She is witty and fierce, a seemingly perfect tribute to the Hunger Games. She does prove to be so, as she wins the 10th annual Hunger Games. However, Lucy Gray was never mentioned by name in the films or books as a winner from District 12. In fact, any and all footage of the 10th Games was erased from history.
The question of whether Lucy Gray dies is not definitively answered in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Casca Highbottom does tell Snow during their final encounter that his sources have told him that Lucy has "disappeared," prompting speculation that District 12's mayor killed her after his daughter's death.
No, Lucy Gray has no relation to Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. When the original novel for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes first came out, some fans suspected that Lucy might actually be Katniss' grandmother.
Snow asks her if their romance is real, and she assures him it is. In the book, Lucy Gray tells Snow the only boy her heart has a sweet spot for is him before she kisses him in front of his classmates.
The District 12 tribute used to be in a love affair with fellow Covey Bill Taupe Clade, who left her for Mayfair Lipp and conspired to get her reaped for the Hunger Games. Upon arriving at the Capitol, Lucy Gray develops a relationship with her mentor, Coriolanus Snow.
10th Hunger Games Explained | "How did Lucy Gray Win?" | Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Is Lucy Gray mentioned in the Hunger Games trilogy?
Either way, no one seems to know what became of the 10th Hunger Games victor. She's never mentioned again in any of the franchise's movies. Keep reading to see how the book handles Lucy Gray's disappearance, theories on what happened to the singer, and whether or not we could ever see more of her story.
Fan theories posit that Lucy Gray Baird may be a relative of Katniss Everdeen or President Coin. Director Francis Lawrence told us Baird likely isn't Coin, but could have ties to the character.
True to his name, he's icy and has it out for Katniss after she forces the hand of the gamemaker into letting both her and Peeta win. Songbirds and Snakes reveals why Katniss' unwavering confidence in herself and her abilities is a particular thorn in Snow's side: they remind him of Lucy Gray.
Ultimately, Dr. Gaul considered these games a disaster, presenting the Capitol as far too vulnerable. She erased all recordings of the games, keeping only a master copy in her own personal vault for her own purposes.
Believing Lucy Gray planted the snake to harm him, Snow goes on a rampage, shooting his gun into the woods. For a moment, it seems like he has hit Lucy Gray but then she starts singing “The Hanging Tree,” causing countless Mockingjays to join in chorus.
In the movie, Snow and Baird develop a friendship as mentor and tribute after Lucy Gray saves Snow's life during an attack on Panem. After being sent to District 12 as a Peacekeeper in the aftermath of the 10th Hunger Games, Snow starts to deepen his relationship with Lucy Gray, which develops in a more romantic light.
Lucy has an unrequited crush on musical prodigy Schroeder, in part because Schroeder, a one-note (so to speak) character, cared about nothing but Beethoven and playing the piano.
At an unknown point in time years before the 74th Hunger Games, she was personally fired by Snow, the stated reason being due to her being too surgically enhanced.
However, when the stakes are as high as they are in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it makes sense why this character would ultimately become the series' main villain. Snow follows a path the audience can't morally follow, and when he kills Highbottom with rat poison, it solidifies his turn to evil and path toward ...
Snow can't stand to see a young woman betray a young man's affection—his view of what happened 65 years ago. And so he takes out his old, festering wound on Katniss.
His mentee is Lucy Gray Baird, a girl from a family of traveling musicians from District 12. Snow is desperate to go to university and redeem his family name, so he sets out to do his best as a mentor and make a good impression on the gamemakers.
He married Julia Pompey but their marriage was loveless. It was suggested by many that he poisoned his wife because she tried to kill him and take their sons place.
For one thing, Songbirds & Snakes is set 64 years before Katniss volunteers as tribute. That means there's probably a generation or two between Lucy Gray and Katniss if they are related. Fans also know who Katniss' mother is, so that rules out Lucy Gray being her mom.
In The Hunger Games series, Katniss killing President Coin instead of President Snow surprised many. Still, it was because Coin was revealed to be a ruthless leader with her own political interests.
The most likely ancestor to Katniss is none other than Maude. Out of all the Covey members, they appear to have the most in common with their talent for singing, their ability to pick up songs quickly and their love of mockingjays.
Lucy and Gray are good friends and members of the same team. Gray cares much for Lucy, going as far as to say that he would rather die than hand Lucy over to Phantom Lord (During the Phantom Lord arc).
These Games were very popular with the Capitol residents because of its brutality and well known to the Districts for the knowledge of the strategies used by the tributes to survive long term. The winner was a 16 year old female named Lucy Gray Baird from District 12.
The following year after Lucy Gray Baird's victory, another female tribute emerged as the Hunger Games winner. Mags Flanagan became the first victor from District 4, living off of nuts and her survival skills by creating fishhooks. She was also the first victor to move to Victor's Village before serving as a mentor.
