The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Chapter 18 Summary & Analysis

Coriolanus can no longer ignore that his family is going to lose its home—and its identity. They have six weeks to come up with the money, and it’s going to be impossible. They must also avoid eviction, so they’ll have to move. But Tigris tells Coriolanus he has to finish the Hunger Games first and win a prize. Coriolanus sleeps poorly, and in the morning, he takes the trolley to school. He realizes that the Plinths might loan him money—or pay him to stay silent about Sejanus.

At the Academy, nobody wants to talk about the Games except for Hilarius. Hilarius wonders if his tribute, Wovey, is dead in a tunnel somewhere, since she hasn’t shown herself. Lucky starts the morning by having Lepidus interview Coriolanus about Jessup’s rabies scare. Coriolanus praises Lysistrata’s quick thinking and notes that Lucy Gray is loyal and brave—like a Capitol girl, not a district. His communicuff pings with new sponsor gifts. Pup interrupts the interview by sending Lamina, who’s still on her beam, breakfast. Coriolanus considers blackmailing the Plinths.

Then, Reaper emerges from the barricade to speak to Lamina. Coriolanus notices that Lamina is badly sunburnt. The tributes barter and then seem to come to an agreement. Reaper climbs the flagpole and hacks through Panem’s flag until it falls. The audience is aghast; this demands punishment. Clemensia tells Lepidus that this is “stupid,” and she’ll feed Reaper when he earns it. The students in the hall watch as Lamina drops food down to Reaper and Reaper tosses the flag up—it will protect Lamina from the sun. Reaper runs away as Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner appear in the stands and ask for food.

The cameras cut to Lucky in the studio, who’s trying to get his pet parrot to speak. The parrot won’t speak, but Dean Highbottom notes that the bombing created an entirely new arena—and the addition of the drones means the audience is basically in the arena with the tributes. The rest of the morning is boring, but after lunch, Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner approach Lamina. Coral and Mizzen each climb a post. Pup grows increasingly agitated as Coral and Mizzen reach the top. Tanner throws tridents to his allies—and though Lamina seems to break Mizzen’s knee, Coral kills Lamina. Coral helps Mizzen down—and then stabs Tanner in the back. Domitia, Tanner’s mentor, tells Lepidus that she’s learned to be careful who you trust.

The remaining eight mentors rearrange their chairs and spend the afternoon watching Lucky try to get his parrot to talk. Coriolanus talks to Lepidus whenever he can, which results in more food gifts for Lucy Gray. Finally, Reaper emerges from the tunnels. He arranges the dead tributes (except for Jessup) in a line and then drapes a piece of the flag over the bodies. He puts on the rest of Lamina’s flag piece like a cape. Clemensia still refuses to feed Reaper.

When Satyria releases the mentors for the night, Coriolanus heads to the Citadel to get his stitches checked. When Dr. Gaul appears, she reveals that Gaius Breen died of complications from the bombing; Coriolanus should keep this a secret and prepare something to say to Lepidus. Dr. Gaul says there will be repercussions and then Coriolanus leaves, thinking about the paper he owes Dr. Gaul. At the elevator, though, he encounters lab assistants with the tank of neon snakes. Coriolanus has a bad feeling about this. Will the snakes end up in the arena? Coriolanus realizes he has a handkerchief Lucy Gray used in his bag. He casually drops it in the snake tank.