Katniss leaves her private session exhilarated by how completely she shocked the Gamemakers with the hanged dummy labeled Seneca Crane, but her satisfaction quickly turns into worry. Because the training sessions are secret, Katniss reasons that open punishment is unlikely, yet she fears the Gamemakers could retaliate in the arena and endanger Peeta as well. At dinner, Haymitch asks what happened in the private sessions, and Peeta reluctantly admits that he used dyes to paint Rue's body covered in flowers so the Gamemakers would have to face the girl they killed. Katniss then confesses her own stunt, horrifying Effie and alarming the whole team.

The discussion makes clear that both Katniss and Peeta acted out of defiance rather than strategy, and they tell Haymitch they do not want any allies in the arena. When the training scores are announced, the Gamemakers give both Katniss and Peeta a 12, the first such scores in Hunger Games history. Haymitch immediately understands the motive: the scores will force the other tributes to target them. Later, when Peeta walks Katniss to her room, they admit they both suspect President Snow may have already decided they will die no matter what they do.

In that private conversation, Katniss's thinking shifts. She still intends to sacrifice herself to save Peeta, but she now realizes that dying while openly defying the Capitol could also serve the growing rebellion in the districts. Katniss concludes that a dead Katniss could become a martyr, while a surviving Peeta could turn grief into words that move people. Wanting to spend whatever time remains in peace, Katniss brings Peeta into her room, and they finally sleep without nightmares. The next day, a note from Effie cancels interview coaching, so Katniss and Peeta spend the entire day alone on the roof, eating, resting, playing, and enjoying a rare stretch of calm intimacy.

The following morning, the emotional cost of the Quell becomes visible in Katniss's prep team. Octavia bursts into tears at seeing Katniss and Peeta together, Flavius cries while working, and Venia delivers a restrained but heartfelt farewell that makes it plain they believe Katniss will not return. Then Cinna reveals that President Snow has ordered Katniss to wear the winning wedding dress from her photo shoot during the interviews, turning what should symbolize a future with Peeta into a public humiliation. Cinna says he has altered the dress for lighting and instructs Katniss to save a twirl for the end of her interview.

Backstage, the other victors react with anger to the dress, though some also show solidarity; Johanna even tells Katniss to "make him pay." Once the interviews begin, several victors cleverly weaponize Capitol sentiment by lamenting how much the audience will suffer if it loses them, questioning the legality and cruelty of the Quarter Quell, and pointedly implying that President Snow could stop it if he wished. By the time Katniss goes onstage, the crowd is already in an uproar. Katniss plays into the wedding spectacle, then twirls as instructed, and Cinna's design bursts into flames that consume the white gown without harming her. When the fire clears, Katniss is wearing a black feathered dress with white wing-like accents: Cinna has transformed her from a bride into a mockingjay.