7 Biggest Questions We Have After Carrie's Finale Episode

Mike Flanagan’s Carrie adaptation ends on a major cliffhanger, leaving seven significant unanswered questions that season 2 will have to answer if Prime Video renews the horror show. From the start, the TV adaptation of Carrie was promoted as an 8-episode limited series from Flanagan, a showrunner known forgreat horror miniseries. This particular story didn’t really need more episodes than that. Carrie is around 250 pages in the mass-market paperback, whereas King’s books average 400 to 500 pages. Plus, the first movie already did the story superbly in just 98 minutes.

However, Flanagan clearly had other plans. About a month before the show’s release, he told Collider that he wants three seasons, and that desire shows. The Carrie TV show changed the story by introducing other psychics who are after Carrie and an astral projector who becomes her friend and confidant. The narrative includes connections to the larger Stephen King universe that need exploring. The showrunner decided not to kill Carrie White at the end of Prime Video's Carrie, which is an undoubtedly divisive change. As a result, the show creates just as many questions as it answers. Ultimately, these seven stand out as the most significant, and they need a resolution.

Who Were The Psychics At The Prom?

Stephen King’s novel links Carrie White to a broader web of psychics who carry the TK gene, even if none interact with her directly. The new TV show takes it a step further, introducing a group of psychics who learn about Carrie’s powers, track her, and show up at her prom. However, the show tells us almost nothing about them. If Carrie gets picked up for season 2, the show will need to reveal the psychics’ identities and what’s driving them.

As it stands, a few possibilities from the wider Stephen King universe stand out. Mike Flanagan is adapting The Dark Tower series for Prime Video, so they could be the Breakers. The mention of the Shine hints that they could be the True Knot, the nomadic psychic vampires. This would also explain why the group members look like they are from different periods in history. The other organization that’s dangerous to psychics like Carrie is the Institute, but I think that’s the least likely possibility.

Is Margaret White Really Dead?

At the end of Carrie, the Narrator interrogates Margaret White under the guise of making a documentary. Then she stops Margaret’s heart with her psychic abilities, killing her in the same way that Carrie White murders her mother in the book. Given the manner of death, I’m convinced she is really dead. I didn’t even consider another possibility. It would be too odd for them to mirror the book yet have her survive.

That said, others believe that she could still be alive because of one key character change from the books to the TV show. In Stephen King’s novel, Margaret White didn’t have psychic powers. In the TV show, she does. For the sake of argument, we don’t know how one psychic’s abilities would affect another individual with the TK gene. She looks dead. Her heart seems to stop beating. But I suppose anything is possible in the Stephen King universe.

Did Rita Survive The Prom Massacre?

Carrie gives a pretty clear list of who lives and who dies the night of the prom. Like in the book, Sue makes it out alive and helps tell the story. Tina survives with a gash to the face caused by the glass from her phone. Emaline and the other psychics are still alive. Billy, Chris, Tommy, and Grayle are dead. However, Rita is a wildcard.

In the Stephen King universe, the general rule of thumb is nobody is dead unless you see them dead. Even then, there’s only about a 30/70 chance that they are truly gone. The writer generally doesn’t bring people back to life, but characters still return as ghosts or psychic echoes. Rita didn’t die onscreen, and we never see her dead body. Emaline, possessing Carrie White, throws the young teacher across the gym into the fiery stage. I can’t imagine anyone surviving that, but then again, I didn’t think Tina would live either.

Does Sue Snell Remember The Psychics After The Interview?

Sue Snell’s interview frames Carrie’s story, opening the first episode and coming back around in the last. She tells the Narrator that everyone is asking the wrong question. She doesn’t think folks should focus on Chris and Billy’s prank, Tommy’s death, or what Carrie did at the prom. Instead, she brings attention to the “others” who showed up at the prom despite having no connection to the school.

In the last episode, the Narrator tries to erase Sue’s memory of the others involved in the prom massacre. However, Sue has a strange look on her face. It seems like she’s slipping back and forth between the real memories and the altered ones. What’s more, the Narrator asks Sue if she’s sure others were there, and the teen didn’t answer. Carrie season 2 needs to clarify whether the mind control worked because Sue could be a threat to the group and an ally to Carrie if she remembers the truth.

Why Is Emaline On The Run From The Psychics?

Mike Flanagan’s Carrie introduces Emaline, an original character who becomes Carrie’s friend and aids her psychic journey. Surprisingly, the teenager isn’t physically present until the finale, the episode where we learn more about Emaline. There’s clearly some beef between the psychics and Emaline. The Narrator asks Margaret White whether she recognizes a photo of the astral-projecting teen, indicating that the Narrator knows about Emaline and her powers. The Narrator also suggests the teen is a threat by calling Emaline “dangerous.”

Then, Emaline says she’s taking Carrie to safety, away from the people following them. She also refuses to tell her friend where they are so that the folks tracking the telekinetic teen can’t find them. Carrie season 2 needs to tell us why the “others” and Emaline are adversaries and why Emaline wants to get away from them. The horror show needs to provide so much more backstory and worldbuilding for everything to make sense.

What Does The Narrator Want With Carrie?

The Narrator is the most manipulative character in Prime Video’s Carrie, which says a lot. She’s more calculating than Margaret White and more threatening than John Hargensen. Her coven of psychics has tracked Carrie for quite some time prior to the start of the show because Caitlyn, one of the members, keeps sensing her bursts of power. They show up at the prom and seemingly manipulate the situation. Later, the Narrator feigns ignorance, using the Ewan High prom massacre and the town fire to learn as much as she can about the strength and manifestations of Carrie’s powers.

The Narrator wouldn’t track Carrie, show up, and pry unless she had an ulterior motive. I’m convinced she wants to use Carrie as a power source or a weapon, but there are about a dozen other explanations. If the show continues, Carrie season 2 needs to give us clarity on the cryptic figure's goal.

Where Are Emaline & Carrie Headed Next?

Instead of dying at the end of the story, Carrie wakes up in a car with Emaline, driving down a long road. Carrie asks Emaline who she is and where they are, but gets no answer. She asks again. Instead of giving Carrie even an iota of information, Emaline offers an annoyingly vague answer.

She says she’s Carrie’s friend and, “That’s the world. That’s what you always wanted, right? And it belongs to you.” I’m sorry, but that’s not a good answer. It provides us with zero information and comes across as an empty platitude. They obviously exist in the world, but what state are they in? How far will they drive? Are they headed to a specific destination? These are questions that need to be answered if Prime Video renews the show. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee the streamer will move forward with Carrie season 2, leaving viewers wondering what the future holds for Carrie White.