Carrie and 13 Reasons Why share strange parallels, from their opening tragedies to high school horrors

High school is often portrayed as the best years of one's life, but Mike Flanagan's Carrie offers a far more disturbing picture. Amazon Prime Video's latest supernatural teen series, adapted from Stephen King's novel, follows the titular misfit teenager (Summer H. Howell) as she arrives in high school and the nightmare that follows.

Carrie's high school experiences are strangely reminiscent of Hannah Baker's (Katherine Langford) from 13 Reasons Why, as teenage life becomes a relentless cycle of humiliation, isolation, and cruelty for both, with their classmates playing a significant role in shaping their tragic stories.

Right from glimpses of the infamous prom massacre in the opening minutes of Prime Video's series to Hannah's mysterious tapes in 13 Reasons Why, both shows explore high school nightmares through different lenses of supernatural and mystery.

**Disclaimer: This article is based on the author's opinions. Readers' discretion is advised.**

Carrie and 13 Reasons Why follow a similar structure

At first glance, Carrie and 13 Reasons Why look completely different. While Mike Flanagan's latest take on Stephen King's adaptation takes a supernatural approach, Netflix's teen drama series features a murder mystery, explored through a series of chilling tapes. But both shows follow an unconventional structure and begin with the end. While most shows retain their game-changing twist for the finale, Carrie and 13 Reasons Why turn that twisted nightmare into the starting point.

Prime Video's series opens in the aftermath of the infamous prom massacre and the fire that terrorized the entire town. Long before Summer H. Howell's titular character is introduced, it's certain that her world is marked by violence and destruction. Similarly, 13 Reasons Why opens after Hannah Baker's death, with Clay Jensen receiving the mysterious tapes she has left behind.

The unconventional storytelling choices create an interesting parallel between Carrie and 13 Reasons Why. By revealing the tragic outcome in the opening minute, the focus shifts from what happens to discovering why it happens.

The high school nightmare that defined Carrie and Hannah Baker

Another thematic similarity is the trajectory of their lead protagonists. Summer H. Howell's titular character is a misfit high schooler with telekinetic powers who struggles to fit into her high school, after spending much of her life at home with her domineering mother. Hannah Baker's life takes a similar turn in 13 Reasons Why, when her family moves to Crestmont from Bristol, and she arrives at the fictional Liberty High School. Both Hannah and Carrie arrive at their high school for a fresh start but are met with bullying, rejection, humiliation and assault.

While Carrie is positioned as a meek girl who just wanted to make friends, Hannah's tapes reveal that she initially tried to befriend Jessica Davis and Alex Standall, and even dated Justin Foley, to adjust in her high school.

Carrie and Hannah Baker face humiliation in high school

Howell's titular character faced trauma in the locker room when she had her first period and believed she was dying. Instead of helping Carrie understand the situation, her classmates turned this incident into cyberbullying. They established the Carrie Red social media account that exposed her private secrets, humiliations, and personal moments to the entire school.

Unlike Flanagan's adaptation, 13 Reasons Why does not feature a particular scandal that led to Hannah's su*c*de. Instead, Hannah's teenage interactions with her peers, like Justin, Jessica, Alex and Bryce Walker, highlight that bullying can take different forms. From Alex's Hot or Not list to Justin's false rumor about their first kiss, Tyler Down's stalking and Marcus Cole's unwanted physical contact, every micro-interaction has a deep impact on Hannah's psyche.

While Carrie and Hannah are innocent victims, their tragedies become powerful weapons. In Prime Video's adaptation, the titular character reaches a breaking point on prom night when she is drenched in pig blood. Carrie channels the accumulated pain and telekinetic powers to turn the school into a scene of destruction, transforming the very place where she experienced so much cruelty into the setting of her revenge. Interestingly, Flanagan's adaptation features a major diversion from King's source material. Unlike King's novel, the titular character survives against all odds, suggesting her story is far from over.

While Carrie's revenge literally sets her town on fire, Hannah Baker's tapes spark multiple official investigations, legal actions, and police involvement, which eventually shatters the external image of the prestigious Liberty High School.

Carrie and Hannah's methods may be vastly different, but both stories leave the school facing the consequences of the suffering it allowed to grow.

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