What if they survived the night, do you think Carrie and Tommy would have been a couple? Seemed they were attracted to each other, Carrie probably always had a crush on Tommy and Tommy was clearly surprised at how nice she looked the prom. He kissed her and didn't seem like a sympathy kiss to me..I could be wrong though.
shareCarrie had a huge crush on Tommy. She even kept a newspaper clipping about him hidden from her mother, in her bedroom. After Carrie reveals her powers to her mother and informs her 'things are gonna change around here' the newspaper clipping gets proudly displayed beside her bedroom mirror. (Watch for it when Carrie is getting ready for the prom)
As for Tommy developing serious feelings for Carrie, the jury is hung. I personally don't believe he did in the film, but he does in the book. I think he and Sue would have remained a couple even if the prom went well for him and Carrie. Watch his face when he sees Sue arguing with Miss Collins at the prom....it's clear he still loves her.
I believe Tommy discovered Carrie was not the freak everyone made her out to be and was having a genuinely good time with her...but I don't think it was true love.
Take care
This is a faithful saying...Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
She even kept a newspaper clipping about him hidden from her mother, in her bedroom.
wow I'm going to re-watch b/c I never noticed that. No I don't think true love necessarily, but I felt like he was a bit attracted to her.
Tommy was probably still very much so into Sue, but if that was the case he shouldn't have kissed her.
Yes, I think he was attracted to her as well, but not the way he loved Sue. in the book, he loves them both equally, but differently.
BTW, we don't actually see Carrie hide the newspaper clipping. There were scenes filmed that were not shown and one of them showed that Carrie kept a locked box hidden under a floorboard in her room. It had a few personal things that meant a lot to her, and one was the newspaper clipping about Tommy. The scene was cut from the final print and begins when we see Carrie running around her room putting things away as her mother approaches the house (after preaching to Mrs Snell) In fact, if I'm not mistaken, I believe the key to that box is what Carrie wears around her neck on a string. You can see this when she's in the shower.
Take care
This is a faithful saying...Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Just wondering, but how do you know about that deleted scene? Is there footage or evidence of it somewhere? Also, I always thought the key around her neck was just her key to her gym locker or something
shareJust wondering, but how do you know about that deleted scene? Is there footage or evidence of it somewhere? Also, I always thought the key around her neck was just her key to her gym locker or something
Wow - I never knew about that cut scene! Thanks for that.
BTW this part:
You may have noticed all the attic space between the stairs and Carrie's room? Well, the flooring wasn't finished and Carried hid things down there, too. It was her own private world.Gives more meaning and weight to her mother hiding the knife there. I gasped when I read that as the symbolism of her hiding place for her world being also the hiding place for her mother's weapon against her is terrific!
Good catch Fleischman. Margaret hiding the knife in that particular spot really is symbolic and something I hadn't picked up on before.
Take care
This is a faithful saying...Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Wow, I didn't know about that deleted scene either. I would have liked to have seen more of who Carrie really was.
As for Tommy Ross, I do think he was starting to like her. Maybe not develop serious feelings, but there was an attraction building there. That's what makes her story all the more tragic.
-Di
The answer, even though I can't physically prove it, the answer is yes and no. Without watching the movie listen to the lyrics of the song that tommy and carrie dance to....then think about them at their biological time and state , some of the answer is given
shareYes, at least somewhat. He seemed to really start to like her and even gave her a kiss.
Whether they would have remained a couple or not, I'm not sure. He did already have a girlfriend.
He seemed to be really seeing Carrie as a person -- and a girl -- for the first time, and definitely seems to be attracted.
Bear in mind that couples change partners in high school almost as often as they change their socks. We don't know how long Tommy & Sue had been a couple, or how serious they were.
We really don't know enough about the situation to be able to guess what might have come along if the horror hadn't put a stop to all of it.
[deleted]
I think so. He was probably just going through the motions at first, but as he got to know her he realized that she was a nice person with a lot to offer. That makes it what happened a real tragedy.
shareI honestly am leaning towards thinking he could have struck up a relationship with her. He did seem genuinely interested in her at the prom. His manner dictated this. He was just being kind to her at the beginning but he did things he didn't have to do, he kissed her on more than one occasion. Not just a peck on the lips either. You could see with his facial reactions that he noticed himself that he was falling for her.
When he sees Sue fighting with Ms. Collins he sort of shakes his head as if to think "Is she jealous or something?" We know that wasn't the case at all, but it was what he thought prior to dying.
If things went well for them at the prom who knows. High school has a lot of peer pressure and the most popular boy in school dating the most unpopular girl would be awkward and he would get a lot of jokes about it. Plus, he did seem to love Sue, so I think if they all survived the prom he probably stays with Sue but he has feelings for sure for Carrie.
