Mike Flanagan has a knack for assembling a recurring troupe of actors who elevate every project they touch, and Samantha Sloyan is undoubtedly one of his most compelling collaborators. After stealing scenes in Hush and The Haunting of Hill House, she truly broke out as the chilling Bev Keane in Midnight Mass—a performance that deserved far more awards attention than it received. Now, she's taking on another iconic Stephen King role: Margaret White, the fanatical mother of Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) in Flanagan's new series, now streaming on Prime Video.
During a recent appearance on Collider Ladies Night, Sloyan opened up about her journey with Flanagan, from their first meeting to landing her first series regular role, and delved deep into the psychology of Margaret White—especially the character's devastating final scene.
Margaret's Motivation Was Always Protection
Throughout the season, Margaret makes a series of extreme choices, but Sloyan emphasizes that they all stem from a desperate need to shield Carrie from a world she believes will destroy her. "She knows exactly what her daughter is capable of," Sloyan explained, referencing the moment when rocks rain down from the sky. "Margaret made the choice that this child was not going to leave the house because what does this world do to monsters? She was like, 'No, they're not getting her.'"
That protective instinct is also deeply tied to Margaret's own emotional survival. In Episode 4, she shares a rare vulnerable moment with Carrie, telling her, "I'm here if you need my help. It's really the only thing that I am here for on this earth." Sloyan notes that this line carries immense weight: "I really feel like through the series, we're watching Margaret's heart break. She can't let her daughter grow up, and she can't let her go because she has made Carrie her life. She had Ralph, and they had their cult of three, and now they've lost Ralph, so truly Carrie's all that's left that Margaret sees as good in this world."
As Carrie begins to pull away, Margaret senses the loss. "She just feels her daughter pulling away, and she knows her daughter isn't telling her stuff. She's losing her," Sloyan added.
The Final Moments: A Soul Laid Bare
Despite her best efforts, Margaret ultimately loses everything—including her faith. In the climactic scene, she sits opposite Adelaide (Kate Siegel), who uses her powers to bring Margaret's heart to a "full stop." Sloyan shared her interpretation of what runs through Margaret's mind in those final seconds: "There is a religious component to Margaret, but we really only see her intimately talk about God a handful of times. In this scene, when Kate's character asks, 'Did you ever have the shine, the power?' and she says, 'I did,' and she's like, 'I thought it was God.' It's so close in that moment of her really having it clear to her that that was not God talking to her. And then in this moment, to choose to reach out to him again. She's pushed everything else away. She has no other connection."
Sloyan draws a parallel to her Midnight Mass character, Bev Keane, but notes a key difference: "It's a terrible death, and I think similar to what Bev is going through, but with a kinder heart, of just having it laid so bare that you just made the wrong choices. In the moment, there's nothing. The only thing to do is just hope someone can forgive you, and that the next phase is better."
For more from Sloyan on her experience with Carrie, including her thoughts on the show's soundtrack and what's next for the series, check out her full Collider Ladies Night interview above. And if you're hungry for more after binge-watching, here are three shows to watch next.
