A word to the wise: If you could use a relaxing weekend at a serene lake house, call anyone but Lydia Martin.

On tonight’s “Teen Wolf” episode, the banshee who’s manage to uphold a perfect GPA continued to rifle through her family’s heirlooms at the Martin’s vacation home for clues about The Benefactor’s identity. Since the record player that first helped her produce the dead pool’s code had recently gone radio silent, she redirected her search to the place’s mini-marina. But just when Lydia was onto something, her mother Natalie appeared.

Lydia, who wasn’t ready to explain the complexities of the assassins-versus-supernaturals war to her mortal mother (Parents: They just don’t understand!), had to play dumb when Natalie asked her why she’d been sneaking away from Beacon Hills each weekend. Instead, Lydia let Natalie share a few choice family stories — like, you know, how Lydia’s late grandmother was institutionalized for “hearing things” (sounds like it runs in the family…) just before she died. Natalie also explained that Lydia’s grandmother requested that Lydia spread her ashes, but when Lydia reached inside the woman’s supposed urn, she only pulled out fistfuls of Mountain Ash.

Finally, Natalie shared one final artifact Lydia’s grandmother had left behind — a piece of paper with what appeared to be gibberish scribbled across each line, but what Lydia ultimately realized was code. This, paired with the fact that Kira and Scott determined that The Benefactor must be a ...

Carter Stevens has been dreaming of the chance to reunite with Lori, the woman she considers to be her mother. But now that the opportunity has come months after Carter moved in with her biological family, The Wilsons, is she ready to take the leap?

On tonight’s “Finding Carter” episode, Max, who’s been proudly serving as manager at the local gas station, was uncomfortably greeted once again by the perpetually baseball-capped Lori. Carter’s abductor pleaded with Max to contact Carter and get her to the station, and though it took dozens of text messages to pry Carter away from her new crush Crash, the teen finally made the trip.

At first glance, Carter was thrilled to see Lori and quickly wrapped her arms around the woman. But soon, after Lori explained her plan to steal Carter away, Carter’s mood changed. Lori’s proposal for a getaway involved a burner phone, the stealing of the Wilson family car and even Russian passports, and Carter, who was so stunned by the sordidness of the scheme that she forgot her part in the duo’s typical “love you”/”love you more” exchange, looked like she’d been hit by any one of the vehicles that was refueling at the pumps. It wasn’t so long ago that Carter would have done just about anything to reclaim her old life, but the prospect of new, falsified identities and a long road of law-breaking suddenly made things real — and terrifying.

With the complexity of ...

You would think it couldn’t get worse than finding your name on a hit list, but now that Malia‘s finally gotten a glimpse at The Benefactor’s dead pool, she’s had to digest even more unsettling information.

On tonight’s “Teen Wolf” episode, a man disguised as a PSAT proctor turned out to be the latest assassin who had Scott, Kira and their supernatural friends in his sights, and for awhile, it looked like he’d succeed at bumping them off. The killer released a toxin into the air that was designed to take out werewolves, kitsunes and any other bestiary feature, and slowly, each became very, very sick.

Thankfully, as usual, Dr. Deaton had the answers, and after questioning Satomi, an Alpha Wolf who had somehow avoided being killed by the infection in a separate attack, the doc realized that the antidote was an ingredient in Satomi’s favorite tea: reishi. By drinking it for years, she had unknowingly vaccinated herself, and Derek pointed out that there was some left in his vault, where Scott, Kira, Malia and Stiles had stowed themselves away.

It was a close call, but the gang ultimately got the message, and just when it looked like they were goners, the reishi revived them. Unfortunately, the healing came at a cost, and when Malia regained her sight — which she’d lost as a symptom of being poisoned — she saw The Benefactor’s hit list for the first time with her ...

Max Joseph is still eagerly awaiting the day he and partner Nev Schulman can feature America’s first family on “Catfish,” but in the meantime, he can cross another bullet point off his bucket list: directing a huge movie star in an upcoming feature film.

After heavy speculation, Deadline confirmed yesterday that Max will take on the coming-of-age drama “We Are Your Friends,” which will star Zac Efron and Emily Ratajkowski and explore the life of a promising young DJ who finds himself in trouble when he starts to fall for his mentor’s young girlfriend. Deceit? Twisted love triangles? Thankfully, these are topics with which Max is expertly familiar…

“I’M MAKING A F*CKING MOVIE!!! With @ZacEfron, @EmRata and the best cast of the century,” Max, who wrote the film’s script with Meaghan Oppenheimer, tweeted as soon as the news was released. Safe to say the guy’s excited!

“Friends” will start shooting August 18 in the San Fernando Valley. Are you excited to see it? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and keep up with MTV News for updates!

Matthew Scott Donnelly

Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” successfully merged the world of haute cuisine and accessible, home cooking by emphasizing the importance of a few fundamental techniques.

Beating the sh** out of Fruity Pebbles with a wooden mallet wasn’t one of them.

On tonight’s “Snack-Off” episode, three amateur cooks battled it out for top honors — the coveted Golden Spork — as part of the show’s “After After Party” episode. In one heat, they had to make a snack that’d be perfectly fitting for a 3 a.m. binge, and in another, they pulled out all the stops to create a dish that emphasized the beauty of America’s favorite ladyfinger, the Twinkie.

Some entrees, like pina colada-infused French Toast, didn’t fly, but others, like tater tot-injected croquettes, soared. Either way, we got eyefulls of some…interesting…cooking methods along the way.

Check out five Anti-”Art of Cooking’ techniques from tonight’s episode!

