Why Bold & Beautiful Can’t Play a ‘Who’s the Daddy?’ Story With Steffy — But Probably Will, Anyway
Here’s hoping we’ve misread the writing on the wall.
You can see it coming a mile away. Two weeks ago, The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Steffy had a one-night stand with Liam about which they (eventually) decided to keep quiet. This week, Steffy and Finn took their relationship to the next level by making love. Throw in the fact that her portrayer, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, is pregnant in real life, and it’s pretty easy to see where this story is going.
While it’s probably too late to stop this already-in-motion train, we’re nonetheless going to beg the show not to trot out a “Who’s the daddy?” storyline for several reasons… not the least of which is that Steffy and her fans deserve better.
More: In defense of Steffy
For years, we’ve been told that Steffy Forrester is a strong, smart woman. She’s co-CEO of Forrester Creations (and frankly, puts in way more time at the office than dad/fellow CEO Ridge) and from time to time even makes big, bold statements about how she don’t need no stinkin’ man to complete her. That is the Steffy we love, and it is the one we want to see front and center.
But too often, the character fails to walk the walk after talking the talk.
Two Steps Forward, Two Miles Back
“I don’t know about you, but I blame that picture behind me. We’re just too darn sexy in it!”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
We absolutely hated that Steffy fell back into bed with Liam, especially under such ludicrous circumstances. Surely she deserves better than to be the drunk chick to whom he makes a booty call after supposedly spotting his wife making out with another guy. After everything she’s been through with lunkheaded Liam, this was a disappointing development to say the least.
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However, it happened, and in the aftermath, she’s mostly been the voice of reason, insisting that she and Liam would be better off keeping respective significant others Hope and Finn in the dark. “What they don’t know,” Steffy’s basic argument goes, “won’t hurt them or us.”
This being a soap, we — the audience — obviously know this won’t fly in the longterm, but it made sense to us that she’d pitch Liam on the idea.
We also get that she’d choose now to consummate her relationship with Finn. What better way to convince herself that those pesky, lingering feelings for Liam were of no importance than by moving forward with a man who is clearly far better for her than the infamous waffler could ever be.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
What we don’t buy for a second is that either of these pairings — let alone both — would fail to use birth control. While we fully believe it is both partners’ responsibility to take such measures, we’re focusing here on Steffy because of the damage such a scenario could do to her character… and not for the first time.
We’ve already played this storyline out with Steffy, back when she wasn’t sure whether she’d gotten pregnant by Liam or his father, Bill. (Heck, we’re still hoping that one day that particular story will explode anew with the revelation that Bill really did father Kelly.) It’s simply inconceivable to us (pun intended) that this smart, modern woman would allow herself to wind up in that position again.
The other alternative isn’t much better: that Steffy concludes that the baby we’re sure she’s having must be Liam’s because she and Finn were careful, but opts to lie to the doc, explaining that even the best birth control occasionally fails. This would lead to Finn and Steffy’s relationship being built upon a lie which inevitably would result in not only disaster but, heaven forbid, her reuniting with Liam.
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Obviously, we’re projecting here, but with good reason. No other soap has so often proven that past truly is prologue. You’ve heard that those who forget history’s mistakes are doomed to repeat them? Consider Steffy, Liam and Hope amnesiacs when it comes to their collective backstories. Viewers, however, remember every beat and would rather not see this particular one repeated.
What do you think, Bold & Beautiful fans? Are you as convinced as we are that Steffy’s heading for a paternity crisis? Before weighing in on the possibility in the comments, join us as we relive the good, the bad and the downright twisted tales this soap told in 2020 via the photo-filled gallery below
