Speculation: We Don't Know Everything Yet

[karenc3]

While watching the show last night, one thing I found implausable is that Carter seemed to me to look more like Lori than Elizabeth.  But then I thought maybe this was done on purpose.

 

After Lori told Carter she didn't know everything yet, I kind of wondered if it was possible that somehow Lori is really Carter's biological mom, put her or both Taylor and her up for adoption, and then found them and kidnapped Carter.  Or Taylor is really Elizabeths and her and Carter really aren't twins.  Or David is really Carter's father and they somehow adoped her and raised Carter and Taylor as twins because they were the same age.  So Lorie was either both Carter and Taylor's biological mother or just Carters.

 

This also had me wondering when they said that Elizabeth had so much trouble with her pregnancy with Grant that he was born so premature.  Just because this was mentioned, had me wondering if that would be less likely to happen if she had successfully had twins.

 

 

 

This is probably not what was intended, but just a thought I had while watching the show. 

[methodwriter85]

   I think it's going to turn out that Lori and Shady Dad had an affair, she got pregnant then miscarried, and then became fixated on his kids and the "daughter that she was supposed to have had."

Edited July 16, 2014 by methodwriter85

[candall]

Of course kidnapper mom is going to have a backstory twist!  Why waste a tasty morsel like that?

 

After reading Karen3c, above, I could get on board with bad dad impregnating both women and Lori subsequently changing her mind about letting Elizabeth raise the babies as twins.

 

My own spec is that Elizabeth knows more about the kidnapping than she admits. 

 

When multiple characters, including Carter herself, tell Elizabeth that her singleminded pursuit of Lori is killing any chance of forming a bond with the long lost daughter she claims to care about, there needs to be a reason she doesn't dial it back. 

 

Unless they're all under a dome.

 

 

[FAU]

 

When multiple characters, including Carter herself, tell Elizabeth that her singleminded pursuit of Lori is killing any chance of forming a bond with the long lost daughter she claims to care about, there needs to be a reason she doesn't dial it back.

 

Unless they're all under a dome.

 

They might as well be.  As for Elizabeth, I guess they're just demonizing her along with her family so Lori can appear more like a perfect saint according to the writers.

 

Carter isn't even trying to form a bond though, neither of them are, the writers threw drama at them and purposely made each character an ott extreme so they could fight about for forced, contrived drama.

Edited July 20, 2014 by FAU

[candall]

But, but, but. . .it's MTV!

 

The channel which has spent 22 years progressing from "let's put ten kids in a house with one hot tub and a hundred cameras and see what they do" all the way to "Sixteen And Pregnant."

 

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here (seeking thoughtful exposition.)

[FAU]

But, but, but. . .it's MTV!

 

The channel which has spent 22 years progressing from "let's put ten kids in a house with one hot tub and a hundred cameras and see what they do" all the way to "Sixteen And Pregnant."

 

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here (seeking thoughtful exposition.)

 

While that was stupid, at least that didn't waste a good premise, that was just a dumb show that you could avoid like the plague, this one actually hurts.

[Spencer Hastings]

In tonight's episode, the dad said he likes women with long dark hair. I wonder if we are going to find out that he knocked both women up and somehow the girls were going to be raised as twins.

[RachelKM]

In tonight's episode, the dad said he likes women with long dark hair. I wonder if we are going to find out that he knocked both women up and somehow the girls were going to be raised as twins.

I noticed that too.  But I don't think it is possible that Carter could really be Lori's daughter. Elizabeth didn't seem to have any clue that Lori, whom they knew at least a little if under a different name, might be the kidnapper when she learned who it was.  Even in a world where I could believe Elizabeth had agreed to raise another woman's child by her husband, when that child went missing the bio mother would be the primary suspect.  

 

And there is no way it could have happened without Elizabeth knowing.  Not to mention getting it by Elizabeth's parents.

 

What I could see is Lori and DoucheDad having had an affair and she got pregnant but miscarried or the baby died.  Then there's Elizabeth with twins, one of whom has dark hair and eyes, and she convinces herself that Linden/Carter was the baby she lost.  It sort of splits the difference I guess.

[FozzyBear]

I noticed that too. But I don't think it is possible that Carter could really be Lori's daughter. Elizabeth didn't seem to have any clue that Lori, whom they knew at least a little if under a different name, might be the kidnapper when she learned who it was. Even in a world where I could believe Elizabeth had agreed to raise another woman's child by her husband, when that child went missing the bio mother would be the primary suspect.

And there is no way it could have happened without Elizabeth knowing. Not to mention getting it by Elizabeth's parents.

