As a girl who adores horror, I love watching certain horror shows over and over again, picking out Easter eggs, writing articles about things people might have missed, and noting how the series has aged even better over time. However, sometimes a new horror show lures me in the moment I start, and this time, that was Mike Flanagan’s Carrie.
It’s not that surprising that I ended up loving it so much. As someone who binged the entire series and knew from the start it wouldn’t be like the Carrie book or 1976 film, I still had a great time. Flanagan has never done me dirty, so I knew going in I'd be impressed.
I loved so many things about Prime Video’s Carrie. And throughout the changes, I enjoyed most aspects. But there’s one little change that I really wish had happened.
I don’t mind most of the changes in Carrie
I understand that Flanagan had the best intentions in adapting Stephen King’s novel, but it wouldn’t be a 1-for-1 adaptation.
In most adaptations, Carrie is generally kind at the start — and in the latest, really kind — but extremely socially awkward because of her sheltered upbringing. This is what leads to her getting bullied. Prime Video’s show, starring Summer H. Howell, depicts her much more warm, and very clearly trying to fit in with the other kids. She even makes friends at the start as her classmates get to know her. This is different from the completely isolated Carrie we’ve seen before.
If Flanagan says he has a three-season dream for this show, then he had no choice but to change the story, having it build out Carrie's world rather than just killing her off, or sending her to a psych ward, or whatever the case may be.
But despite that, there’s one little thing I wanted to be changed along with all the other updates — and that’s Tommy’s death.
Joel Oulette made Tommy so likable that I genuinely cried when he died
In every iteration of Carrie, Sue’s boyfriend (or, in this case, ex-boyfriend) dies because of what happens to Carrie. Most of the time, it’s because the bucket of pig’s blood falls on his head.
Well, Flanagan heard that and decided to make it 20 times worse because, in his adaptation of Carrie, Tommy (Joel Oulette) isn’t killed by a falling bucket. Tommy is killed because Carrie accidentally sends flying debris into him, causing it to strike his head. He stares up at the ceiling as he bleeds out.
It's like Mike Flanagan reached inside my chest and decided to rip out my heart at the same time, too.
I understand why Flanagan did it. In this version, Tommy is actually likable, not just one of the main character's boyfriends. In many other adaptations, he takes Carrie to prom because Sue asked him. But this time, he does it because he wants her to have a good time, because he feels bad for everything she’s ad gone through and thought she deserved a night of fun. And they genuinely have a great time as friends.
But it isn’t just that. Oulette portrays Tommy as an adorable goofball with the best intentions. He wants to be there for Sue (Siena Agudong), even when they grew distant and eventually break up. And even after that, he goes to Carrie to ask her how she’s doing.
He’s a genuinely good guy, someone who could clearly see the difference between right and wrong. And then you go and kill him. And his injury is definitely a death, because it’s the last straw for Carrie to let Emaline (Thalia Dudek) take the reins (which I still don’t understand) in the season 1 finale. But out of everything to change, you not only make Tommy a good guy but also still kill him? God. I’ll never recover.
If Carrie does get renewed and all my burning questions get answered, at least we’ll really see Carrie deal with her own trauma regarding that night and whether she truly feels bad about everything that’s happened. But in my mind, Tommy is still smiling and delivering DoorDash to make some extra money. Prom night? He didn’t go. Nope. He stayed at home. Let me live in my delusions.
You can stream all eight episodes of Carrie season 1 on Prime Video.
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