‘Carrie’ Star Breaks Down How That Shocking Finale Changes Everything

Published Oct 8, 2026, 8:31 AM EDT

Taylor Gates is an Indiana native who earned her BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Evansville. She fell in love with entertainment by watching shows about chaotic families like Full House, The Nanny, Gilmore Girls, and The Fosters.

After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a writer, editor, and filmmaker. Today, she’s a sucker for dramedies — especially coming-of-age stories centering around complex female and LGBTQ+ characters. She has been with Collider since May 2022.

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Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Carrie.

Summary

• In an interview with Collider, Samantha Sloyan discusses Margaret’s unexpected moments of comedy.
• Summer H. Howell talks about filming scenes that made her feel like a “superhero.”
• The duo break down Carrie and Margaret’s most pivotal moments and reveal what they’d like in Season 2.

Samantha Sloyan is no stranger to working with horror mastermind Mike Flanagan, giving standout performances in everything from Midnight Mass to The Fall of the House of Usher. Many say the actress — who’s also had memorable turns on Grey’s Anatomy, The Pitt, and Scandal — is criminally underrated (a statement I would have to agree with), but if all is right in the world, that will all change with the release of her newest project: Carrie. Sloyan takes on the role of religious zealot Margaret White, a part played by Piper Laurie, Patricia Clarkson, and Julianne Moore. Those are big shoes to fill, to be sure, but Sloyan is more than up for the challenge, putting a fresh twist on the notorious, terrifying character.

This may be Summer H. Howell’s first time working with Flanagan, but she’s built her career in the horror space. Her first feature was Curse of Chucky, and she’s also appeared in genre flicks Hunter Hunter and Night of the Reaper. There’s a good chance that Howell, too, will soon become a household name after people see her performance in the titular role, balancing a deep vulnerability and a dark desire for vengeance against the many people who have wronged her.

Collider got the chance to chat with Sloyan and Howell about their work in the series. During the conversation, the two break down the most pivotal moments between the mother-daughter duo. Sloyan also discusses infusing her character with a surprising amount of humor, and Howell reveals the day onset that made her feel like a superhero and what she would like to see in a Season 2.

Samantha Sloyan and Summer H. Howell on ‘Carrie’s Surprising Humor

“I think the comedy is brought about by her being taken out of her world and put in this world.”

Image via Prime Video

COLLIDER: Margaret scared the crap out of me in many moments, but she also made me laugh very hard. Samantha, can you talk about finding those moments of comedy, especially in her scenes at the supermarket where she's scrubbing the toilets and checking out people buying vibrators?

SAMANTHA SLOYAN: I loved those scenes so much. I think actually Mike has always written my characters having a bit of that. I feel like Beverly Keene has funny moments; Tamerlane Usher has her moments. I think the comedy is brought about by her being taken out of her world and put in this world. This kind of ‘stranger in a strange place’ is going to spark some [comedy], especially when it's interactions we're so familiar with, to kind of see it through somebody else's eyes and her complete horror at it all.

Another one of my favorite moments was the training montage we have in Episode 5 with Emaline and Carrie's breaking and levitating things. Summer, what was it like to film something so physical and magical like that?

SUMMER H. HOWELL: It was really fun. That day had a mix of some visual effects, but mainly practical, so it was fun to time all the bottles and make sure the team was doing it at the right time, and then the car explosion and running away like we're superheroes. It was really fun all around. It can be challenging if things don't work — there's a lot more waiting to do — but that's most of the job: hurry up and wait.

Samantha Sloyan and Summer H. Howell Break Down Carrie and Margaret’s Most Pivotal Moments

“Margaret is going to fight a war on Carrie’s behalf, and that's where it starts.”

Image via Prime Video

One of my favorite parts about this series is the reveal that Margaret has powers and flexed in her childhood. How do you think that experience impacted her and her character?

SLOYAN: I think the first thing we realized is that if you rewound your mind back to the beginning, when she's sitting in the chair and everybody's in her house, you understand the terror that she has. For me, the turning point was when all the rocks were falling on the house. I think she really believes and understands it's her daughter who's doing this. This whole time, so much of her is in this heightened state because she knows what her daughter is capable of and how dangerous that makes her for the world — not just in what she might do to them, but what it might do to her. And that's why she's so desperate to keep her safe.

Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving? Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky

Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you're not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.

🏕️Jason

🔪Michael

💤Freddy

🎈Pennywise

🪆Chucky

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

01

Something feels wrong. You can't explain it — you just know. What do you do? First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.

ALeave immediately. I don't need to understand a threat to respect it. BStay quiet and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it. CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again. DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I'd rather know what I'm dealing with. ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong? Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.

ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people. BA quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight. CIn my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what's already in there. DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things. ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you'd expect is a threat.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

What is your most reliable survival asset? Every survivor has a quality the villain didn't account for. What's yours?

APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence. BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out. CPsychological resilience — I've faced my worst fears before. They don't have the same power over me. DEmotional steadiness — I don't panic. Panic is what gets you caught. EScepticism — I don't underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through? Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.

AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer. BThe invisible — a threat I can feel but can't locate, watching from somewhere I can't see. CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me. DThe unknowable — something ancient, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself. EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it's too late.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

You're with a group when things start going wrong. What's your role? Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn't.

