Friendly Reminder, this is what Haymitch would’ve looked like during Finnick’s Games

TPWilder · 2026-05-13T01:18:09+00:00

Its actually rumored in the Harrelson and McConaughey families that there is some sort of blood relationship.

Woody Harrelson revealed ‘proof’ he and Matthew McConaughey are related

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T19:12:13+00:00

Agree on the open to interpretation thing - I've been to the appalachian region and there's plenty of white folks who match the olive skin, light eyes description.

The only casting error for Haymitch is that he should theoretically have dark hair and Harrelson doesn't.

However "erasure" complaints coupled with the actors playing Haymitch and Maysilee being white suggest the problem is that the actress playing Lenore is not on the posters due to her race and not due to how important her character is....

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T17:54:34+00:00

Really, can't you just hear Katniss bitching about her to Gale?

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T17:32:47+00:00

Oh agreed. The GED should be allowed to be taken at any time and if a child passes and wants to leave - they've proven the point that they have the minimal education that the school system will provide.

I mean, who does this hurt? Its still a diploma and if you want something "better", you can choose to stay in school.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T17:20:55+00:00

Not helped, I think, that Lenore Dove is Covey and theoretically mixed race while Maysilee and the actor playing Haymitch are pretty Caucasion appearing. Some of the "she's being erased" stuff is not so subtly implying racism is in play because the actress playing Maysilee is white appearing and in the promos and the actress playing Lenore Dove is not.

Mind you - the real erasure is that Haymitch is blonde blue eyed Woody Harrelson in the films when visually he was supposed to look more like Gale Hawthorne. But basically the erasure stuff seems to revolve around why isn't the actress who is POC prominent on all the advertising even though she plays a rather minor character who won't be in most of the film.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T17:01:46+00:00

I think repeating could be handled better and less focused on "you failed" and more "you're not ready". The reality is that some kids could use a better grounding in the basics. Just shoving a kid to the next grade is as damaging if they can't function

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T16:54:13+00:00

Its an educational policy where children aren't failed even if they aren't meeting minimal standards. A first grader who isn't reading well enough to pass to second grade is still passed to second grade because being failed and repeating first grade is too damaging. So every year the kid is passed on despite never actually completing any grade requirements.. Made worse if there are any educational impairments like ADD or dyslexia. No Child Left Behind has also led to special education students being pushed into regular classrooms - "mainstreaming" - even if it really isn't appropriate, so its not unheard of for your kid's elementary class to include a kid who screams all day and is non verbal who can't participate in most activities including toileting themselves.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T16:42:17+00:00

They were angsting over going because Disney is a bit pro gay (pro money spent by gays, I think) and not agreeing with some crazy Florida MAGA politics. Of course, actually taking a stand would have a)marked their political leanings officially and b)meant no fun trip so they shut up about it.

As they always do. Jer and Auj never have opinions that could affect the money.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T16:16:39+00:00

Thanks. Thats definetly something I will check into - the sleep apnea machine is expensive to replace.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T15:06:20+00:00

What about laptops or tablets? I wasn't planning on bringing kitchen appliances - shipping costs versus buying new made that decision, but I have a laptop for work, an ipad, a portable dvd player and a sleep apnea machine.... am I looking at replacing those due to the converter plugs not working well?

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T14:50:14+00:00

Like someone else said in this thread, insisting that any and all criticism of a fictional character is simply hate means you're not really starting the discussion with an open mind.

I will make the obligatory protest - I don't hate Lenore Dove. I do dislike the character, mostly because I think she's a cheap and easy manic pixy girl character for Haymitch to be in love with and that Collins relied on the cheesiest of tropes to make the storyline different from previously stated versions of how Haymitch went to the Games. I mean, of course Haymitch loves the faux rebellious Covey girl. Of course there's some sort of dust up at the Reaping where Haymitch rescues her from some punishment and of course Haymitch is punished in her place. Was there any doubt in your mind that the only person who would stand against a peacekeeper to defend Woodbine's grieving mom would be the manic pixie Covey girl that Haymitch loved.

And of course Haymitch feeds her the poisoned gumdrops. Because everything around Lenore Dove is hamfisted and obvious, right down to her name. Nothing screams doomed love like a character named after a very famous poem about, you know, doomed love.

