The Hunger Games: Johanna’s 10 Most Memorable Quotes

Johanna Mason makes her first appearance in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as a Tribute and former Victor heading to the Quarter Quell. Katniss’s first impression of her isn’t a great one; if anything, Johanna irritates her. However, as they spend more time together, they realize how similar they are.

Johanna is instantly identifiable as a rebel. She waltzes into the Tribute Center full of snark and sarcasm. As much as she doesn’t want to be there, she fits right in with her intense violence and inner fire. She becomes a close ally of Katniss’s for the rest of the series, sharing random pieces of wisdom and insight into Panem life.

10 “F*** That!”

Before the Games, each Tribute has an interview with Caesar Flickerman broadcast live to the nation. The Tributes are trained to speak carefully and answer in a way that will earn the audience’s favor.

Johanna, of course, doesn’t abide by that rule. Caesar comments on Johanna’s lack of tears. She admits that she’s angry. “The deal was if I win the Hunger Games, I get to live the rest of my life in peace. But now you wanna kill me again.” She pauses, looks around. Suddenly, she screams, “F*** that! And f*** anyone who had anything to do with this!”

9 “He Can’t Hurt Me … There’s No One Left I Love.”

In the second Games, the Gamemakers come up with a ghastly new trick: they send in mockingjays to torment the Tributes with the voices of those they love. Katniss hears Prim’s voice, but Beetee explains that they don’t actually have her captive – it’s just samples of her voice they’ve taken from clips and such.

Johanna backs him up, reassuring Katniss that there would be riots in the Capitol if they hurt Prim. Then she yells up to the cameras, “What if we set your backyard on fire? You know, you can’t put everybody in here!” Everyone stares, gobsmacked. “What? [President Snow] can’t hurt me,” she explains. “I’m not like the rest of you. There’s no one left I love.”

8 “I Wasn’t Talking To You.”

The elevator scene in Catching Fire is one of the most iconic scenes in the entire series. It’s a perfect introduction to Johanna’s character and begins an amusing dynamic among Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch.

She steps inside and immediately starts stripping. “My stylist is such an idiot. District 7: lumber, trees. I’d love to put my ax in her face.” She pauses, not facing her audience. “So what do you think, now that the whole world wants to sleep with you?” Katniss begins to protest when Johanna interrupts: “I wasn’t talking to you.” Katniss awkwardly responds, “Okay.”

7 “But Nobody Likes Me.”

Katniss feels that she is failing in her role as the Mockingjay. She tells Johanna that she should’ve been the face of the rebellion because nobody would ever have to tell her what to do.

Johanna laughs. “But nobody likes me.” She’s right; the most important thing about Katniss is that she’s likable. People will listen to her. Johanna is a rebel and a fighter, but she wouldn’t make a great leader. She’s too independent. However, this can also be her greatest weapon.

6 “Love Is Weird.”

Johanna isn’t convinced that Katniss is in love with Peeta at first. In fact, she holds great contempt for Katniss because she thinks she’s faking it. However, after seeing something shift during the Games, Johanna realizes her feelings are true.

However, having no one that she loves herself, Johanna doesn’t understand Katniss’s actions and decisions. She seems almost sad that she can’t understand what Katniss is feeling. Similarly, she doesn’t understand why Finnick is so obsessed with Annie after hearing her voice through the mockingjays. On the beach she wretchedly comments, “Love is weird”.

5 “Make Him Pay For It.”

When Katniss shows up in a wedding dress to her interview, Johanna can’t help but roll her eyes. “Really? A wedding dress?” Katniss explains that Snow made her wear it, but Cinna has put his own spin on the costume, of course.

Johanna seems to soften towards Katniss at this moment, knowing that she, too, is being controlled by the same man. “Make him pay for it,” she seethes. Katniss pauses to appreciate this. Even though the two hate each other, they find something they have in common at this moment.

4 “Now You’re Talking.”

In Mockingjay, Katniss is feeling frustrated that she can’t join in on the action, especially since she’s the symbol of the rebellion. Johanna is the only one she can talk to who has gone through something similar to her.

Both of them were betrayed by District Thirteen and want to topple the Capitol. Katniss tells Johanna that she can’t make another propo or speech about it. She declares that she’s going to kill Snow. Johanna laughs at her determination and says, “Now you’re talking.”

3 “Like Some Guy From This Rabbit’s Warren Actually Knows Anything About My Reality.”

After returning from the Capitol, Johanna unceremoniously bursts into Katniss’s recovery cubicle in the infirmary. Katniss has just been shot in District 8, but Johanna couldn’t care less. She unhooks Katniss’s morphine and plugs it into her own arm. “You don’t mind, do you?” she quips, but Katniss is incapable of speaking.

Johanna tells her about the head doctor who checks in on her every day to help her “adjust to reality.” Johanna laughs. “Like some guy from this rabbit’s warren actually knows anything about my reality. At least twenty times in a session, he tells me that I’m totally safe … What about you, Mockingjay? You feeling totally safe?”

2 “They Messed Us Up Pretty Good, Didn’t They?”

Johanna and Katniss grow quite close in Mockingjay. One day, they’re in Katniss’s room, going through her measly pile of belongings when they find the pearl Peeta gave her in the Quarter Quell.

They both get emotional, but Katniss especially. Peeta has been turned into a monster by the Capitol, and Katniss’s feelings for him only complicate things further. Johanna holds the pearl in her fingers, looks pityingly at Katniss, and says, “They messed us up pretty good, didn’t they?”

1 “Thanks. Let’s Do It Again Sometime.”

While in the elevator with Katniss, Haymitch, and Peeta, Johanna insinuates that Peeta has become a national sex symbol. She asks him to unzip her tree costume, which makes Katniss glare at the both of them.

Peeta obliges and an awkward silence ensues – well, awkward for Katniss. Peeta and Haymitch seem to be enjoying themselves, and Johanna smiles seductively at the two of them. Finally, they arrive at her floor, and she saunters out, throwing a casual thanks over her shoulder. Completely naked, she waltzes out into the corridor.

About The Author

Svetlana Sterlin
(256 Articles Published)

After years of relocation, Svetlana Sterlin (she/her) was raised by her Russian parents in Brisbane, Australia, where she completed a BFA and contributes to ScreenRant and Our Culture Magazine. An avid cinephile and bookworm, Svetlana also writes creatively across multiple forms and genres. Her fiction and poetry appear in several printed and digital publications. Find more from Svetlana here: https://linktr.ee/svetlanasterlin.

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