Does Carrie die in the All American season 4 premiere?

Spoilers ahead of the All American season 4 premiere.

When we last left Carrie and Layla in All American, they were driving off into the night while Layla’s father found his daughter’s phone in the trash can. It’d been clear throughout season 3 that Carrie’s connection to Layla was increasingly becoming unhealthy and dependent. In the All American season 4 premiere, “Survival of the Fittest,” her obsession brought the girls cliffside.

Mental health has been a reoccurring thread in the show’s storytelling from Layla’s depression to Olivia’s addiction and Spencer’s struggles during his recovery after being shot. All American has continued to make strides to de-stigmatize mental health issues whilst also being realistic about the impact they can have on the individual dealing with them and the people who love them.

Layla and Carrie’s cliffside scenes were quite the metaphor for the girls’ being on the precipice of ruin. Carrie had become a danger to herself and Layla as she became caught in the delusion that Layla was feeling as low, lonely, and depressed as she’s been. She’d convinced herself that the only way to end both of their pain was to commit suicide together.

It was a frightening circumstance for both girls as Layla pleaded for Carrie to stop and listen to her. She firmly told her that she wasn’t feeling what Carrie was and didn’t want to die even as Carrie insisted she was. Eventually, Layla broke through to her and was able to run back to the car but Carrie wasn’t finished.

Horrified by what she almost did, nearly murdering Layla sends Carrie into yet another tailspin. The point of coming to the cliffside was to die, but she thought she wouldn’t be doing it alone. Feeling lonelier than ever she walks closer to the edge, preparing to jump.

Did Carrie die in the All American season 4 premiere?

Luckily, Layla continues to try to literally pull Carrie from the edge. She reminds Carrie that she has gotten back to a healthier headspace before and she can do it again. Carrie, however, feels like all the work she’d done before wound up not mattering because here she is right back at the edge again. She wants the pain to end.

As unsetting as this scene is, the All American writers did an incredible job depicting how someone’s mind can turn against them when they’re in the throes of an episode. Carrie admits that she doesn’t want to kill herself, she just wants to stop hurting. She’s so sick with depression and emotionally imbalanced that it’s presenting as a physical pain.

Layla is able to talk Carrie off the edge by asking her when she last felt safe and in control. It’d been at the facility where they met, so that’s likely where Carrie has gone now. She didn’t die, but Layla nearly dying at her hands and almost bearing witness to Carrie’s suicide has left a lasting impression. The kind that’s produced nightmares for Layla and new issues she’ll need to work through in season 4.

New episodes of All American season 4 air Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.