Bold & Beautiful’s Epic Steffy/Sheila Showdown Was Worth the Wait, But Hinted At What Could Have Been a Killer Twist

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (3)

It was a big week on Bold & Beautiful thanks to Steffy’s memory returning and her long-awaited confrontation with Sheila. The scenes definitely didn’t disappoint… although they also hinted at a storyline which won’t actually be happening, but could have been kinda awesome. Read on for all the details! 

“You Shot Your Own Son!”

Growing up, I was a huge fan of Agatha Christie novels and the show Murder, She Wrote. I lived for that moment when Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher would gather all the suspects together in order to finally expose the killer. In the case of Bold & Beautiful, we already knew that Sheila was the shooter, but the unfolding scenes gave me the same thrill.

In Sheila’s mind, she pictured them all being one big happy family. (And in her mind, Taylor never ditched the wig. Sheila always did like a good disguise.)

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

Sure, it seemed insane to me that Steffy’s parents would sign off on her plan to ring up Sheila and say, “Hey, come on over so we can… er, hang out!” Taylor made a valid point in saying that Sheila wouldn’t bring a gun into the home in which her precious grandbaby lived, but… I mean, it’s Sheila. Can we really be sure of that? I assume that on her way out the door, she grabs a gun the way other people pick up their car keys.

Mouse, Meet Cat

What followed were fantastic scenes in which Jacqueline MacInnes Wood and Kimberlin Brown simply ripped into the material. How fun was it watching Sheila go from thinking she was finally being accepted by the Forresters to realizing what was really going on? The show played it perfectly, right down to the loon instantly being suspicious upon seeing that Ridge was present.

The real reason Ridge hates Sheila: She knows — and has threatened to reveal — he’s a lousy tipper.

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

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It really helped that the scripts for the episodes in which the big payoff unfolded were fantastic. My favorite line probably came after Sheila tried to play the “But I saved Taylor” card, prompting Ridge to snark, “I’m sorry, what do you want… a loyalty cookie?” The runner up? Taylor saying, “You think that I would trust you over my own child? Sheila, you’re good. You are good. But you’re not that good!”

Everything worked, right down to the various musical cues used beneath the scenes. I’ve always said that this show may be far from perfect, but the other soaps could learn a thing or two from Bold & Beautiful when it comes to payoffs.

Sheila’s Best Defense

Like most of you, I sometimes can’t help playing headwriter. What would I have done differently? In this case, I’d have had the payoff… but stretched it out. Sheila did a pretty good job of saying, “Hey, wait a minute… a day or two ago, Steffy thought she was still Liam’s wife. And now, just because she says I shot her, everyone’s going to sign off on it?”

It might have been fun to see Sheila continue to insist that she was innocent. After all, there’s no actual proof that she gunned Steffy and Finn down, assuming a halfway competent lawyer could point out the issues with Steffy’s memory. It might have been fun to see this trial unfold. As it was, Sheila basically throwing in the towel and confessing her sins felt like… well, an episode of Murder, She Wrote where the killer confesses largely because it’s a 60-minute show and time’s-a-wastin’.

“And she would have gotten away with it, too, if not for those pesky kids!”

Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

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But the beauty of a soap is that it is a never-ending story, and that means the machine must constantly be fed. Why end a story when you can throw a creative twist in and keep things going a while? That said, as my pal Curtis explains, Sheila may be down, but she’s not out… at least not yet!

Random Thoughts

• Almost every day this week, Bold & Beautiful gave us two storylines, which y’all know is something I’m constantly begging them to do. I was surprised, however, that on Thursday — when people would be tuning in to see the big Sheila/Steffy confrontation — the cutaway was Deacon/Brooke/Hope talking about… the Sheila story. Let’s go over this once more: You know even lapsed viewers might be tuning in for a big moment, so why not use this opportunity to hook them on a second story? You know, so they keep coming back for more.

“I have one rule, Eric. The first time you call me Brooke, I’m outta here.”

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

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• I could not love Donna and Eric more. I probably shouldn’t be so into them, given that Eric is cheating on his wife and Donna is yet another woman on this show who is perfectly fine with being a man’s side piece. But darned if John McCook and Jennifer Gareis don’t have killer chemistry. And who knows, maybe this will result in Quinn’s dark side resurfacing. I’ve long been a fan of the edgier version of Quinn we had years ago.

• I’m surprised they haven’t done more to push Deacon and Brooke closer, thus making things far more interesting when the truth about New Year’s Eve comes out and Ridge finds himself second-guessing who he truly belongs with.

We’ve compiled a list of soap stars we desperately want — make that need — back in daytime. Did your favorite make our list? Check below, then hit the comments with who we left off.