Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.
The Hunger Games introduces Katniss Everdeen to many victors in Catching Fire, and Sunrise on the Reaping returns several of these characters to the limelight. Among the prequel novel’s most notable cameos are Wiress, Beetee, and Mags, three of the victors called to be tributes in Catching Fire‘s 75th Hunger Games. All of them become Katniss’ allies in the original Hunger Games books, and they’re all in on the plan to break her out of the arena. Sunrise on the Reaping shows this isn’t the first time such a scheme is set in motion either.
At Beetee’s and Plutarch’s urging, Haymitch attempts to break the arena, 25 years before the rebellion successfully extracts Katniss from it. And outsmarting the setting where the Hunger Games take place is an idea that comes partially from Wiress. While Catching Fire only offers a brief overview of the other victors’ backstories, Sunrise on the Reaping gives readers more insight into their individual experiences in the Games. Wiress’ time in the arena sounds like the stuff of nightmares, and it happens just one year before Haymitch is thrown into the tournament.
Wiress Won The 49th Hunger Games Tournament
She Was District 3’s Tribute The Year Before Haymitch’s Quarter Quell
Wiress steps in as a mentor for Haymitch and the other District 12 tributes in Sunrise on the Reaping, and it’s her first time filling this role. After all, Wiress wins the 49th Hunger Games tournament, meaning she’s District 3’s tribute just one year before Haymitch’s Games. Despite being so new to the mentor role — and still very young — she offers solid advice to her District 12 charges. Not only does she tell them to look out for clues about the arena during training, but she offers a helpful song to remind them of their priorities:
“First avoid the slaughter,
Get weapons, look for water.
Find food and where to sleep.
Fire and friends can keep.”
Wiress’ song is applicable for any tribute hoping to survive, but the note about the arena is especially fitting coming from her. Sunrise on the Reaping reveals that the 49th Hunger Games took place in a mirror arena — one Haymitch notes was “full of shiny surfaces.” With everything being reflective, it was meant to be disorienting, and many of the tributes lost their minds or died because they couldn’t tell up from down. Wiress’ win can be chalked up to a combination of luck and cleverness, and the latter is also how she figures out the clock setup in Catching Fire.
Wiress Won The 49th Hunger Games By Outsmarting The Mirror Arena
She Uses Its Reflective Surfaces To Hide, Then Win
Wiress manages to win the 49th Hunger Games by outsmarting the arena and using it to her advantage. Haymitch recalls, “She took it all in, then carefully maneuvered away from the Cornucopia, somehow finding packs of supplies where none appeared to be.” After getting those supplies, Wiress locates a blind spot behind a rock, and she spends much of the tournament there. Even the sponsors can’t find her to send gifts, so the other tributes aren’t able to track her down either.
Wiress reveals herself when it’s just her and a tribute from District 6 left, and she tricks him into lunging for a reflection of her instead of the real thing. The boy slams his head into the arena’s mirrors, then drowns, rendering Wiress the winner of the Games. Although intentional, it feels a lot like Haymitch’s win in Sunrise on the Reaping. Wiress proves that brains matter just as much as brawn in The Hunger Games — sometimes more, depending on the arena.
The Hunger Games
- Created by
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Suzanne Collins
- First Film
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The Hunger Games
- Cast
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Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Willow Shields, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman
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