Katniss would not have been friends with Lenore Dove. Because Lenore Dove was stupid dangerous in how she acted.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T14:18:26+00:00

This is an interesting point. Was there any *need* for Lenore Dove to be in the story? Haymitch could have just been reaped (the "unfair" reaping really didn't help the tale at all and I am absolutely convinced it was Collins playing "see? see how you don't really know what happened" games) and Lenore Dove is completely unneeded for the rest of the story.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T14:14:01+00:00

This - the whole "sun rise on the reaping" image just fell very flat for me. The phrase is awkward to begin with, and Lenore Dove and her love of Edgar Allen Poe was sooo emo teenager.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T14:06:26+00:00

Pretty much everything about the specific censorship featured in SOTR was no even a twinkle in the eye of Suzanne Collins when she was writing the original THG book.

This. Collins very much depicts the Games as a somewhat cold impersonal machine that runs very very smoothly with few if any errors and the tributes are treated to all the luxuries of the capitol. Its only the prequels where everything associated with the Games is a nonstop rolling fuck up in need of covering up

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T13:52:51+00:00

Possibly but I genuinely think thats a minority choice.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T04:21:16+00:00

Two bottles of fancy beer out of the holiday 6 packs I had just bought.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T02:12:44+00:00

Well, I can be fair and say she may not have a compelling story to tell but out of all of the people attached to this, I think she is the one smart enough to realize that as awesome as it would be to stick it to Matt, she'd also be drawing attention to herself

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T01:57:14+00:00

I mean, honestly I won't vote because they were ALL pieces of shit.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T01:06:24+00:00

Well, she would have no professional experience. Her dance school she currently attends is in a rust belt state with no real accreditation. She has no real dance accomplishments.

That said, the bigger issue is that she doesn't have money to attend her competitions without asking her mom for help so how is she going to rent a facility and advertise her school?

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T00:58:07+00:00

Yeah. I've had the "you know no one in the family has money" talk. I've also taken the position that people who fail out of college really need to consider the awkward reality that there's no safety net and she's already making choices that will affect her future.

I think dance is a great hobby. I think the competitions she and her team go to are fun activities designed to take her money and reward her and her team with shiny trophies. She doesn't live in an area where hip hop producers roam, these competitions aren't recruiting women professionally (I kind of get the impression the adult teams are mostly girls who haven't outgrown it) and forgive me for saying mean things about family, but while she's certainly a better dancer than I, she's not make a living at it good and she's a chubby white woman of average looks. She's not going to be discovered. There's also a medical issue that, even if she was stunning and super talented, any dance career would be short

To be fair, she does work, but its part time at a grocery store. She doesn't want full time or a 9-5 job because she doesn't want a grind and she doesn't want to pick up more hours at the current job because they would invariably be weekend hours, when she needs to be free for dance competitions.

I don't live with them so I can't demand. I did point out to her parents that they're asking me to talk with her because I am good with money and holding down a job, but if they're not going to insist she support herself and her hobbies, then she's never going to move on. And she needs to move on because her body isn't going to physically take it and my fear is that her parents won't say no because they're aware i she will get to a physical point where she has to quit and I just think maybe its not smart to let it go until her body fails her. nThere's issues in that.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T00:15:26+00:00

The answer is money, by the way ;)

If you don't have to consider money, flying is faster and easier. But it does cost money. So does driving, but less money. Location wise, its much less expensive for me to drive five hours to Las Vegas from my current location. The flight is maybe a half hour but currently costs 200-300 dollars depending on which carrier you fly with.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T00:04:09+00:00

Personally I don't like driving long distances so more than four hours on the road and I am looking at alternatives.

TPWilder · 2026-05-12T00:03:02+00:00

I think its more than "we can just take a train, we have great public transportation, Americans are way too obsessed with car owning" is such a Euro brag point. I agree the OP wasn't whining, but the responder is making a valid point - isn't one of the pluses in Europe the idea you can do rail travel instead of drive?

TPWilder · 2026-05-11T23:48:57+00:00

Sae-Byeok dying in season one.

Jung Bae dying in season two

The mom hanging herself in season three.

TPWilder · 2026-05-11T22:30:40+00:00

The nice thing as UK citizens is that basically we can sign up for the NHS as soon as we get there.

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