Lucy Gray Baird's Fate in 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' Remains a Mystery (SPOILERS)

The Gist:

• Lucy Gray Baird is the protagonist in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
• She was the District 12 female tribute in the 10th Hunger Games, and her mentor was Coriolanus Snow.
• The fate of Lucy Gray is intentionally left ambiguous in the story.

Spoiler alert: This article contains major spoilers for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.

Who would've thought a Hunger Games prequel delving into the life of the villainous President Snow would be an absolute page-turner? Certainly not us — but dive into the captivating world of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, set 64 years before the first novel, and prepare for an unexpected adventure!

Jump headfirst into the story as it unravels the wild ride that propels Coriolanus Snow toward becoming the tyrannical leader of Panem. Brace yourself for the twists, turns, and a rollercoaster of events, including his relationship with Lucy Gray Baird, District 12's tribute in the 10th Hunger Games.

When Lucy Gray and Coriolanus reunited in District 12, things took a turn for the worse. Turmoil swept through the rebels of District 12 after a public hanging, setting off a chain reaction that culminated in the murder of the mayor's daughter, Mayfair, and Lucy Gray's ex, Billy Taupe, at the hands of the gradually corrupting Coriolanus Snow.

Lucy Gray found herself in the spotlight as the main suspect, and she told Coriolanus she was running away. Without missing a beat, he threw caution to the wind and joined her on this unexpected escapade.

While they were fleeing District 12, Coriolanus slipped up and made a comment about having killed three people. Lucy Gray's quick wit caught the slip, and suddenly, the cat was out of the bag — her lover had been feeding her a fib about his innocence in Sejanus's death.

When they went to the shack at the lake to wait out the rain, Coriolanus discovered the gun he used to kill Mayfair. A devious plan hatched in his mind: get rid of the evidence, and slip back into his old life. Yet, lurking in the background, he couldn't shake the feeling that Lucy Gray had already figured out his little secret.

Lucy Gray eventually went into the woods to pick some Katniss; when she didn't return, Coriolanus grew paranoid. He believed the songbird would betray him, so he hunted and shot at her in the woods. What happened to Lucy Gray was left ambiguous, but we heard her cry before the mockingjays started singing "The Hanging Tree."

When Coriolanus followed Lucy Gray into the woods, he found the shawl he gifted her. As he reached down to pick it up, out popped a sneaky snake, sinking its fangs into his arm. Suddenly, in a wild whirlwind of paranoia, Coriolanus was convinced Lucy Gray had just tried to kill him with the creature.

Lucy Gray previously told Coriolanus it would be nice "not to kill anyone else" in her new life, but she might have tried to turn her mentor into the latest casualty in a game of survival hide-and-seek. Unfortunately, he survived the bite and became a ruthless dictator. Nevertheless, he never escaped Lucy Gray, as she haunted him for the rest of his life.