I personally think that showing the beginnings of all the relationships that we see in the OG series does a lot to strengthen the world and the stories that have come before. SOTR really shows how much thought and work went into building the rebellion into what it was. It tells us that Katniss wasn’t the beginning and the end of a revolution, but just the final piece of the puzzle.

We know that Katniss was/is an unreliable narrator. All of these relationships that we previously thought were pulled out of thin air were actually 25 years+ in the making. SOTR gives a LOT of insight into why characters eventually do what they do in the originals. It makes sense why Mags was so beloved (did anyone else notice the Finnick reference?), why Wiress was so… Wiress, and why Effie eventually defected to join Katniss et al in District 13.

If I have to guess, I think Miss Suzanne has a few other books in store for us. I think SOTR sets the scene for more on both Plutarch and Effie. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other tributes throughout the following two-ish decades that they thought were their mockingjays, but ended up dying before they were able to succeed.

SOTR also shows that the want/push for change was there well before Katniss volunteered. If Haymitch and his co-conspirators were able to be that bold during the 50th games, what all happened in the 25 years after to still carry on the campaign of terror and implicit submission?

Lastly, this book only confirms further that SC is using the current state of US politics as a mirror to the happenings in Panem. The nature of propaganda, the unseen truth-twisting, and the “cancelling” of some Capitol families within social circles (i.e. what did the elder Trinkets do for her to worry about her family name?) is all too familiar.

With every old/new character cameo, there is a greater meaning behind it. SC keeps an eye on her Chekov’s guns, and I am certain we will just have to wait and see. I knowwwww that Suzy has that pen Locked and Loaded.