Carrie Episode 3 may have hidden a subtle Elon Musk reference in plain sight

Mike Flanagan's recently released supernatural horror series Carrie, based on Stephen King's 1974 novel, is intentionally set in the 21st century to explore modern-day horrors, when the titular misfit character (played by Summer H. Howell) newly arrives at her public school after living much of her life with her domineering mother, Margaret (played by Samantha Sloyan).

Carrie White's arrival at her public school is met with extreme bullying from her classmates, further amplified by relentless cruelty and the speed of social media creating viral scandals.

The setting comes into play in Episode 3 when Howell's character shares a conversation with Tommy (played by Joel Oulette) after leaving a party. According to Mashable, Flanagan's miniseries did not name-drop Elon Musk. But a crucial exchange between White and Tommy gives a subtle nod to the SpaceX CEO's vision of sending people to Mars.

Decoding Carrie and Tommy's cryptic conversation in Episode 3

In Carrie Episode 3, Howell's character and Tommy took a quick detour from the party to look at a sky full of stars. The moment took a turn when the titular character reflected on her late father's words. Looking at the stars, she remembered how her father used to tell her that before GPS, spy satellites, and all the 'bad stuff,' people used stars to navigate and find their way.

This inspired Tommy to bring the Red Planet into the conversation:

"That's Mars. They say we're gonna go there one day. Imagine that. People on Mars."

While Carrie was amazed by the possibility of people on Mars, echoing Elon Musk's vision, Tommy suggested the downside of this reality:

"It's terrifying. I read all The Martian Chronicles. Space head, I guess. There's this amazing sentence in there: 'Earth men have a talent for ruining big and beautiful things.' Leave it alone, I say. Can't it be enough to just look?"

In addition to Episode 3 featuring a subtle Elon Musk reference, Tommy name-dropped celebrated author Ray Bradbury's 1950 science fiction novel The Martian Chronicles. Bradbury's critique of militarism, censorship, and the inevitable cycle of human folly follows humanity's repeated attempts to colonize Mars after Earth is plagued by an environmental catastrophe.

While Bradbury's story was mere fiction in 1950, Elon Musk has rallied for the colonization of Mars since at least 2001, even setting up the SpaceX Mars colonization program, which aims to establish a self-sustaining city on the Red Planet as a safety backup for civilization by sending a million people to Mars.

With Tommy's mention of Bradbury's book in Carrie Episode 3, which warns about humanity's greed to conquer all and ruin 'beautiful' things, this feels like a subtle jab at the SpaceX CEO and his desire to colonize Mars. Additionally, the subtle reference aligns perfectly with the miniseries' themes, particularly because the miniseries' modern world is rooted in the social pressures, anxieties, and power structures surrounding Carrie’s small-town life.

Whether it was a deliberate Elon Musk reference or a coincidence, Carrie Episode 3 gives fans another reason to look closely at the modern setting of Flanagan's miniseries.

Trending

All eight episodes are streaming on Prime Video.

For the latest scoops on your favorite TV shows and movies, follow SoapCentral.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback