sh00g reviewed Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, #3)
A lukewarm ending to an otherwise fiery series
2 stars
Content warning Several spoilers sprinkled throughout!
Mockingjay is a largely disappointing finish to an otherwise great trilogy. In my opinion Catching Fire is the best of the series, and the additional intrigue and political drama incorporated in the second installment was poised to tee up an exciting conflict between the rebels and the Capitol. What was delivered was...something else.
My problems with this story boil down to three main thesis points: 1) that being trapped in Katniss's perspective means the most exciting moments of the story happen "off-screen;" 2) that this constraint requires seemingly supernatural explanations for how and why the plot moves forward; and 3) that Katniss's potential character growth is completely hamstrung by the narrative.
On the first point, there are several instances in the story where I read a sentence and wondered to myself, "why did I not get to see that?" The most egregious examples are the rescue of Peeta and company from the Capitol prisons and Katniss's trial at the end of the story. I believe Collins had an arm tied behind her back here at the insistence to maintain the same 9X9X9 chapter format for this installment, and my guess is earlier drafts of the story likely showed us these events instead of telling about them. I also understand from a narrative perspective that being trapped inside Katniss's head meant that we didn't really have any "right" to see these things as the played out. Katniss didn't know what the plan was to break out the other victors. Katniss was in the middle of a depressive spiral into madness during her trial. Why would we get to see something she does not?
The simple answer to this question is "because the alternative is boring." And it was. We spend massive portions of the story with Katniss who is trapped inside the confines of District 13 underground. Or waiting underground in the Capitol. The entire plot feels like it happens TO Katniss as opposed to happening WITH Katniss. Again, this was undoubtedly deliberate to an extent—a significant theme in the story is Katniss's lack of agency and ability to impact the course of the events around her. The only really satisfying moment in the story is when she finally gets to buck that trend in shooting Coin instead of President Snow. But aside from the fact that it makes sense given the point of view, it makes the first 60% or so of Mockingjay an absolute slog to get through.
The second point makes the first point more problematic, however. In those moments where "things happen and Katniss later finds out that things happened," which is basically ALL that happens for the vast majority of this book, we are given half explanations or "hand-wavium" to gloss over the finer details. Plans are explained quickly and with little regard for detail and we are expected, like Katniss, to just assume that Beetee and Plutarch are such tactical geniuses we need not question them. There are even lines that border on fourth wall breaks where Katniss states a plan seems "confusing," only for the adults in the room to agree, proudly announcing that if SHE is confused by their plans, surely the Capitol will be too.
One may purport to lean on the audience to "fill in the gaps," but in the reality it undercuts the drama and gives the rebel plot the impression of being undeniable. This was the other feeling I couldn't shake throughout the story. For as big and bad we are supposed to believe the Capitol is, it feels like they put up no fight against the rebels. I was never engaged with the broader military engagement plots because it was repeatedly illustrated that, aside from people dying (and a lot of named characters do die in this book), the Capitol had effectively zero meaningful counter to every move the rebels made.
The final point is the nail in the coffin for me. Ostensibly this is a story about a girl who, for three straight books, has not been in control of her destiny. In book 1 she has to rely on the likes of Haymitch to help her navigate the games. In book 2 she has to rely on a whole host of people who have already planned out every step of the process for her. In book 3 she has to sit back and watch while the rebels do things and she plays dress-up. Her murder of Coin was supposed to be the defining moment of her character arc, being the time where she finally wrested control of her own destiny even if it meant ruining her reputation forever. But it falls completely flat thereafter.
Her rapid descent into madness and suicidal ideation is halted because "they" are determined to keep her alive. She is whisked back to District 12 while her mother and Gale live out their lives elsewhere. Peeta is dumped in her lap as a consolation prize. The completion of her arc is her eventual bringing of children into the world. We are supposed to see this as her overcoming her previous fears of reproducing; fears that her children would lose their agency like she had lost hers. But it does not come across as a triumph to me. It comes across as a woman finally broken by the fact that she has not had any control over her life since she was a teenager.
The story does not have to have a happy ending. Given the content matter, it would be surprising and probably cheesy to force one. But whether you are expecting Katniss's ultimately tragic ending or not, Mockingjay comes off as a terribly depressing read. In a series where we, like the characters, are constantly dangled the hope that things will get better, our point of view character never does.
