Prime Video has renewed Carrie for a second season, so soon we will see Summer H. Howell once again on the small streaming screens to accompany a new version of Carrie as she travels around the world after what happened at the prom. The story is drawn from the eponymous novel by Stephen King, but it introduced several breaking elements on television, diverging from the original work: one, in particular, sparked debate among fans especially for the role it would play in terms of the plot. Yet the creator and showrunner Mike Flanagan weighed in, defending the character and what was shown during the first season.
Carrie, fans criticize Emaline’s influence in the series but Mike Flanagan weighs in
Now that we know Carrie will return to TV, Mike Flanagan will have his work cut out for him in crafting a story that goes far beyond the pages of Stephen King’s book. There are several changes proposed by Flanagan, beginning with the final decision to save Carrie from death and allow her to escape. Another major change, which significantly influenced that final twist, concerns the introduction of Emaline, a new character created specifically for the TV series and portrayed by Thalia Dudek.
Emaline appears in the early episodes and helps Carrie overcome some obstacles at school. Targeted by other classmates, Carrie had to endure the aggressive and altered behaviors of the school while hiding it from her mother as much as possible, a mother who is very protective and willing to do anything to help her daughter and defend their reputation. In the fifth episode, it is revealed that Emaline is not real, or rather has always been a hallucination in Carrie’s eyes. Emaline also tries to assist her in developing her powers to the fullest and she steps in during the crucial prom scene, after the bucket of blood is dumped on her head. At that point Emaline takes control of her body and triggers the massacre that Mike Flanagan had shown on screen. Afterwards, Emaline arrives at another pivotal moment in the story, saving Carrie from the rubble of her house. Yet, unlike before, Emaline in this moment is tangible, standing in front of her in the flesh, and explains that her power is the astral projection, which is how she has communicated with her so far, since she was too far away to do otherwise.
The season finale of the first season shows Carrie seated next to Emaline in a car, heading toward an unknown destination that opens the door to a second season. The audience, however, did not fully embrace the presence of this new character, especially regarding how she would influence Carrie’s path. Mike Flanagan, via Reddit, weighed in on the matter, explaining his perspective: “It’s the thing that makes the most sense for these [specific] characters in that particular situation. I know it’s not ‘like the book’, but damn, at this point in the series we’ve left the book behind a long time ago. (And even if Emaline may have taken the wheel, Carrie is still aboard in every sense. And Emaline didn’t kill Tommy, nor crush Chris or Billy).”
The showrunner called out two crucial moments from the finale when Carrie accidentally kills Tommy, but very knowingly Chris and Billy, the orchestrators of the horrific blood prank that occurred in the gym shortly before and that then triggered her vengeful fury. It is also true that, once they are killed, Carrie seems to come to herself again and, having confirmed what she did, she bursts into tears.
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