How Bold & Beautiful’s Finn Got Sidelined by Steffy — Plus, Thomas’ One-Way Ticket to Loserville

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI; CBS screenshot (2)

They say confession is good for the soul, but it’s also pretty good TV. Interestingly, even Liam’s confession managed to be about him waffling, while Annika Noelle stole the show by taking Hope on an emotional roller-coaster ride. And with Jacqueline MacInnes Wood back from her maternity leave, Steffy and Finn’s story finally got to move forward. Or did it? Read on, and we’ll discuss… 

Drama Central

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: No soap is better at turning a plot point we all saw coming a mile away into something far greater than the sum of its parts. Such was the case with Liam’s confession.

No matter how many times Bill insisted his son couldn’t go to the police, we all knew he was going to do exactly that. The only real questions were when and how many times we’d have to listen to Bill, Hope and Liam recount the details.

Things became borderline comical when Liam and Hope arrived at the police station. Liam has a tough enough time getting to any given point without constantly being interrupted. Yet time and again, Baker was called away so that the story could spin its wheels a little bit longer.

But then came… the moment. Not Liam’s confession, which was anticlimactic given that we knew it was coming. But rather, the scene in which he was handcuffed and led away. The music swelled, Hope wept (or, as Candi headlined that day’s recap, “sobbed her heart out”) and forgave her husband all of his past sins. All in all, it was darn good soap opera.

Sure, You’re Cute and All…

There’s no denying how absolutely adorable Finn and Steffy were when they got the news that their unborn child was a boy. And their happiness was infectious as they shared the news with family members, fully owning that while they’d hoped to play it cool, they had “zero chill.”

More: Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s anniversary photo album

But I was disappointed that beyond that, the pair had absolutely nothing to do. Of course, that’s not a huge surprise given that when Jacqueline MacInnes Wood went on maternity leave, Steffy left town and Finn simply vanished.

This would have been a great time to delve deeper into Finn, currently the shallowest character on daytime. Given how long he’s been around, how is it that we still know absolutely nothing about the guy? Had the writers given him something interesting to do in Steffy’s absence, Steffy’s return might have been more exciting. Instead, we got about five minutes of the couple happily sharing their news before they joined the endless conversations about Hope and Liam.

More: Could Steffy’s return impact the Poor, Dead Vinny story? 

Move On, Dude

It seems pretty obvious that with Liam behind bars, Hope will find herself leaning more on Thomas. And of course, Thomas has nothing better to do than repeat the mistakes of his past where she’s concerned.

I blame his family.

More: Summer preview and predictions for all four soaps

Look, Thomas has talked a good game about wanting the best for Hope, even if that means supporting her marriage to Liam. And honestly, he seems to mean it. But the only thing anyone will talk to him about is his ex. When they’re not endlessly discussing Hope’s reunion with Liam, they’re dubbing Thomas a brave little toaster for somehow managing to go on without her.

How about they, I don’t know, introduce him to some new ladies or start up a conversation about something, anything other than Hope. Or Vinny, the other downer of a topic he can’t get enough of.

Thomas is young, rich and single… he should be out there having the time of his life. Instead, he’s sitting around waiting for the only story line he knows to kick in again. And clearly, it’s coming. “No matter how much I love [Hope],” he told dad Ridge, “I know her future is with him.”

Someone get this guy a shrink, cause those periodic phone calls with mom Taylor ain’t cutting it.

Random Thoughts

• You’ve gotta give props to Liam for managing to fake his dad out by saying, “Er, yeah, sure, we’ll meet you back at the office in a few minutes.” When Bill finally figured out what had happened, we couldn’t help think that on some level, he respected the move.

More: Is this how the Zoe/Carter/Quinn story ends?

• Given how often we type the words “Detective Baker” before reminding ourselves of his recent promotion, it was amusing when Bill caught himself getting it wrong, too. “Listen, Detective,” he said before correcting himself. Sorry, Deputy Chief Baker.”

• While I often take Bold & Beautiful to task for its repetitive dialogue, it actually worked during the scenes in which Liam was being interrogated. Any true crime (or Law & Order) fan knows that the police often ask the same questions over and over, hoping to trip suspects up with details.

• You might be married to a wuss if you’ve ever had to say, “Liam became overwhelmed and he fainted.” What a keeper he is, Hope!

• There was not one single beat played in the Quinn/Carter storyline, and y’all know I think that’s borderline criminal. Insert my weekly rant about the show’s refusal to tell two stories at once here, because I’m as tired of saying it as you are hearing it. And heaven knows nobody at Bold & Beautiful is listening.

That’s my take on this week’s sudsy action. Now it’s your turn. Hit the comment section and let me know what you thought of Liam’s confession, Bill’s arrest, Hope’s tears and Thomas sad, sad life. Then see which Bold & Beautiful stories, characters and moments made our list of the best and worst soap moments of 2021 (so far) by visiting this photo-filled gallery.