THE HUNGER GAMES of BRAVO

The Hunger Games of Bravo, Season 3, began on the day of the reaping in Burrough 5, also known as the Manhattan. When Game Host Effie Trinket Bensimon pulls the white slip of paper out of the glass fish bowl, she will change the course of two lives forever. Katniss Frankel, one of the two tributes selected that day during the reaping, is literally pulled out of her life of struggle and anonymity after losing Martha Stewart Apprentice, and is thrust into the limelight to win or die under the glaring lens of the public eye of reality TV and blogs.

The reaping is a nerve-wracking time because it determines which bored and desperate fame Ho-Bag will serve as the Burrough’s tributes in the Hunger Games of Bravo. Two tributes are drawn in each of the 5 Burroughs of NBC/Universal, and those tributes are sent to an arena where they fight until only one tribute remains alive. The victor is showered with gifts — namely spin-off shows, brand sponsors, and endorsements. The Games, put on by Bravo, are meant to punish the 5 Burroughs with vanity and vapid drivel, as well as to remind them of the Dark Days of scripted television and writer’s strikes.

Katniss shows her swollen starvation belly 

Against all odds, Katniss’ name is selected at the reaping. PETA Zarin, a privileged princess from Long Island is selected as the tribute from Burrough 4. Katniss remembers PETA and the kindness she demonstrated toward her when she had broken up with Jason #1 and couldn’t pay her rent. Her belly was swollen with hunger. 

PETA gave her lots of mothering and a place to live in the Hamptons during that dark summer of Season 2. PETA's selection doesn't bode well for Katniss, who feels that she owes PETA for saving her life. This is inconvenient considering she's now expected to kill her in the Hunger Games.

Effie Trinket Bensimon often alternates between Orange
and Pink spray tans and really "Enjoys That"

Katniss and PETA ride the train to the Capitol. On the train, Katniss experiences luxury like she's never known and gets to eat the richest, most decadent food. They both get to know Effie Trinket Bensimon, their escort, 

Haymitch VanKempen socializes with MockingJay before the  games

and Haymitch VanKempen, their drunk mentor and the lone surviving Hunger Games winner from their district who, after seeing that Katniss and PETA have some fight in them, promises he will sober up enough to help them survive the Games. 

After they arrive at the 30-Rock Basement Training Center, they are secretly trained in the use of media weaponry, such as blogging, tweeting, Facebook, step and repeat, charity events, and book signings. They are taught to leak rumors to yellow journalists and gossip pages, and to give endearing and witty narrations in their headshot interviews. Some of the tributes are more skilled than others, and to maintain the element of surprise, Bravo keeps these sessions a closely guarded secret.

Haymitch VanKempen coaches Katniss and PETA, telling them they are to appear inseparable, which, as the training goes on, becomes increasingly tiring for Katniss, who can't decide whether PETA's kindness and compliments are genuine or simply a part of a scheme for winning the Games. Katniss is feeling smothered already by the needy clingy PETA. She is not used to nurturing and loving gestures as her mother effectively abandoned her emotionally and left her to fend for herself. This made her a survivor, but destroyed her ability to bond emotionally with people. She did not feel worthy of love and distrusted the emotion.

ReNewAl At ThE cApItAl

Katniss and PETA meet their stylists. All of the Burrough tributes are waxed, plucked, scraped, polished, curled, and dressed in spectacular outfits intended for maximum effect for the Bravo audience. 

A tribute with an unfortunate stylist must
appear as if happy with the results

The ostentatious people of Universal Bravo

Foxface is styled in a burlap feed bag
to represent her Burrough

Katniss after her dedicated stylist Frankie has done his work

Haymitch VanKempen and Bravo Caesar Cohen hurriedly coach Katniss and PETA further with their story line, meant to endear them to the public. They will be BFF’s in the style of Lucy and Ethel, or Laverne and Shirley. Even Effie chirps some last minute cockamamie platitudes like she cares, before sending them off to their opening ceremony interviews with a “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be really really really in your favor! Have fun with that!”

Bravo Caesar amping up the audience and
teasing the tributes at the opening ceremonies

Bravo Caesar Cohen with the Tributes from Queens

At the interview, PETA professes her love for Katniss, and the audience believes they are star-crossed best friends, trapped in an arena where their love cannot survive. Katniss is furious with PETA for making her look like an underdog in front of the audience and the other tributes. Haymitch and Bravo Caesar, however, assure Katniss that PETA has given her an advantage, making her appear desirable.

