Mags

"It was obvious she didn't volunteer because she thought she could win, she did it to save Annie Cresta."

- Katniss talking about Mags volunteering Mags Cohen was the female tribute from District 4 during the 75th Hunger Games, for which she volunteered for Annie Cresta. She was also the victor of the 9th Hunger Games.

Biography


Being a previous victor of one of the 9th Hunger Games, she became a mentor for the tributes of District 4. Mags, an eighty year old woman, loyally volunteered for the 75th Hunger Games in the place of Annie Cresta, becoming a tribute alongside Finnick Odair, whom she mentored in the 65th Hunger Games and (according to the film) practically raised. She is reputed to be a lovely woman. She mumbled every time she spoke; Katniss believes it is because of a possible stroke she may have had in the past. While in training for the third Quarter Quell, Katniss watched as Mags displayed her skill of being able to make fishhooks out of nearly anything. This skill, plus the fact that she volunteered to take Annie Cresta's place, made Katniss want Mags to be one of her allies in the arena. Described to be in her eighties, Mags was the oldest tribute in the 75th Hunger Games.

The Games
During the interviews in the film adaption, she wore a sea blue dress which touched the floor. The top half of it was a lighter blue and had sparkles on it while the bottom half was a duller and darker blue, much like Finnick's. Mags joined the other tributes in linking hands after the final interview, displaying unity among the districts.

While competing in the Quarter Quell, Mags joined an alliance with Katniss, Peeta, she was carried by Finnick most of the time as she wasn't able to walk very fast. Finnick and Mags are flung back when Peeta walks into the force field, due to the force in which Peeta is thrust back in. When Katniss throws some nuts at the force field to determine where it is, Mags eats a mouthful of them. Katniss is alarmed as they don't know if the nuts are poisonous, but Finnick allows her to since he believes she knows what she's doing. She and Finnick begin to weave objects with big sharp blades of grass while Katniss hunts for water and food. When she returns, they have made a hut and bowls. Mags is deeply saddened when the first day of the games is over and the faces of tributes who have died are shown. When the spile is sent from the sponsors, she wonders what its use could be. Katniss asks if she can fish with it, but she could not, and is enlightened when they find out it gets water from trees. She and Peeta are not alarmed by the twelve bells rung during the night as they were asleep.



Death
Mags died on the second day of the games. When the poisonous fog was emitted, Finnick carried her while she was sleeping. When the fog damaged Peeta's legs and rendered him unable to walk, Katniss carried Mags as she was unable to help Peeta, but Katniss was also affected by the fog, and Finnick was unable to carry both Peeta and Mags. Realizing that they would be killed by the fog if they could not move faster, Mags kissed Finnick and courageously sacrificed herself by walking straight into the fog so Finnick, Katniss, and Peeta could live. Katniss described Mags as "falling to the ground in a horrible dance" when she was dying and Katniss honored Mags for her bravery. Finnick spent several hours of the night grieving for her.

When Johanna Mason states that Mags was half of Finnick's family because she was his mentor, Katniss feels great remorse. Later, it is discovered that Mags was part of an even bigger alliance (including at least 12 tributes) that was set on keeping Peeta and Katniss alive.

In the film, Mags's dies in much the same manner, although Finnick at first doesn't realize what she's doing and tries frantically to call her back, staring after her in grief as her cannon sounds.

Her death in the movie is not seen like in the books.

Mags placed 15th out of 24 tributes.

Film Portrayal
Mags is portrayed by Lynn Cohen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Trivia

 * From her observation in the Training Center, Katniss notes that Mags could make a fish hook out of almost anything.
 * Like Finnick Odair, when Mags won her Hunger Games, she was only 14 years old, making her one of the youngest victors in the history of the Hunger Games.
 * It is possible that Mags was a Career Tribute in her previous Hunger Games as District 4 is known for having Career Tributes, although it is not known how early the Careers began.
 * If Katniss is correct about Mags' age, then she is one of the two known characters in the trilogy to have been alive before the Hunger Games started, being around five when they began. The other character is President Snow, who was a year old when they began.
 * Mags was so old when she volunteered, she "needed a cane to walk to the stage" as noted by Katniss. However, in the film, she isn't seen with a cane.
 * Mags is also said to make baskets so tightly woven, so that even water couldn't seep through.
 * Mags was one of the original four tributes that Katniss wanted as an ally. The other three were Seeder, Beetee and Wiress. She was respected by Katniss for volunteering for Annie Cresta.
 * In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mags is shown to have a golden ring on her left hand, suggesting she is part of the alliance with Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, and Finnick who all had gold accessories.
 * It was discovered from a leaked photograph from the Mockingjay set of names of victors from various districts including District 4 that Mags surname is Cohen. Cohen is the same last name as the actress, Lynn Cohen, who plays her.
 * It was also discovered that Mags was the first victor from District 4.
 * Although Mags can speak, she never did in the movie, rendering her speechless.

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