One Crafty Lady

After Brooke vowed to prevent Sheila from being part of her extended family, Finn’s mom decided to help the blonde kick off 2023 in high style… by tricking the recovering alcoholic into falling off the wagon!
After Brooke vowed to prevent Sheila from being part of her extended family, Finn’s mom decided to help the blonde kick off 2023 in high style… by tricking the recovering alcoholic into falling off the wagon!
Thanks to Sheila switching out fake champagne for the real deal, Brooke wound up sharing a smooch with a Santa-hat wearing Deacon.
The two most uttered lines of early 2022? Brooke asking, “Why did I drink?” and Douglas insisting, “I saw grandma kissing Santa Claus.” It would be months before anyone realized these two statements were connected.
Upon learning that Hope’s mom and dad had kissed, Ridge — no stranger to locking lips with someone other than his spouse — handled the news in the calm, rational way one would expect of him.
Paris’ newly-arrived mom, Grace, took one look at Zende and knew he was the right guy for her daughter. Unlike that Carter fellow, Zende was handsome, had a good job, hadn’t been involved with Paris’ sister… hey, wait a minute!
Mother may know best, but the heart wants what it wants… and what Paris’ wanted was Carter. Sure, he was only a lowly CFO with abs for days and a desire to settle down, but for some reason, Paris was willing to settle. Grace, however, was having none of it.
At just about the same time that Brooke was asking, “Why did I drink?” for the thousandth time, Thomas was putting the pieces together and not-so-subtly pointing the finger at Sheila. Not that he shared what he knew with anyone…
In March, the show found two ways to celebrate 35 years on the air. Brooke had a dream in which many of her great loves swung by for a noctural visit, and the soap itself received a two-year renewal!
Having never read How to Make Friends and Influence People, Sheila took completely the wrong approach in trying to form a familial bond with Steffy. Told that would never happen, Sheila whipped out a gun and…
As Sheila would repeatedly try to explain, she hadn’t meant to kill son Finn… she was aiming for his annoying wife! For some reason, nobody seemed to accept that as a logical defense for her actions.
So grief-stricken was Sheila by what she’d done — to Finn, not so much Steffy — that she tried jumping off the hospital roof. With hindsight being 20/20, Taylor would only later realize just how big a mistake she’d made in preventing the loon from taking a flying leap.
So traumatized was Steffy by Finn’s death that she blocked it out and, for a brief time, allowed herself to believe that she and Liam were still married! To say that Brooke and Hope were not big supporters of this delusion would be an understatement.
With his marriage to Quinn still on shaky ground, Eric began spending a lot of time playing pickleball at the club. Thrilled that her hubby was getting in his daily exercise, Quinn failed to realize the only thing getting sweaty was the sheets between which he and Donna were getting busy!
When Steffy’s memory finally returned, she and her parents set a trap into which Sheila gleefully walked. And yes, even as she was being dragged away in handcuffs, Sheila tried convincing everyone it was all one big misunderstanding. (Hey, it coulda worked… right?)
Perhaps the biggest shock of 2022 came with the reveal that Li wasn’t just refusing to mourn her son… she was keeping him alive in a hotel room! Private medical care? Dude, hope you have great insurance!
Determined to put a ring on it — and not particularly picky as to who “it” was attached to — Carter decided that if he couldn’t have Quinn, he’d propose to Paris. Despite being in love with Carter, Quinn — unaware of Eric’s unique definition of “pickleball” — vowed to remain in her marriage.
A grieving Steffy decided to take the kids and leave town for a while. Unable to decide between his favorite wives, Ridge used concern over his daughter as an excuse to spend time with Taylor… and Brooke injuring herself as a reason to spend time with her!
Upon finding out that Paris and Carter were involved again, Grace threatened to report him to Forrester’s HR department. This left us wondering if the company even had one, given how many wildly inappropriate relationships had developed at the company over the years!
Guilt finally convinced Eric that he and Donna should end their affair. Not that they actually did, proving that sometimes, good intensions pave the way not to Hell, but to sexy time.