Pouring jelly into scrambled eggs with cheese in them:

Blending chicken from a days-old take-out bucket:

Pouring vodka into doughnuts that you squished into doughnut balls:

Beating breakfast cereals into oblivion:

Wrapping raw bacon around a Twinkie:

Matthew Scott Donnelly

So the benevolent Scott McCall didn’t take out The Benefactor’s assassin Violet when he had the chance, but let’s be clear — in the coming episodes of “Teen Wolf,” all bets are off.

In the mid-season trailer below, as a slew of killers continues to bear down on Lydia, Kira and Beacon Hills’ many other supernatural creatures for paychecks, Derek finally decides to stand up and fight. And by the looks of things, kitsunes and banshees alike seem to be on board. But in the fight for survival, Scott appears to tap into total bloodlust, and we shudder at the notion that we’re slowly losing our canvasser of justice to the dark side.

Either way, the gang will soon face total extermination, and as more and more killers sign on to make some dough, the blood will continue to spill. Judging by Mama McCall’s scream, we’re in for some heavy losses.

“Maybe we should all be running from Beacon Hills,” Malia says as the walls start to cave in around her. “Running for our lives.”

Well, we can’t say we disagree with that!

Check out the trailer, and be sure to tune in to an all-new episode of “Teen Wolf” Monday night at 10/9c!

Matthew Scott Donnelly

You know when you’re walking around the kitchen, and you’re like: Hey, maybe it would taste good if I put peanut butter and salami in a pan and then poured that on a jalapeno and ate it? Well, on tonight’s “Snack-Off,” it earned a contestant top honors.

On the episode, which challenged three amateur chefs to make dishes on sticks, and later to take PB&J to a new level, the show’s panel of judges got more than they bargained for with a menu that included “Lick Me Love Me Special Sticks,” among other enticing entrees. You won’t see innovation like this in any Mario Batali joint!

Some meals got rave reviews, while others ended up in the refuse. Check out the best bites from tonight’s episode — and the reactions they got — and then tell us if there’s any snack you’d consider for yourself!

5) Chrissy Teigen on the Hangover Helper

4) Jason Quinn on the Crunchie Munchie

3) Contestant Grant with a powdered doughnut he illegally obtained

2) Yassir Lester on the Lick Me Love Me Special Sticks

1) Chrissy Teigen on the Lick Me Love Me Special Sticks

Matthew Scott Donnelly

According to WebMD, it can take months for a newborn baby to see clearly, but in the meantime, we’re sure Jenelle Evans‘ little boy Kaiser can feel the love.

The newest addition to the “Teen Mom 2” family, who was born on June 29, is already making a sizable dent in his baby book. But this morning, Jenelle added the album’s very first family photo that includes her other son, Jace, too, and it’s simply perfect.

@PBAndJenelley_1

“I’m so blessed to have my little family,” Jenelle tweeted with the photo above. “I love them so much and so happy how far I’ve came within these past 2 years.” Leaps and bounds, friend.

Not one for too much gushy sentiment, though, Kaiser proved he has a sense of humor too, and in a photo that finds Jenelle holding him over her shoulder, he seems to be flashing a certain symbol.

@PBAndJenelley_1

“Peace dude,” Jenelle wrote with the snapshot, in which Kaiser flaunts the universal symbol for harmony. Guy would have been a Woodstock cornerstone…

Check out the photos that’ll surely be hanging over the fireplace soon, and be sure to watch “Teen Mom 2″ Wednesday nights at 10/9c!

Matthew Scott Donnelly

These days, Carter Stevens can count the number of people she trusts on a single disfigured hand. And after tonight’s “Finding Carter” episode, she might even have one fewer confidante.

After Max left the Wilson household out of fear he’d become burdensome, Carter’s ex-boyfriend pulled into a gas station to fill up his truck when he spotted Carter’s abductor Lori. She tried to sneak away undetected, but Max wouldn’t let her off so easy, and soon, the two were wrapped up in conversation at a picnic table.

Lori explained she still had every intention of taking Carter back as soon as she secured a new identity, and that she planned to make contact within two weeks. Max tried to reason with her and argued that Carter had finally found her footing with the Wilsons. But Lori dismissed him — and made him swear that he wouldn’t tell Carter he’d ever seen her.

Max kept his word but tested the waters at Carter’s sleepover when he asked his ex-girlfriend what she’d do if she ever saw Lori again. Carter, who’d momentarily forgot her abductor’s name, was suddenly racked with guilt and emotionally made her way to her room. Bet she won’t be too thrilled if and when she learns Max knew about Lori’s whereabouts, either…

Whaddya think: Should Max have ignored Lori’s plea and told Carter — his close friend — he’d seen the woman? Take the poll and explain your choice.

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Discovering a presumably dead sibling is actually alive would be reason to celebrate for most, but, as usual, things aren’t so cut and dry in Beacon Hills.

On tonight’s “Teen Wolf” episode, Chris Argent, who only recently returned from Paris thanks to a longshot text-alert from Scott McCall, was forced to confront the fact that his sister Kate was running amok as a recently turned werejaguar and killing at random. Worse: The Calaveras were after her.

The werewolf hunters, who have been in relentless pursuit of Kate ever since she left several of their own dead, explained to Chris that they’d sent the fearless bounty hunter Braeden after her but that they hadn’t heard from Braeden in a while. They feared she was dead, and reiterated to Chris that all hunters are to abide by a single code: Hunt those who hunt you. It took some convincing, but he recited the words back to them to prove his commitment to his craft.

Now, Chris, who’s already lost his wife and daughter, is stuck between a rock and a hard place — his sister is back, but he might be obligated to help take her out. So, if and when the moment comes, do you think he’ll be able?

Matthew Scott Donnelly