MTVFinding Carter has already gutted us, and the finale hasn't even aired yet!
Last week's penultimate episode of MTV's kidnapping drama ended with the shocking news that Gabe's father died as a result of the rescue mission to save Crash. His death was heroic and tragic and totally heartbreaking. The tears were so real, people!
But if you think Finding Carter is going to let up on the drama during tonight's finale, you clearly don't know this show.
"The finale picks up a few days later, so it's not immediately after we find out," Kathryn Prescott, who plays the titular heroine Carter, tells E! News. "Gabe is definitely going to be dealing with the repercussions of his father's death and how he's dealing with the aftermath of that. He's trying to bury it, he's in denial and just trying to move on. He's in the early stages of grief and everyone's trying to get him to talk about it because they know that will help him move to the next stage. And you'll also see how Elizabeth feels and how she's handling the whole situation as well. It's not easy as you can imagine."
And while that would certainly be enough to fill a heartbreaking and gut wrenching finale on its own, Finding Carter is going to throw you for a loop early in the episode.
"Right at the beginning of the finale you find out something big and the episode becomes about that more than anything else," Prescott reveals. "The episode deals with this huge shock that you learn at the beginning of it and you quickly realize you have no idea what's coming next."
Of course, that "huge shock" revolves around Lori, aka Carter's kidnapper, because as hard as Carter and her family tries to move on, Lori will always find a way to crawl right back into their lives. This time, it's Lori's impending trial that throws a wrench into Carter's family dynamic. And they were just starting to get to a good place!
"Every time you think it's going to be over with Lori, it's not," Prescott says. "At this point, finally, Carter really is, truthfully, totally done with her. But she still cares about her, because that will never go away, so she's confused. But out of self-preservation, and preservation for her family, she's said that she can't even deal with this woman anymore."
Even when Carter is forced to be in the same room as her former "mom," you'll see some major changes in how she treats Lori.
"Carter goes to see Lori in prison before the trial and she's very cold with her," Prescott says. "You get the feeling that Carter is cutting all ties. But the trial comes around and thanks to Lori's very clever, manipulative lawyer, he asks Carter certain questions that bring up emotions that Carter has tried to bury and wants nothing to do with. It's so emotional and that rocks the trial."
But nothing in the episode compares to the finale's final moments, when something so major happens that fans will be left wondering where the show can go from here.
"There's this big surprise at the end! It's insane," Prescott says with a laugh. "There's this huge bomb dropped that you won't expect at all. But it's the end of the season! So you need to have something to keep people coming back!"
Can't wait to see the game-changing finale tonight? Press play on our exclusive video above now to get a sneak peek at the episode!
The Finding Carter season finale airs tonight at 10 p.m. on MTV.