In Carrie Season 1, Episode 7 “Romantic Literature,” it’s been a few weeks since the melee at the mediation. But the consequences of everything surrounding CarrieRed_ haven’t died down. CarrieRed_ left a permanent stain on the high school, with the backlash being felt everywhere. As for Margaret, she’s seeking outside help to manage Carrie’s behavior.
Since the mediation, Carrie has fully embraced her powers. She’s not afraid to use them even on her own mother. She’s the one in control now, and she likes it. Her confidence is at a new level. Nothing and no one will stand in her way.
Margaret fears the person Carrie is becoming. She always sensed something was different with her daughter. I think she was hoping Carrie wouldn’t figure it out. That’s why she sheltered her away so much. Because she doesn’t know where else to turn, she meets with someone who knows what she’s going through.
The woman’s name is Amanda. She fills Margaret in on “TKS” or telekinetics. Margaret learns there are more like her daughter. When Margaret meets Amanda, she thinks she can help her figure out how to help her daughter. But that isn’t the solution she offers. What she offers terrifies Margaret.
I continue to have mixed feelings about Margaret. But even I know that she loves Carrie. She wants to be there for her. She just doesn’t know how because she’s afraid of her own daughter and what she might do. Margaret doesn’t want to hurt her child. That’s not an option.
Rewarding Bad Behavior
Because of everything that has happened over the school year, Principal Grayle and the parents think that the kids shouldn’t have a prom. During the hearing, parents and students argue their case. I understand both Margaret and Carrie’s perspectives. Margaret is right. The school year has been awful. She doesn’t feel the administration did its part to rein in the students’ behavior.
I also understand Carrie. Because the kids haven’t had a good year, she feels that the prom will bring some joy. Carrie knows that the prom is a “stupid dance.” But she also knows it’s important to the students. For Carrie, she views prom as a way to hit the reset button. She knows school has been chaos, but she thinks if they can unite for one night, everyone will realize who they could be.
And I’m sure Carrie’s prom crusade has nothing to do with Tommy asking her to be his date (wink, wink). In all seriousness, Carrie had a valid point. Ewen High School has had nothing but bad press for weeks. The CarrieRed_ account brought a dark cloud over the school. Prom is the one night where they can all be carefree. I think Carrie thought back to how free she felt at the open house party in Carrie Season 1, Episode 3. Everyone was having fun at the party. I think she wants to recapture that feeling.
Sadly, someone else has a more sinister plan for the prom.
Chris Wants Blood
Chris has been blaming Carrie for every problem she has. She truly believes Carrie has ruined her life. And now she’s taken the prom from her. Chris wants revenge, and Billy Nolan was all too willing to help. Plus she’s got nothing to lose. As far as she’s concerned nothing else matters other than destroying Carrie.
Like in the book, Chris and Billy rig the system to make sure Carrie is crowned prom queen. It was interesting to see them do it digitally. Billy hacked into the school’s computer system and just changed the results. So much quicker than writing paper ballots. The beauty of technology.
Because Chris can’t help herself, she posts an ominous message on the CarrieRed_ account. Sue sees it and rushes to the prom. Carrie is totally unaware of all that’s about to go down. And one of the biggest changes in this adaptation was the uninvited guests. I’m not talking about Chris and Billy either.
Amanda, who Margaret met earlier, is at the prom. And she’s walking around looking super sus. Principal Grayle sees her and does… nothing. Seriously, what happened with all those drills and “If you see something, say something”? He approaches Miss Desjardin and asks her if she knows who the woman is. He acknowledges that they have volunteers at the prom but “she doesn’t look like a chaperone.” I swear, Principal Grayle has been asleep at the wheel all school year because if the woman looks suspicious, you tell her to leave! Duh!
Back to Carrie. As a series Carrie is interesting because even if you’ve read the book or you’ve only seen the movie, you still look for a different outcome in the end. I’ve seen so many iterations of Carrie, but that didn’t make the moment when she’s crowned any less tense to watch.
We all know what’s coming, but somehow Mike Flanagan managed to ratchet up the tension. And I think that’s partly because of the new players involved. There’s so much happening. You’re waiting for the bucket to drop while watching the mysterious people and trying to figure out what they’re doing at the prom. Is it to protect Carrie? Is it to stop her? There are so many questions. With only one more episode of Carrie left, I hope the answer becomes clear.
Carrie Season 1 is now available on Prime Video.
