Who Dies in The Hunger Games? Every Major Death in the Books
In the books, Rue, Thresh, Cato, Cinna, Finnick and Prim die. Katniss, Peeta, Gale and Haymitch survive.
Below you will find each character with the book where it happens and how.
| Character | Dies? | Book |
|---|---|---|
| Peeta Mellark | Survives | All three |
| Gale Hawthorne | Survives | All three |
| Katniss Everdeen | Survives | All three |
| Haymitch Abernathy | Survives | All three |
| Primrose Everdeen | Dies | Mockingjay |
| Cinna | Dies (reported) | Catching Fire, Mockingjay |
| Finnick Odair | Dies | Mockingjay |
| Thresh | Dies | The Hunger Games |
| Rue | Dies | The Hunger Games |
Does Peeta die in The Hunger Games?
SurvivesNo. Peeta lives through all three books. He wins the first Games alongside Katniss after the two of them threaten to eat poisonous nightlock berries, and he survives the Quarter Quell in Catching Fire.
His worst moment comes in Mockingjay. The Capitol captures him and alters his memories, and for a time he tries to kill Katniss. He recovers, and the series ends with the two of them together.
↑ Back to the topDid Gale die in The Hunger Games?
SurvivesNo. Gale survives the war. After Prim's death he takes a job in District 2 and stays away from Katniss, because his bomb designs may have been involved in the attack that killed her sister.
↑ Back to the topDoes Prim die in The Hunger Games?
DiesYes, in Mockingjay, near the end of the war. Prim is working as a medic when a Capitol hovercraft drops parachutes over a crowd of Capitol children gathered around President Snow's mansion. The children reach for what look like aid packages, and the parachutes explode. A second blast kills Prim as she runs to help.
The book never says for certain who is responsible. Snow tells Katniss that the rebel leader, President Coin, ordered it. Katniss also suspects a trap that Gale helped design. Her death is the turning point of the final book.
↑ Back to the topDid Cinna die in The Hunger Games?
DiesYes, though the book reports it instead of showing it. In Catching Fire, Peacekeepers beat Cinna in front of Katniss just before she enters the Quarter Quell arena. It is the last time she sees him.
In Mockingjay, Plutarch Heavensbee tells her his sources believe Cinna was executed during interrogation.
↑ Back to the topDoes Finnick die in The Hunger Games?
DiesYes, in Mockingjay. During the mission into the Capitol's underground tunnels, a pack of mutant lizard creatures attacks the team. Finnick stays behind to hold them off so the others can escape, and he is killed before Katniss can reach him.
↑ Back to the topHow did Thresh die in The Hunger Games?
DiesThresh, the tribute from District 11, is killed by Cato in the first book, off the page. He had spared Katniss earlier because she showed kindness to Rue, his district partner.
↑ Back to the topDoes Katniss die in The Hunger Games?
SurvivesNo. Katniss is the narrator and she lives to the end. The book closes years later with Katniss and Peeta in District 12 and their two children.
↑ Back to the topHow does Rue die in The Hunger Games?
DiesRue is killed in the first book by a spear thrown by Marvel, the tribute from District 1. Katniss shoots Marvel, then stays with Rue as she dies, sings to her and covers her body with flowers. This act of mourning is seen across Panem and helps spark the uprising in District 11.
↑ Back to the topDoes Haymitch die in The Hunger Games?
SurvivesNo. Katniss and Peeta's mentor survives the whole series and is still in District 12 in the final pages.
↑ Back to the topOther deaths in the first book
The 74th Hunger Games has 24 tributes and one pair of winners. Besides Rue and Thresh, these are the deaths readers ask about most:
Glimmer dies from tracker jacker stings after Katniss drops a nest on the Careers. Marvel is shot by Katniss after he kills Rue. Clove is killed by Thresh. Foxface dies after eating nightlock berries that she took from Peeta's supplies. Cato, the last rival, is mauled by mutant wolf-like creatures at the Cornucopia, and Katniss ends his suffering with an arrow.
Who dies at the end of Mockingjay?
The war ends in the Capitol. Prim is killed in the parachute attack. President Snow is brought out to be executed, and Katniss, instead of shooting him, fires her arrow at President Coin and kills her. Snow dies laughing, choking on his own blood.
Read the series in order
The five Hunger Games books are all by Suzanne Collins. The first three follow Katniss. The last two are prequels set in earlier Games.
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Sunrise on the ReapingMore about The Hunger Games
This guide covers the books only. Events in the films differ in places.