AThe one who says "we need to leave" first — and means it, even when no one listens. BThe one who stays quiet, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does. CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to. DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed. EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

What's the horror movie mistake you're most likely to make? Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.

AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn't, but I can't leave them behind. BAssuming I'm safe once I've found a hiding spot. That's when it finds me. CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy. DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I'm dealing with. EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That's exactly what it wants.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

What's your best weapon against something that can't be stopped by conventional means? Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.

AThe environment itself — I use the terrain, the water, the geography against it. BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn't expect. CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon. DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on. EImprovisation — I use whatever's at hand, however unconventional. Creativity over brute force.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

It's the final scene. You're the last one standing. How did you make it? The final survivor always has a reason. What's yours?

AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me. BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it. CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most. DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed. EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it.

REVEAL MY VILLAIN →

Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated Your Best Chance Is Against…

Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.

Jason Voorhees

Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.

• He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn't strategise, doesn't adapt, doesn't outsmart. He simply pursues.
• Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
• The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
• You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.

Michael Myers

Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it's too late for anyone who isn't paying close enough attention.

• But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
• Michael's power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
• Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
• You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.

Freddy Krueger

Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.

• You are harder to destabilise than most. You've faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven't looked away.
• The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
• Freddy's greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
• Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.

Pennywise

Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.

• The Losers Club didn't survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
• You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
• That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the dark — is Pennywise's worst nightmare.
• It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.

Chucky

Chucky's greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it's already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.

• You don't have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
• Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
• Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
• Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

I feel like there were a few distinct turning points in Carrie and Margaret's relationship. The first really feels like it comes at the end of Episode 4, when Carrie comes home and cries to Margaret that everyone is so awful, and she just wants her to protect her. I was torn by being disturbed by Margaret kind of loving that, but also excited to see them on the same page for once. Can you both talk about that flip for both of your characters in that episode?

HOWELL: It's a moment where Carrie no longer has anyone, and so she comes back to what she knows: the love of her mother. Even though it's much more complicated now, it's familiar, and it's her only option, and she chooses to believe that her mom can really help.

SLOYAN: I think her mother does intend to help, and I think having her come back to her after feeling like she's been taken from her in so many ways — back in the nest in a way…Margaret is going to fight a war on Carrie’s behalf, and that's where it starts.

That second turn comes at the end of Episode 6 when Carrie stops Margaret from slapping her and slams her into the prayer closet instead. What was it like playing that power dynamic shift? Because the world really gets turned on its head at that moment.

HOWELL: It was fun for me.

SLOYAN: [Laughs] Yeah, I bet it was.

HOWELL: It's kind of freeing. It was also our last episode that we filmed. We did 1, 2, 7, and 8, and then we went back to 3, 4, 5, and 6, so we were on the final stretch. It was like, “Yes, I've been waiting for this scene. I want to see how we do this. I want to see how Sam somehow ends up in the closet.” It was a good time. Our director, Hiromi, was just the best, so it was really fun.

SLOYAN: It was really fun, and it was also heartbreaking. To fear her daughter — I think it's probably terrifying for anybody.

I feel like that last turn comes in the finale when Margaret is helping Carrie bathe the blood off of her. It's obviously dark, but it's also sort of tender and heartbreaking at the same time. I'm curious what it was like getting so sort of stripped back and vulnerable with each other. I imagine that took a lot of trust.

HOWELL: Yeah, it definitely did, but we had built that trust very early on. And there's always closed sets and only the required people in the room, so it was very intimate, and it was nice. We had rehearsal time before filming for a few weeks, so by the time I was in the bathtub, I fully trusted this woman. I love her.

SLOYAN: Same, and it was such a tender piece. I really do love that. Our crew in general — everybody, really — I think was really proud of the show we were making, so having the respect for whatever we were trying to do at the time was something that everybody truly was able to give.

Samantha Sloyan and Summer H. Howell Reveal What They’d Want In a ‘Carrie’ Season 2

“I want Carrie to find that light that she started the series out with.”

Image via Prime Video

I'm dying for more of the show. I know Mike has said that he's open to the possibility of more, so I'm curious: what would you both like to see explored more in Season 2? I know it's a little more difficult with Margaret, considering where she ends up.

SLOYAN: But where did she start? What was Margaret's high school experience?

HOWELL: Oh, that would be fun. I want Carrie to find that light that she started the series out with again because I know she definitely doesn't end with it. So yeah, come back to herself.

SLOYAN: I'd like to see her get that back too, yeah.

I like the prequel, though! I like this idea. Let's just make a whole extended universe. You both are so phenomenal in this, and the show has such an amazing ensemble cast as well. I'm curious if there's anyone you didn't get to work with much or at all that you really wish you would have shared more scenes with.

SLOYAN: I mean, everybody.

HOWELL: Yeah, Tim Bagley. Michael Trucco.

SLOYAN: I didn't get to work with Alison a lot. Sienna.

HOWELL: Same for me, honestly. Can we just do it again?

SLOYAN: Yeah, let's start again. Different plot points.

HOWELL: Rewind.

Carrie is now streaming on Prime Video.

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  Summer H. Howell

  Carrie White

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  Samantha Sloyan

  Margaret White