What I could see is Lori and DoucheDad having had an affair and she got pregnant but miscarried or the baby died. Then there's Elizabeth with twins, one of whom has dark hair and eyes, and she convinces herself that Linden/Carter was the baby she lost. It sort of splits the difference I guess.

I could see the affair, maybe. Expect this has been an ongoing case for 13 years. I would think that anything like a scorned lover would have come up. I'd also think even the biggest asshole on earth would have told the police if he had an affair and she had acted unstable during the break up. Even David seemed surprised to hear it was Lauri. I would think that sometime in the last 13 years of obsessive wondering he might have thought of his mistress.

Of course this show does make some leaps in logic.

[Shannon Sheh]

The best speculation I have read is that the dad (HATE) arranged/planned the kidnapping with Lori in order to write a book about it; Lori went sideways and decided to keep Carter forever.

[Souris]

The best speculation I have read is that the dad (HATE) arranged/planned the kidnapping with Lori in order to write a book about it; Lori went sideways and decided to keep Carter forever.

 

That's my head canon right now as well.

[Spencer Hastings]

I could see the affair, maybe. Expect this has been an ongoing case for 13 years. I would think that anything like a scorned lover would have come up. I'd also think even the biggest asshole on earth would have told the police if he had an affair and she had acted unstable during the break up. Even David seemed surprised to hear it was Lauri. I would think that sometime in the last 13 years of obsessive wondering he might have thought of his mistress.

Of course this show does make some leaps in logic.

Perhaps she wasn't a mistress. Maybe a college girlfriend that he ran out on? Or someone that he left when Elizabeth Moneybags showed up.

[ihavenoidea]

So, Lori and David are clearly both psycho, maybe their related?

[SonofaBiscuit]

I guess that this is less speculation and more of my hopes for the show, but now that Finding Carter has been renewed for another season, what would people like to see happen?  I want the show to get rid of basically ALL of Carter's friends from school (goodbye Gabe, Bird, Ofe and Crash).  Maybe the girls could transfer schools and then we could bring in a new batch of friends for them to hang out with.  I also want more screen time for Grant and Max/Taylor.  I like Elizabeth as well, so I would enjoy seeing more of her at her job. 

 

I'm actually not crazy about Carter, so the writers either need to find a way for her to be more interesting or not feature her so heavily in the episodes.  I want to like Carter, but at the moment she's far behind Max, Taylor, Grant, and Elizabeth.  My dislike of the character could actually be due to her crappy friends, now that I think about it. 

 

I'm not convinced that Lori will be caught this season, so I'd be fine with her popping up again in the second season.  She'll probably become even more psycho and obsessive.  Maybe she can kidnap another baby and the police will be hunting her more aggressively in season two.       

Edited August 29, 2014 by SonofaBiscuit

[Kromm]

re: the commercial tease for next episode.

 

Clearly someone shoots someone and Carter is upset.

 

I see two main paths they can go down.

 

Lori proving how nuts she is by shooting someone trying to stop her (Elizabeth and Taylor being the main possibilities with the most impact, but Max and Crash being possible also).  This would be the "device" used to finally part Carter from her for good.

 

or

 

Someone shooting Lori (thus setting up dramatic tension for next season).  This "works" too for the show's purposes because it either makes Lori a martyr in reach (but hospitalized, so she can't run or be in jail) or out of reach (because she's dead).   Clearly the main suspect to shoot Lori would be Elizabeth, but Awful Dad is a strong one too, and even Taylor is in there as possible.  Crash is a very outside possibility.

 

Either way they make sure Carter has a rationale to stay in the same place.  If Lori shoots someone. Carter is "over" her.  If Lori is shot but alive, Carter stays put with some insane plan to get to her after she recovers.  If Lori dies, Carter has nowhere else to go other than to be a teenage runaway on her own (which doesn't seem like it's what she really wants to do).

[lumpy narwhale]

I came out of lurking to share my theory on the next episode-- maybe even next season.

 

I think, though it pains me to say it, that they're going to try for a Max/Carter/Taylor love triangle. I REALLY hope they don't go there, but it's rare you see platonic male/female friendships on these types of shows (I know they dated before but we've only really seen them as friends). It may only be in Taylor's head-- maybe an episode where she just keeps catching them in strange situations, so maybe it'll just be an episode where Max convinces her he's crazy about her. Or maybe the trauma of the shooting will bring Max/Carter closer and cause all sorts of messy tension and drama next season.

 

I LOVE Max and Taylor but before the show went in that direction I thought Max and Carter had good chemistry in the opening episode (especially at the carousel when they realized they were being followed). Also Max told Carter she'd already picked Crash over him, which is a weird thing to say to a friend. 

