Peeta foi quem pintou Rue, pouco antes de Katniss ser chamada para sua avaliação. A cena inteira é muito diferente no livro e, essencialmente, encoberta, deixando para o público descobrir isso.
No filme, vemos apenas a pintura e nenhuma referência antes ou depois da avaliação. Apenas a reação de Katniss para isso. Isso a lembrou da morte de Rue, e essencialmente se tornou a palha que quebrou os camelos de volta. Isso fez com que ela quisesse ameaçar e irritar os criadores do jogo, pendurando o Seneca Crane Effigy, para lembrar aos criadores de jogos que eles podem morrer com a mesma facilidade.
Nos livros, o capítulo 16 tem Katniss e Peeta discutindo o processo de escolha de aliados e planejando suas avaliações. Eles dizem que não sabem como vão matar "essas pessoas", seus colegas de tributo, tendo chegado a conhecê-los melhor. Isso os lembra de Rue.
"I don't want them as allies. Why did Haymitch want us to get to know them?" I say. "It'll make it so much harder than last time. Except for Rue maybe. But I guess I never really could've killed her, anyway. She was just too much like Prim."
Peeta looks up at me, his brow creased in thought. "Her death was the most despicable, wasn't it?"
Então Peeta é chamado para sua avaliação. Katniss tem que esperar quase uma hora antes de chegar a vez dela. Ela sabe que algo é diferente, mas não há pintura.
When I go in, I smell the sharp odor of cleaner and notice that one of the mats has been dragged to the center of the room. The mood is very different from last year's, when the Gamemakers were half drunk and distractedly picking at tidbits from the banquet table. They whisper among themselves, looking somewhat annoyed. What did Peeta do? Something to upset them?
Desde que Katniss acredita que Peeta fez algo estúpido, colocando-se em perigo novamente, ela reage, tentando desviar o perigo para si mesma, novamente.
I feel a pang of worry. That isn't good. I don't want Peeta singling himself out as a target for the Gamemakers' anger. That's part of my job. To draw fire away from Peeta. But how did he upset them? Because I'd love to do just that and more. To break through the smug veneer of those who use their brains to find amusing ways to kill us. To make them realize that while we're vulnerable to the Capitol's cruelties, they are as well.
Cue Seneca Crane. Ou uma adorável homenagem a ele. Naturalmente.
O capítulo 17 segue com Katniss e Peeta, e Haymitch e Effie sabem o que aconteceu durante as avaliações.
As we all gather for dinner, I notice Peeta's hands are faintly stained with a variety of colors, even though his hair is still damp from bathing. He must have done some form of camouflage after all.
[...]
Peeta seems to be struck with the same reluctance I'm experiencing. "Well, I - I did the camouflage thing, like you suggested, Katniss." He hesitates. "Not exactly camouflage. I mean, I used the dyes."
[...]
I think of how ruffled the Gamemakers were when I entered the gym for my session. The smell of cleaners. The mat pulled over that spot in the center of the gym. Was it to conceal something they were unable to wash away? "You painted something, didn't you? A picture." "Did you see it?" Peeta asks."No. But they'd made a real point of covering it up," I say.
"Well, that would be standard. They can't let one tribute know what another did," says Effie, unconcerned.
[...]
"Actually, I painted a picture of Rue," Peeta says. "How she looked after Katniss had covered her in flowers."There's a long pause at the table while everyone absorbs this. "And what exactly were you trying to accomplish?" Haymitch asks in a very measured voice.
"I'm not sure. I just wanted to hold them accountable, if only for a moment," says Peeta. "For killing that little girl."
"This is dreadful." Effie sounds like she's about to cry. "That sort of thinking ... it's forbidden, Peeta. Absolutely. You'll only bring down more trouble on yourself and Katniss."
"I have to agree with Effie on this one," says Haymitch. Portia and Cinna remain silent, but their faces are very serious. Of course, they're right. But even though it worries me, I think what he did was amazing.
"I guess this is a bad time to mention I hung a dummy and painted Seneca Crane's name on it," I say. This has the desired effect. After a moment of disbelief, all the disapproval in the room hits me like a ton of bricks.
Tudo isso cortado ou nunca incluído no filme. Apontou que Peeta estava tão disposto a colocá-lo nos Gamemakers ou no Capitólio quanto Katniss às vezes. Como quando ele veio com o amor secreto dos Jogos Vorazes anteriores ou gravidez a cena seguinte.
E foi um momento de ligação para Katniss e Peeta que também não vemos:
"You'd have thought we planned it," says Peeta, giving me just the hint of a smile.
"Didn't you?" asks Portia. Her fingers press her eyelids closed as if she's warding off a very bright light.
"No," I say, looking at Peeta with a new sense of appreciation. "Neither of us even knew what we were going to do before we went in."
O resultado disso, não visto neste filme, é que tanto Katniss quanto Peeta recebem uma nota 12, a mais alta. Haymitch diz que é assim que Katniss e Peeta são alvos dos outros. No primeiro filme, o antagonista de Katniss, William Tell, que fotografou o momento da maçã em sua 74ª avaliação, resultou em uma pontuação similar.