The Bold and the Beautiful’s Evil Mannequin Plotline Is Freakin’ *Brilliant* Soap Opera — Here’s Why
The story of Thomas and “Fauxpe” is something precious few daytime storylines are these days: daring.
I know some of you are gonna roll your eyes and be like, “Oh my God, seriously? What is this idiot smoking?” But I am 100-percent into the storyline that The Bold and the Beautiful is telling with Thomas and his Hope mannequin, affectionately dubbed (by Soaps.com, not him) Fauxpe.
And before you ask, no, it isn’t because my favorite movie is a certain 1980s classic starring Kim Cattrall as the ultimate living doll. It’s because the plot is shocking and unexpected, bonkers and blessedly, blessedly different.
“Mannequin or no, I’m really more of a Miranda.”
Credit: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
That’s not to say that I won’t wholly invest in the next round of Liam-loves-Steffy/no-he-really-loves-Hope or that I’m not totally down for the brewing battle royale between Quinn and Shauna. It’s simply that it’s been a long time since a soap delivered a plot that struck me as truly unique.
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Once upon a time, perhaps you’ll recall, novel storylines weren’t such a rarity. When there were more shows, they were less afraid to take chances. As a result, we got to follow them out on a limb as One Life to Live took us to the underground city of Eterna, the Wild West and even heaven, General Hospital introduced an alien — as in a hottie from another planet, not another country — Days of Our Lives possessed Marlena and buried Carly alive, Port Charles sank its teeth into vampire lore, and Guiding Light made Reva Amish and a princess, and cloned her.
Not all at once, though; that would’ve been silly.
“Is the secret password, ‘I’m not the clone, you are’?”
Credit: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Now, on the other hand, our four remaining soaps by and large stick to the tried-and-true. You know, baby swaps and psychos of the month, back-from-the-dead stories and cockamamie schemes. They rarely even dare to tackle topical material — and c’mon, 2020 is lousy with controversial subjects that the likes of the late, great William J. Bell and Agnes Nixon would’ve fearlessly addressed.
So to me, the story of Thomas and Fauxpe is flippin’ brilliant. It’s a big swing, and it’s paying off. Whether Matthew Atkinson knows it yet or not, the plot is gonna make him a soap legend — he’s the actor who put the “bold” in The Bold and the Beautiful and sold a storyline in which his character flirted with and took deadly orders from an inanimate object.
Heck, there should be a special category for the Emmy that he deserves. Seriously.
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And answer honestly: When was the last time that a soap, any soap, truly shocked you? I’m gonna guess that it was probably when The Bold and the Beautiful revealed that Maya had been born Myron. But I’ve gotta dock the show points for the way that Karla Mosley’s groundbreaking character was so unceremoniously erased from the canvas.
“I don’t care that you’re transgender, but… Myron? Really? What were our parents thinking?!?”
Credit: Sean Smith/JPI
But I digress. I’m not here to criticize the soap, I’m here to praise it. The Bold and the Beautiful is doing something that no other show is at present: It’s putting on the air something that’s truly outrageous, something that’s new and buzzworthy. Any first-time viewer who tuned in and caught a few minutes of Thomas and Fauxpe would be like, “Holy crap, what am I seeing, and how fast can I set the DVR?”
As for us longtime viewers — or at least me — it’s a nutso treat, a shock from a genre that I might’ve thought had lost its ability to stun. It’s a sign that nope, we still don’t know all the tricks that any headwriter — in this case, gutsy Bradley Bell — has up his or her sleeve.
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Plus, it’s grounded in reality. As goofy as Thomas’ relationship with a mannequin may sound on paper, its basis is clearly rooted in his mental issues. If or when they are worked out, Fauxpe will probably go the way of Maya. But until then, I’m gonna savor the weirdness and love every second of seeing just how far Bell is willing to take it.
Maybe those chemicals did Thomas more damage than we realized?
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
What do you think, Bold & Beautiful fans? Am I alone in loving the story of Thomas and Fauxpe? While you head to the comments, why not stop off at the below gallery of the show’s all-time best characters — quick, before I add Fauxpe to the list!
