A buddy encouraged my delusions so I come to talk about the TBOSAS movie. Specifically about a scene that made me want to crawl up the walls the first time I saw it: Reaper's death
And do you know why I wanted to crawl on the walls? Because at the moment I saw that scene, I was sure that I had read something in the book that was not the same, but at least quite similar. After rereading the story, it hit me: Reaper Ash's death in the movie has something in common with Sejanus Plinth's death in Snow's nightmare
If you haven't read the book, I introduced to you some vital information. First you must know Reaper's death in the movie does not occur in the same way as in the book (in short he was one of Lucy Gray's victims poisoning the water and not Drill) and second Coriolanus Snow has a nightmare after sending the tape with Sejanus's confession in the book
(Credits to @sejanusarchive for the capture)
While it is possible that the death of Reaper that we see in the movie is reminiscent of the deaths of other tributes who lost their lives during this incident in the book, I find a few details between this scene and the one about Dream Sejanus dying that make them quite similar
The position and acts that provoke the arrival of snakes are some of them. First Sejanus is kneeling in front of Marcus's corpse, scattering breadcrumbs. It is a recreation of the first great act of defiance that Sejanus commits against the Capitol: honoring a dead boy, trying to remind the audience that who has died was a human being
The chair incident and the long debates that Sejanus held before were provocative acts but could still be excused and explained under something beyond pure and simple rebellion, however his entrance into the arena cannot be classified as anything other than a direct challenge to the Capitol. It is also a self-destructive act, something of which Sejanus is aware
The aid to the rebels and the plan to flee north that Coriolanus ratted out to Dr. Gaul (the punisher, judge of acts that attempt to destroy the foundations of her worldview) is another act of defiance that Sejanus commits and Coriolanus's guilty conscience inevitably leads him to dream of that first great offense that Sejanus committed and this tome the snakes attack him for his actions
In the film this occurs most directly with Reaper, who defied the Capitol by honoring the dead. After Drill breathes her last breath, Reaper clearly goes into an altered emotional state, having lost his district mate, a frail and sickly girl he has tried to care for. He has failed and he could have done many things but he decides that he will give a strong message to the audience that knows is watching them
He plans as Sejanus to restore humanity and dignity to these corpses. He forms them one by one, so that it is clearly seen that they are children who have died and covers them with the flag, to provoke reactions from the indifferent public who have allowed this to happen in the first place
Reaper knows this act will bring about his own destruction. He knows he will be punished for what he did but he does not shy away from his fate, he even demands it and his defiance provokes fury in Gaul who drops a rainbow of death on him and I want to note that Reaper was also kneeling in front of dead bodies, when the snakes attack at him
And something I really find fascinating is what witnessing these deaths does to their witnesses. For as much fury as the spectators felt at the falling flag, they were forced to acknowledge, if only for a brief moment, that they (as Capitol citizens who never protested against the games) had condemned children to death
In the same way that dream forced Snow to recognize that despite his fury at Sejanus lies and secrets. That despite him ignoring his warning, the truth is that when Coriolanus send that jabberjay with the confession. He condemned a child to death
Also something something Sejanus screaming in the end. How he die by his own month from Coriolanus perspective by defend the districts. Something something Reaper dying in SILENCE. How he die by his own actions that speak for him and show his defense of the districts
