In2You

What other family soaps has MTV done? That's not their style. I wouldnt call this a soap either. A melodrama definitely but not a soap opera. If it was a soap opera the writing would have alot more emotion in it and the pace would be slower to actually develop the characters. Pling up on contrived drama doesn't make this a soap opera. Plenty of shows pile up on unnecessary drama. Since they couldn't even say the word rape in this episode I have no doubt that whatever that story is it will be handled badly. Under the makeshift tent sheet during a 2 minute conversation that ended up interrupted was not the place for that reveal.

Eddie barely gets roles anymore as it is and the last thing I saw him in as a lead was a Hallmark Movie for Father's Day. Why the hell is he giving up roles for Leann? And this relationship has aged him.

I remember seeing The Best Man Holiday(it wasnt a Tyler Perry movie though Eddie did one of those that came out this year) and being surprised by how little he was in it. Clearly he used his connections(he's friends with some of the male cast and had worked with them in the past) to land that role. The promo tours made his role seem bigger, probably to get the white audience to see it, and he was barely in the film. Anyway Eddie Cibrian is one of those people who I can enjoy in a movie or a tv show but I have to concentrate solely on that role because ever since that affair my eyes have been opened to what a dbag his is.

If asshole dad really cared about his pride and providing for his family he would have gone out and found a job instead of just sitting on his ass at home waiting for his next bestseller book.

I really didn't understand why Carter hated the picture so much. Did they even bother to state a reason? Lori is a nut job and I don't know what back story they can give that will make her appear as anything but crazy.

How is that comparable to this situation? Lori fled! Carter should have at least been upset that her "mother" fled and was going to leave her in jail.Carter didn't even stop and question anything. She just straight up acted like there was no proof.

As for those drawings of the masked man. Why even put that in the show if they aren't going to write it well?

Its like this show strives for Carter and her father to be completely unlikeable. The contrived drama over Bird's painting was just ridiculous. Poor Carter can't stand being the center of attention all of a sudden when she's been pushing herself as the center of attention for weeks now. Girl Bye! And why did Bird post them all around the school? I thought they were going to say it was because Bird and Crash used to mess around but nope they never said that in this episode. Instead they seemed to try and paint her as crazy and possibly having a crush on Carter. This was just some lame excuse to have a catfight scene. That sweet moment between Max and Elizabeth has so far trumped any of the moments between any of the members of that family. Max has more depth than Carter does. I do not care about that nut job Lori and like Max pointed out how is she rolling around that town when the police are searching for her? I hate the father. I can see why Elizabeth was cheating on him. Its like he goes out of his way to paint her as the bad guy. He isn't even bringing home checks to house but is telling the girl's they can get a new car. These writers seem determined to paint Elizabeth as the bad one. This whole episode felt like a filler episode until the last 5 minutes. It took 4 episodes to make about 2 minutes of progress.

How is getting out of a car with a car thief choosing to not act like the daughter of Lori? That arrest in the pilot was the first time she's ever been arrested. So its not like we can say she frequently commits crimes. Sneaking out to hang out with friends isn't exactly a crime which is essentially what she did with her friends. The only problem is they were tresspassing. That's not the same as fleeing from the police in a stolen car.

Saying teens are notoriously difficult is not a good enough excuse for Carter's actions. Its also not completely true either.It depends on where the teen was raised, how the teen was raised,etc. Carter is also not your normal teen. Most teens don't find out their entire life as they know it is a lie. And Carter's rebellious teen shtick doesn't work in this situation. And so far from what we've seen Elizabeth has put forth more of an effort to try and reach out to Carter than vise versa. For me to believe that Carter is simply in denial they need to actually address the situation which isn't happening. Her insta friends don't try to and make her see the other side of the situation, her siblings have only minimally touched upon it, and her parents really haven't either. We have yet to see this family sit down and have an actual conversation where they can both discuss their perspectives.

You guys should see the Tumblr hashtags relating to this show. The fanwars started before the pilot even leaked.

I can't speak for anyone else but I'm the prime target audience for this network. I'm under 25 but old enough to have a job and extra spending money. Some people my age are easily taken in by "feisty" characters and love triangles and can overlook bad character development but alot of us can't and that's where so many writers keep failing. This show has gotten its fair share of backlash on social media for Carter's attitude and reactions.

I wouldn't exactly call Caitlin engaging or more interesting either. Neither female was exactly fleshed out in the pilot.

Italicizing the words seem and be doesn't change how the show is written. The characterization is lazy and they actually aren't showing us why Carter is sympathetic because its really not even showing sympathy. She just straight up doesn't see that she did anything wrong to show sympathy. Letting her run wild and do whatever the hell she wants is not justification for Carter not questioning her Lori's motives or acknowledging the fact that this woman took her from her family.

But his coworkers do participate in the action. He works for the police department! They're tracking down the same criminals he is. They just don't have superpowers. But then again so far neither does his team at the moment.

That's the only perspective we're getting when it should be a little more complicated than that. Why is she not questioning her "mother's" motives for kidnapping her or even a little hurt that she was lied to for years. You're not understanding what the problem is. This wasn't an adoption that got reversed. She was stolen from her family! Like someone said why isn't Carter curious enough to skim through her father's book or even ask some questions about that day.

No one was saying the kidnapper had to be terrible to her but they are showing her as perfect while making out the bio mother to be cold hearted bitch and that isn't right. Mostly because we aren't seeing Carter display the conflicted feelings she should be feeling. It doesn't phase her at all that this woman stole her from her real family and lied to her for years. Hopefully we start to see a better balance of both and soon because 3 episodes have already passed but I'm not sure with the writer saying that Carter and Lori's relationship is based off the one between her and her daughter. Because they really shouldn't be portraying this woman in a better light than the real mother at all. They don't need to make the kidnapper seem sympathetic. This woman stole someone else's child there's no justification for that.

Apparently the kidnapper is supposed to be seen as the perfect mother. Nothing spoilerish here just some hightlights from the TCA panel http://www.tvequals.com/2014/07/11/mtv-presents-finding-carter-happyland-tca-2014/

I cannot stand the scumbag father. Carter is a fickle bitch at this point and I'm already tired of her guy drama and attitude towards her bio mom. All this contrived drama reminds me of why I currently gave up soap operas. Someone needs to tell these writers/suits that a good drama can be written without going too melodramatic. Most of the characters on this show are too over exaggerated. Yeah but she was only harsh to trick Carter.

Casting news

Did the show also cut out for you temporarily after Kira's fall? That happened to me and I have DTV. All of a sudden after the fall the screen went black for like 4 minutes.

Carter is annoying and so far unsympathetic. The mom is kind of annoying too but I at least understand her actions. The friendzoned sister gets on my nerves as well. And the guy the mom was having the affair with was her husband's doppleganger. They looked so much alike in the pilot.

So far Carter is annoying. It actually reminds me a little bit of the Carlina White case and how the movie portrayed her.

I think all the girls are miscast but especially Aurora . Yes I know her father is black because I'm familiar with his work but she looks racially ambiguous in some photos. Shanna was never racially ambiguous and too often girls who are lighter skinned with more European features will be cast for black female roles. Any way the lack of Synergy and the Misfits means this movie is only Jem in name only. And from what I heard from extras the band was pretty wack.

I have no problem with the lead actress. I saw her in Filly Brown and she's a good actress. My problem is that this show is a remake of a show that was terrible with a pretty much implausible plot and all types of stupidity and campiness will be running amok through this. I really don't see this show being the next Ugly Betty like CBS and critics keep saying. It doesn't fit the CW audience.