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After the Hunger Games film came out— and after my boyfriend read through all three of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy shortly thereafter —I had a lot of discussions about the second and third book in the series, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Some people get pretty vicious about them; others are slavishly devoted. Here’s my take.

The first book revolves around protagonist Katniss Everdeen’s experiences of her world in Panem, a nation divided into twelve districts and one capital. To keep the districts under their thumb 74 years after a failed uprising, the capital requires each district to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 13 and 18 to participate in the Hunger Games, an annual pageant in which they fight to the death on camera for an audience consisting of the hugely-entertained capital citizens and the twelve broken-down districts. It’s a solid package, and can definitely be considered a fantastic achievement by its author.

Spoilers follow!

In the second book, Katniss learns that her actions in the games inspired some minor uprisings in other districts (as seen in the movie version, but not the first book). During her victory tour of the districts and capital with Peeta, she attempts to defuse this situation because the capital’s President Snow threatened her family…but it’s basically useless. Then, as part of the 75th annual games, a twist is added (which happens every 25 years), and Katniss and Peeta are recalled to the arena rather than serving as mentors to new victims. She winds up allying with other past winners of the games, who have a secret agenda she doesn’t know. At the end she is ‘rescued’ and taken to the mysterious 13th district, which was supposed to have been destroyed in the rebellion.

Mockingjay features the members of this district attempting to manipulate Katniss so that she will become the symbol of the rebellion and inspire the other districts to team up with 13 and rise up against the capital. Spoiler alert: it…basically works, but traumatizes both Katniss and Peeta. Pretty badly.

I can’t claim to have any knowledge of Ms. Collins’ intentions, but throughout my discussions I’ve come to realize why I have fewer problems with these two books than some others. I personally interpret the first book as actually being about Katniss, but in the second and third she shifts into something of a MacGuffin. Within the novels’ world, she’s a mere symbol. For the audience she’s less someone to identify with and more a viewing device; the actual story revolves around media and its manipulation— by both sides. It’s about how we destroy our heroes, and a reflection not unlike one that pops up in the Game of Thrones series: that power is primarily an illusion, that it rests in whomever we believe holds it.

These are only semi-formed thoughts at this point, but I’d be curious as to other peoples’ thoughts on this matter. Did you enjoy the second and third books? Why/why not?

Spoilers beyond. If you care.

Sometimes, after a long day/week/month of work, I just like to let my brain turn to mush and have something pretty on the screen (or in my ears). In that vein, I watched the first season of Smash, and always came away with a vague sense of guilt and distaste (for the show? For myself? I don’t know!).

The show is poorly-written, with characters flailing into odd fits of actions that don’t seem to quite mesh with who they’re supposed to be. There’s some humor in there, but despite people’s descriptions of it as “Glee with grown-ups,” it’s definitely a drama/soap opera first, with some mediocre comedy bits plugged in here and there.

One of the show’s biggest problems is that it primarily sets up a competition between two women for the role of Marilyn Monroe in a musical in development. One of these women is Ivy, a buxom blonde with Broadway experience who is the character willing to do just about anything to get the part, and the other is Karen, a slender brunette working as a waitress with big dreams and no interest in hurting other people’s feelings to make them happen. They do a good job of making it unclear who will actually get the part when the show goes onstage, but in the last three or four episodes it’s made clear that Karen is the intended winner of the whole scenario. Unfortunately, the reasoning for that is completely bonkers.

By the time this decision is made, Ivy has played the part in a workshop and knows it all, but has been replaced with a movie star (played by Uma Thurman, who makes way too skinny a Marilyn in my opinion). Karen has become Thurman’s character’s understudy, but hasn’t yet been rehearsed in the role at all. She knows most of the songs but not much of the blocking and choreography. Unfortunately, Thurman’s character drops out and they basically have 24 hours to put the show on. Director Derek (played by the wonderfully snarky Jack Davenport, better known as Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Norrington) has an ongoing relationship with Ivy, has slept with Thurman, and has an unspecified “thing” for Karen, and he picks Karen to go on because he “sees” her in his mind.

Now, I’m one of those “creatives” and I understand a certain amount of that kind of thing. But I don’t get how he “sees” Karen in the role instead of Ivy. At the beginning it feels like Ivy has the bombshell side of Marilyn while Karen has the earnest, loving side, but that kind of falls apart over time. Ivy has a difficult mother (a former Broadway star, played by Bernadette Peters), a desperate need for fame and affection, and maybe a few issues with pills. Karen is sweet and a hard worker, but the fact that her boyfriend cheats on her does not a Marilyn make (Derek claims he always saw Marilyn under her surface, “and now you’ve had your heart broken,” he says, as if that was the final piece of the puzzle). Throughout much of the show Derek is the best part (while plotlines with would-be producer Ellis and screenwriter Julia/Debra Messing are irritating at boring respectively), but this part kind of ruined him.

So yeah. Pretty dumb. I probably won’t bother with the second season, though the boyfriend thinks he might want to see where things have landed (though several episodes ago he was the one who wasn’t interested in bothering).

Anyway, here’s my favorite number from the show. I understand a lot of people didn’t like it, and to be fair, it is a super cliché attempt at Bollywood. But I like the music and it’s the only number where I feel like people in the show were really having fun. It parodies the entire show as it pokes fun at different characters (while, of course, showcasing their various plotlines), and it’s also just plain silly. This show could have used more silly.