In the book, Tommy starts thinking, "Yes, I love her, I love this one, too" just before the pig blood splatters everywhere.
Also, in the book Carrie is not a slight strawberry blonde as Sissy Spacek is - she was a chunky girl who nevertheless took a look at herself in the mirror one day and decides she's not so ugly and that her legs were smooth and white and pretty, almost as pretty as Sue Snell's.
A re-read of the book would be an interesting exercise, since in the book you can read most of the characters' feelings; the author is third person omniscient. One of the more interesting bits is when Billy "wonders when Chris would start to look less like a goddess to him and more like a bitch."
Man, it's been YEARS since I read that book (read it in '78). Can't believe I remember so much of it.
Samantha
Get right or get left!
I believe Sue still would have been his girlfriend, but that he still developed feelings for Carrie, and she certainly wasn't unoticed by him anymore.
shareI don't believe it reall matters if they starters a relationship or not.Carrie White was always meant to die that night.
If none of the events took place with the pigs blood etc,she would have went home and been murdered by her mother.
Her life was always going to end in tragedy.
In the book he did, in the movie... its left vague, but there are some hints that maybe he was. I think he liked Carrie as a person, and as he was spending time with her, he started to develop some feelings. I mean, not full on love but something was there. Plus, he was genuinely pissed off when the bucket of blood was dropped on Carrie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVauip2djLw
I thought he felt guilt.
shareNope, he only felt guilty at first and obviously was doing it for Sue too. I don't think Tommy ever disliked Carrie. Did he think she was a little weird? Yes... It was hard not to make those first impressions about Carrie. We all thought Carrie was a bit weird too. Because she was weird.
Sure, we knew why she was this way where Tommy didn't. But, she never justified being picked on the way she did. And I don't think Tommy was ever the type to want to do that to her, because she was different.
And he did laugh at first about going to the prom with her. Because it probably caught him so off-guard and knew his friends would laugh about this. I think Tommy did care about his "image" at first. After all, he was popular, and it's only human nature to enjoy being "liked". That doesn't make him a bad guy, especially at his age, just human nature to want to fit in.
But he never really fights going to the prom with her. A little at first, I guess, but he never seems completely disinterested in the idea. I think he sees Sue's point and is willing to do it to help Carrie. So, Tommy clearly was a good guy from the start.
He even was impressed the way she stuck up for his poem (he didn't really write we later found out) in class. When the teacher mocks Carrie over it, he mutters "you suck" to himself. He meant the teacher not Carrie. Everyone else laughs with the teacher, but notice Tommy doesn't laugh. Tommy didn't write the poem either, so it's not like he should care.
He was fascinated with what she said and it got his interest. There was some interest/curiosity from Tommy regarding Carrie from the start.
So, Tommy saw Carrie different than everyone else, even before Sue. He never carried any desire to make fun of Carrie at all.
But, Tommy is popular, Carrie isn't, so at that time in the movie he was probably still too concern about his image to ever make it known that he didn't think she seemed that bad. A little socially awkward and odd, but there seemed to be some attraction from Tommy even then.
I think Tommy truly started liking her at the prom though. Once they go inside and start talking, his demeanor changes. He goes from feeling a little bad for her to truly being interested in her.
He calls her beautiful, and he wasn't just saying that. And he kissed her and he meant it too. There's no way Sue asked that. You think Sue would suggest her boyfriend to kiss another girl? The thought never entered her mind. She never thought Tommy would truly fall for Carrie.
Sue felt guilty and wanted Carrie to fit in. But that's where it ended. Tommy got caught up in the moment and meant that kiss.
So yes, he was developing real feelings for her. I don't think we'll ever know if he'd have been with her. But Tommy realized she was innocent, sweet, attractive, and genuinely enjoyed her company. He no longer cared what anyone thought about it too. And he wanted to keep seeing her that night. He made that known.
So one has to assume he was falling for her, and it's possible he was interested in continuing a relationship with her.
I never read the book, but we don't know the extent of his relationship with Sue in the movie. Was he in love with Sue? Was she with him? There's nothing definitive to suggest that. We just knew they were together. They seemed to have a good relationship, but we don't know for sure how close/serious they were.
In the book sue and Tommy were in love and taking their relationship to the next step. Sue was pregnant, but hadn't told him yet and when the incident with Carrie happened she wanted them to go as pentance. Tommy saw how beautiful Carrie was and got caught up in the magic of the moment that he cared for her.
shareTommy seemed to be a truly nice person. He took Carrie to the prom because he had real feelings for Sue and he wanted to please her.
I think that he wanted to show Carrie a good time and he discovered that he was enjoying himself as well.
I doubt that anything would have developed between them after the prom if things there hadn't ended in disaster. I do think that he would have treated her like a good friend..... he would have at least smiled and said, Hi when he saw her in the halls at school.