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"He reads from the square of paper in the same onerous voice he used for ours, informing Panem that in honor of the Quarter Quell, there will be twice the number of tributes."
—The 50th Hunger Games twist announcement[src]

The 50th Hunger Games was the year of the second Quarter Quell, held 24 years before the start of the trilogy. The victor was Haymitch Abernathy from District 12.[1] Coriolanus Snow read off a card that was left 50 years ago by the original creators of the Games, stating that as a reminder that two rebels died for every Capitol citizen, twice the number of regular tributes were to be sent into the Games: two girls and two boys per district, for a total of 48.[2][3]

Arena[]

The arena was described as "the most breathtaking place imaginable." The Cornucopia sat in the middle of a sweet-smelling green meadow, and the sky was azure blue with fluffy, billowing white clouds. The meadow stretched for miles, and far in the distance there were woods on one side, and a snowcapped mountain on the other, which was later revealed to be a deadly volcano.[3]

Everything in the arena was lethally poisonous, including the plants growing in the arena, the water in the stream, the butterfly stings, and even the scent of the flowers when inhaled too directly. The only sources of safe food and drink in the arena were the rainwater and the food from the Cornucopia.[3] In the third Quarter Quell, twenty-five years later, this was reversed: the Cornucopia only provided weapons, so food and water had to be acquired from the arena itself or through sponsor gifts.[4]

Known muttations[]

  • Fluffy, golden, carnivorous squirrels
  • Poisonous stinging butterflies
  • Candy pink birds with long, thin beaks

Summary[]

Known tributes[]

Pre-Games[]

From District 12, an unnamed girl from the Seam was reaped first by their unnamed female escort. The second tribute was Maysilee Donner, who was clinging to her twin sister and her friend, Mrs. Everdeen, before "bravely [disengaging] herself". She was followed by an unnamed, undescribed male, leaving Haymitch Abernathy as the last tribute called.[3] Upon arriving in the Capitol, the boys and girls from District 12 wore "awful" coal miner costumes for the Tribute Parade.[3]

Interviews[]

Caesar: "So, Haymitch, what do you think of the Games having one hundred percent more competitors than usual?"
Haymitch: "I don't see that it makes much difference. They'll still be one hundred percent as stupid as usual, so I figure my odds will be roughly the same."
Catching Fire, Chapter 14

This year, Caesar Flickerman wore his usual twinkling midnight blue suit, though he had dark green hair and his eyelids and lips were different. In his interview, Haymitch came across as snarky, arrogant, and indifferent.[3] Since there were twice as many tributes, either each one had less than the usual three minutes per interview, or the total length of the television program was doubled to accommodate them all.


The Games[]

Day 1[]

The Games started off with a bloodbath at the Cornucopia, killing 18 of the 48 tributes, a record unbeaten until the Hunger Games were no longer held. An alliance of ten Career Tributes claimed supplies from the Cornucopia, including the only safe food and drink in the arena.[3]

  • Deaths: 18

Days 2-3[]

The Careers scoured the mountain area for potential victims for the first three days, and during this time, a number of tributes died to the arena's many poisonous substances.[3]

  • Deaths: 5

Day 4[]

On the fourth day, a volcanic eruption killed another twelve tributes, including five Careers. The lava flows made half the arena inaccessible, driving the thirteen remaining tributes into the woods.[3]

  • Deaths: 12 - five Careers, seven others

Unknown period[]

Haymitch later ran into three of the surviving Careers. He killed two with his knife before he was disarmed by the third, an unknown male. When the Career tried to slit Haymitch's throat, Maysilee shot him with a poison dart, and she and Haymitch became allies.[3]

  • Deaths: 3 - two Careers, one male Career

Together, Haymitch and Maysilee were able to get more rest, devise a system to harvest more rainwater, and share food from the dead tributes' packs. During this time, five more tributes died, bringing both the remaining District 12 tributes into the final five.[3]

  • Deaths: 5

Last day[]

Eventually, using a blowtorch, Haymitch and Maysilee got through a dense hedge and reached a cliff at the end of the arena. With only five tributes remaining, Maysilee broke off the alliance when Haymitch refused to go back. Haymitch kicked a pebble into the force field, surprised to see it bounce back, then threw a larger rock to see it do the same. He laughed, but he was cut off by the sound of Maysilee screaming. By the time Haymitch got there, candy pink birds had skewered her neck with their beaks. Haymitch held her hand as she died.[3]

Later that day, another tribute was killed in combat, and one more was eaten by fluffy golden squirrels, leaving Haymitch and the District 1 female as the final two. Both sustained nearly fatal wounds in their battle; Haymitch cut out her eye, and she disemboweled him with her axe. He had to hold his intestines in while he fled. She chased him to a cliff and threw her axe, but Haymitch collapsed on the ground, dodging the attack. Due to the severity of his wounds, she thought she could outlast him even without her weapon, but Haymitch knew the axe would be flung back by the force field at the arena's edge and lodge itself in her head. She died instantly, leaving Haymitch as the victor.[3]

  • Deaths: 4 - Maysilee, two unknown tributes, District 1 female

Aftermath[]

Haymitch's stunt with the force field made the Capitol look foolish. In retaliation, Haymitch's mother, younger brother, and girlfriend were all killed in the two weeks after the Games.[5] Depressed by the loss of his family and forced to mentor year after year of doomed tributes, Haymitch developed an alcohol dependency and his life fell into disrepair.[6]

Placing[]

  • 1st - Haymitch Abernathy (victor)
  • 2nd (Last day) - District 1 female - killed after her axe rebounded when thrown into the force field.
  • 3rd (Last day) - eaten by squirrel mutts.
  • 4th (Last day) - killed in combat with another tribute.
  • 5th (Last day) - Maysilee Donner - skewered through the neck by bird mutts.
  • 6th-10th - Unknown.
  • 11th - Unknown male Career - killed by Maysilee with a poison dart.
  • 13th-12th - Two Careers - killed by Haymitch with his knife.
  • 14th-25th (Day 4) - died in the volcanic eruption.
    • Five Careers and seven others
  • 26th-30th (Days 2-3) - killed in combat or poisoned by the arena.
  • 31st-48th (Day 1) - killed in the initial Cornucopia bloodbath.

Trivia[]

  • Haymitch is the second District 12 victor,[6] the district's first male victor, and their first victor in forty years.[7] He's also the only victor from 12 who had to mentor tributes.
  • Maysilee Donner was the only known District 12 tribute to make it to the final five who did not survive to become a victor. She was also one of only two known merchant tributes,[3] the other being Peeta Mellark.[8]
  • An entire chapter was dedicated to recounting the 50th Hunger Games, when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark watched an edited recap of it during Catching Fire.[3] This was not included in the film adaptation.[9]
  • In the second Quarter Quell, 18 out of 48 died in the bloodbath alone, but it took four days for 75% to be killed because the number of tributes overall had been doubled. Nearly half the casualties were caused by Gamemaker traps.[3]
    • In the third Quarter Quell, 18 out of 24 tributes (75%) died within three days. Most casualties were caused by other tributes.

References[]

  1. Catching Fire, Chapter 3
  2. Catching Fire, Chapter 12
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Catching Fire, Chapter 14
  4. Catching Fire, Chapter 19
  5. Mockingjay, Chapter 12
  6. 6.0 6.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 1
  7. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 20
  8. The Hunger Games, Chapter 2
  9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
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