I really hope they don't go that route but I'll be surprised if they don't. If it means less Gabe on my screen and more Max I might not even mind that much (aside from it being tired and cliche-- ooo teen girls fighting over a boy, ugh over it)

[Shermie]

I'm inclined to agree with the theory that David had an affair with Lori, she got pregnant and miscarried. Then she finds out David's wife had twins and decides in her twisted mind that "that woman" should have two babies when she was denied even one. So she kidnaps the dark-haired one. Why she would wait three years is a little odd, that level of psycho doesn't usually just sit idle for that long.

Another theory might be some sort of in vitro gone wrong, as in, Lori and Elizabeth both had embryos in a bank and they accidentally implanted one of each of theirs in Elizabeth. This produced the twins, making Carter biologically Lori's. Somehow Lori found out a few years after the fact and so she reclaimed her child. I know that's a huge overthink and doesn't account for David's involvement, but theories are fun.

Will season two air next summer?

[RachelKM]

I'm inclined to agree with the theory that David had an affair with Lori, she got pregnant and miscarried. Then she finds out David's wife had twins and decides in her twisted mind that "that woman" should have two babies when she was denied even one. So she kidnaps the dark-haired one. Why she would wait three years is a little odd, that level of psycho doesn't usually just sit idle for that long.

Another theory might be some sort of in vitro gone wrong, as in, Lori and Elizabeth both had embryos in a bank and they accidentally implanted one of each of theirs in Elizabeth. This produced the twins, making Carter biologically Lori's. Somehow Lori found out a few years after the fact and so she reclaimed her child. I know that's a huge overthink and doesn't account for David's involvement, but theories are fun.

Will season two air next summer?

Considering Lori was taking pictures of Elizabeth while pregnant, whatever was going on in her crazypants brain was there for a while before she kidnapped Carter.

 

I'm still in the option A camp.

[Kromm]

David is a massive liar, we already know that, the question I suppose is how far back his lies go.  The last episode was pretty vague with that.  Clearly whatever it is Elizabeth is on the outside of it.  Her reactions to Carter have (with a few rare exceptions having to do with her job) been too open and honest, and she's the one we saw honestly confused and asking questions about Lori, whereas David's parts in those conversations seemed a lot more open to interpretation as possible lies.

[GaT]

I think that maybe Lori also had David's child & maybe when he found out she was pregnant he dumped her, so when Lori found out that when Elizabeth got pregnant & David married her instead of dumping her too, it set off Lori's crazy & she started stalking them. Then something happened & Lori's child died, & somewhere in her mind she thought Elizabeth had her brown haired kid so she took her. 

[Mabinogia]

My random theory based on that conversation where Elizabeth and David implied they had a shotgun wedding and this last ep where Lori had been watching them from before the time the twins were born is that Lori and David were a couple. David was also seeing Elizabeth. He knocks Elizabeth up and "has to do right by her" so he dumps Lori to marry Elizabeth. So Liz has everything Lori thinks should be hers, her man and her children. The thing is, this means that David knew all along who Lori was, when she moved into town and befriended them or whatever (I'm hazy on how well they knew each other before the kidnapping) which makes him a much bigger shit than he already is.

[GaT]

After thinking some more, I have another theory. Lori was always nuts . She had a thing for David, but it was all in her head, kind of like those people who think they're married to some celebrity & keep breaking into their houses. That's why the pictures, she wasn't stalking them, she was stalking David & Elizabeth happened to be in the pictures with him. She could have snuck into the house & taken the pictures of him sleeping without him knowing about it, especially once she made friends with them. And the reason she took Carter was because she thought the babies were why David was with Elizabeth, so she took one so that he would be with her.

[RachelKM]

After thinking some more, I have another theory. Lori was always nuts . She had a thing for David, but it was all in her head, kind of like those people who think they're married to some celebrity & keep breaking into their houses. That's why the pictures, she wasn't stalking them, she was stalking David & Elizabeth happened to be in the pictures with him. She could have snuck into the house & taken the pictures of him sleeping without him knowing about it, especially once she made friends with them. And the reason she took Carter was because she thought the babies were why David was with Elizabeth, so she took one so that he would be with her.

