The list contains discussions of disturbing and violent deaths.

Summary

• The Hunger Games series explores themes of tyrannical governments and the sacrifices people make to maintain power.
• Many characters, particularly young ones, die as a result of the Hunger Games and the rebellion against the Capitol.
• The deaths in the series highlight both the worst and best actions of humanity.

The Hunger Games Saga is thematically concerned with the foundation of tyrannical governments and what humanity, at its worst, will sacrifice to stay in power. The series includes numerous tragic deaths of characters whom the government has killed to instill fear, or who are fighting to overthrow that government. Many of the characters who die are very young because the Hunger Games itself is a fight to the death among children between the ages of 12 and 18.

The three main characters – Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) – all survive the events of the series, but many other characters in the Hunger Games franchise lose their lives in the rebellion against the Capitol. Death is weapon and a spectacle in this world, where the Hunger Games are used to keep the districts in line. These deaths highlight the series' themes of humanity's worst but also its best actions.

12 District 6 Victor Sacrifices Herself To Save Peeta

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The unnamed victors known as Katniss and Peeta from the arena. During the Games, the female tribute (Megan Hayes) throws herself between Peeta and one of the bloodthirsty monkey mutts. Peeta comforts her in her final moments, before her heartbreaking death.

11 Dill Dies After Drinking Poisoned Water

The Hunger Games: The Ballad & Songbirds And Snakes

Dill (Luna Steeples) is the District 11 girl tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. Dill has a hacking cough, which is most likely a symptom of tuberculosis. She demonstrates the Capitol's cruelty because anyone can be forced into the Hunger Games, regardless of their physical condition. Many of the tributes throughout the years are malnourished or disabled due to the dangerous living and working conditions in the districts.

Dill dies when she accidentally drinks from a bottle of water that Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler) poisoned, intending to kill Coral (Mackenzie Lansing). The spectators do not realize that she was poisoned and believe she died from her illness. In an act of defiance, Dill's district partner Reaper (Dimitri Abold) places her body and those of the other dead tributes at the center of the arena. He tears down one of the Capitol flags from the arena wall to cover the bodies and condemns the Capitol for their deaths.

10 Clove Dies When Thresh Smashes Her Skull

The Hunger Games

Even the tributes who are framed as antagonists are still victims. Clove’s (Isabelle Fuhrman) Career training has made her a skilled and cruel killer, and she is one of the biggest threats to Katniss in the arena. She is going to kill Katniss when Thresh (Oladayo A. Okeniyi) arrives and smashes Clove against the Cornucopia.

In her final moments, Clove is terrified and calls out to Cato (Alexander Ludwig) to save her. Clove’s sudden and graphic death reminds the audience that even the “villains” and side characters in the arena – including Cato and Clove, as well as Thresh and Foxface (Jacqueline Emerson) – are children fighting to survive. These four tributes in particular were all contenders who almost survived the Games.

9 Wiress' Throat Is Slit By Gloss

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Wiress (Amanda Plummer) is the kind District 3 female victor in the Quarter Quell. When Katniss and Wiress meet again in the arena, Wiress has brilliantly figured out the arena’s clock structure, but she is also in shock and is having a hard time communicating this. Because Wiress is so shaken, the others are inclined to let her rest and do whatever keeps her calm. She is a generally sweet woman, and her swift death is brutal. Wiress is singing “Hickory Dickory Dock” to herself when Gloss (Alan Ritchson) sneaks up on her and slits her throat, killing her instantly.

8 Sejanus Is Hanged After Snow Betrays Him

The Hunger Games: The Ballad & Songbirds And Snakes

Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera) is a former resident of District 2. His father used his fortune to bring the family to the Capitol during the war with the districts. However, Sejanus vocally opposes the Hunger Games and the oppression of the districts. He considers Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) his best friend, but Snow sends in a recording of Sejanus discussing his plans to flee District 12. Sejanus is executed for rebelling against the Capitol. Sejanus always tried to do the right thing but this ultimately led to his death.

7 Boggs Dies From Blood Loss After An Explosion

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Boggs (Mahershala Ali) is one of the few people Katniss meets in District 13 who she actually likes. He is kind and comforting and helps Katniss understand her role in Panem’s political conflict, explaining why President Coin (Julianne Moore) is threatened by Katniss. As he dies, Boggs also warns Katniss not to trust “them," most likely referring to Coin and her ers. Boggs is killed by a landmine as the Star Squad infiltrates the Capitol. When he dies, Katniss loses someone who invariably had her back.

6 Castor Is Killed By Lizard Mutts

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Castor (Wes Chatham) and his brother Pollux (Elden Henson) are Cressida’s (Natalie Dormer) crewmen who film propaganda of Katniss. The brothers fled the Capitol after Pollux was made into an Avox. As the Squad makes its way through the Capitol, they are attacked by lizard mutts (“mutts” generally referring to any creature genetically engineered by the Capitol), and Castor and Finnick (Sam Claflin) are both killed. Pollux is devastated by his brother’s death. Pollux and Cressida are the only surviving of the Squad besides Katniss, Peeta, and Gale.

5 Wovey Is Consumed By Gaul's Snake Mutts

The Hunger Games: The Ballad & Songbirds And Snakes

Wovey (Sofia Sanchez) is the girl tribute from District 8 and most likely the youngest tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. She survives by hiding for most of the Games but reappears just as Dr. Volumnia Gaul's (Viola Davis) snake tank is dropped into the arena. Reaper tries to warn Wovey to stay away, but the tank bursts open and Wovey is instantly buried in the avalanche of snakes. Wovey and Lucy Gray have a heartbreaking moment together before the Games start: They are walking into the arena together and Lucy Gray offers Wovey her hand in comfort.

4 Mags Dies After Walking Into Poisonous Fog

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Mags (Lynn Cohen) is eighty years old when she volunteers to take Finnick’s partner Annie's (Stef Dawson) place in the Quarter Quell. Mags is a very important figure in Finnick’s life, who served as his mentor and “practically raised him,” according to Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson). Both victors from District 4 were part of the plan to save Katniss and Peeta. Mags sacrifices herself by walking into poisonous fog in the arena so Finnick can help Katniss and Peeta escape. Mags is a kind of woman who should have gotten to enjoy the last years of her life in peace.

3 Finnick Is Killed By Katniss To Spare Him A More Painful Death

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Finnick Odair is also killed during the last mission into the Capitol. The Squad is fleeing the lizard mutts through the sewers and Finnick allows Katniss to climb up the ladder to escape first. One of the mutts drags Finnick back down into the water and Katniss detonates Boggs’ Holo so forced into prostitution by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) when his life was cut short.