Years after its conclusion, The Hunger Games franchise remains hugely popular. Across the four films, the extensive cast of characters is put through more than anyone should have to face in a single lifetime. For almost everyone in Panem, the Games themselves are traumatic enough, but when Katniss sparks a revolution, citizens lose their lives and their loved ones.
Katniss is a well-rounded, nuanced protagonist who changes in many ways but still retains many of her original charms - or lack thereof. The world is constantly changing around her, largely because of her, but she resists this change and the responsibility thrust upon her. Many of the people around her encourage her to go with it, including Gale, but there are others like Peeta who are unsure of their stance. Still, no one is left untouched by the upturning of their society.
GREW A LOT: Prim
Prim may not have a whole lot of screen time, but in a way, she's at the center of the story. The first film opens with her blood-curdling screams as she wakes from a nightmare in which her name is drawn in the Reaping. Lo and behold, her name is actually drawn in the Reaping later that day. Katniss volunteers, much to Prim's distress, and she is forced to watch her sister battle to the death from her home of District 12.
In the second film, Prim is no longer the scared little girl. She offers Katniss some valuable advice and keeps her grounded. In the Mockingjay films, she's a brave young nurse who is passionate about saving others' lives and supporting Katniss and her revolution. She forms her own opinions about the world and the people who rule it, and she actively supports the uprising.
DIDN'T GROW: Johanna
Of course, Johanna is seriously affected by the events of the Quarter Quell and the revolution, but her attitudes towards everything don't change all that much. She already has well-formed opinions about the government and Snow, so she's just glad she finally has the opportunity to act on them.
Johanna does become tamer, calmer, and quieter after she returns from the Capitol, and she's forced to sit out for much of the fight. She finally accepts Katniss as her friend, but for the most part, Johanna's beliefs remain similar to where they started.
GREW A LOT: Peeta
Peeta is rather shy and reserved when he's first introduced as the Boy with the Bread. He's always charitable, generous, selfless, and sensitive, but he doesn't care all that much about the bigger picture.
He's extremely protective of Katniss, almost to a fault, but in Catching Fire, his protectiveness means something more. He wants her to survive so that she can change the world. His growth becomes truly evident in Mockingjay: Part 1 when he warns District 13 of the oncoming attack even at the risk of his own life.
DIDN'T GROW: Cinna
Like Johanna, Cinna's opinions on the world are already well-formed at the start of the film series. He knows a lot more about the Capitol's inner workings than Katniss does, but he doesn't want to burden her with this knowledge as she's already worried about the Games.
Behind the scenes, though, Cinna is working hard to spark the revolution, which is evident in his stylistic choices for Peeta and Katniss. He continues his controversial work in Catching Fire, and he gives his life for the cause he believes in.
GREW A LOT: Effie
Effie is a shallow, frivolous woman when viewers first meet her at the Reaping. She seems utterly insensitive towards others' feelings and the larger issues at stake.
She remains wrapped up in her own tiny problems, like whether her outfit works and worrying about Katniss's fierce facial expressions, but she grows a lot emotionally. She truly forms a strong bond with Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch and grows to care for them, worry for their safety, and support their battles.
DIDN'T GROW: Coin
Alma Coin may appear to have her people's best interests at heart, but the truth is that her methods are flawed. She can be extremist and, overall, is not much of a better option than Snow.
She fails to realize that she isn't really earning anyone's loyalty, especially Katniss's, and that this revolution is not hers. Though Coin isn't in the franchise for a long time, she doesn't change at all.
GREW A LOT: Haymitch
At the start of the series, Haymitch is little more than a drunk. He doesn't care about anything anymore and simply gets through each day just to survive. When he begins to care about Katniss and Peeta, his life regains purpose.
He believes in Katniss's potential both as a Tribute and a symbol, the Mockingjay. He becomes passionate about taking down the Capitol, a state that ruined his life a long time ago. He also develops more human feelings towards the people around him, even if he does continue giving them tough love.
DIDN'T GROW: Snow
Like Coin, President Snow is doomed from the start, largely because he is unwilling to even consider changing his perspective. He seems to take an unsettling liking to Katniss, but he also needs her out of the picture.
Katniss and Snow understand each other in a way, but Snow will never let anyone change his opinions. He believes in the system his elders founded, and he continues to promote it through the bloodshed at the Hunger Games each year.
GREW A LOT: Katniss
At the end of the fourth film, Katniss is far from the teenage girl she is at the beginning of the first movie. Some things about her have stayed the same, but her core values have been seriously shaken up.
For one thing, she has opened herself up to the possibility of love and children. She has accepted that she has a voice and that it needs to be used. In the beginning, she strongly resists her place as one of the favorite Tributes, and then as the Mockingjay, but she learns to embrace it and use it to enact change.
DIDN'T GROW: Gale
If there's anyone in The Hunger Games who doesn't grow, it's Gale. No matter what happens, Gale can't let go of comparatively trivial matters from his past. Katniss and Peeta's relationship is one of these things.
Even during a life-or-death mission, Gale is wrapped up in his bitterness towards Katniss. In terms of his worldview, Gale doesn't change all that much. He remains just as violent and fiery throughout all four installments, but that speaks to his awareness in the first film before a revolution was even on the horizon.