Reaper is the male tribute from District 11. He’s odd from the beginning: he apologizes to his fellow tributes before the Games start for killing them, and he promises to avenge their deaths later. During the Games, Reaper makes a habit of dragging the bodies of the dead tributes into a line and covering them with bits of Panem’s flag. His mentor, Clemensia, refuses to send him food or water for most of the Games—but when he does come across food or water, he refuses it and instead drinks out of puddles. Lucy Gray poisons one of his puddles with rat poison and kills him because he supposedly contracted rabies from Jessup. He’s the last tribute to die in the Games.
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Reaper Character Timeline in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The timeline below shows where the character Reaper appears in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...the biology lab. Clemensia laments that her tribute wouldn’t tell her anything but his name, Reaper. Arachne says her tribute only spoke about butchering and suggests she could make up a...
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Chapter 9
...a line with their tributes. Coriolanus and Lucy Gray are next to Jessup and Lysistrata. Reaper, Clemensia’s tribute, glowers at the ground. Lysistrata offers Jessup medicine for his neck.
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Chapter 12
...share with Jessup, but he isn’t eating and is acting weird. They all are, though; Reaper has apologized to everyone for having to kill them. Jessup spat in his eye for...
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Chapter 14
...the gong sounds and the tributes race into the arena’s tunnels. Jessup, Tanner, Coral, and Reaper grab weapons first. Lucky encourages viewers to bet on their tribute of choice and cuts...
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Lamina stays on top of the beam while Reaper prowls in the stands. Lucky struggles to make hosting interesting; the Games have never had...
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...and they take them back to the tunnels when they see someone else emerge. It’s Reaper, carrying Dill. Dill looks tiny, and red spittle is coming from her mouth. Lysistrata says...
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Chapter 17
...scoops up the food parcels Lysistrata sends and then runs into a tunnel, just as Reaper enters the arena. In the auditorium, Lepidus interviews Lysistrata, who firmly insists Jessup was bitten...
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Chapter 18
Then, Reaper emerges from the barricade to speak to Lamina. Coriolanus notices that Lamina is badly sunburnt....
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...to Lepidus whenever he can, which results in more food gifts for Lucy Gray. Finally, Reaper emerges from the tunnels. He arranges the dead tributes (except for Jessup) in a line...
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Chapter 19
...Coriolanus wonders if Lucy Gray poisoned Wovey as Hilarius leaves the mentor dais. Around lunchtime, Reaper inspects Wovey’s face and carries her to the dead tributes. Coriolanus believes Reaper suspects Wovey...
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...into the arena and drops the snake tank in the middle. Treech, Teslee, Circ, and Reaper are in the arena and watch with interest—until the snakes race in all directions. Clemensia...
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Chapter 20
...of the snakes died in the night. Clemensia and Vipsania send food to Treech and Reaper, but Reaper drinks from a puddle instead and then moves Coral and Circ’s bodies to...
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...an interview, Coriolanus continues to insist that Lucy Gray isn’t really district. In the arena, Reaper moves unsteadily as he adds Teslee and Mizzen’s bodies to the line of dead. He...
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...and “keeping” Lucy Gray. It seems like if Lucy Gray can hide away and let Reaper die of hunger, she could win. Hearing the chatter around him, he realizes this is...
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Lucy Gray spends the afternoon in the arena, watching Reaper. Suddenly, Lucy Gray walks to Treech’s body and starts to drag him to the line...
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Chapter 24
...kill Sejanus and admits he killed Bobbin; Lucy Gray admits she killed Wovey, Treech, and Reaper (whom she insists had rabies like Jessup).
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Chapter 30
...accusing Lucy Gray of “playing” the Covey, and remembers how she killed Wovey, Treech, and Reaper. The rifle is loaded, so Coriolanus hikes out to where he thinks the katniss grows....
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