After Haymitch collapses drunk in his own vomit, Katniss and Peeta carry him back to his compartment and clean him up. Peeta insists on caring for Haymitch himself, and Katniss suddenly recognizes that Peeta is not just performing kindness but acting from genuine decency. Because Katniss knows kindness can make her emotionally vulnerable, Katniss resolves to keep her distance from Peeta and even throws away the cookies Peeta's father gave her.

Seeing the cookies burst among dandelions triggers Katniss's memory of the time after her father died and her mother withdrew into grief. Katniss remembers how the bread Peeta once burned for her gave her enough hope to notice a dandelion, recall edible plants, and begin feeding Prim and her mother by gathering, hunting, and trading. Katniss remembers teaching herself to survive, finding katniss roots, gradually restoring the family, and learning that although her mother returned to herself, Katniss never fully forgave her neglect.

Back in the present, Katniss lies awake thinking about Prim, her mother, and the home she may never see again. In the morning, Effie wakes the tributes as the train nears the Capitol, and Katniss joins Peeta and a hungover Haymitch for an extravagant breakfast. Katniss, disgusted by Haymitch's drinking and his failure as District 12's mentor, demands advice. When Haymitch mocks them, Peeta smashes Haymitch's glass, Haymitch punches Peeta, and Katniss responds by driving a knife into the table near Haymitch's hand.

The confrontation changes Haymitch's opinion of both tributes. Haymitch tests them, recognizes that Peeta and Katniss are fighters with some appeal, and offers a bargain: if they stop interfering with his drinking, Haymitch will stay sober enough to help them, provided they obey him. Haymitch's first instruction is that when the stylists take over in the Capitol, Katniss and Peeta must not resist.

As the train enters the mountain tunnel into the Capitol, Katniss feels trapped and thinks of her father dying in the mines. When the train emerges, Katniss and Peeta see the Capitol's dazzling buildings, garish colors, and eager crowds. Katniss recoils from the spectators' excitement, but Peeta waves and smiles to court potential sponsors. Watching him, Katniss realizes Peeta has been calculating, adaptable, and determined to survive all along; that insight makes him seem more dangerous, because the kind boy who once saved her life is also a competitor who may have to kill her.