Why Clato Makes Perfect Sense

Cato and Clove being a couple, or having some show of romance, makes 100% perfect sense to me, not because of emotion, because of logic. Here are the clues, and why together, they make Clato extremely likely.

I've also explained this in a video form here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oZU4OJEMoPk if you would rather see it that way.

First off, the timing of the rule change, that's the first sign. Katniss and Peeta were the star crossed lovers before the games even began. Why wait that long before announcing 2 possible victors? Well, what exactly was going on with Cato and Clove at the time? Let's see. Their supplies had been destroyed, and Marvel was just out of the picture. Ripe time to try new methods to gain sponsers, like making out.

Why change the rules when being lovers applies only to two people? If that was enough, I think the rule change would have been announced sooner.

It's simply because just one pair of lovers in the games wasn't enough to justify a rule change, 2 couples were.

Think about it, one pair of star crossed lovers is not enough. But TWO pairs, the game makers knew the hype would go wild. Epic Couple vs Couple deathmatch with angry single tributes Thresh and Foxface after them. And the arena itself.

The second sign, that Cato begged for Clove to stay with him, that is a strong clue, but not as strong as the timing of the rule change.

The third sign was Cloves taunts to Katniss when she had her down. I always thought Clove was projecting. For example, I headcannon that she used to be bodyshamed for being too small, which is why she taunted Katniss and Rue for their smaller size, and that she and Cato were K-I-S-S-I-N-G, which is why she made fun of Katniss for doing the same.

The next sign is the movie casting itself. In the book, though Cato and Clove are vaguely described, but even there it's clear they might be narrative mirrors. Cato and Clove being the career versions of Peeta and Katniss. Like Peeta, Cato is incredibly tough, jacked, and good at multiple things. Like Katniss, Clove is fast, smart and obscenely good at a ranged weapon. The movie casting strengthens the case. Collins was involved and they cast Isabelle Furhman, a rejected Katniss, as Clove, and Alexander Ludwig, a rejected Peeta, as Cato. Something that makes it seem much more likely that they were meant to be mirrors of Katniss and Peeta, and therefore, more likely that other aspects about them, like them being in love, were also there.

I mean, Couple vs Couple deathmatch was the hype train until Clove dies at the feast. The game makers would then want to drag on the drama longer. Maybe, just maybe, they would send a mutt of Clove after Cato programmed to attack him. And watch Cato have an emotional breakdown fighting her or something. Then, maybe, just maybe, they would send the rest of the Mutts, force Cato to run towards Katniss and Peeta, and have Katniss react to being forced to fight mutt Rue, and Peeta with whoever he liked.

Maybe, just maybe, the Mutts foreshadow Peeta's Hijacking in Mockingjay.

I mean, the Mutts were chosen because it was clear the theme of the game was love and loss. The drama was being forced to fight who you love. I strongly suspect they had a few other kinds of possible finale's if the games went differently.

Arguments against Clato, let's see. I've heard one that they didn't display affection pre games, but why would they? It's made clear that over 99% of the time tributes that show any signs of not wanting to kill each other, like being in love, are killed. Katniss and Peeta only got away because of extreme luck. Trained tributes wouldn't dare show love even if it was there and strong. Another one I used to think, was if Cato was in love with Clove, he would understand that Peeta being in love with Katniss meant he would try to protect her. He wouldn't have Peeta help him. But, what if he saw Peeta announcing his love for Katniss not as something genuine, but as something to hype up and manipulate the crowds. He wouldn't think anyone would announce real love, as that is normally suicide. When Peeta said he was in love with Katniss, he probably thought, wow, what a manipulative actor. If Katniss thought Peeta's emotions were manipulative strategy, then Cato probably thought that as well.