The Season 3 Hunger Games of Bravo begin with the tributes rising up from below ground. They stand in a circle around the metal laptop, which holds supplies and weapons, meant to lure the tributes in for a bloodbath. 

Haymitch has instructed Katniss not to run toward the laptop, but to run as far away as she can and find a smartphone immediately. She grabs a Blackberry and a charger and then runs all day, placing as much distance as she can between herself and the other tributes, while taking stock of her surroundings. Her yoga, surfing, rollerskating, and snowboarding have really paid off in physical endurance and pain tolerance.

MockingJay, a Career Tribute, tries her intimidation tactics
with signature wing flapping, screaching, and rolling back the eyes

That first night, while sleeping in a tree, she sees that the "Careers" (RueMan, Mockingjay, Son-ja, and Smelly), 

the tributes from the wealthier Burroughs, have formed an alliance and are hunting the weakest tributes (Foxface, Barslop, Juniper) together. She is shocked to see that PETA is a part of their group and decides that she can't trust her after all. While in the arena, Katniss constantly has to battle negative tweets and vicious rumors planted by the other tributes. The sponsors send gifts, if you are popular, or withhold them when your Facebook and twitter followers dip too low. The Bravo Gamemakers, are able to suppress blog comments, send DUIs, violent fights and family squabbles their way, resulting in public executions, bankruptcy and divorce.

Katniss and PETA’s storyline was successful, and they gained many gifts and favors from the sponsors as their followers and fans increased by leaps and bounds. One night, Bravo Caesar Cohen’s seal flashed in the night sky 

and the announcers proclaimed that both tributes from a Burrough may win if both end up as the final survivors of the Games. This causes Katniss to reconsider PETA’s intentions and to seek her out and team up against the others. This strategy works and one by one, 

MockingJay drowns the beautiful tribute named Glimmer, in the  Lake

the remaining tributes are killed off. 

Foxface dies at the hand of a poisoned Blackberry

The last of these is Foxface McCord, the tribute from Brooklyn, who tries to steal a Blackberry contaminated with a lethal virus. 

Katniss and PETA, who by then are exhausted and anxious for the games to be declared over, and be named the victors, are relieved when the seal of Bravo Caesar again appears in the sky. Relief soon turns to anger and rebellion when he revokes the rule change and reverts back to the “one victor” ruling of the Hunger Games of Bravo. 

Katniss realizes this has been the Gamemakers' plan all along, to end with the BFF’s and watch one of them sacrifice her life for the other. Katniss, however, who is the ultimate survivor and control freak, comes up with a plan of her own. She and PETA will release an expose Google alert of their own, about the manipulations and scripting of the games, and thus deprive Bravo, the fans, and the sponsors of their beloved new “friends”. As they are about to off themselves in the media, Bravo Caesar interrupts them in a panic with an emergency Google alert, 

announcing them both the victors of the Season 3 games. They are then whisked away to to be spruced up and styled for the final reunion interviews.

Exhausted and anticipating the finale with anxiety while being
primped by the Universal stylist team

They will be dramatically reunited in front of an audience, but before they take the stage, Haymitch warns Katniss, saying “Sweetheart, Universal isn't happy with you.” “They believe that your stunt made them look like fools and they could have lost millions of viewers on your account. You had better repair the damages or pay dearly off camera.”

As Katniss takes the stage with PETA to watch the video replay of the Games, she's aware that the most dangerous part of the Games has only just begun. She must play the audience and keep her cool so she doesn’t lose the love she has gained from the viewers during the games. During the video showing, as well as during her interview with Bravo Caesar Cohen, Katniss is quite convincing. 

PETA lays it on thick for the viewers
Trying to be sympathetic

Her secret media skills in acting and branding have given her the edge. The fans and sponsors clearly have already been won over by Katniss. When it is over, Caesar declares the spin off show and many many sweet sponsor deals will be awarded to Katniss alone. She humbly accepts as the crowds erupt in wild applause. 

Katniss is crowned the winner of THE HUNGER GAMES of BRAVO

Multiple book deals, product lines, tv shows are just a few of
the rewards in store for the Victor

PETA bends down to hug Katniss in her chair and says “if you really were my FRIEND, you would’ve told me you were hosting "The Today Show" in the morning.”  Katniss turns red, with anger, though PETA’s head blocks her face from the camera’s view. She is filled with dread that she will be forever indebted to PETA and anchored to her for a lifetime. Just as the cameras are shut off, she shrewdly whispers back, “You need to get a HOBBY!”

You need to GET A HOBBY!

You know what Katniss? We ARE done!

Source Material from Bravo DVD’s of S3 RHONY and from: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/hunger-games/book-summary.html