That is the most exculpatory version and I would fine with it.  My only issue with the David is an innocent victim of a stalker option is that there was subtext to his phone call with Lori that indicated he knew her at least a little and he didn't tell Elizabeth about Lori coming over to there house to see Carter or the picture of him.  Maybe he intended to tell her eventually and the scene with Carter telling just happened really quickly, but that is the kind of thing I would get on the phone with my spouse about IMMEDIATELY.   And even if all he knew about her was that she was a pushy chick who seemed too into him, I'm going to need an explanation he didn't say anything something about her odd behavior when Carter disappeared in order to make her a suspect.  Elizabeth acted like it being Lori was a totally surprise and out of the blue when she found out in the pilot and she certainly was taken aback about the pictures of her and David during her pregnancy.

[GaT]

My only issue with the David is an innocent victim of a stalker option is that there was subtext to his phone call with Lori that indicated he knew her at least a little and he didn't tell Elizabeth about Lori coming over to there house to see Carter or the picture of him.  Maybe he intended to tell her eventually and the scene with Carter telling just happened really quickly, but that is the kind of thing I would get on the phone with my spouse about IMMEDIATELY.   

They both knew her beforehand, she lived nearby & was friendly with them, so the phone call thing wasn't surprising. We don't really know what he said about the picture because of course the show cut away as soon as he took it making him look shady. That's what makes me think he didn't know anything about it, just because they tried to make him look guilty.

[lumpy narwhale]

 That's what makes me think he didn't know anything about it, just because they tried to make him look guilty.

I agree, I think a bigger "sucker punch" to the story is that David is indeed an asshole but not as involved with Lori as we're being led to make ourselves believe.

[RachelKM]

From the Episode thread for One Hour Photo:

The only way I could think of Lori being the surrogate is if she donated her eggs to Elizabeth and David, and Elizabeth doesn't know that the donor eggs came from Lori.  However, if that's the case, I would think that Elizabeth would then wonder about the surrogate donor when Carter was kidnapped. Maybe Elizabeth thought the donor was anonymous, but David knows it is Lori.  The flaw with this theory is that Elizabeth then conceived Grant, unless he also came from a donor egg.

 

I don't think Lori can be a surrogate or donor since it seems the episode in which Elizabeth mentioned them getting married, Elizabeth referenced that she was already pregnant when they married and indicated that it wasn't planned.  It's possible I guess that she lost that pregnancy and believed she couldn't get pregnant again (except... Grant) and got a surrogate or something.  But that is pretty extreme.  Elizabeth and David don't seem old enough to have tried for years after a miscarriage and then discovered there was a problem (that wasn't actually a problem because, Grant).

 

They both knew her beforehand, she lived nearby & was friendly with them, so the phone call thing wasn't surprising. We don't really know what he said about the picture because of course the show cut away as soon as he took it making him look shady. That's what makes me think he didn't know anything about it, just because they tried to make him look guilty.

I do get the impression that David had a little more information about Lori at the time that Elizabeth, but you may be right about the intentional mislead.  Thinking back, David never actually responded to Lori's side of the conversation when she started the "don't underestimate me" stuff, so he may have just been ignoring what she had to say. The only thing that was pointed was the part where she followed the don't underestimate me with "You did that once before."   It seemed more personal, but it could have been directed at him or even both of then and still just a jab about them not even thinking about her as a suspect. 

 

And his original idea was to just have Elizabeth be the one to meet Lori and arrest her or have someone else there to arrest her.  But Elizabeth declined because she promised Carter she wouldn't be the one to arrest Lori and was just thrilled that Carter chose them (bet she wishes she'd sent someone from the department to arrest Lori now). And David was going to have Elizabeth talk to Lori at first and she couldn't do it an shoved the phone at David.  That does make it seem that he wants her caught and isn't concerned about what she might say about him.

 

The picture thing coupled with him not telling Elizabeth about Lori coming to their home is still weird just because that is the kind of thing I would call my spouse about IMMEDIATELY.

 

So the more I think about it, the more the idea that Lori is a crazy David or David&Elizabeth stalker whom neither of them knew that well and he didn't understand the extremity of her interest at the time seems plausible.

[GaT]

So the more I think about it, the more the idea that Lori is a crazy David or David&Elizabeth stalker whom neither of them knew that well and he didn't understand the extremity of her interest at the time seems plausible.

The more I think about it, the more it seems plausible that the show has absolutely no idea what the backstory is, & they're using the break to figure it out.

[TVForever]

While watching the show last night, one thing I found implausable is that Carter seemed to me to look more like Lori than Elizabeth.  But then I thought maybe this was done on purpose.

 

After Lori told Carter she didn't know everything yet, I kind of wondered if it was possible that somehow Lori is really Carter's biological mom, put her or both Taylor and her up for adoption, and then found them and kidnapped Carter.  Or Taylor is really Elizabeths and her and Carter really aren't twins.  Or David is really Carter's father and they somehow adoped her and raised Carter and Taylor as twins because they were the same age.  So Lorie was either both Carter and Taylor's biological mother or just Carters.

