As Two Shocks Rock Bold & Beautiful, the Soap Just Got a Very Public Wake-Up Call That We Only Wish It Would Answer
May 2-6, 2022
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (3)
It was another week of good, soapy twists as Bold & Beautiful revealed that Pam and Eric have been hooking up, then followed that with Steffy’s memory returning. But when the Daytime Emmy nominations were revealed on Thursday, the show was the only serial not to receive a nod in the Outstanding Writing category. Why? Well, I have my theories…
Eric, You Dog!
I’ve long said that criticism without praise is as valueless as praise without criticism. In the case of Bold & Beautiful, it’s easy to do both. When this show is firing on all cylinders, it’s top-notch soap. But when it’s relying on repetitive dialogue and endless flashbacks, well… let’s just say there are times I’m glad it’s never expanded to an hour.
“We should have started playing pickleball ages ago… “
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
This week, we got two huge developments, one of which was a complete blindside, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. Never could I have predicted that we’d find out Eric and Donna have been canoodling behind Quinn’s back! Over the past week or two, we got hints that a Carter/Quinn repairing might be in the works, and then… bam! There’s Donna and her honey bear, steaming things up.
I loved this on a few levels. First, it makes sense. It’s not like this is the first time Eric has cheated on a wife. Heck, it’s not even the first time Donna’s been the other woman! I also loved that it was almost a shot-by-shot recreation of the moment when Bold & Beautiful revealed the original Quinn/Eric hook-up.
Sheila’s Worst Nightmare
The second big twist of the week was Steffy beginning to get her memory back. I honestly thought this would be backburnered for a while, maybe even until after Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s returned from maternity leave. This was another fun reveal… although it didn’t work as well for me as the Eric/Donna situation. Why? Because it didn’t make sense.
“As a world renowned psychiatrist, I’d have to say we made a crazy mistake.”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
More: The Sheila/Steffy confrontation you can’t miss!
Look, Sheila is many, many things… but dumb ain’t one of ’em. Rather than throwing herself in Steffy’s face and risking that triggering her memory, why wouldn’t she just call her new BFF Taylor to arrange a secret visit with Hayes? And why would Taylor, who has been so protective of her fragile daughter, invite Sheila in, knowing the reaction it would trigger?
Neither would. And the whole nonsensical nature could easily have been avoided: Simply arrange for Taylor to take Hayes to see Sheila, let Steffy find out and, in the midst of the resulting meltdown, have her memories return. Same basic premise, same result… but it allows you to take viewers from Point A to Point B in a way that actually track.
And The Emmy Won’t Go To…
So back to that whole Emmy snub. I’m not sure what Bold & Beautiful submitted, but historically, the show submits the same episodes in both the Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Writing categories. Makes sense, right? So how did they wind up with a nod in Drama, but not in Writing?
Let’s give ’em something to talk about… other than the same thing those others are discussing.
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (3); CBS Screenshot
More: Is ‘Dark Quinn’ about to return?
Here’s my theory, for what it’s worth: I’ve written a lot about the fact that Bold & Beautiful does some of the best payoff moments in daytime. Look at last week’s scenes with Steffy remembering Finn, or this week’s Eric/Donna reveal. Thats good soap opera. It’s good drama. However… look at each individual day’s scripts. The repetitive dialogue. (Like the day Steffy said “husband” 13 times.) Cutting from two people talking about Steffy’s shooter to two other characters having essentially the same conversation.
“Ugh, Bill, I really don’t want to talk about Brooke’s memory again.”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
I think you can be worthy of Outstanding Drama based on your payoffs and overall storytelling techniques (including the show’s incredible production values) and yet not even be considered for Outstanding Writing based on the actual scripts. The good news is, it’s such an incredibly easy fix: Stop writing as if your audience can’t remember what happened five minutes, let alone five days, ago. Play multiple stories in every episode, thus helping to eliminate the cyclical dialogue.
All of the pieces are there. It’s just a matter of using all of the crayons in the box as opposed to the same three varieties of red.
Random Thoughts
• Why has there been no mention of a service for Finn? Sheila keeps saying she wasn’t allowed to say a final farewell to her son, but was anyone?
• Thank goodness Steffy got her memory back as quickly as she did. I was worried that we were in for another situation like the one we just wrapped up with Brooke, who spent months wandering around asking, “Why can’t I remember?”
• Look at Paris, acting like an adult with a bit of autonomy and actually telling Zende exactly how she feels! Of course, the designer should have taken the hint when he went in for a kiss and she pulled away as if he had cooties. But what’s up with Carter, who two weeks ago was ready to throw it all away because he was just that into Paris, now saying he never felt about Paris the way she felt about him. Since when?
Quinn’s right, there’s a much better woman for him than Paris. Probably right under — or, in this case, over — his nose!
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
More: Ready for next week’s Bold & Beautiful spoilers?
• My favorite line this week had to be Quinn, in saying she understood Paris falling for Carter given that he’s all that and a bag of chips, declaring, “I am a grown-ass married woman, and I lost my mind [over you]!” In fact, she proved to be the smartest character on the canvas this week, even suggesting that Carter — brace yourself — “expand your dating pool outside Forrester Creations!”
Ready to do a little judging? Join us as we count down the 35 all-time best Bold & Beautiful couples. Who’ll wind up in the top slot?
