I Bet You Missed This Tragic Detail About Haymitch After Sunrise On The Reaping

Warning! Spoilers for Sunrise on the Reaping ahead!

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping retroactively made Haymitch Abernathy’s story more meaningful, but there is one detail that I bet you missed. Suzanne Collins’ most recent prequel novel dived into the 50th Hunger Games, which occurred 24 years before Katniss and Peeta were reaped as District 12 tributes. Though the Catching Fire books explore some of what happened during the Second Quarter Quell, Sunrise on the Reaping revealed that almost nothing about these games was as it seemed to viewers. Haymitch’s experience was far more tragic, and this ultimately makes his Hunger Games ending that much better.

The central Hunger Games books revealed that Haymitch was involved in a rebel plot to put an end to the Games, but Sunrise on the Reaping showed that this had begun long before he ever met Katniss and Peeta. During the 50th Hunger Games, Haymitch tried and failed to sabotage the arena, and, as punishment, President Snow murdered everyone he loved. Haymitch had promised his girl, Lenore Dove, that he would do all he could to stop the sun from rising on another reaping. However, 25 years and 48 District 12 tributes went by before Haymitch could make good on that promise.

Haymitch Mentored Exactly 48 District 12 Tributes Before The Hunger Games Ended

Haymitch Mentored The Same Number Of Tributes As Those That Died In the 50th Hunger Games

Woody Harrelson staring ahead as Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games

After Haymitch won the 50th Hunger Games, he was forced to mentor two District 12 tributes a year. If there was any hope of these children winning the games, President Snow likely did all he could to squash it. The dictator had a personal vendetta against the coal-mining District, as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes revealed. So, Haymitch disintegrated into further misery and watched each year’s tributes die in the arena. By the time the sun rose on the very last reaping, Haymitch had mentored 48 District 12 tributes—the exact number of children who died in the 50th Hunger Games.

Though 48 tributes were reaped for the 50th Hunger Games, including Haymitch, an additional tribute was added to the mix after Louella’s premature death. This meant that the Games ended with 48 district children ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and one victor.

Typically, 24 tributes would participate in the Hunger Games, but twice as many were reaped for the 50th. Haymitch was the last one standing of all 48. Many of these children had been his friends and allies, and watching them all die in the most terrible ways would never cease to haunt Haymitch. It’s poetic that the Sunrise on the Reaping protagonist would mentor the same number of District 12 kids as died in the Second Quarter Quell. In a twisted way, each District 12 tribute reflected a child who had died in Haymitch’s Game.

Katniss & Peeta Finally Helped Haymitch Keep His Promise To Lenore Dove

Haymitch’s Final Two Tributes Satisfied His Impossible Vow

Katniss and Peeta were Haymitch’s last mentees in the Hunger Games franchise. Of course, even before Sunrise on the Reaping, we could have realized that Haymitch mentored the same number of tributes as there were kids in the 50th Hunger Games. However, this prequel novel made this detail all the more impactful. We now know that every single reaping that Haymitch witnessed (on his birthday) was a reminder of the promise he made to Lenore Dove. For 25 years, Haymitch failed to stop the sun from rising on the reaping, but his 47th and 48th tributes changed everything.

Katniss turned out to be the tribute who was just like Haymitch, but luckier, and this allowed her to be Haymitch’s 48th and final mentee.

After Katniss’ and Peeta’s victory in the 74th Hunger Games, Haymitch again worked with Plutarch and Beetee to sabotage the arena and put an end to the games. This time around, they were actually successful. Katniss turned out to be the tribute who was just like Haymitch, but luckier, and this allowed her to be Haymitch’s 48th and final mentee. Thanks to these children, Haymitch finally satisfied his promise to Lenore and found some peace. Sunrise on the Reaping retroactively created a perfect sense of balance within Haymitch’s story. It’s painful and twisted but beautifully poetic.