Beetee is part of the alliance with Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Finnick Odair. He is also part of the rebel network in Catching Fire and is instrumental in helping Katniss escape to the rebel base in District 13.
Beetee Latier Character Profile
- Name: Beetee
- Age: 50s (75th Hunger Games)
- Gender: Male
- Place of origin: District 3
- Physical appearance: Ashen-skinned with black hair and ill-fitting glasses
- Skills: Intellectual genius, inventive
- Strengths: Strategic thinking, clever tactics, excellent with technology
- Weaknesses: Unskilled in any particular weapon
- Loyalties: Rebel
Personality and Physical Description
Beetee is in his 50s in Catching Fire. Like most residents from District 3, Beetee was ashen-faced and had dark hair. He also wore ill-fitting glasses.
He is described as being “nervous and twitchy,” especially during his interview with Caesar Flickerman, where he tries to highlight the injustices of the Third Quarter Quell. As Katniss notes, he questions the legality of the Quell in his usual twitchy way.
Beetee is extremely intelligent with advanced technological skills. He is also highly inventive, capable of using various objects to create electronic traps in the arena. He is also one of the few people that Katniss trusts and believes in fighting against the atrocities of the Capitol. However, Beetee also believes that it is alright to sacrifice the lives of innocent people for the greater good and therefore does not hesitate to create highly destructive weapons for the rebels.
Biography
Beetee as a Victor
Beetee was the victor of an unknown Hunger Games. However, based on his age, it can be deduced that he participated in any of the Hunger Games between the 31st and 43rd editions. Hailing from District 3, Beetee was the underdog in the arena. However, his superior technological skills as an inventor helped him emerge as the victor. It is said that Beetee devised a technological trap with the electronic supplies available at the Cornucopia. With this, he was able to electrocute the remaining six tributes and emerged as a victor. He lived in the Victors’ Village and mentored Wiress in her edition of the Games.
Beetee as a Tribute in the Third Quarter Quell
Beetee and his district partner, Wiress, are reaped for the 3rd Quarter Quell from District 3. During the Tribute Parade, the pair of them are dressed with electric bulb studs. Beetee and Wiress become acquainted with Katniss and Peeta during the training sessions, where it is discovered that Beetee and Wiress are close enough to finish each other’s sentences. Further, Beetee is the only one who can understand Wiress after she loses her sanity from the first Games she won.
Wiress and Beetee are nicknamed “Nuts and Volts” by Johanna Mason and the other tributes – a play on the phrase “nuts and bolts”. Katniss decides that she wants Wiress and Beetee as her allies but is dissuaded by Haymitch due to their obvious weakness against the other tributes. However, Beetee and Wiress are part of the rebel network that planned to help Katniss escape to District 13. This is probably the reason Haymitch did not want Katniss to ally with them, as he did not want to raise any suspicions.
In the initial Cornucopia Bloodbath, Beetee survives the water by using the floatation belt (which alerts Katniss to the fact that the belts are floatation devices). However, he gets stabbed in the back by a knife, causing a deep injury.
Beetee and Wiress form an alliance with Johanna Mason and Blight, who are caught in the torrential blood rain before they meet up with Katniss and the others. They clean themselves up in the water. Beetee comes up with a plan to electrocute Brutus and Enobaria with a conducting wire through the jungle. Unfortunately, however, Wiress is soon killed by Gloss while she is cleaning the wire. Katniss manages to salvage the wire, and the plan is set in motion.
Beetee is injured by Enobaria and is therefore unable to carry out the plan to fulfillment. While Finnick charges after Enobaria, Katniss understands Beetee’s real plan, which is to blow up the Hunger Games arena. Without thinking twice, she coils the wire around an arrow, and just as midnight strikes, along with the lightning, she lets the arrow loose into the force field. The force field explodes, and the arena is no longer under Capitol supervision. This allows Plutarch Heavensbee and the rebels from District 13 enough time to send in a hovercraft, and Beetee is rescued along with Katniss and Finnick.
Beetee in the Second Rebellion
In Mockingjay, Beetee begins working for the rebels, although he now needs a wheelchair to move around. He works in the special military weapons room, creating technologically advanced weapons for the rebels to use against the Capitol. He is instructed by President Coin to create a new bow and arrow for Katniss. He designs a special that interacts with her biomechanically, as well as matches her Mockingjay outfit. He also designs a special trident for Finnick.
Beetee continues to make weapons that would not only help secure the rebels’ victory but also hurt innocent people in the process. This side of Beetee’s personality upsets Katniss deeply, especially after he agrees with Gale’s controversial plan to destroy the “Nut” in District 2 from the inside while hurting innocent people in the process. Beetee was responsible for continuously hacking into the Capitol’s broadcasts to help air the rebel propos. He also requests Katniss and Finnick to shoot a propo that could be used as a distraction during the rescue mission for Peeta and the others.
Beetee most likely helps design the bomb that explodes for the second time in the Capitol. This bomb Beetee devises is responsible for killing the Capitol children and rebel medics, which includes Katniss’ sister, Prim.
After the Rebellion, Coin asks the remaining victors to vote on whether to hold one final Hunger Games, this time with the children of the most powerful citizens of the Capitol. Beetee votes against the idea, along with Peeta and Annie Cresta, while Katniss, Johanna, Enobaria, and Haymitch vote for it. However, Katniss assassinates President Coin, effectively putting an end to the idea. Commander Paylor is elected President of Panem and it is assumed that Beetee goes back to his life in District 3.
FAQs
Were Wiress and Beetee dating?
No, Wiress and Beetee were not dating. They were close friends and allies. In the Third Quarter Quell, they often finished each other’s sentences, which demonstrates that they were used to working closely with each other.
Why would Johanna get Wiress and Beetee for Katniss?
Johanna needed to win Katniss’ trust in the 75th Hunger Games. Katniss’ mentor, Haymitch, had told Johanna that the only way she could do so was by showing up with Wiress and Beetee. As such, Johanna helps keep Wiress and Beetee alive and wins her trust upon meeting Katniss and becomes her ally.
Does Beetee survive Hunger Games?
Yes, Beetee survives the 75th Hunger Games. Katniss understands his plan and blows up the force field, causing the arena to be destroyed. Beetee was then rescued from the arena by the rebels in District 13, along with Katniss Everdeen and Finnick Odair.
What was Beetee trying to do at the end of Catching Fire?
Beetee was trying to make an electric conductor at the end of Catching Fire. He planned to tie the wire around the tree and then drop the other end of the wire into the water, thereby electrocuting the other tributes.
Was Beetee in the 75th Hunger Games?
Yes, Beetee was in the 75th Hunger Games. He was the male tribute from District 3.
What was Beetee’s real plan?
Beetee’s real plan at the end of Catching Fire was to blow up the arena by concentrating the electricity from the tree onto the force field. Katniss understands his plan and follows through, allowing the rebels enough time to rescue the tributes from the arena.
How did Beetee win the Hunger Games?
Beetee won the Hunger Games by devising an electronic trap with the supplies from the Cornucopia. This trap was capable of electrocuting the remaining 6 tributes in the arena, thereby leaving Beetee the Victor.
