Prime Video’s Carrie episode 7, “Romantic Literature,” starts with the fallout from the riot, but not without some background into the world of gifted children.
Like every other episode, we begin with the documentary, in which the woman says that in 2015, a mother with a gifted child didn’t know what to do with her. The child kept appearing out of nowhere and seemingly astral projecting. The question is raised: “How far would you go to protect them from themselves?”
This relates to the riot, where we see the aftermath. Peter (Tim Bagley) has decided to resign as a guidance counselor. John (Michael Trucco) is arrested on charges unrelated to the riot (his financial situation), and Margaret (Samantha Sloyan) has fallen silent on her social media page.
But then we cut to the White’s house, where Margaret is quiet as the social worker comes to check on them. Once the social worker leaves, Carrie (Summer H. Howell) openly uses her powers to grab her stuff, says she’ll be back home from school before leaving, and Margaret looks actively terrified.
That day, Chris (Alison Thornton) visits her dad, but despite putting up a front, he’s actively asking her mother for money for his commissary. So… go, Mr. Hargensen, I guess. Being horrible until the very end. At least he's consistent.
What happens to Carrie at school next
Carrie sits alone at school when Tommy (Joel Oulette) comes up to talk to her. She is confused, saying he doesn’t need to sit with her. He tells her that he wants to, and then asks about Sue (Siena Agudong). Carrie tells him that Sue has been good. Before Tommy can ask more, Tina (Josie Totah) interrupts with a very second-hand embarrassment performance, asking him to prom as her prom king since she’s supposedly in line for queen, which he says no to.
While Carrie is at school, Margaret meets with a woman named Amanda, seeking help understanding her daughter, who always knew she had powers but pushed them to the back of her mind. The woman says she's seen hundreds of these cases and that these girls often seek them out, build covens, and need to be dealt with. Margaret asks how.
The woman suggests that the only way is really through death. Not those exact words, but she says that it has to be “quick” so they don’t sense it: a gunshot, poison, or things like that. Margaret, realizing she’s made a mistake, hastily leaves, while the woman says that it has to be dealt with one way or another.
Carrie drives home with Tommy that night, where he asks her to prom as a friend because she deserves a fun night out after everything that’s happened. Hesitant at first, Carrie says she’ll think about it. That night at dinner, she tells Margaret, but when Margaret says it’s a horrible idea and that they would all laugh at her, Carrie, quite literally, shuts her up. Margaret asks her what will happen if she says no, and Carrie opens the door to the prayer closet.
Chris, meanwhile, goes to get her clothes at her mom’s place, not telling her where she’s staying now because her dad is in prison. Her mother says that she always has a place there, but Chris still leaves, heading to an unknown destination.
At a PTA and school council assembly, Mr. Grayle (Matthew Lillard) tries to bring everyone together to decide whether the kids should still have prom after everything that’s happened. At one point, Margaret stands up and says children need to be punished for their actions and don’t deserve prom.
Still, Carrie stands up (on the other side of the gym) and argues against that, saying prom lets people forget what happened for one night and move forward. How did they want to be remembered? As screaming faces in the parking lot? Or as people who showed up one night as their best selves?
Her words move the crowd, and prom is confirmed. Chris, watching the speech via a live stream from Billy’s (Arthur Conti) place, is furious about everything Carrie has done and about not being able to go to prom. Billy asks her if she’s going to cry about it, but she says that she wants blood.
The build-up to prom
Afterward, we get a montage of what leads up to prom. Carrie makes her own prom dress after saying yes to Tommy’s invitation. Meanwhile, Chris and Billy repeatedly vote for Carrie to become prom queen through different IP addresses. They also show them slaughtering a pig and taking its blood.
On prom night, Tommy picks up Carrie, and they head to the school. There, Carrie and Tina have a pleasant exchange, with Carrie telling Tina she looks nice and hopes she wins prom queen. Tina actually acts nice in return, saying Carrie looks great.
At the same time, Chris and Billy show up, and they sneak in with the help of Tina, who is forced to aid them in getting inside. Sue decides to stay home for prom, but when she’s looking at pictures online, she spots Billy’s car in the background and knows something is up. She takes to the streets, running to the school to try to prevent whatever is about to go down.
At the prom, Mr. Grayle sees the woman Margaret spoke to, Amanda, lurking. He speaks to Rita (Amber Midthunder) and asks if she’s seen her before, but she says no. At that same moment, two girls we’ve never met before walk in and look at the strange woman almost maliciously.
Tommy and Carrie dance together, but then Mr. Grayle comes onstage to announce the prom king and queen, saying the students “picked right” this year. Carrie and Tommy win, and they both walk up. Everyone is recording what’s happening as Carrie smiles on stage.
While they’re on stage, Rita starts walking over to Amanda. Sue texts Chris, warning her not to do whatever she’s about to. Chris tells Billy to dare her, and he does. She then dumps the iconic bucket of pig’s blood on top of Carrie, causing the whole crowd to grow silent before a slow chuckle begins to rise.
Carrie closes her eyes in shock and anger before the screen suddenly cuts to black, and all we hear are the classmates' screams as the credits roll. There’s only one episode left. Check back with us at Show Snob for our season 1 finale recap.
All episodes of season 1 of Carrie are streaming on Prime Video.
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