Bold & Beautiful Used Manic Moms, Classic Clashes and a Shocking Return to Give Us a Week of Great Soap
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
With Steffy off grieving in Europe and Finn laying in a coma, The Bold and the Beautiful had to figure out a way to keep things moving along until their inevitable reunion. The soap’s solution? To pull out all the stops and use everything in its considerable arsenal to give us some top-notch soap! The big question: How long can they keep this up?
Desperate Housewives
Look, I’m as tired of the Brooke/Ridge/Taylor storyline as the rest of you. I, too, think it’s ridiculous that after decades of bouncing back and forth, Ridge still needs time to think about who he wants to be with… let alone that either of these bright, beautiful women would give it to him. But this week’s scenes worked for me on a couple levels.
“What do you say? One game of Rock, Paper, Scissors… winner gets Ridge?”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
More: Why Hope may need Deacon more than ever!
First, there’s the fact that with Krista Allen in the part of Taylor, the story feels a little bit different. Her energy is completely different than was that of Hunter Tylo, and the chemistry she shares with Thorsten Kaye is pretty undeniable. Do I want better for Taylor? Hell, yes… and for Brooke, too.
Then there’s the Deacon factor. I honestly don’t remember being a big Deacon/Brooke fan in the past. But when he stands in front of her and pleads his case, it’s hard to deny that he’d be a way better man for her than Ridge. And if Brooke decides she wants to spend the rest of her life in a toxic relationship with Ridge, hey, Deacon can go knock on Taylor’s door. In fact, I love that thought if only because of how Brooke and Ridge would each react!
What I don’t love is Brooke banning Deacon from her home when Ridge isn’t making a similar move with Taylor. Yes, Brooke and Deacon share a past… but it’s nothing compared to the one shared by the World Renowned Psychiatrist and her favorite ex!
To Tell the Truth
One of my favorite scenes this week had to be Bill barging in on Ridge to hit him with a few truths. “Why are you living at your daddy’s house sucking your thumb like you’re the injured party, feeling sorry for yourself?” asked Dollar Bill. All I could wonder in response was, “Why isn’t Bill on at least three days a week?” He is, after all, one of the very best characters on this canvas.
Unlike Ridge, we’re always happy to see BIll.
Credit: CBS screenshot
More: Ashley Jones (Bridget) is ready for a fresh start
Meanwhile, someone needs to sit Grace down and hit her with a couple of those hard truths. You know, like, “Your daughter is a grown woman who can make her own decisions” and “Zende ain’t all that. He was all about flirting with Zoe while she was engaged to Carter. And not for nothing, but if Zoe hadn’t done such a number on Carter, he might not be the hot mess he is today!”
You Gotta Have Friends
I loved that awesome moment when Sheila slowly turned around and then grinned from ear to ear when she recognized her old pal, Mike. It was one of those great moments that we didn’t even think to expect, which are my very favorite kind.
Whether or not that’s a gun in Mike’s pocket, Sheila is clearly happy to see him.
Credit: CBS screenshot
But what the heck was Li thinking? Sure, watching Finn’s two moms go at it was fun, but it also didn’t make a bit of sense. Li has been working overtime to keep the Forresters from so much as asking questions about Finn’s final resting place. So for her to visit the woman she refused to acknowledge as Finn’s mother and then tip her hand by being so casual with her choice of words was far fetched.
But between Li’s loose lips and Mike’s return, the show perfectly set up the story’s next arc, so I’m willing to cut the writers some slack. After all, we were only just starting to get the truly psycho Sheila we all know and love when she was sent to jail. Personally, I’m psyched to see what she does next!
Random Thoughts
• Ridge talking about Quinn’s cooking was ridiculous and illustrated one of my biggest pet peeves with modern soaps: Rich people no longer have servants. It’s insane that people who jump on private jets and own ginormous mansions don’t have someone to open the door or cook dinner.
More: We’ve got the perfect guy for Taylor…
• When Grace walked right up, snatched Zende’s phone out of his hand and started flipping through his pics, I wanted him to grab it back. I mean, who does that? And her reaction upon seeing Paris making out with Carter slayed me. It looked as if Grace was going to collapse of a heart attack, right there on the spot. Instead, she marched down to Ridge’s office and accused Carter of sexually harassing her daughter!
• I don’t know why, but Hope grabbing that bowl of fruit as she and Liam left the main house for the cabin — “I’m taking this back!” — cracked me up. I’m not sure what exactly was in that bowl, but given its prominent placement in the scene below, all I can think is… “I’ll have what they’re having!”
This bowl has seen some things it will never be able to unsee…
Credit: CBS screenshot
• Between Hope and Liam turning their cabin into a pleasure palace, and Eric’s romps with Donna, Bold & Beautiful seemed determined to single-handedly bring sexy back to soaps this week. I love that the show is writing Eric as a sexual creature, especially after that whole erectile dysfunction story. The character has always been, as Stephanie once put it, “a randy, old goat.”
Summer’s here and we’ve got all kinds of steamy preview and predictions. Want to know what’ll happen next on your favorite shows? We’ve got you covered!
