After President Snow has been captured by the rebels, President Coin acts as the interim President for Panem. She expects to be voted in as the new President. However, her dreams do not come to fruition as she is assassinated by Katniss Everdeen. President Coin is replaced by Commander Paylor, who is voted in as the new President of Panem.
Alma Coin Character Profile
- Name: Alma Coin
- Age: 50s
- Gender: Female
- Place of origin: District 13
- Physical appearance: Shoulder-length gray hair (might be a wig), pale gray eyes
- Personality: Cold, calculative, ruthless, manipulative
- Skills: Leadership
- Strengths: Pragmatic, frugal
- Weaknesses: Power-hungry, vengeful
- Loyalties: Rebel
Alma Coin’s Early Life
Not much is known about Alma Coin’s early life. She was presumably born in District 13 around 50 years before the events of ‘Mockingjay.’ At some unknown point, she became the President of District 13. There is speculation among the fans that Alma Coin is the daughter/ granddaughter of Lucy Gray Baird. However, this has not been proven.
In District 13, President Coin set up a highly regimented routine as the sole lifestyle for everyone in the district. Everyone had a role to play in building the district once again. However, not much freedom and independence were given to the people. Instead, every morning, they would be given a regimented schedule that they were required to mandatorily follow for the rest of the day.
At an unknown point, a disease wiped out a significant number of the population of District 13. This is when the rules began to become stricter, as President Coin had to make sure that the population counts remained not only stable but also slowly started increasing.
The lifestyle that President Coin introduced in District 13 is highly frugal and economical. Entertainment was next to nothing and practicality was the order of the day. To make the best use of labor and resources, everyone was required to work according to their skills. There were zero holidays in District 13.
“When Coin says “wedding,” she means two people signing a piece of paper and being assigned a new compartment. Plutarch means hundreds of people dressed in finery at a three-day celebration. It’s amusing to watch them haggle over the details. Plutarch has to fight for every guest, every musical note. After Coin vetoes a dinner, entertainment, and alcohol, Plutarch yells, “What’s the point of the propo if no one’s having any fun!”
‘Mockingjay’
The Second Rebellion: Coin as Head Of District 13
President Coin presumably orchestrated the underground rebel plan in ‘Catching Fire.’ The plan involved the tributes of Districts 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 11 who were tasked with the mission of protecting Katniss Everdeen in the arena during the 75th Hunger Games. This is because the rebels in District 13 wished to use Katniss as a symbol of the rebellion. However, President Coin makes it clear that Katniss was her second choice and that she had initially lobbied for Peeta Mellark to be rescued before she was outvoted.
Katniss is successfully broken out of the arena by the rebel allies and brought to District 13 along with Beetee Latier and Finnick Odair. Coin rescued Beetee as she believed him to be valuable in designing weapons for the rebellion. Finnick was rescued in order to be a part of the propos that would be filmed to spread messages about the rebellion in the districts and motivate the rebels.
During the bombing of District 12, President Coin presumably sent a rescue force to help the survivors escape to District 13. She also arranged for medical aid in the hospital that was bombed in District 8.
Alma Coin and The Mockingjay Deal
President Coin strikes up a deal with Katniss after her rescue. This is known as ‘The Mockingjay Deal.’ The deal involves rescuing the tributes captured by the Capitol after the arena was destroyed. Further, the tributes would be given immunity in exchange for Katniss acting as the symbol and face of the rebellion. President Coin makes it clear that she would break off the deal if Katniss did not live up to expectations.
Once the deal is made, President Coin, along with Plutarch Heavensbee, plans to film propos (propaganda films) with Katniss as the lead actress. However, Katniss’ acting skills are subpar, and the footage is unusable. This is when Coin agrees to send Katniss to the battlefield to get candid footage. Thus, Katniss is sent to the hospital bombed in District 8, as Coin deems this to be one of the safest areas. However, Katniss and her crew are attacked by Capitol hovercrafts. The film crew manages to get brilliant footage of Katniss fighting the hovercraft, and the task is successful. The film crew continues to produce more candid propos and President Coin is satisfied with the outcome.
The propos are then distributed to the rest of the districts by hacking into the Capitol’s communication system. Beetee Latier and Plutarch Heavensbee are in charge of making sure that the propos reach the districts and that they are having the right effect on the people.
