MTV's 'Finding Carter' hits the ground running season two

After all the turmoil season one, this is a sign life may be a wee bit calmer for the Wilson family season two, which debuts at 10 p.m. Tuesday March 31.

Carter discovered last season she had been abducted by the woman she thought was her mom 13 years earlier. She was brought back to her original family and had a rocky time adjusting to people she really didn't remember.  At times, she tried to put on a happy, snarky face but often succumbed to anger, resentment and nasty words.

And her "original" mom Lori - who evaded authorities for months - wouldn't let Carter go.

Instead during the season one cliffhanger, Lori abducted Carter yet again.

The MTV drama will continue to chronicle the travails of 17-year-old Carter, played with sensitivity and likability by 23-year-old actress Kathryn Prescott.

And the the scene I watched, taken out of context, may be a bit misleading. And the moment soon ends with a major revelation that puts a kibosh on the kumbayah spirits. Plus, in real life, the cake tasted awful. Pretending it was tasty took some serious acting.

Between seasons, MTV brought in a new showrunner Emily Whitesell ("Crossing Jordan," "Brothers and Sisters") to replace the original Terri Minsky ("Lizzie McGuire," "Less Than Perfect"). Why? I wasn't given an explanation.

Whitesell had to come up with a way to deal with Lori and make her crazy kidnapping seem reasonable contextually.  In a very dramatic first episode, Lori will defend her actions to Carter while more revelations about Lori's ties to the Wilson family will come out in the second episode.

"What Lori had done was so unforgivable," Whitesell said. "We had to lean into it. Let's take what has already aired and make sense of it."

Carter herself becomes less focused on her own issues and spends more time trying to fix other people's problems. "The character's in a good place," said Prescott, who herself is a twin. "She is less emotionally unstable." (Prescott is British but did our interview entirely in a normal American accent. Method, I fathom.)

She does get closer to her twin sister Taylor. "If we don't hold onto our relationship as sisters, what do we have?" Prescott said.

Taylor, in the meantime, buries her feelings. "She's angry and she keeps it in," said Anna Jacoby-Heron, who plays Taylor.

And Carter becomes a huge champion for truth.

David, Carter's father (played by Alexis Denisof), was not terribly honest or forthright season one. His integrity is tested again early in season two and Carter insists he becomes more open. "He had this very deep connection with Carter season one," Whitesell said, which continues into the new season.

Crash, the bad boy she ran off with for a time, is back on the scene after shooting Carter's good friend Max last season.

Watros, who plays mom Elizabeth, said she relates to her character's struggles since she has a 13-year-old daughter herself. "They're getting used to each other," she said, referencing Carter and Elizabeth. "It's not smooth sailing but they have a love and appreciation for each other that wasn't there early on."

And while she's glad Lori raised Carter to be who she is now, she wouldn't have been nearly as lax. Lori's parenting approach was more "Gilmore Girls" than "Mommy Dearest." Don't expect Lori and Elizabeth to resolve their issues anytime soon.

Plus, the actor who plays 13-year-old Grant (Zac Pullam) hit puberty during the break between seasons. He grew six inches and his voice dropped - though he is nowhere near Barry White levels just yet. "When I walked into wardrobe," Pullam said, "they found out none of my clothes fit!"

He enjoyed playing the smart aleck season one and will continue to do so season two. At the same time, the impact of all this trauma will hit him as well. He'll act out and get a bit darker.

"The joke is Grant's never around when there's any action," Pullam said. "He always comes in afterwards to say, 'What happened?' "

TV preview

"Finding Carter," 10 p.m. Tuesdays, starting March 31, 2015, MTV