntarily entered the arena in an attempt to shield Marcus, his fellow tribute and classmate from District 2, from further harm. Coriolanus embarks on a mission to retrieve Sejanus, and their lives are nearly claimed by the arena’s participants – Bobbin, Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner. Coriolanus manages to escape by fatally assaulting Bobbin. 

Day 2 of the Games

The next day, Sol is killed by Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner, who have allied. Lucy Gray is chased out of a tunnel by Jessup, who has contracted rabies. The disease has spread across his body, and he is no longer able to stand the sight of water. As he chases Lucy Gray onto the stands, Lucy Gray is gifted numerous water bottles by Lysistrata Vickers. Seeing the water drives Jessup into a frenzy, and he falls to his death from the stands. Lucy Gray hydrates herself, collects some water bottles, and retreats into the tunnel. 

Day 3 of the Games

Lamina and Reaper ally with each other. Reaper gives Lamina pieces of Panem’s flag to cover herself and retreats into a tunnel. During his absence, Lamina is killed by Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner.

Coral and Mizzen break off their alliance with Tanner, and Coral stabs him in the back. Reaper appears on the scene, drags all the dead tributes (except Jessup) to one place, and covers them with the Panem flag.

Day 4 of the Games 

On the fourth day of the Games, Wovey appears with a bottle of water in her hand. The water has been laced with rat poison by Lucy Gray, and Wovey dies. 

Outside the arena, Gaius Breen succumbs to his injuries sustained in the arena bombing. In retaliation, Dr. Volumnia Gaul releases her snake mutts in the arena, which kill Circ and Coral. Later, a storm kills the snakes.

Day 5 of the Games

The next day, Teslee kills Mizzen by attacking him with drones, and Treech kills Teslee by hammering her skull with an ax. This left only Treech, Reaper, and Lucy Gray Baird in the arena.

Lucy Gray surprises and kills Treech with a surviving snake mutation. She also poisons the big puddle in the arena. She exhausts Reaper (who has contracted rabies from Jessup) by having him chase her down, and he ultimately drinks from the poisoned water. Reaper dies, and Lucy Gray Baird is declared the Victor of the 10th Hunger Games.

Aftermath of the 10th Hunger Games

The 10th Hunger Games is considered to be the most disastrous Games in the history of the Hunger Games. This is because the loss of Capitol lives made the Capitol look too vulnerable. As a result, all recordings of the Games were erased, except for one copy, which Dr. Gaul kept in her vault.

Although his tribute was declared as the victor, Coriolanus Snow falls from grace. His last hope of redeeming the Snow family is crushed as he is punished for breaching the rules of the Games and sent to District 12 as a Peacekeeper. This proved to be the turning point in his life, where he gave up his love for Lucy Gray and decided to embrace his thirst for power. Thus, the ascent for control began here, and he later became the tyrannical President of Panem. 

The Hunger Games continued to use many of Coriolanus’ suggestions (sponsorships, gambling, etc) over the years, along with newer suggestions such as establishing the Victors’ Village in each district. The Games, therefore, became even more cruel and barbaric, leading to nearly 65 years of oppression until the Second Rebellion. Thus, the Hunger Games continued till the 74th Hunger Games, when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark were reaped.

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