The Bombing of District 13
During Peeta Mellark’s 3rd interview, which was live, he warns District 13 of an impending attack by the Capitol. Although Coin doubts the veracity of Peeta’s words, she orders a Level 5 security drill and lockdown on her computer. Thus, the people of the district had to immediately retire into underground safe bunkers, and they would be in total lockdown until the President ordered otherwise.
As Peeta predicted, the Capitol drops several bombs on District 13, the impact of which is felt even in the safe bunkers. District 13, under the command of President Coin and her right hand, Boggs, fights back. Over the next few days, Coin continues to give the people in the bunkers updates on what is happening above ground. The assault continued for several days. 24 hours after the last hit, Coin lifts the lockdown and assigns new compartments to everyone.
Katniss and Finnick are then required to go above ground and film a propo to assert military dominance and to show that Katniss had survived the bombing. President Coin and Plutarch Heavensbee later orchestrated an infiltration of the Capitol, during which the captured tributes were rescued and brought back to District 13.
Coin strategizes the takeover of District 2, which is successful. Thus, all 13 districts of the nation of Panem are finally unified in their fight against the Capitol.
The final strategy in the rebellion was the Battle of the Capitol, which involved the rebels attacking the Capitol and capturing President Snow from his mansion. Katniss demands to be a part of the squad on the front lines. President Coin allows her to head into battle if she can train continuously for 3 weeks.
The Battle of the Capitol
The rebels begin to infiltrate the capital, and Katniss is placed in squad 451 with Gale Hawthorne and Boggs. The footage they captured is extremely dull, and President Coin is not happy.
After realizing the kind of threat Katniss poses to her authority, Coin sends Peeta, who has been hijacked by the Capitol, to join the squad. Katniss understands that Peeta has been sent to kill her off, after which she can be shown as a martyr. After Boggs dies, everyone believes that the entire squad is dead. President Coin then sends out a live broadcast to the districts and the Capitol, introducing herself as the Head of the Rebellion and providing a eulogy for Katniss.
The City Circle Bombing
President Snow opens up his mansion for refugees in the hope that having children in his mansion will deter the rebels from attacking it. As children begin clamoring towards the mansion, Coin sends a hovercraft falsely marked with the Capitol seal to drop parachutes on the children. The parachutes contain bombs that detonate, thereby killing most of the children and injuring the rest. Rebel Aides are immediately sent in to take care of the wounded. However, a second bomb goes off, killing the Rebel Aides as well.
Katniss’s sister, Primrose Everdeen, is one of the Rebel Aides who is killed in the second bomb. Prim was not old enough to earn the title of Soldier, which makes Katniss speculate that Coin authorized Prim’s presence on the battlefield to subdue Katniss.
Alma Coin Assassinated
After President Snow is captured, he is sentenced to death for his crimes. President Coin is declared as the interim President, after which she proposes the idea of one final Hunger Games. She puts the idea of a symbolic Hunger Games to a vote with the remaining victors.
Katniss votes for the idea, and the motion passes with a majority vote. However, the 76th Hunger Games with the Capitol children never happened. This is because Katniss assassinates President Coin instead of President Snow before the plan can be carried out. Commander Paylor then succeeds President Coin as the new President of Panem.
“The point of my arrow shifts upward. I release the string. And President Coin collapses over the side of the balcony and plunges to the ground. Dead.”
‘Mockingjay’
FAQs
What does President Alma Coin do?
President Alma Coin is the President of District 13. As such, she is in charge of making all the district’s executive decisions. After the capture of President Snow, Coin became the interim President of Panem. Alma Coin is portrayed by Julianne Moore in ‘The Hunger Games’ movies.
Was President Coin worse than Snow?
President Coin was almost as bad as Snow because she was power-hungry and ruthless in her ambition to achieve political victory. She might have been worse than Snow as she gives everyone the illusion of being magnanimous, while in reality, she is manipulative and deceitful. Thus, the future of Panem looked bleak in the hands of Alma Coin.
Why does President Coin hate Katniss?
President Coin hates Katniss because she believes that Katniss could be a threat to her position after the war. Coin knew that Katniss would never cast her vote in favor of Coin, so she decided it would be best for Katniss to die on the battlefield, where she could be turned into a martyr.
