'Carrie' Star Alison Thornton Says Chris Wanted to Apologize

Published Oct 19, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT

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Mike Flanagan has done it again. He’s delivered another phenomenal ensemble piece packed to the brim with top-tier talent. His adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie includes “Flanafamily” favorites like Samantha Sloyan, Kate Siegel, Matthew Lillard, and Rahul Kohli, and also adds a slew of expectational new talent to the equation.

Summer H. Howell successfully follows in the footsteps of the legendary Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, and Siena Agudong soars playing Sue Snell as the character teeters between remaining loyal to her best friend and doing what’s right. And then there’s Alison Thornton as Carrie’s primary Ewen High School antagonist, Chris Hargensen. The infamous queen bee remains a bully in Flanagan’s series, but with far more complexity than ever. Put such a character in the hands of a deft actor like Thornton, and you wind up with an on-screen mean girl for the ages.

With Carrie now available to stream on Prime Video, Thornton took the time to swing by the Collider Ladies Night studio to discuss her journey to the Flanafamily, to dig into the push-pull of Chris’ internal world, and discuss why she struggles to apologize to Carrie.

Chris Would Have Apologized in Episode 5, If Not for Her Dad

"We win at all costs, and that’s how she's been raised."

Image via Prime Video

While working our way through Chris’ arc in the show, we stopped at a pivotal scene in Episode 5. Chris has been accused of running the Carrie Red account, and Principal Grayle pleads with her and her father (Michael Trucco) to do what’s necessary to resolve the situation, so everyone can move on. He even says, “If she works with us to fix this, then we have options which would be so much better for her than the alternative.” As he delivers that line, it is abundantly clear that Chris is considering his offer. But, before she can reply, her father ends the meeting.

But what if that never happened? What if her father didn’t cut her off? Here’s Thornton's take:

"I think that she was going to apologize. I think Chris wants so badly throughout the show for this to just go away, to apologize. But she has her dad in the back of her head who, you know, the Hargensens don’t back down. And this is something that Michael Trucco and I talked about a lot, is just the mentality of, like, we win at all costs, and that’s how she's been raised. Apologizing would be such a defeat and so devastating, and I think would really jeopardize her relationship with her dad.”

And that’s not the only scene where Chris is on the cusp of apologizing. Thornton added, “It's the scene in the bathroom, it's that scene with Principal Grayle, it's the mediation, too, where I think if the parents weren't there, Chris would just be like, ‘I'm sorry. Can we just put this behind us, and we can just go back to how things were?’”

Flanagan and co. made the most of the opportunity to expand the role of Chris Hargensen in the series format, but these are the moments that prove the success of their writing was heavily dependent on the actor cast in the role. The character demands an artist who, without dialogue, can convey that Chris is tempted to apologize and end it all. Thornton’s work is downright breathtaking in that respect.

Chris Needed to Hug Her Mom

"If she could just let herself lose ..."

Image via Prime Video

Yet another moment when you can feel Chris reaching for another lifeline she’s been thrown comes in Episode 7 when she goes to her mother (Heather Graham) to pick up her clothing. Her mom attempts to check in on her, but Chris puts up one wall after the next. However, thanks to Thornton, the subtext is incredibly clear.

“That scene is so sad to me because Chris needs that so much. If she could truly just, I guess, put that stubbornness aside and hug her mom … if she could just let herself lose. Not that it’s even losing. Her losing is actually winning. It’s like the whole story would change. There are so many moments where Chris is thrown a lifeline, and she makes the choice. We see her make the choice to do the wrong thing. One thing that was really fun for me, fun in a sad way, I guess, is how much she just wants to go inside and how much she just needs to hear that from her mom, and it does resonate.”

Chris is certainly at fault for a significant number of terrible things that play out in Carrie, but the series also emphasizes that these kids are heavily influenced by their parents and the other guardians in their lives. While Chris does want to go inside, the rift that’s formed between her and her mother is also present. Thornton explained, “I also don't think that Chris believes her mom either. After everything that's happened, the only person that is there for Chris is Billy, which is not the right person.”

Chris Finally Makes the Right Choice

But it's far too late ...

After making one bad decision after the next, after actively harming Carrie and others time and time again, Chris finally does the right thing. After leaving the prom, Carrie pursues Chris and Billy (Arthur Conti), and Billy’s had enough. He decides to run her down on the road. But, this is where Chris finally steps in, grabs the wheel at the last possible second and stops him from hitting her.

“It was so interesting to me that at the end of the whole show, Chris doesn't kill anyone. She's kind of just lost and a kid, and I kept really leaning on the fact that it was really devastating to me that in her final moments, she's also with the wrong person, and just that moment of, as far as she's taken it, she has a line. She actually can't kill Carrie. Billy can. Billy has no problem with it. But just a lot of it for me was those moments of the horror of like, how far we've taken it and we can't go back, but at least she can do that. At least she can save one person after everything.”

While Chris does get the opportunity to do one good thing before her story ends, she doesn’t get the chance to utter the statement that’s been buried in her all along, “I’m sorry.” Carrie hurls the car off the road, leaving Chris and Billy trapped inside. After crushing Billy’s side of the car, Chris attempts to tell Carrie, finally, that she’s sorry, but before she can finish those few words, Carrie crushes her side of the car as well.

Thornton recalled:

“I think there's a lot to just being covered in blood and looking at your hands and just seeing red and having fake glass in my hair and being tired because it's 3:00 in the morning. I remember walking up to the car and Mike came up to me, and he was like, ‘I think she knows what's gonna happen.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I agree.’ And he said something like, ‘There's really nothing she can do. Her body's broken.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And then he just said, ‘I'll see you on the other side,’ and walked away. It just sent me — so sad for Chris.”

It's a brutal end for her character in the show but a spectacular big finish for Thornton as an actor. After a scene-stealing run in Carrie, there’s no doubt there will be significant enthusiasm to see her pop up in a future Flanagan project, and beyond.

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  Summer H. Howell

  Carrie White

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  Samantha Sloyan

  Margaret White

Carrie White struggles through school life after her father's passing in this new adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel. The challenges she faces include bullying, a domineering mother, and the the development of her telekinetic abilities.