 

This also had me wondering when they said that Elizabeth had so much trouble with her pregnancy with Grant that he was born so premature.  Just because this was mentioned, had me wondering if that would be less likely to happen if she had successfully had twins.

 

 

 

This is probably not what was intended, but just a thought I had while watching the show. 

 

 

I've been wondering this as well. It could be purely coincidence, but it does seem odd to have a very blond twin and a very dark-haired twin, especially since the two "moms" are 1 blond, 1 dark. And now that I've seen the last episode, and we all know now that Lori has a past (with David, at least) and didn't choose Carter randomly, my suspicion that Lori and Carter have a biological bond is even greater. I just haven't quite figured out how this could have happened without going into full-on "suspending common sense", soap-opera type stuff. Or, this could be a red herring, meant to make us have this very conversation. If that's the case, bravo show writers!

[Sammich63]

I could buy all of this, but I do see fraternal twins who look nothing alike.  I've seen fraternal twins where one is darker and the other lighter, and one is very tall and the other is very short.  Grant looks very similar to Carter in coloring and nothing at all like Taylor, and we know Lori didn't give birth to Grant.  I do agree that it does appear that Lori has some sort of real connection to Carter, aside from being her kidnapper.  Also, apparently the person playing Lori has stated in interviews that the real truth behind the kidnapping is actually rather heartbreaking, so that leaves it a bit open ended.  

[bettername2come]

Also, apparently the person playing Lori has stated in interviews that the real truth behind the kidnapping is actually rather heartbreaking, so that leaves it a bit open ended.

 

I think Lori losing a child with David would be the best choice. Lying to the girls about being twins for all their lives doesn't seem like something Elizabeth would do, even if I can imagine David doing it. I'm imagining a child that was due on May fifth, which is why she took Carter that day.

[Mabinogia]

I can't buy that Carter is Lori's bio kid only because if that were true Lori would have been the very first suspect when Carter was first taken. I'm wondering if the dark hair/light hair thing is more an explanation of why she took Carter in particular and not Taylor, because Carter looked more like her. I do think there could have been a lost baby and Lori stole Carter to replace her own daughter with David.

 

I just pray the show doesn't try to make us sympathetic to Lori by making her some kind of victim. She destroyed an entire family. She is never going to be the character I root for.

 

I'm imagining a child that was due on May fifth, which is why she took Carter that day.

 

 

Oh, that would be interesting. It would add a whole new, fucked up layer to Carter believing that was her birthday. I wonder if David would be aware of the significance of the date. But I would hope not as that would make him too evil. I'm hoping he didn't know Lori was pregnant with his child. I'm hoping she was a one night stand who had a psychotic break rather than believe that David figured she was the kidnapper all along and didn't say anything just to cover his ass. That would be irredeemable to me.

[Cranberry]

Similar to one of the theories floated around here:

 

[Cranberry]

Another familiar theory!

 

[bettername2come]

Based on the season 2 promo, I'd say whatever truth Lori had to tell the girls was more difficult for Taylor to deal with than Carter.

[Cranberry]

As long as Lori is not somehow the actual mother, I'm good. I don't see how that could possibly be done in any believable way; Elizabeth knows she had twin girls. They'd have to do something like... one of the twins died shortly after birth and David stole a baby that Lori conveniently had at the same time, swapped it for the dead one, and blackmailed Lori into keeping quiet somehow, and that would just be a shark-jumping moment. 

[methodwriter85]

Another familiar theory!

 

 

Yep, that's my theory! Basically the Hand that Rocks the Cradle, but if Peyton and Annabella's husband had an affair.

[jay741982]

Based on the season 2 promo, I'd say whatever truth Lori had to tell the girls was more difficult for Taylor to deal with than Carter.

It almost makes me think TAYLOR is Lori's daughter and David stole her from Lori or Taylor is taking it really hard that her and Carter aren't blood sister's

[teapot]

I have a theory. I believe that what we are seeing is David's book.

David & Elizabeth may be on their way to rescue Linden, or something darker may have happened.

-her kidnapper supposedly carried on the tradition of children named after presidents by calling her Carter. Living only a couple of towns over, that seems quite obvious

-Gabe's dad aka Elizabeth's lover conveniently killed off and a teenager keeps the house! (Same with Bird, now that I think of it)

-soapy elements like a long lost son and Lori declared the legal mother

Also I may have posted here for the first time after just reading for forever in order to share my crazy theory. Allegedly