dissecting the games, ch 5 & 6

And on we go.  Remember if you haven't read the books, don't read this post!

Stuff in chapters 5 & 6:

• Cinna is awesome
• Peeta & Katniss have their first real moment together
• Katniss becomes The Girl of Fire
• Katniss gives Peeta a kiss on the cheek - for strategic purposes?
• Effie is an idiot
• Katniss meets an Avox and the room stands still
• Peeta comes to Katniss's rescue

After quickly meeting Katniss's styling team we begin to wonder if everyone in the Capitol has fluff for brains, but then we meet Cinna.  Katniss notices right away that he's different.  He talks differently, dresses differently and acts differently than everyone else she's met so far.  We learn that this is Cinna's first games and that he requested District 12.  It makes me wonder....is Cinna's part in the revolution something he was already a part of or was he a part of it because of Katniss?  hmmmmm

We all know that Peeta loves Katniss, but mostly because we already read the books.  Katniss has no idea because she isn't thinking like that.  She's thinks that Peeta is just trying to keep her off balance so it will be easier to kill her later.  They have their first real moment together while laughing at Haymitch during the opening ceremonies.  It's during these moments where I wish she would just let go and trust, but to be honest, would you?  I can't even imagine the insanity she's a part of at this moment.

So yeah, Effie is an idiot.  And she's power hungry, or at least image hungry.  She's been irritated to be saddled with the poorest district with the most pathetic victor ever.  When she begins to see a glimmer of hope that maybe these aren't the weakest tributes yet she gets a little more interested.  I'm not sure if her helping them is solely for her own gain or because she cares about them.  There are moments when you think her care is genuine, but those moments are few and far between.

And then there's the Avox.  Someone convicted of a great crime gets their tongue cut off and is then a servant to the Capitol.  The movie doesn't really go into this at all.  Katniss makes a comment to Peeta about how they'll cut off their tongues, but it doesn't sound like she's serious, like it's a real punishment.  When Katniss recognizes the Avox serving them dinner the adults in the room (Haymitch, Effie, Cinna & Portia) all freeze.  Haymitch and Effie insist there's no way she could know the Avox and Peeta jumps in with the name of a girl who Katniss must've been thinking about (who looks nothing like the girl here).  They both know he just covered for her, but it does the trick and the adults back off.  Katniss later tells Peeta how she and Gale saw that girl and another boy outside the fence.  She saw the girl get sucked up by a hovercraft & the boy get speared.  While the whole thing is brief and seemingly unimportant, as a whole in hindsight it has more bearing on the story.

Coming soon.....training!