“May the odds be ever in your favor,” whether you are sitting on a train on your way to the 74th Annual Hunger Games, or perhaps dragging yourself through the last few days before the much anticipated holiday break.  This phrase, like most in the hit series The Hunger Games, is relatable for many. It is a series we will offer to our children and watch with intrigue as they delve into it, as we did when we were at that same age. This series has one of those plots that is unheard of, yet so gripping that it pulls in all different genders and ages. Whether the catch is the complex love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale or the terror of a society seeing this horror as entertainment, you will not be disappointed. It is one of those trigger points that will follow our generation and generations to come.

This series’ plot has been a crazy twist that has brought people in to wait at the doors for midnight premieres. High schoolers, college students, and parents have been filling the movie theaters with tired eyes and beating hearts, ready to dedicate more of their life to this series. One of our own Hunger Games fanatics, senior Laura McCormack, said she attended ,“only 3. I was away for the last one; it was devastating.” This is a night that true fans cherish. Both Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 broke records for ticket sales. So why end this money maker? Should there be an addition? McCormack says, “I think not. The finale was the finale and sometimes you just have to accept that something has come to an end and let it be.” It may be hard to let go, but the end is something that needs to be accepted; there will be a new series trending soon enough.

Many parents have felt as though this is an inappropriate plot: the innocent murder, the violence, the viewing as entertainment. Fans have different opinions. Is this okay to display because it is fiction? McCormack explains her opinions on this point, “Appropriate is a relative term so I think that we should all take a step back and take a look at the plot for what it is. A dystopian society controlled by an elitist upper class that resorts to savagery in order to get what they want and maintain the control they gained through mass genocide….To say that this story is not appropriate is to say that the history of society is not appropriate.” This interesting viewpoint may be supported or argued.  Mrs. Leo, a teacher here at Ipswich High School ,agrees, “People need to know what they are seeing. If they have an issue with it then they shouldn’t see it. It isn’t wrong for this to be viewed because it is known fiction.” However viewers feel, nobody can take away this great success. This has been an outstanding victory for everyone involved in this series that can never be taken away.

The Hunger Games series was almost complete on the 16th of November with the opening premiere of Mocking Jay Part 2.  As always the critics have been pleased, a review of 72% liking the newest edition to this series. There is always a lot at stake when you are finishing off such a successful story. The finale has to leave the viewers pleased and feeling satisfied but not complete, always leaving the viewers questioning something. So how was this finale? According to Laura McCormack, “Was I happy that Prim and Finnick died and Peeta was left with permanent emotional handicaps, no….I suppose you could say that I have a love/hate relationship with the ending. It was too complex to just feel one certain way.” It is safe to say many viewers were feeling this same confusion. What made them kill off Prim Rose, the sweetest, innocent character? Why ruin the love triangle, by leaving Peeta never the same? These are questions that will forever be left unanswered.