As you can see by the look on Quinn’s face, she found the rules to pickleball very confusing upon finding Eric and Donna together. And as you can see by the look on Bridget’s face, she understood the rules all too well.
After spending approximately 12 seconds discussing the end of her marriage to Eric, Quinn hopped on a bike and pedaled over to Il Giordino, where, Carter was about to make Paris his instabride. (Good thing L.A.’s such a small, easily-traversed town, huh?)
Just as Carter was about to make things official with Paris, Quinn ran in and suggested an alternate ending. Paris — who only a few short months ago had no interest in marrying anyone, let alone Carter — was clearly not pleased by this development. Charlie? He just wondered if there would still be cake.
Grace did something she’d been wanting to do for months. No, not swat away that pesky fly, but slap Carter for having left her daughter standing at the altar. As for Paris, she was so devastated by the turn of events that she…
… happily allowed Zende to escort her home so they could pick up where they’d left off. After all, being a handsome, rich dude in a tiny town like Los Angeles, it wasn’t as if he had other dating opportunities to pursue while Paris was preparing to marry someone else.
Meanwhile, after Li rather casually used the wrong tense while discussing her “dead” son with a jailed Sheila, the loon got an assist from her old pal Mike and was soon “helping” Li care for the man both staked a claim on.
Occasionally, Taylor would wander by Il Giardino to throw sparks with Deacon. The two had great chemistry and the potential to make Ridge’s head explode, but he would soon find himself otherwise occupied…
if we’re being honest, Li sort of brought the thrashing Sheila gave her upon herself. Why? Because she tried calling for help, but didn’t bother to actually leave the hotel room before doing so!
When Li tried to beat a hasty retreat, Sheila gave chase. And while we never really understood what caused Li’s vehicle to burst into flames, the fire of unknown origin caused her to take a long drive off a short pier. Like son Finn, Li would be declared dead. (And yes, we’re doing a bit of foreshadowing there!)
Realizing that Li was as dead as Steffy believed him to be, Finn began plotting to get away from Sheila. She, on the other hand, insisted it was too soon. When did she believe he’d be well enough to leave? Checking her calendar, she suggested the twelfth of never. The thirteenth, at the latest.
Having no idea that the woman he’d found in an alley was Finn’s mom, Bill — known far and wide for his empathy and big-hearted nature — brought her into his home. When finally she regained the ability to speak, she told everyone that being resurrected ran in her family.
Bill proved a pretty valuable pal to have when he reunited Li and her son, then suggested Finn jump on the Spencer jet and head to Monte Carlo to reconnect with Steffy. As for Sheila, she managed to escape yet again.
While all of this was going on, Wyatt… basically vanished. Occasionally, he’d pop up to share brunch and bon mots with Bill and Wyatt, but for the most part he was off screen, presumably living his best life with wife-to-be Flo.
Concerned about a deeply depressed Steffy, Ridge and Taylor headed to Monte Carlo in order to make out provide her with comfort. While there, memories of the past (and proximity) led them to share the kind of kiss that his wife definitely would not approve of.
Finn searched everywhere for Steffy, only to share a grand, romantic reunion when finally she emerged from a church to catch sight of her “dead” husband. Their nightmare at long last at an end, they returned to Los Angeles.
Posting a picture of herself with Deacona and Brooke caused Ridge — you know, the guy who’d refused to commit to a life with his wife — to lose his ish. How, he wondered, could she “betray” him?
Suddenly deciding he wanted to play a way bigger part in son Douglas’ life, Thomas suggested he and the boy move in with Eric. While Hope loved the idea of the two bonding, she wasn’t quite so enamored with the thought of Thomas taking his son back full time.
Wanting their parents reunited, Steffy and Thomas began pushing — hard — and doing a little behind-the-scenes manipulating in an effort to make that happen. Although Taylor told her kids to butt out, she didn’t put up much of a protest when Ridge was there every time she turned around.
The Forresters were skeptical when they heard that Sheila was really, most-sincerely dead. But when Detective Sanchez whipped out a toe and claimed it was all that remained of Sheila following a bear attack, they allowed themselves to believe it. (Amateurs!)
