Prime Video’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie is a triumph, against all odds. Somehow, series creator Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass) did the impossible and gave us a new take on the classic story. The major story beats were done justice, but new elements also properly update the story to 2026. But as great as it is, there’s one change that we didn’t love so much. And it’s because it lets the character of Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) off the hook for her most heinous act. This is done, possibly, to justify further seasons of the series, which could continue well past where Stephen King’s novel ends. We get that, but we still don’t love it.
One major change to King’s text for Flanagan’s series introduces a secret society of women with different mental powers. This society has seemingly existed for centuries. Each of these women exhibits powers like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, telepathy, and more. They’ve become a hidden cabal in the modern day, and they recognize that teenage Carrie is someone they must keep an eye on. One of these women is a new, younger character named Emaline, played by Thalia Dudek. She first appears as a sympathetic classmate to Carrie, but we soon discover she’s something else.
When Emaline talks to Carrie at school, it seems no one can see her except for Carrie. It feels like an obvious riff on The Sixth Sense. In the final act, we thought we’d find out that she was actually a ghost the whole time. Or worse, a projection of Carrie’s own fractured mind. But Flanagan was way smarter than that, and it turns out Emaline was none of those things. She’s actually an astral projector who could project her consciousness from great distances. So she really was there the whole time talking to Carrie, just not physically.
While all of that is a cool twist on a tired concept, here’s where Flanagan loses us. During the iconic prom scene, where bully Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton) dumps the pig’s blood all over Carrie, Emaline appears. She speaks to Carrie, and before the worst parts of her murder spree can happen, she asks Carrie if she can “take the wheel.” In other words, if she can control her body and commit the worst crimes at the prom, murdering hundreds. Carrie allows this, meaning we can’t attribute the most horrific parts of this horror story to the titular character. In a sense, this becomes a story of possession, which is something it never was before.
Because of this change, Carrie loses some of its narrative potency. To us, the point of the story is that someone inherently kind and innocent like Carrie can be pushed to do something truly evil. It’s easier to think of the people who commit horrible acts like this as “bad seeds,” to think of them as people born without a conscience. And surely, a lot of them are. But sometimes, good people find themselves pushed to the point where they turn evil. And that’s a horrible thing that we as a society have to grapple with, especially in 21st-century America.
Taking away Carrie’s agency during her worst act ultimately gives her too much of a pass. The reason the Stephen King novel and the original 1976 film resonate so much is because we’re horrified as we watch what Carrie White does at the senior prom. But after witnessing her brutal torture by her peers at school and the humiliation ritual at the prom, we get it. It’s meant to engender uncomfortable feelings within us for sympathizing with her as she commits such a horrible act.
However, in the new version, Carrie White is off the hook. Some of the early damage at the prom is indeed her fault, but the deaths resulting from that early portion are seemingly accidental. We can forgive Carrie for most of that. But the deliberate acts of murder that happen later are now on Emaline, and it feels like a bit of a cop out. Especially since now, Carrie survives the events of the story to go on to potential further seasons.
We suppose the thought process behind this was that we wouldn’t be able to root for Carrie as a protagonist in future seasons if she’s a mass murderer. And maybe they have a point. But sadly, it robs the story as we know it of its most horrible aspect: that someone can commit such an evil act, and we’ll all empathize with her regardless. And we’re not sure that fundamental change is worth it just for a potential season two. This change isn’t enough for us to dislike this adaptation. Especially since it does too much else right. But we think it’s the one time Mike Flanagan missed the mark on this otherwise amazing retelling of an all-time modern horror classic.
All eight episodes of Carrie are now available on Prime Video.
The post CARRIE Is Great, But There’s One Change We Don’t Love appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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