Did Bold & Beautiful Just Rewrite History to Explain Sheila’s Hold Over Bill?
Credit: CBS screenshots
I’ve long complained about the repetitive nature of Bold & Beautiful‘s dialogue, but this week’s episodes took that to a whole new level. It seems the writers decided that if we liked a scene once, we’d absolutely love seeing it played out — practically line-for-line — three or four times over the course of a week. Guess they were taking the old “Sally says recycle!” thing to heart. And then, Friday, things got… interesting!
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In the past, we’ve seen Bold & Beautiful take a single line and insert it into every script for month’s at a time. You know the lines I mean. Brooke lamenting “Why did I drink?” or Douglas telling anyone who’d listen, “I saw grandma kissing Santa” (which was always followed by, “No, no, the song is ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa”).
“Why did I drink you?”
But this week, the writers broke out a “new” trick, and one I kinda hope they don’t ever repeat again. They basically used the exact same script repeatedly, simply inserting a new character into the slot which, as the week began, was occupied by Steffy and Taylor, followed in short order by Katie.
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One
The breakdown for the scripts must have read something like this:
“Bill, you’re going to hear this a lot over the next few days, but… what the hell?”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
Katie enters Bill’s living room, clearly upset. She attempts to talk sense into her former husband, growing increasingly emotional as he continues to insist he is in control of his faculties. As Bill tries reaching him on a deeper level, Bill is unable to meet her eyes. Sheila enters, startling Katie. As Sheila declares that she and Bill are in love, Katie emphatically demands the interloper “shut up.” Bill demands that in his home, Sheila will be respected. As a shocked and disgusted Katie watches, Bill wraps a protective arm around Sheila. They kiss. Fade out on creepy music.
Realizing that they need something to cutaway to, the writers went back and inserted this line into the breakdown: Elsewhere, other characters talk about the Sheila/Bill situation.
Talk Of the Town
If you think I’m kidding, go back and watch this week’s episodes. That exact scenario — complete with Sheila’s unexpected entrance, someone telling her to shut up, and the canoodling — played out first with Taylor and Steffy, then Katie, followed by Wyatt and Liam, and, for our closing act on Friday, Brooke.
“So the only way they’ll cut to us is if we talk about Sheila?” asked Donna. “I refuse!” she said, only then noticing the light on the camera had gone out.
Credit: CBS screenshot
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There was not one single scene this week that saw anyone on the canvas discussing anything except the Bill/Sheila situation. Not one. Even when Carter and Katie shared a romantic moment, it was so that he could promise to protect her and Will from you-know-who.
This Time For Laughs
At least during Thursday’s episode, we got some genuine laughs thanks to the always-fun combo of Liam and Wyatt. Scott Clifton’s reaction when Sheila entered the room was priceless, as was Darin Brooks’ Wyatt sternly insisting he and his brother were there to “make this quick and simple”… and then stepping back and saying, “Liam?”
“Dad, you get that Sheila is even more hated than Flo, right?”
Credit: CBS screenshot
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I’ve always said that if you put the Spencer men in a room, I’m automatically entertained. These scenes were the highlight of the week for me.
The Ick Factor
What bothers me most about the way the show treaded water this week is that I’m genuinely intrigued by the story and want to see what happens next. Clearly, something is going on with Bill. Everyone has a theory as to what that might be, and the show spent this entire week avoiding dropping hints by simply treading water.
To quote Valerie Cherish, “I didn’t need to see that!” (And kudos to every/any reader who gets that reference!)
Credit: CBS screenshot
More: Is *this* the real reason Bill/Sheila hooked up?
The other thing keeping me coming back for more is the performances being given by Don Diamont. Why can’t Bill look Katie in the eye? Does the fact that Bill seems genuinely invested in his new romance mean he’s not being hypnotized or otherwise manipulated by Sheila? Watching them canoodle after making love left me feeling slightly sick to my stomach… which is exactly what the show was going for.
The thing I really loved about the sex scenes was that they took everything we think of as soap opera romantic cliches — the whispered sweet words, the shared kisses, the roaring fire — and turned them on their ear simply because of who was indulging in them.
Wait… What Just Happened?
Friday’s episode largely centered around Brooke trying to talk sense into Bill. And it seemed to have worked… maybe because she brought the one thing nobody else thought to: flashbacks! By episode’s end, Bill was telling Brooke she was right, Sheila was glaring and it looked as if things might be changing.
At the time of Bill’s shooting, this was how most Liam/Bill conversations were ending!
Credit: JPI
Meanwhile, Liam and Hope were having what may have just been odd dialogue… or may have been the most important conversation had on this show in months. By the time it was over, we were left wondering if perhaps Taylor hadn’t really shot Bill. You’ll recall that at the time, Liam thought himself guilty. But his name was cleared when it turned out he was having false memories due to a concussion, and that Taylor was the actual shooter, by her own admission.
But what if in reality, there were two shooters that night? What if Taylor missed, but Liam didn’t and, just to take this supposition a step further, what if Sheila somehow knows this? It might at least begin to explain why Bill is pretending to be in love with her — and he must be pretending, right? We all agree on that?
Random Thoughts
• It’s downright shameful that we didn’t get a single Thomas sighting all week. This show delivers massively when it comes to payoffs… and then drops the ball entirely when it comes time to follow through. Would it have killed them to drop one scene of people recapping the Sheila story in order to show us what Thomas is up to since having been booted by his family?
“I thought someone called my name. No? Well, um, I’m here, waiting, whenever y’all need me.”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
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• Apparently, charges being dropped against a legendary master criminal isn’t big news in Los Angeles. How else to explain that characters keep hearing the news via word-of-mouth. You’d think at least Liam and Wyatt, who work for a publishing house, might be plugged into breaking news!
• Wyatt shouting, “Shut up!” at Sheila for some reason reminded me how much I used to love it when Quinn would snap, “Shut up, Donna!” (To this day, my best friend and I still use that line on one another, randomly… despite neither of us being named Donna.)
It would be a crime worthy of Sheila Carter if you didn’t check out the below gallery featuring the real-life partners of stars from the various Law & Order franchises!
