u/lautaromassimino

Like, I'm about to start watching episode 8x06 (I fell a little behind after 8x04 because of university studies), and in the "Previously On" section, they show scenes from episode 4 where he goes with Rachel to see if Emily and the Turtle Clan are still alive, and it's like, gosh... like, I get his concern for Swiftest of Lizards, but can't they give him a storyline more connected to the main plot? At least last season he had some drama with Rachel and William, now not even that...

THE HUNGER GAMES.

• So, the basics of her story are the same: the Mayor's daughter, upper-class. Original owner of the Mockingjay pin. We wouldn't see her immediately like in the book, but we would hear about her through Katniss and Gale, in the woods. Katniss would find a strawberry bush and say she starts picking strawberries to take to the Mayor. Later, in the same Hob scene where (who seems to be Greasy Sae) originally gives the pin to Katniss in the film, this time we would see Madge, who is there, let's say, buying medicine or herbs or whatever. Katniss sees her and approaches to give her the strawberries, so that would tell us that she must be the mayor's daughter. Madge may be already wearing the Mockingjay pin in this scene.
• Later, we would see her again near the Reaping scene. I guess we would miss Gale's rude comment, because Katniss arrives at the square with her family. They divide the children by age, so Katniss is next to Madge or near her. She is now dressed in the white dress described in the book, and the Mockingjay pin is seen again on her lapel. For a microsecond, the camera focuses on her face after Gale emerges from the crowd to take Prim with him, after Katniss volunteers.
• Next scene: Justice Building. Madge is the last to enter to see Katniss after her family and Gale. This scene is the same as in the book. Madge gives Katniss the Mockingjay pin only here. She makes her promise to use it, and says goodbye to her. Katniss is visibly surprised by her farewell. [I don't remember the exact details of this scene in the book (I haven't reread it in several years), so I couldn't say for sure whether Madge originally mentions to Katniss that the pin belonged to her aunt, who was a tribute in other Games, or not. In any case, while it might be a nice touch, I think the film's pacing wouldn't allow for it; this farewell scene in the movie is supposed to be very rushed].
• Madge's last scene in the film would be at the very end, after Katniss wins the Games, where we see her among the crowd at the train station, waving at her. Perhaps at some point beforehand, we might have had a glimpse of her watching the Games from home, though this isn't likely because the film would surely focus more on the reactions of Asterid, Prim, and Gale.

CATCHING FIRE.

This movie is very complicated because we already have a lot of ground to cover before the new Games themselves: where Katniss and Peeta and the rest of the characters are now, the Victory Tour, the final party at Snow's Mansion, the announcement of the 75th Hunger Games twist, and the new Reaping. It's likely we wouldn't have had as much depth in how the dynamic between Katniss and Madge has evolved over these months as we did in the book.

HOWEVER, there are two key moments where I think she would have appeared had she been introduced in the first film.

1. The first is during Gale's whipping in the square, or rather, in the aftermath of Gale's whipping in the square. Just like in the book, we would see Madge again bringing medicine to Katniss, who tells her she's asked her mother for it. Here, Madge could either join in Gale's healing scene, or (to avoid taking the spotlight away from Prim) we could give Madge the role that Leevy, Katniss's neighbor from the Seam in the books, originally had: Katniss asks Madge to go make sure Gale's mother is okay. Maybe, or maybe not, she also asks her to look after his little siblings (those who are mentioned in the first film as existing in the films as well).
2. The second scene would be after the twist of these new Games is announced. Madge could appear after Katniss returns home, worried about her or something.

• What I want to do here (which you'll notice especially after Madge's appearance in Mockingjay) is to make the character a mix of who she originally was in the books, also merging her with the characters of Leevy and Delly Cartwright (I'll explain that later).
• I think this is enough Madge for this movie, since I can't find a way to include a scene of her teaching Katniss how to play the piano here. If we follow the idea of ​​giving her the role of Delly Cartwright, perhaps we could see her closer to Peeta, being a sort of counterpart to what Gale is to Katniss.
• Thinking about adding the scene of Katniss and Peeta watching the video of the living tributes Games in the Capitol and mentioning Maysilee Donner would probably be too much to ask. But perhaps a mention that Haymitch's partner during his Games was Madge's aunt wouldn't hurt. In fact, Madge could mention it herself to Katniss in that scene where I mentioned that she was looking for Katniss after the official announcement of the Quarter Quell, thus implying that Madge recognized Haymitch for that, and explaining that the Mockingjay pin originally belonged to Maysilee.

MOCKINGJAY P1.

Now, considering that Effie didn't appear in the Mockingjay book either, but the film found a way to include her in the role originally occupied by Fulvia Cardew in the book, I can think of two (actually three) possibilities for how Mockingjay could have included Madge in its plot.

1. It doesn't include her at all, and it's implied that she died because of the Bombing, perhaps around the time Katniss visits the ruins of 12.
2. We have her in 13 from the very beginning, taking Delly Cartwright's place, as we mentioned, even though her parents wouldn't have survived (this would probably be the simplest and most likely option to happen in the film).

• Madge would be the one, instead of Effie, who mentions Katniss volunteering for Prim when Haymitch tries to find moments where Katniss was more appealing to the audience.
• Maybe some of the bond we didn't get to see between her and Katniss in CF could be seen in this film, even if it's reduced (give me my piano scene!). At least one scene of them together, talking about the Games, or about Maysilee or Haymitch, or Katniss mourning the loss of Madge's family.
• We'd definitely see her briefly during the Bunker scene when the Capitol is bombing 13. She could be sitting next to Katniss watching people play with Buttercup and the flashlight before Katniss leaves to talk to Finnick.

MOCKINGJAY P2.

• Madge takes the place that Delly originally occupies in the books (and Prim in the movies) of being the person who enters Peeta's room to try to get closer to him, after they rescued him. This would make a lot more sense than having Prim there, who is the younger sister whom Peeta believes is a mutt. If we don't get the scene of Katniss and Madge grieving together in the last film, perhaps in this scene Madge and Peeta can briefly grieve the loss of their families together and talk about their childhood, thus implying to the audience that they have been friends since childhood.
• Madge wouldn't participate in the entire war portion of the film, which takes place in the Capitol (just as neither Prim, nor Delly Cartwright or Leevy did in the books, lol), but I can see her taking the place originally occupied by Greasy Sae and her granddaughter at the end of the book, being the one in charge of caring for Katniss in a pseudo-vegetative state before Peeta returns to 12 at the end of the film.
• A pic of her and Peeta together when they were children, or of both of them with Katniss, could be seen in the final scene of Katniss and Peeta's scrapbook, or perhaps a drawing Peeta made of her.

Boom. That's it. That way, Maysilee becomes 10 times more significant in the upcoming film.

I mean, seriously. What were they thinking? Not only is the episode boring, but it's also kind of... rude? Like, what was the point of belittling Daniella (who, remember, was supposed to be herself in the interview, not Trina) as if she were boring, and having her entire segment consist of "Rex" asking her, "Wouldn't you like to be Ariana Grande?"

What a wasted episode and what a disappointing season finale. Especially after what the S1 finale was like, with Sleepover at Sikowitz.