Bold & Beautiful Gave Us Déjà Vu All Over Again As Part of Sheila’s Not-So-Great Escape
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (2); CBS Screenshot
Are you one of the Bold & Beautiful viewers who honestly thought that Bill and Ridge’s plot would result in us seeing the end of Sheila? If so, I’d like to take a meeting with you about a bridge, located in Brooklyn, which recently came up for sale. But before we discuss financial matters, let’s look at what went down in this week’s episodes…
Related Story
“I Confess”
Last week, Agent Chen suggested that for a criminal mastermind, Sheila was pretty damn gullible. That was proven this week when seconds after Bill slipped a ring on her finger, she decided to tell him all about having killed Lance two decades ago. The fact that her husband-to-be was doing everything but say, “Speak into my hidden lapel mic” seemed to completely evade her.
Bill didn’t exactly prove to be the sharpest pencil in the box, either. Somehow, the same guy who was able to spend months hiding his true motivations from everyone — including Sheila — couldn’t figure out a way to keep her from putting the pieces together long enough for the FBI to arrive.
Rerun Season
When CBS aired the promo showing Sheila fall off the balcony after arguing with Bill, I immediately had two thoughts. The first? “Why are they giving that away! Imagine how much fun it would be for that to have come as a surprise!” The second was something many fans thought… and one beautifully illustrated via the tweet below.
Today, Caroline — no… I meant Sheila went over Bill’s balcony 😜😂 #BoldandBeautiful pic.twitter.com/c6jmteAQPl
— Dominique 🦋 (@ohheyitsdomxo) March 28, 2023
This clear recycling of footage caused a bit of debate in my household. I’ll admit, I found it sort of lazy. Deputy Editor Charlie Mason, however, thought it was borderline brilliant… right down to the similar outfits. I’ll be interested to hear y’all’s takes.
Missing In Action
Why, exactly, were there no FBI agents poised to pounce when Bill got Sheila’s confession? Everybody knew that the frustrated billionaire wanted to wrap this puppy up ASAP. And last week, when Sheila dashed over to Deacon’s to show him her engagement ring, agents were stationed outside and able to follow her. Where’d they go?
More: A new romance for Bill?
I blame Ridge. I mean, his presence in this entire storyline has been pointless, so me generously allowing him to take the blame at least gives him an opportunity to bluster about now nothing’s his fault, right?
She Went Thataway!
Perhaps the most jaw-droppingly silly moment of the week was when, despite being surrounded by more people than attended Ridge and Taylor’s last attempt to tie the knot, Sheila dodged them all. She ran all the way to… the alley behind the restaurant where her arrest was unfolding. Somehow, the only person who managed to track her there was Bill.
I did love, however, the look of complete and utter distain — mixed with vague disinterest — on Bill’s face as Sheila collapsed at his feet.
Back to Basics
Bold & Beautiful‘s writers once again missed a golden opportunity, and it’s one they routinely pass on. Worse, it’s one of the most basic tenants of serialized storytelling: Keep the audience hooked. In this case, we spent the entire week talking about Sheila even as her storyline was heading toward a climax. But when you know people are going to be turning in for the big conclusion of a storyline, that is the time to make sure you’re hooking them on a secondary story!
More: Your next primetime addiction is here!
Imagine if instead of endlessly cutting away to people talking about Sheila, the writers had said, “Hey, let’s remind them of the other storylines we have going on!” But no, which means that next week, as Sheila’s fate becomes less pressing, we’ll no doubt get lots and lots of repetitive dialogue about whatever they want us to focus on next.
Random Thoughts
• Long before Sheila and Bill had their much-discussed encounter on the beach, she repeatedly told Deacon that she had access to a whole lot of money. Assuming that source was a person, why didn’t she turn to them for help with her escape plan instead of Deacon?
• That family gathering at the end of the week was hysterical on several levels. For example, everyone started gathering at the Forrester mansion before Sheila had even been removed form the alley. Did Ridge text everyone without knowing exactly what was going on… and then sit around and have a beer with his co-conspirators?
•Wouldn’t it have been nice if Stephen, when ranting about how badly Ridge has treated Brooke, at least acknowledged that the dude hadn’t exactly been great to Katie, either? (Engagement string, anyone?)
• As cliffhangers go, Li sternly declaring Finn should “let Sheila Carter die” was pretty great.
Ready to talk about the best and worst storylines, couples, twists and turns of 2023… so far? Check out our picks below then share yours!
