In Catching Fire, when it's announced that the Quarter Quell Hunger Games will be made up of former tributes, Peeta promises to volunteer if Haymitch's name is drawn, and he follows through on his promise. As the Capitol's escort for District 12, Effie draws Peeta's name as a tribute for the 74th Hunger Games.
Katniss makes Haymitch promise that if Peeta is the male tribute, she and Haymitch will work together to keep Peeta alive, even at the expense of Katniss's life. It is a torn alliance for Haymitch. When Haymitch is drawn as the male tribute, Peeta automatically volunteers to take his place.
What would have happened if Peeta didn't volunteer for Haymitch?
Peeta would have become the mentor and Haymitch the tribute if Haymitch had been chosen for the 75th Hunger Games instead of Peeta. Haymitch's knowledge of the rebel plan would have made alliances easier for Katniss in the arena.
He does not help Peeta during the Games as only one of them could live, and he knew Katniss stood the best chance, although it is implied that Peeta may have told him to help Katniss and not him.
Haymitch was Katniss and Peeta's mentor during their first Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell. At the start of Mockingjay, Katniss doesn't see Haymitch for a long period of time while he's recovering from alcohol withdrawal in dry District 13.
The Entire Life of Haymitch Abernathy Explained (From the Books)
Did Haymitch love Maysilee?
Haymitch Abernathy
Maysilee most likely didn't know Haymitch before the games, considering they lived in different parts of District 12. But she made an alliance with him and when she was fatally wounded he ran to her and held her hand as she died, indicating they must have cared for each other to some degree.
He is not known to have ever married, or even been romantic with another woman after her. However, in the films he occasionally engaged in light flirtation with Effie Trinket, and the two kissed in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.
Mockingjay. It isn't known where Effie was taken after she was kidnapped by the rebels. After President Snow is found guilty and is about to be executed, Effie is released from prison and goes back to Katniss to get her ready for Snow's trial. Katniss notes that Effie has a vacant look in her eyes.
He chose Katniss because she was the stronger competitor, and to help her win he forced her to take advantage Peeta's romantic feelings for her. At the same time, however, he doesn't simply give up his fight against the Capitol, though a realist looking at the situation objectively might deem it hopeless.
What if Gale was chosen as the male tribute instead of Peeta?
If Gale had been chosen as the District 12 male tribute instead of Peeta, Katniss and Gale would've worked together and initially grown more intimate. The star-crossed lovers narrative that she and Peeta had could've arguably been more genuine for her and Gale.
Haymitch comes to favor Peeta over Katniss, since he proves to be very useful and charismatic. He admits to Katniss that he likes Peeta more than her, and the two agree that he is the better person of the trio.
The future of his relationship with Katniss is unclear at the end of the novel as it appears she will never forgive him for leaving Peeta behind or withholding information from them.
Chia Mags kisses Finnick on the mouth to briefly let him know that this is the last time she will see him. It's her way of saying "Goodbye" but in a more affectionate way.
Katniss briefly mentioned that a previous stroke could have caused Mags's garbled speech. However, post-traumatic stress disorder could have also caused her speech incapacity. Both Annie and Katniss suffered from PTSD, as many other Hunger Games victors did.
Haymitch Abernathy, the mentor for Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games, won his own Hunger Games through smart tactics and outsmarting his opponents. Winning the Hunger Games came at a great cost for Haymitch, as President Snow ordered the death of his family and girlfriend as punishment for his rebellion.
As an eager mouthpiece for The Capitol, his fate remains unknown following the successful revolution at the conclusion of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2. Presumably, he's executed alongside the other former elites, but a definitive answer remains unknown.
While there's some chemistry between the two throughout the series, nothing ever comes of the tension in Suzanne Collins's novels. Beyond the kiss, nothing happened between the two in the movies either.
Whilst she and Haymitch shared some flirtatious interactions earlier in the books, there's no actual hint of romance between the pair in Mockingjay's book. Haymitch and Effie are not romantically involved.
Chaff, of course, comes right out and kisses Katniss, though his reason is more to have fun with Katniss's image than to turn it to his advantage. Finnick's and Johanna's tactics, however, are clearly deliberate attempts to manipulate Katniss, and Katniss immediately distrusts both as a result.
Woody Harrelson played Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta's alcoholic mentor. His age wasn't stated in the first movie, but in the books, he was in his 40s. Despite Haymitch's nonchalant, brash attitude, his advice to Katniss was ultimately helpful to her during the competition.
Peeta used the dyes to paint a picture of Rue after Katniss covered her with flowers when she died. He says he wants to hold them accountable for killing Rue, and Effie tells him that that kind of thinking is forbidden. Katniss then tells the team she hung a dummy of Seneca Crane.
He never married and doesn't have any children, and Katniss wonders how hard it must be for Haymitch to watch District 12's tributes die year after year. She grows fond of Haymitch throughout the novel, and he grows fond of her as well, doing his best to train her, coach her, and watch over her when she returns.
But the way she talks about how Johanna acts around Finnick, I think it is possible that she has romantic feelings for him. They definitely love each other, as in Mockingjay its stated that they consider each other family, but it's hard to tell if it's romantic.
Albeit in a very limited way, he also acts as somewhat of a father figure to Katniss, who lost her father years earlier. While Haymitch is often indelicate and manipulative, frequently using Peeta and his feelings for Katniss to get the results he wants, he is undeniably effective.
