When we first meet Haymitch Abernathy in “The Hunger Games” (both the series of hit young adult novels by Suzanne Collins and the ensuing “Hunger Games” movie franchise, where he’s portrayed as a middle-aged man by Woody Harrelson), he’s not particularly likable. Wielding a glass of liquor and a bad attitude, the former winner of the sinister Hunger Games, who hails from District 12, more or less tells the two tributes he’s meant to mentor — Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, portrayed in the movies by Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson — that they’re probably not going to make it through the Games, in which 24 kids from the 12 districts of the dystopian Panem are forced to compete to the death. When he tells Peeta and Katniss his only advice is to “stay alive,” they physically attack him, at which point Haymitch sobers up (a little bit) and actually helps the pair, becoming a mentor to the best of his ability.
Haymitch is clearly a very troubled man, and it has a lot to do with the fact that, years before Katniss and Peeta were forced to enter into the arena for the 74th annual Hunger Games, Haymitch competed in the 50th Games, also referred to as the “second Quarter Quell.” See, every 25 years, the evil, powerful Capitol devises a particularly cruel twist for these “special” games, and for the 25th Games, district citizens had to vote for the children they’d send to their likely death. For the 50th Games, the Capitol doubled the number of tributes, meaning that 48 children entered the arena and only one left … and that one was Haymitch. So, how did he win?
Haymitch used the arena’s force field to win the Hunger Games
It might surprise you to learn that, when Haymitch Abernathy entered the arena for the second Quarter Quell, he did enter with a friend of sorts … Maysilee Donner, a friend of Katniss’ mother (and the original owner of the mockingjay pin ultimately gifted to Katniss before her first time in the Games). Maysilee and Haymitch aren’t actually allies right from the start of the games. However, once the tributes enter and most of them are distracted by the unnervingly beautiful arena, Haymitch is able to grab some supplies from the central Cornucopia, at which point he and Maysilee meet again. The beauty of the arena is, obviously, an evil trick; it’s filled with poisonous butterflies and cute killer animals like squirrels, which take down a ton of tributes while Haymitch hides.
Haymitch then finds himself under attack from other tributes when Maysilee appears and takes them down to protect him, ultimately convincing him that their best chance of survival is an alliance. Together, they harvest food and water and keep moving towards the edge of the arena to stay away from the other tributes. When they find a bare cliff at the very edge, Maysilee refuses to kill Haymitch herself and turns back. As she tries to leave, some of the arena’s animals grievously injure her, and Haymitch holds Maysilee’s hand while she dies.
What Haymitch discovered at the edge of the arena, though, was a force field where, if you throw an item at it, it returns to you. Haymitch accidentally uses this to his advantage when the final surviving tribute tracks him down to the cliff. That tribute, hailing from District 1, seriously injures Haymitch and then throws an axe at his head, but Haymitch faints as the axe heads towards him. It rebounds against the other tribute, killing her, and Haymitch is declared the winner.
What happens to Haymitch during Katniss and Peeta’s Hunger Games?
Haymitch is, to put it lightly, pretty scarred by his participation in the Hunger Games — particularly because his use of the force field infuriated Panem’s evil President Snow (portrayed by Donald Sutherland as an old man), who had Haymitch’s entire family killed as retribution for his perceived crimes. Not only that, but in the years after his victory, Haymitch also coaches young tributes from District 12 only to watch them die in the Games. It’s not surprising in the slightest that, when faced with Katniss and Peeta, he’s jaded and drunk … but once he realizes that the pair might actually have what it takes to survive, he starts coaching them in earnest.
The books are from Katniss’ point-of-view, so we don’t see Haymitch’s private sessions with Peeta … but it’s sort of indisputable that Haymitch forms a closer bond with the stubborn, irascible Katniss than he does with the pure-hearted and kind Peeta. During the first Hunger Games, after Peeta pulls a stunt during the pre-interviews and “reveals” that he’s in love with Katniss (a ploy to draw sympathy from wealthy sponsors that has some basis in truth), Haymitch communicates with Katniss through gifts from said sponsors, encouraging her to play up the relationship to get more goods.
Katniss and Peeta end up winning the games together thanks to a last-minute stunt, which angers the Capitol; Haymitch is the first person to tell Katniss this as they leave the arena. In the second installment of the original trilogy, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” the third Quarter Quell takes place and returns former victors to the arena, and since only three victors remain from District 12, Peeta volunteers in Haymitch’s stead and goes back in with Katniss. Once again, it all comes down to a trick with a force field when Katniss uses an arrow to destroy the arena — and when she reawakens in District 13 with Haymitch by her side, he tells her Peeta was captured by the Capitol. Throughout the third and final installment, “Mockingjay” (which is split into two films), Haymitch and Katniss work with the resistance to bring down the Capitol. When they both survive the war, they resettle in District 12 despite, of course, being even more traumatized than they were before.
Sunrise on the Reaping will tell the rest of Haymitch’s story
We know a decent amount about Haymitch’s victory in the Hunger Games and life from the original books and films. However, in June 2024, it was announced that Suzanne Collins will center her next “Hunger Games” prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping,” around Haymitch and the second Quarter Quell. (Collins’ first prequel book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” serves as President Coriolanus Snow’s villain origin story and was adapted into a 2023 movie starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.) The book releases on March 18, 2025, and a film adaptation is already in the works; director Francis Lawrence, who has no relation to Jennifer Lawrence and has so far helmed all of the “Hunger Games” movies except for the first one, recently told Collider that this new film will likely start shooting this spring.
Prequels feel like a total money grab sometimes, but the fact is that the universe Collins created sort of lends itself to such a thing. Since the world’s introduction to Panem and the Hunger Games began with the 74th iteration of said Games, there’s so much backstory to mine here, and after the success (and, frankly, the quality) of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” there’s no question that “Hunger Games” fans are clamoring for more. Haymitch’s whole story is coming soon, and thanks to Collins and Lawrence, we’ll get more of an insight into this utterly fascinating and singular character.