Carrie Star Samantha Sloyan Officially Explains Margaret White’s Brutal Ending Through Grief and Faith
A mother driven by fear
Sloyan plays Margaret, Carrie White’s mother, in Mike Flanagan’s series, now streaming on Prime Video. In an interview with Collider’s Ladies Night, she discussed the character’s choices and her eventual death.
Margaret repeatedly crosses lines in her effort to protect Carrie. Sloyan said Margaret believes the world would harm her daughter, and sees keeping Carrie at home as a way to prevent that.
Carrie becomes Margaret’s world
In Episode 4, Margaret tells Carrie she is there to help her, describing that role as the reason she is on earth. Sloyan said the moment carries sadness because Margaret has made her daughter the center of her life.
After Ralph’s death, Sloyan said, Carrie is the only person Margaret still sees as good in the world. She also senses Carrie pulling away and withholding information, leaving Margaret afraid she is losing her.
Faith and a final reckoning
Margaret’s final moments come as Adelaide, played by Kate Siegel, uses her powers to stop Margaret’s heart. Sloyan said Margaret may realize that what she once thought was God speaking to her was not, even as she reaches out to God again.
Sloyan called Margaret’s death terrible and compared its emotional weight to Bev’s experience in Midnight Mass, while describing Margaret as having a kinder heart. She said Margaret is left facing the possibility that she made the wrong choices and hoping for forgiveness and a better next phase.
Key points
- Sloyan says Margaret’s actions are shaped by her determination to protect Carrie.
- Margaret’s attachment to Carrie grows stronger after Ralph’s death.
- Sloyan sees Margaret’s final moments as a crisis of faith and a reckoning with her choices.