There comes a time where you have to let go of what is known if you want to embrace the new, but there were times throughout Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series where I just found it almost impossible to do. So ingrained in my consciousness were the events of Stephen King’s original novel and Brian De Palma’s brilliantly lurid adaption, that whenever the Amazon series strayed too far from what I was used to, my resolve just grew.
Some of the changes worked beautifully, especially the glimpses into the social war zone that is modern school life and the devestating effects social media has had on bullying (thank sweet fuck there wasn’t Instagram when I was at school). However, it’s with Carrie’s season finale that I feel I was finally able to view the show in a way it deserved – after all, this is Carrie: The Show, not Carrie: The Book, or Carrie: The Movie, and if I can admire a show like Hannabal for taking liberties with both the films and Thomas Harris’ books, why shouldn’t I do the same thing here? Carrie’s iconic big finish proves to be only a doorway for something new – time to walk through it.
Disaster has struck Ewen High as a vicious prank delivered by Chris and Billy has backfired with shocking consequences. But rather than watching a blood soaked Carrie use the telekinetic powers to rip the town of Chamberlain a new asshole, we instead dissect it from the point of view of Adelaide, the interviewer who has been providing each episode with those cold opens concerning gifted women throughout history. As she interviews the still-battered survivors of Carrie’s wrath, we get a picture of what actually occured that night when the tormented young girl finally blew her superpowered stack.
But beyond maiming her fellow students with exploding phones, mentally flinging them aside like ragdolls, or running a few thousand volts through them with a handy powerline, we find that a lot of Carrie’s rage is being directed by the astral projector known as Emaline. Emerging from the blazing school, the blood streaked Ms. White has one final showdown with Chris Hargensen when Billy tries to run her down with his car, but after the terrified mean girl discovers accountability far too late to save her life, Carrie finally slips out of her rage-fueled fugue state to soak in all the damage she’s down to the town.
All that’s left is to return to her momma, but Margaret is utterly terrified of the destructive force that her daughter has become. Heeding the earlier advice of a powers hunter named Amanada, can Margaret really bring herself to put her daughter down like a dog? But what’s more, as we goes through various interviews with the likes of a shaken Sue Snell, what is Adelaide’s role in all this? How is she linked to the two strange girls who were at the prom that night? Why does she want to know so much about Carrie? And what will she do to cover her tracks once she’s gotten the information she needs? School’s out for Ewen High, but this is only the beginning for Carrie White.
While I always knew that Carrie’s shift to television would have to require changes, shifts and additions to the original story, I have to admit, I found myself fighting it some of the way. But after experiencing the season finale and seeing what’s been set up for a potential second season, I found a lot of my orginal issues draining away with a simple realisation – this is a series now, and if it’s going to continue (and I truly hope it does), things simply cannot work a certain way. That doesn’t mean that I’m suddenly super cool with all of Flanagan’s changes – Carrie allowing Emaline to guide her through the Ewen High massacre technically lessens her involvement, which is a bit of a cop-out to be fair – but when it comes to delivering those vital moments, the changes ultimately make sense.
But let’s focus on that massacre first, and when it comes to the visceral cruelty that the scene demands, Flanagan proves that he can match De Palma’s for cold-hearted brutality any day of the week. Let’s not forget that the director closed out the second episode of Fall Of The House Of Usher with a mass acid shower and had Carla Gugino pull the skin off her arms at the end of Gerald’s Game, so anyone expecting him to go easy here is in for a shock – literally in the case of Matthew Lillard’s well-meaning principle. It’s nasty, it’s mean and it understands that Carrie’s rage does not discriminate, even if some of the victims don’t deserve the fiery fates the show reserves for them. But a caved in skull for Tommy and a total immolation for Ms. Desjardin is there to prove that Carrie is finally fresh out of her most glorious attribute – kindness.
However, we are invited to celebrate with her, and in some cases rightfully so. The final end for Chris Hargensen is insanely satisfying as she finally attempts an apology while trapped in the twisted wreck of Billy’s car, only to be denied that final, far-too-late, discovery of accountability as her tormentor won’t even let her get the word out before crushing her completely. Elsewhere, we find Carrie and Emaline dancing in the streets as Chamberlain collapses around them, and while the Emaline influence does irk me somewhat (I support women’s wrongs and well as rights – so why partially strip Carrie of her autonomy?), it’s a stunning image. However, more changes are due and its here where any fans of the orginal is going to have to detach if they’re going to accept what comes next. Margaret does indeed try to kill her daughter, but in the stab-fest that follows, both women survive the collapsing of their house. Carrie ultimately goes off with the flesh and blood Emaline, who is real, but seems to be some rogue astral projector who sees Carrie as some sort of savior God. Elsewhere, Margaret’s life is saved by the fact that she has latent, telekinetic powers herself, but instead is later killed by Adelaide, after her interview, who is revealed to be a telepathic mastermind behind the cult of superpowered teens we first saw eight episodes ago. It seems that if Amazon should deem Carrie worthy of a second season (and they really should), it looks like we’re going to be heading into the sort of Stephen King territory that encompasses the likes of Firestarter and The Institute, which admittedly fits fairly well. Imagine how cool it could be if season 2 could find a role for Firestarter’s Charlie McGee the same way Welcome To Derry used Dick Halloran. However, with a ton of questions left in the air, Carrie ensures that it gets the basics right while ensuring those changes make sense for the bigger, yet unseen picture.
Despite umming and ahing a bit over some of the additions and changes, I can’t help but happily admit that Flanagan has done yet another Stephen King adaptation proud. While ensuring that the bones of the story remain sturdy, the modernisation of Carrie really had some truly chilling things to say about bullying and the strain that’s on modern education in a time where everything is filmed and picked apart constantly. Magnificent performances, shocking twists and the desire to not hold back when it was time for Carrie to finally flex, means that the open-ended potential of that forgotten, 2002 TV movie may yet be realised as it’s near-identical ending also has the eponymous girl surviving and driving off into an uncertain future. Come on Flanagan, let’s see what happens next.
To use terminology from other one of King’s books – Carrie shines.
🌟🌟🌟🌟