Type: Romantic
Books | Show: The Hunger Games Trilogy
Featured Characters: Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta
The Hunger Games trilogy is full of tragedy. In more ways than one, it’s in the title. You know what you’re in for. But where I thought one couple would be the one I’d remember most fondly, another took the cake right as my angst-adoring heart met them. For a myriad of reasons, no couple in the trilogy is as compelling as Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta. While their love is profoundly heartbreaking and short-lived, everything we get with them is devastatingly evocative still.
When we first meet Finnick in Catching Fire, he’s presented as a smug hotshot (deemed as “youngest winner, he’s a peacock, total preener,” according to Haymitch). It’s hard to trust him with Katniss’ point of view, but shortly after, when we also get an introduction to Annie Cresta and Mags, we see Finnick’s vulnerability rise to the surface. Who is Annie to Finnick at this point? Why did Mags, Finnick’s mentor, volunteer for her? We see his immediate softness in how he treats them both, and Annie’s tears tell us plenty, too. She’s terrified. She’s broken. There’s no light left here. The games are lethal, but that’s not it. The tragedy is only just beginning.
Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta’s Love Story Is as Pure as Can Be
We don’t have many scenes to go off, but Finnick’s public message while speaking to Caesar Flickerman gives us enough to understand how dire the stakes are for him. It’s at this moment that his relationship with Annie becomes even more special because Katniss and Peeta aren’t the only lovers threatened by everything the Capitol stands for. Additionally, Sam Claflin’s performance throughout this entire moment shows how nuanced the character is from the persona he puts on.
“My love, you have my heart. For all eternity. And I…if I die in that arena, my last thought will be of your lips.”
Later, we watch him lose Mags in her sacrifice, and we get more proof of Finnick’s devotion to those he cares for. It’s all for them, isn’t it? It’s why the Jabberjays mimic Annie’s voice to fully distract him and force him to lose every bit of sanity he has left in the arena. The way his entire stance and demeanor change after this moment gives us everything we need to understand how far he’s willing to go for her. In the movies, this is also where the characters learn about Annie and her importance to Finnick. All Johanna says in the film is, “Love is weird,” but it’s such an evocative means of showing how far people are willing to go for another person—the depth of compassion we are capable of, never for ourselves in the same capacity, but unyielding for others.
The same can be said about how Annie holds on—how her softness makes Finnick better. How they need each other to remain grounded, and with how little we get, we still see plenty to know that if Finnick survived (I always loathe writing and remembering this), they would’ve made it to the end, gone hand in hand, their kids surrounding them.
As Katniss notes in the books: “Finnick’s real charms of self-effacing humor and an easygoing nature are on display for the first time. He never lets go of Annie’s hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. I doubt he ever plans to. She’s lost some daze of happiness. There are still moments when you can tell something slips in her brain, and another world blinds her to us. But a few words from Finnick call her back.“
In another article about Finnick and Annie, I’d written: “In the films, Sam Claflin and Stef Dawson carry the weight of showing the adoration that introspection from the books fills. With love as strong as the one they have for one another, their loyalty thus comes front and center, showcasing to everyone around them that they’re fighting for each other first and foremost. The sole fact that Finnick stays with Annie and still sees her as the woman he first fell for, even after the games destroy her, tells us more than enough about his steadfast adoration.”
With this in mind, one of the most telling scenes isn’t Finnick’s public declaration but it’s their reunion at the end of Mockingjay Part I. The way that Finnick and Annie jump into each other’s arms and scramble in their means to touch each other shows us how they’re finally okay. For a moment, the world isn’t terrorizing them. It doesn’t matter that Annie had tubes and whatnot stuck to her skin—it doesn’t matter who’s looking or what’s going on around them because they’re together again. They’re alive and well, and for a single second, they don’t have to worry about anyone else. They could just be Annie and Finnick. He could kiss her like his world would end if he didn’t. She can hold onto him like he’s a lifeline.
Additionally, there’s something to be said about how Katniss learns from them. We get moments during the wedding, especially when it’s clear that she understands the importance of love and holding on by realizing how much Finnick and Annie have conquered in their relationship. She sees much of his character in how he loves Annie and his ceaseless commitment to protecting her because of all the perils she’s already crossed during the games. Every character in The Hunger Games is marked by tragedy. No one has it easy, but Finnick and Annie should’ve had the chance at a happy ending. They deserved it. She deserved to be loved by him longer than a few years. He deserved to know that he has someone who sees him as he truly is, beyond the facade and the armor he wears.
It’s this very armor that both Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta consistently have to wear (as others at Panem) because they aren’t rewarded the chance to ever be free from the Capitol. There is no liberation, yet together, they get the barest hints of what that could look like before the revolution. With each other, the armor they wear isn’t for themselves, but it’s for the other person. He’s protecting her. She’s protecting him. Their love is so vital to one another that they’ll pull through anything. They’ll fight through any and all forms of darkness plaguing them because nothing matters beyond the fact that they’ve survived—they’re here, and they can love each other through everything.
Their lives never belonged to them. There’s very little these characters have a choice in, but what they do have is who they choose to love. And through everything, they’ve chosen to love each other. Come hell or high water, no matter the circumstances, Finnick and Annie would always choose each other. There’s a guarantee that even if they knew where they’d both end up from the beginning, they would still choose to adore each other. They would still decide to stay together, fight for one another, and love with every bone in their body so that one day, their son could maybe see a better future—so he could know that he’s a product of the truest form of love possible.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Lionsgate