Praying in the Closet: Notes on Carrie, Episode Two, “Foreign Language”
Episode two of Carrie opens in a small, dark place: Carrie and her mother, kneeling together in the closet, praying. It’s an unsettling scene, and it got me thinking about history.
Faith, Flight, and the Work Ethic
The Protestants who left England did so to escape persecution by the Catholic Church. Queen Elizabeth I faced plots against her life during that conflict, and the religious wars of that era shaped who came to the New World and why. Many scholars link the Protestant work ethic, the belief that disciplined labor and thrift reflect a life pleasing to God, to the early growth of American capitalism. The closet scene reminded me of that lineage.
. Carrie’s mother shows us the extreme end of that inheritance, where devotion becomes control.
When the System Hires Its Own Problems
This episode also deals with how systems absorb their own problems. A system runs like clockwork, and it prefers predictability. One way it keeps order is to bring troublemakers inside, putting the inmates in charge of the asylum, as the saying goes. Some institutions hire people with a criminal background precisely because they understand how that world thinks. It’s a practical strategy.
Divorce and Distance
The storyline about Kris’s parents’ divorce hit close to home. My parents never divorced, but the home wasn’t easy either. Watching the episode, I found myself thinking that after a divorce, nothing requires you to stay in constant contact with your ex or their family. You aren’t married to them anymore. If keeping your distance is the only way to avoid conflict, that can be a legitimate choice. Children can always reconnect later, when they are older and ready to seek you out on their own. Protecting your peace is a reasonable goal.
Doctrine in the Classroom
“Foreign Language” also looks at doctrine, meaning the set of beliefs an institution wants to preserve. Schools, like churches, pass along values. Teachers can shape how students think, and institutions work hard to protect the ideas they consider foundational. The episode asks us to notice that no teaching is neutral. Everyone is taught something, and someone decided what.
“The World Is Not Kind to God’s People”
Carrie’s mother says the world is hostile to believers, and from a faith perspective, there’s real weight to that. Take Jesus: the world convicted him as a criminal and put him to death on a straight upright single pole, and he was the Son of God. For many believers, that history proves the point. I believe the world would remove every last believer if it could, but I also believe God will not allow that to happen.
Who Raises the Children?
Another thread is parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing. That right is real, and the law recognizes it. But the state also has its own agenda, including educational content that can carry political views. When those two collide, some parents feel their right to parent is being squeezed. The episode doesn’t settle the debate, and neither will I here. It just shows how high the stakes feel on both sides: parents worry about losing influence, and schools worry about what children are exposed to at home.
A Gay Couple, and a Clear Line
The episode includes a gay couple. My position is simple: to each their own. I don’t support violence of any kind toward gay people, ever. Whatever your convictions, hurting someone is not the answer.
Final Thoughts
“Foreign Language” is an apt title. Faith, family, school, and the state each speak their own language, and they often fail to understand one another. The tragedy of Carrie is that she is caught between all of them, with nobody translating.