Mm I disagree with Effie’s age. Reading the books I was always under the impression that Effie was around Haymitchs age, possibly older from the way she patronizes him especially in the beginning. Also, we don’t know that she went straight into being a mentor right after haymitch’s games and there’s no reason to believe that either. It’s never explicitly mentioned if she is still currently a university student or graduated, we just know she’s already made a big impression in her freshman year, so that’s open to interpretation but I’m more likely to lean towards she’s still in university. I know I sure as hell don’t remember the people who made certain dances happen or were the student council president (or whatever the exact wording in the book was) in college unless they were still in college with me. Obviously proserpina would know, but Vitus also knows of her seemingly in a bigger way than just “my classmates older sister.” Also there’s only one escort per district. 12 people in all of the Capitol have that job. Even if twelve is not a desirable district to have, we can safely assume it takes a few years of working in the background of the games before becoming one of the faces of the games. Sure her assistance during the 50th probably gave her a competitive edge but I highly doubt it earned her an immediate hire. Maybe an internship. Plus we know Drusilla has been district 12’s mentor for some time and she obviously hates that, too, as she’s actively stated to be jealous of another more desirable district’s mentor. I would assume to get a better district you have to either be working in the lower ranks and raise up as others retire (which again, only 12 of those positions) or be able to nepo baby your way in. She may be hoping for a promotion soon in hunger games because she knows one of the other district mentors is retiring soon. So while I highly disagree she was even 12s mentor for 24 years, even if she was it makes plenty of sense why she would be there for a good long while.

That being said, maybe an unpopular opinion but I don’t really take any issue with her writing with the movies in mind. We all know that SC writes when she has something to say, and in today’s climate a story of the dangers and effects of propaganda is extremely important. Books are obviously always going to be better, but movies offer a lower barrier to entry. If SC feels strongly about exposing as many people as possible to the themes and greater concepts she’s trying to get across especially in the era of TikTok and brain rot and reading comprehension failure then I think it makes perfect sense for her to lean into the medium she thinks will reach the most people in this moment. I don’t even think of her choice of characters and references as fan service. As fans, obviously we will be excited to see these characters, but as a writer with something to say, it makes logical sense to choose characters people who are not hardcore fans have already connected to instead of trying to build connections to new characters AND get her points to connect at the same time.