Carrie ending explained: Mike Flanagan addresses major change in brutal finale

It's the episode we've all been waiting for. As Carrie finally arrives on Prime Video, the full horror of the Thomas Ewen High School prom is played out in a brutal 45 minutes.

Horror titan Mike Flanagan has delivered a terrifyingly up to date adaptation of Stephen King's novel and, whatever you think about his take, there's no denying that the blood-soaked finale packs a punch.

With spectacular performances (especially from Summer H Howell as Carrie White), gory details, and major changes to the novel, it's difficult to look away from episode 8 - particularly as it seems to leave the door open for more (on that note, check out everything we know about a potential season 2).

But, in the meantime, this is every key moment broken down, including some insights from Flanagan and star Samantha Sloyan about one huge change from King's novel.

Carrie ending explained: What happened to Carrie - and why doesn't she die?

In a major change from King's novel, Carrie does not die at the end of the TV series. The end of the episode sees her being driven away by Emaline (who, it turns out, is real!), to somewhere where Carrie can be among others with powers and learn to harness them properly.

Presumably, this change is to leave the door open for more seasons, as Flanagan has expressed his hopes for a three-season arc.

Echoing back to the beginning of the series, episode 8 begins with Sue Snell (Siena Agudong) being grilled by Kate Siegel's unnamed documentarian about Carrie. She wants to know a suspicious amount of detail about her and what happened during the prom, which puts Sue right back in the scene - and we find out exactly what happened.

First, Carrie uses her powers to "explode" all of the electronics in the room, including everyone's phones, leaving many with brutal face wounds. Then, she spots the culprits, Chris (Alison Thornton) and Billy (Arthur Conti) - in the rafters, pulling down the platform they're stood on to the ground. While they escape unscathed (for now), the platform hits Tommy (Joel Oulette) and the light smashes into Principle Grayle (Matthew Lillard), starting a fire in the process.

As Carrie stops the sprinkler system from kicking in, she sees Tommy die before her eyes and is left devastated - until Emaline (Thalia Dudek) shows up, and tells her to "let her take the wheel". From then on, it seems that Emaline is in control, an intriguing change fro the book, as it leaves Carrie with little agency over her own actions.

Through Carrie, Emaline causes chaos, including starting more fires, and hurling electric wires around - one of which catches Principle Grayle and kills him in dramatic fashion. Carrie levitates to the ground and walks through a sea of screaming students, telekinetically throwing people away from her. As Miss Desjardin tries to reach Carrie, she pushes her away, sending her reeling into the flames. Leaving the main hall, Carrie locks the door behind her, and with one glance, electrocutes everyone still inside.

Amid the chaos, Chris and Billy escape the school and start to drive away - but Carrie soon catches up to them, flipping their car over and crushing it with them inside, killing them. Coming to her senses, Carrie starts to panic, but Emaline assures her she did nothing wrong. Shortly afterwards, Emaline vanishes and Carrie returns home, where her mother bathes her.

But the moment of calm only lasts too long, with Margaret deciding the only option left is to kill Carrie. She attempts to stab her through the ear - but Carrie stops her, only for Margaret to stab her daughter in the shoulder. Distraught, Carrie brings the entire house down, before Emaline takes her away.

Why does Carrie's mother have powers?

In a major change from King's novel, it's revealed that Margaret White has similar powers to Carrie, and saves herself from the wreckage of the house.

Throughout the series, it's made clear that Sloyan's depiction of Margaret is wildly different from in the novel. While she's still a religious fanatic in the Prime Video series, Sloyan's version is written as a much more sympathetic character.

Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Sloyan said of the reveal of Margaret's powers: "I feel like once you know that, if you go back to the beginning, she makes so much more sense - the intensity of what she's protecting Carrie [from] because she knows that this is true. She knows what her daughter can do."

Flanagan added: "What I loved about it was how many relationships between parents and their kids are coloured by this fact that they have so much more in common than they'll ever admit, and how much of what parents will react to in their kids are things they're actually reacting to about themselves, whether they know that or not. And I thought that was lovely."

However, he's ready for fans to be divided over the decision, going on to say: "It was something I knew when we were talking about in the writers' room. I was like, 'People are going to have opinions. People are going to have some thoughts about this.' But it just felt so appropriate as the final button for the two of those characters together. It felt tragic to me."

Addressing his new version of Margaret, Flanagan previously said: "Margaret White and Chris Hargensen were, both in King’s novel and the subsequent adaptations, irredeemable monsters. But what if Margaret wasn’t a fanatical religious abuser - what if she was a woman who fiercely loved her daughter, and wanted to protect her from the cruelty of the world without knowing the best way to do so?"

After the wreckage, we see Margaret being interviewed by the documentarian where Margaret explains that she has had her powers since she was a little girl. It's revealed that Margaret and Carrie share "the TK gene" which, moments of extreme stress, it "rattles something loose" in their brains.

While Margaret is clearly prepared to go and track down her daughter, tragically she doesn't get the chance, with the documentarian killing her in a torturous way - slowing down her heart, bit by bit, until it stops altogether.

Who is Emaline and is she real?

In the finale, it's revealed that Emaline is an astral projector - someone whose consciousness can split from their real body. And yes, she is real.

Until midway through the finale episode, Emaline projects herself to Carrie (which explains why no one else could see her). However, immediately after Chris and Billy's deaths, when she and Carrie are dancing amid the flames, she's cut off.

The real Emaline drives to finds Carrie, and takes her away amid the wreckage of the house. During the drive, Carrie becomes frustrated at the lack of answers from Emaline, asking: "Why does everyone treat me like I can't handle a single thing?" Emaline reassures Carrie, telling her she's a "god", and tells her she is escorting her to safety.

The season ends with Carrie realising she can take on - and control - the world if she chooses, with Emaline asking her where she wants to go, very much leaving the show open for a season 2.

Who are the intruders at the prom and who is Kate Siegel's character?

Kate Siegel's character previously seemed to be nothing more than a documentarian reporting on the massacre at the prom.

However, this episode reveals that she has her own motive. She is associated with the intruders at the prom, all of whom have powers similar to Carrie's.

The documentarian in particular seems powerful, equipped with hypnotic powers and the ability to control others' minds and bodies - shown when her powerful suggestions make their way into Sue's mind, and when she kills Margaret.

Who died in the finale?

The following key characters died in the finale.

• Principal Grayle
• Miss Desjardin
• Chris Hargensen
• Billy Nolan
• Margaret White

That doesn't leave a huge amount of characters to return in a potential second season. However, if another instalment is greenlit, it seems likely that the focus would be on expanding the stories of the characters with powers, and seeing Carrie learn to harness hers.

Carrie is available to stream on Prime Video now.

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