The Hunger Games: Who is Tigris in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
Tigris is a major supporting character in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, but we also saw Tigris in the original Hunger Games film.
“The Hunger Games” was one of the defining book and film series of the last few decades. Set in a world where children are forced to fight each other to the death in an arena created and run by the oppressive Capitol Society, the original series proved to many to be the best of its genre.
Article continues after ad
The franchise recently expanded when author Suzanne Collins released a prequel novel: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. This new book focuses on the early life of the original book’s villain, President Snow, as well as a number of new characters. However, a character is a face we have seen before.
However, you may not recognize her as the character of Tigris has literally undergone a major change over the course of the franchise. We will explain everything, but first A warning: Mild spoilers for the original and prequel novels!
Article continues after ad
Tigris appears in the original series The Hunger Games.
In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Tigris accompanies and supports Katniss and her team of soldiers in their attempt to sneak through the Capitol to assassinate President Snow. It turns out she is a former Games stylist who now wants an end to the Capitol’s rule.
In the film, Tigris tells Katniss that she was the primary stylist for Hunger Games homages until Snow decided to do so [she] was no longer pretty enough,” implying that her physical changes were considered too much even by the fashionable Capitol.
Article continues after ad
These changes include giving her tiger-like facial features, with a flattened nose and whiskers. Her tattooed skin also reveals her age, as Katniss notes that she is wrinkled.
After giving Katniss and Co. refuge in her home during the revolution, she designates Katniss and Gale as citizens of the Capitol so that they can sneak into President Snow’s mansion and kill him. When Katniss mentioned that she wanted to kill Snow, Tigris actually smiled back.
Less advertising|Dark mode|Offers in the areas of gaming, TV and films as well as technology
Who is Tigris in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
In Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes we see Tigris in a completely different way. Here it turns out that she is the cousin of Coriolanus Snow, who grew up with him before he became president and survived the Dark Days with him, the civil war that took place before the invention of games.
Article continues after ad
Here, Tigris and Snow are incredibly close, and she helps him oversee the 10th Annual Hunger Games. As an underpaid fashion designer, she even designs clothes for him and styles them so that the family doesn’t look so poor.
She is a kind and open-minded person and is far more compassionate about the honors than many other Capitol citizens. She also questions the Hunger Games themselves and thinks they are far too cruel.
The actor for the role has obviously changed. In Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Tigris is played by Hunter Schafer, best known for her starring role in the HBO series Euphoria. Check out a clip of her performance below:
Article continues after ad
However, there is a large time gap between the prequel and the main series, leaving many questions about Tigris unanswered. For example, we don’t know why she hates Snow so much, although we can assume that his cruel future actions will play a role in this. Perhaps the sexual exploitation of receiving honors got to her nerves, as it implies that she engaged in sex work to survive.
We also don’t see her doing all of her cat plastic surgery, but fans have theorized that her decision to transform herself so thoroughly is partly due to her love of fashion and, of course, her name, but also the species and the way others perceive them. In the books, Snow describes her as “with a long, pointed nose and a thin body, Tigris was not a great beauty, but she had a sweetness, a vulnerability that invited abuse.” She would find takers if she felt like it .” Perhaps her transformation into a wilder character is her way of protecting herself in an increasingly cruel world.
Article continues after ad
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” hits theaters November 17th. Read more about the film below:
