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On the DVD of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire there is a deleted scene which shows Plutarch Heavensbee exchange envelopes in some secured vault. He burns the one in the vault and replaces it with one from his pocket. Given that this envelope is in a box with the number 75 on it, it's likely that it's related to the "Quarter Quell".

box with the envelope inside

While there is probably not much to it, being a deleted scene anyway, I'd still like to know what he was actually doing there. Is this elaborated further in the book or is this a movie-only extension? As we learn at the end, Heavensbee, though being Snow's new game maker, is actually part of the revolution. So I'm wondering was this action part of his official job for Snow, somehow changing the rules in order for the victors to fight in the 75th games? Or was this part of his inofficial role in the revolution, trying to somehow bend the game's rules for their plans?

(In the latter case it would be kind of a foreshadowing, even if the (book-unaware) audience would likely not have classified it as such and rather sticked with the former explanation, but after all it would raise some doubt. And was maybe even deleted because of this?)

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In the books, the rules for the Quarter Quells were established in sealed envelopes when the games were first established. The deleted scene suggests that Plutarch changed the envelopes to change what would actually happen, but also in the movie he is on screen suggesting to President Snow that Katniss be put in the games so that Snow is not the one executing her.

I would be interested in seeing if there are director voiceovers explaining the decision, but I would imagine that the two scenes contradict each other, which would be the reason for the deletion. If Plutarch switched the envelopes, there would be no need to suggest the change to Snow. It's similar to a deleted scene in Knight's Tale, where Chaucer makes a speech saving the hero, and it was deleted so that the Black Prince had a bigger role in deciding to save the hero.

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  • If Plutarch switched the envelopes, there would be no need to suggest the change to Snow. Not necessarily. We know Snow does things illegally or covertly, for fun and profit/political gain. Plutarch convinces Snow, but needs Plutarch to change the rules discreetly for political reasons. – cde Dec 9 '15 at 10:37

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