Only after hooking up with a sexy redhead he’d met at Il Giardino did Deacon find out he’d bedded Sheila, who’d cut off a toe in order to fake her own death. Moving into his tiny pad, Sheila swore she had access to untold millions… yet never actually seemed to have any money.
The battle between Brooke and Taylor got messy — in a literal sense — when they engaged in a paint battle. Meanwhile, Thomas tried to color Hope’s opinion of him by pointing out that unlike Liam, he was a one-woman man. And in case Hope needed it spelled out, she was that woman.
As Steffy prodded Eric into throwing almost nightly Forrester family gatherings, Liam and Brooke became very aware that they weren’t receiving invites to the shindigs. Meanwhile, fans wondered if Brooke might soon cross the line with another of Hope’s beaus!
Because nobody in Los Angeles ever locks their doors, Sheila was able to don her “Lina” disguise and walk right into Steffy’s house to play with Hayes. Good thing he didn’t want to play “this little piggy” with his nine-toed grandma!
Already wary of Thomas, Brooke freaked upon seeing him use a knife to stab to death slice an apple in Douglas’ presence. Deciding he was a danger to the boy, Brooke threatened to call Child Protective Services. And hey, wouldn’t you know it, someone sounding like and claiming to be Brooke did exactly that!
The Young and the Restless‘ Nikki swung by to pick up a dress from Forrester Cretions and pick former Genoa City resident Deacon’s brain for info about his past with her nemesis, Diane.
Following their wildly successful collaboration on her fashion line, Thomas misread the situation and tried to kiss Hope. She, however, made it clear that while they were very good at co-parenting, she loved her husband and always would… even if Thomas did look super hot in his leather pants.
Ridge demanded Brooke confess, but never told her what she was being accused of. Rather than talk it out, he took the advice of a pine cone which fell on his head — no, seriously — and jumped on a plane to Aspen, where Taylor and Steffy were checking out Bill’s compound.
Ridge proved his love to Taylor by chasing her up a mountain, then swore he was over Brooke and would protect the brunette’s heart forever. Never bothering to ask why he’d broken things off with Brooke, Taylor was all in.
Hours after getting Brooke to annul their marriage, Ridge proposed to Taylor… and suggested they tie the knot the next day! Proving this wasn’t quite as spontaneous as he might have us believe? Ridge had already created a wedding dress for his bride!
The second Los Angeles’ men found out Brooke was single, they lined up to propose. First up? Deacon, who brought along not only a ring but a ready-and-willing matron of honor in their daughter, Hope.
Not to be outdone, Bill, too, threw his hat in the ring by proposing to Brooke. If you’re thinking, “Hey, that’s not Brooke!”, you’re completely right. It is, however, her living room… where the can tried sweeping Katie off her feet less than five minutes after being rejected by her sister!
Fortunately, by that point Katie had a far better suitor in Carter, who’d been dumped by Quinn. Why? Because she thought they wanted different things out of life… despite having spent months talking about exactly what Carter was looking for in a mate!
Minutes before she was to wed Ridge, Taylor found out the truth about the CPS call. Although the bride was ready to go through with the ceremony anyway, Steffy stepped up to tell her dad what Thomas had done. As things quickly fell apart, Carter made sure one thing was understood: He got paid either way.
After the police handed over the evidence proving Sheila was dead (’cause that’s a thing that they do), Finn took a closer look at his mom’s toe and deduced she’d faked her death.
Steffy and Finn hoped Deacon might point them in the right direction, not realizing that he’d wised up and shown Sheila the door… about two minutes before they walked through it!
Liam and Katie freaked out upon realizing that Bill had not only become extremely grouchy, but he’d put his infamous sword necklace on again. As for Wyatt, he remained completely out of the loop as to what was going on with his father or anyone else.
Ridge left town to get his head on straight, only to find out upon his return that Taylor and Brooke had finally realized that they, not he, had all the power. Rather than let Ridge announce who he planned to be with, the ladies choose themselves and walked out on him!
Ultimately, 2022 ended much as it began, with Sheila on the loose and vowing to make life hell for those who’d done her wrong… and somehow still believing that Steffy and Finn might be convinced to give her a chance to be part of their family!