After Katniss’s failed studio performance, Haymitch gathers District 13 leaders, the propaganda team, and several people who know Katniss to review the footage. He argues that Katniss cannot convincingly play a scripted symbol, then asks everyone to name moments when she truly moved them. The examples all come from times when Katniss acted on her own instincts, so Haymitch concludes that her power comes from being genuine and unscripted.

Because of that conclusion, Haymitch proposes sending Katniss into real situations and filming whatever happens. Fulvia objects, but Haymitch insists this is the only way to make effective propos, and Katniss agrees because she knows she is useless in the studio. Coin accepts a cautious version of the plan and orders Katniss taken to District 8, recently bombed, with bodyguards and a camera crew. Before the meeting ends, Dalton bluntly says Katniss should have her face washed because the heavy styling makes her look wrong, like a Capitol fabrication.

Afterward, Haymitch asks to speak with Katniss alone. Their private conversation finally addresses Peeta’s capture: Katniss says she cannot forgive Haymitch for not rescuing Peeta, and Haymitch answers that he cannot forgive Katniss for letting Peeta out of her sight. Both admit they failed each other and Peeta, but Haymitch reminds Katniss that Peeta is still alive and that they are still working together. Their damaged alliance is partly restored as Haymitch reclaims his role as her mentor for the mission.

Katniss removes the makeup and costume touches that made her feel false, then Beetee outfits her with protective armor designed by Cinna, a gas mask, an earpiece, and specialized arrows. On the way to the hangar, Finnick tries to join the mission despite clearly being unstable, and Katniss redirects him by inventing a story about Beetee making him a new trident. In the hangar and aboard the hovercraft, Katniss’s opinion of Boggs improves as he shows humor and speaks to her more honestly than before.

During the flight to District 8, Plutarch explains the broader war to Katniss and Gale. All districts except District 2 are in rebellion, and District 2 remains the Capitol’s military stronghold, supplying weapons and Peacekeepers. Plutarch says the rebels plan to seize the districts, isolate the Capitol, and then form a republic if they win. He also gives Katniss and the others concealed nightlock pills for suicide if capture becomes unavoidable, underscoring both the danger of the mission and the grim stakes of the war.