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After Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers as tribute in The Hunger Games, she meets several other teenagers who have been thrown into a terrifying and dangerous world. While she is determined to trust no one and make it out of the Games alive, Katniss can't help but bond with Rue (Amandla Sternberg).
As the 74th Hunger Games continues, there are many awful moments and brutal surprises, including the death of Rue. The passing of this popular character is one of the most tragic deaths in the franchise based on the YA book series by Suzanne Collins. When Katniss loses Rue, everything changes.
Who Is Rue In The Hunger Games?
Rue is the District 11 tribute whom Katniss bonds with in The Hunger Games. While District 13 is a key part of The Hunger Games and there is a lot to know about it, each district is important and has its own industry and history. Rue and Katniss have a lot in common. They are both confident, stronger than other people realize, and don't believe that the Games should exist. They decide to team up together and come up with some clever plans, like getting rid of the food that the Career Tributes have. While other characters matter a lot to Katniss, including her good friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth), there is something special about Rue.
District 11 Tributes In The 74th Hunger Games:
- Rue (female)
- Thresh (male)
Since Rue is small and fast, she can climb into the trees and hide, and her speed and size are her main strategies in The Hunger Games. Katniss respects and admires Rue from the moment that they meet. However, Katniss also knows that it's unfair and terrible that Rue has to compete when she's so young, and Katniss is heartbroken at the thought of anything happening to Rue.
How Does Rue Die In The Hunger Games?
No fan of The Hunger Games can forget Rue's death. After Rue and Katniss work together for a while, Rue falls into a trap that Marvel (Jack Quaid), the District 1 male tribute, sets. While Katniss gets Rue out of the tree, Marvel shows up. Katniss isn't able to save Rue and Marvel stabs and kills Rue. When Rue dies in The Hunger Games, Katniss is holding her, which is a heartbreaking moment.
Katniss behaves differently than the power-hungry government the Capitol would expect. Instead of moving on and continuing to play The Games, Katniss puts white flowers on Rue's dead body. This signals to the Capitol that Katniss is a problem and that they have to keep an eye on her.
Rue then says to Katniss:
"Did you blow up the food? Good... You have to win... Can you sing?"
Katniss sings for a while, which is a haunting and moving scene. Katniss then makes the salute with her fingers that District 12 uses at funerals. District 11 gives Katniss a loaf of bread to prove that they support her and appreciate everything that she has done. When Amandla Sternberg, who gave an amazing performance as Rue, spoke to Time Out about this scene, she shared a cool memory from set. Sternberg said:
"On that day [of filming], I actually had the honor of meeting Suzanne Collins, the author. That was incredible. We talked about the scene and how Rue is trying to be brave for Katniss.… It’s really so important to everyone who worked on the movie that it stays true to the books, so that the fans are really happy with it."
How Does Rue's The Hunger Games Death Change Katniss?
Just like the First and Second Rebellions, Rue's death is one of the most memorable and crucial aspects of the franchise. Rue's death changes Katniss by making Katniss determined to fight the Capitol. Katniss wants to honor Rue and prove that her life means something. While Katniss is aware that the Games are dangerous and violent, this is the scene when she realizes that no one is safe and the Capitol doesn't care if innocent teenagers die.
Rue's The Hunger Games death is a sad moment that also leads to trouble. After rioting breaks out in District 11, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is upset with Katniss for creating a rebellious and angry atmosphere. The point of The Hunger Games is to make the people living in Panem afraid of the Capitol and believe that they have no control. Katniss's behavior makes Snow realize that she could cause problems for him and everyone else living in the Capitol. By the end of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, Katniss is a broken person who can never forget the evil that she has seen.
The Hunger Games Director | Gary Ross |
|---|---|
Writers | Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray |
Cast | Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz |
Release Date | March 23rd, 2012 (United States) |
Runtime | 142 minutes |
Rotten Tomatoes Rating | 84% |
Metacritic Score | 68 |
Where To Watch | StarzTV, DirecTV |
Prim's death in Mockingjay affects Katniss as much as Rue's and proves that while she tried to save and protect them both, she wasn't able to thanks to the cruelty of the Capitol. Since Katniss wanted to help Rue because she seemed a lot like her sister, these two deaths spur Katniss into action. While she knows that she can't turn back time, she can at least get revenge.
Rue's death also saves Katniss's life in one scene and inspires her to win the Games. When Tresh (Dayo Okeniyi), the male District 11 tribute, has the opportunity to kill Katniss, he decides not to because he is thinking about Rue's death. Katniss learns a brutal lesson about the unfairness of death and also knows that she is the one who has to lead this new rebellion.
The Hunger Games
In a Dystopian future, food has become the world's most valuable resource, and children must fight to the death in a televised event in order to win resources for their home districts. When Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her sister's place, she sets in motion an uprising to change the world. Based on the hit YA novels by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games quickly became a phenomenon with four star-studded movies based on the original series and a prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, released in 2023. The series has featured performances by Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Peter Dinklage, and Rachel Zegler.
