Is Bold & Beautiful’s Thomas Going to Kill [Spoiler]? Plus, Zoe Needs to Stop Being Such a Wuss

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The Bold and the Beautiful’s Thomas and the mannequin may be the hot topic among fans — whether they love or hate the story — but there’s actually a lot of other stuff to talk about this week, too. Because for the first time in ages, the soap is telling not one, not two but three or more stories at the same time. Crazy, right?

Table for Two

On the plus side, Thomas didn’t have to worry about his date eating off his plate.

Credit: CBS screenshot

For some reason, Thomas seating Fauxpe (as I’ve taken to calling the Hope mannequin) at the table while he ate dinner was oddly heartbreaking to me. He spoke about how Vinny’d moved in with his girlfriend, and Zoe — who I totally forgot had been his roomie for a hot second — had also moved out, and darned if Thomas wasn’t feeling lonely. It was an oddly effective sequence.

More: Just how far will Bold & Beautiful really take this? 

And kudos to Matthew Atkinson for throwing himself wholeheartedly into the mannequin story. If he played this with even an ounce of camp, it wouldn’t work. Instead, we see that Thomas isn’t just in a dark place, he’s in the grip of something he doesn’t understand. Like most of you, I suspect this eventually will lead to the revelation that he’s being influenced by a brain tumor a la General Hospital‘s Franco, and that’s OK, too. Why? Because it gives the writers the freedom to take this story wherever they want — including down a murderous path — knowing that Thomas will ultimately have a Get Out of Jail Free card.

More: Guess who’s back at B&B!

Or should I say another Get Out of Jail Free card? Steffy insisted this week that in the wake of the baby swap, Thomas “didn’t get off scot-free. His actions cost him a lot.” But I’ll be darned if I can figure out how, exactly, he was punished for killing Emma and manipulating everyone around him. (I know, I know… we, the audience, are the only ones who really saw what went down the night of Emma’s death, so there’s no actual proof of his involvement.) The guy still has his cush job, and aside from Liam, everyone is taking a “Keep moving, nothing to see here” approach to the guy’s obvious issues.

Well, That Was Awkward

Oh, Carter, what are we going to do with you? Two weeks ago, Zoe said she wasn’t ready to move in and asked if maybe you guys could slow things down. How do you interpret that? “Let me propose while your sister is up on the roof canoodling with the guy you’re clearly hot for.”

More: Who this B&B star is really kissing

That whole dinner party was one big cringefest, largely because every word out of Carter’s mouth made it sound as if he was hoping he, Zoe, Paris and Zende might end the evening with a good, old-fashioned orgy. It’s weird… Carter is without doubt one of the nicest, sincerest guys on the canvas. Yet when he says things like, “I have high hopes for this evening,” it just sounds sort of… skeezy! This is rather ironic, given that it’s Zende whose dialogue comes off as the kinda thing that, when addressed to a co-worker, might get you sent to HR. Yet somehow, Zende seems like a flirt (a la old-school Ridge) while Carter is more like Modern Family‘s Phil, always saying things that sound far more inappropriate than he actually means them to be.

Also, as we’ve discussed before, Carter seems almost pathologically unable to read a room. Upon realizing that the guy she’s barely interested in was about to pop the question, Zoe… well, she made this face.

“Don’t run don’t run don’t run… “

Credit: CBS screenshot

When the fire alarm went off, I wondered if perhaps the show was about to reveal that Zoe is, in fact, gifted with pyrokinesis, like the little girl Drew Barrymore played in Firestarter years ago. Hey, if Thomas can talk to a mannequin, Zoe can set fires with her mind.

More: Star shares a birthday “disaster”

It’s actually a little hard to watch Zoe act as if she has no ability to make decisions for herself. “So you think I should marry Carter?” she asked Zende, clearly wanting him to stop her from doing so by declaring his love. Like many characters on this show before her, Zoe is written as if she has no choice but to marry someone, anyone. Therein lies the odd dichotomy that is The Bold and the Beautiful: It is perhaps the most modern as far as aesthetics — from its snazzy opening credits to its use of establishing shots — and yet it routinely forces upon characters a moral code that feels lifted straight out of the 1950s.

Family Matters

We didn’t get a lot of action on the Shauna/Eric/Quinn front, but the burgeoning triangle wasn’t dropped entirely. That alone thrills me, given this show’s tendency to become narrowly focused on one, maybe two, stories at a time. Last week, when the two ladies began butting heads, I kinda forgot that their children are dating each other. Because, of course, Wyatt and Flo are in the nether region to which happy couples on this show are relegated until it’s time for them to break up and find new loves. But having them involved — against their better judgment and with more than a little hesitation — in their moms’ mess is kinda fun.

“Wyatt, I love you… but your mom drank my last wine cooler. She’s gotta go.”

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

But riddle me this: Why does Shauna keep saying to Eric, “If you want, I’ll move out so that you and Quinn can try and fix your marriage”? Girl, if you think you’re what’s standing in the way of them working things out, then move out! Go crash with Wyatt and Flo, and let Quinn move into the guest house, all the closer to woo her ex.

Random Thoughts

• I’m starting to worry about Charlie. Remember how on the original Star Trek, you knew that whenever they visited a hostile planet, the guy in the red shirt wouldn’t be returning? Everyone’s favorite security guard may only wear black, but I’ve got a bad feeling that poking his nose around in Thomas’ business won’t end well for him.

“Well, no, I’m not authorized to carry a gun. However, my finger is registered at the J’accuse School of Dramatic Arts.”

Credit: CBS screenshot

• Speaking of Charlie, when the guy started launching some very pointed accusations at Thomas, I kept waiting for the designer to say, “Remind me again the name of this company? Forrester Creations? Cool, cool. Now… remind me again what my last name is before you head to the unemployment office.”

• I love when a soap couple’s fight feels like one that you or I might have with our significant others. When Hope grew tired of going ’round in circles with Liam about Thomas, she threw up her hands — literally — and declared, “I love you, but I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Been there, said that.

Now that you’ve heard my take on this week’s plots, share your thoughts in the comments. Then click here to check out the list of Bold & Beautiful characters we want to see back on our screens.