The Gamemakers: Seneca Crane - Gamemaker
It's frustrating having to sit here and watch someone else call the shots. Especially while knowing I could easily get the job done myself. This particular Head Gamemaker has managed to hold his position for over sixteen years now. No one else has been able to accomplish that since the first Head Gamemaker.
I admit there was a time when I idolized this man. He was clever and creative. He was always able to see the outcome of the Games before anyone else, just as a good Gamemaker should. But there was something more to him than that. Most Gamemakers just sit around calculating the risks and probabilities of potential scenarios and outcomes. They think of it all as one big science experiment.
Not him though. He had a way of making the Games seem more like a form of art than a science. In his early years people used to say that each arena was just a stage to him, and that all of the tributes were merely actors that moved about by his will alone.
It wasn't just something people said though. It was a fact, and no one questioned it. He had a natural ability of being able to predict tribute-behavior before even the tribute could. With it, he was able to predict the winner with consistent accuracy. He knew it wasn't just about the strongest tribute winning. It was about who the fans wanted to see win. And so, he made it possible.
Now look at him. He can't even figure out how kill off a twelve year old tribute from an outlier District. Henley Townsend has outsmarted this senile old fool at every turn. And it's shown everyone how much his mind has deteriorated over the years.
Orders are carried out to catapult bombs over the forest. Henley manages to survive the explosions. Evidently the Head Gamemaker was so concerned with avoiding the appearance of a blatant execution that he didn't ensure the blast radius would lead to Henley's demise. Consequently we are ordered to use the burning forest to engulf the boy in flames. Henley simply outruns the fire. Naturally, we are asked to make the flames move faster. So we do. Finally enough of the forest is burning that the only place for Henley to run is a freshwater spring filled with fish muttations that can leap from the water and devour him alive. Only the stupid fish aren't accurate enough outside of water, so they soar right past him into the fire. Fantastic! Now we've probably just given him enough food for an entire week.
It's obvious what needs to be done to kill the boy. He announced his weakness to all of Panem during the interview. He's not killing anyone. All we need to do is lure him towards his competition. The other tributes will take care of it from there. He can't fight back. Well, he won't fight back. But either way, it doesn't matter when our Head Gamemaker is ordering us to do everything except what needs to be done.
It's gotten embarrassing. I don't even think most of it will air. I have no doubt in my mind that this will be the Head Gamemaker's last year. The only real question is who's going to replace him.