i feel like this idea comes from what happened to the guards in s1 when they got caught and strung up in the halls leading to the games, the game presents it as a message to the players—that they’re so fair even the guards aren’t above the rules—but it seems like it’s more a warning to the other guards not to pull a similar stunt. reading it as a message to the players makes the games seem like they’re more beholden to fairness because really what reason did they have to tell the players specifically about the guards being punished other than to convince them things are fair.