Credit: CBS Screenshots
It was an odd week for Bold & Beautiful, featuring episodes that were entirely skippable and others which seemed poised to get a derailed plot or two back on track. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dive in, shall we?
Guilty as Charged
Over the past few weeks, we’ve watched as perennial good guy Carter happily ensconced himself in the main office with nary a thought for its previous occupants. For many fans, watching Hope and her beau take over Forrester Creations was a tough pill to swallow. This was especially true for folks who spend a lot of time grousing about what they consider to be a hostile takeover of the show by the Logan girls. “How,” fans have said on various social media platforms, “do you have Forrester Creations without a Forrester in charge?”
Frankly, it does feel kinda ridiculous. I’d love for there to have been talk of a backlash to the coup. Why hasn’t Bill been using Eye on Fashion to publicly trash the company? (Oh, right, because he’s busy talking to his teenage houseguest/prisoner. More on that shortly… )
This week, Carter suddenly started to feel guilty about what he’d done to the Forrester family in general and Ridge in particular. By week’s end, he was suggesting that Hope — gasp! — apologize, prompted in part by Brooke, who got all guilt-trippy after a chat with Steffy.
Hysterically, the breaking point seemed to be… Eric’s stapler. Had Carter never opened his desk drawer before that moment? And why did that stapler somehow make him feel guiltier than all those pictures of the Forrester family sitting on the cabinet behind his desk?
Will Carter Give Forrester Back?
Even as this was unfolding, Steffy had a change of heart regarding her plan to have Daphne seduce Carter. Instead, she had the walking olfactory nightmare play upon his budding guilty conscience. It seemed odd, given that Daphne barely knows Carter, yet there she was, speaking to the COO as if she could see into his soul. (For the record, Daphne may be known for her nose, but her eyes are fully functional as well: She made clear to Steffy that while the official plan to seduce Carter was kinda sorta on hold, she still found him wildly attractive.)
All of this feels as if someone behind the scenes said, “You know what? This ain’t working. Let’s shake things up.” And that’s the kind of thing soaps can do so well… at least soaps other than Days of Our Lives. Over there, any attempt to make changes (as they’re in the process of doing) comes with a nine-month waiting period, given their advance taping schedule.
I’m not sure if Carter will actually sign things back over to Ridge, but I can’t help hoping he will. I’m tired of Ridge spending all day hanging out at the mansion canoodling with Taylor. Here’s hoping that if and when Carter does reverse course, he makes sure to give Brooke at least partial credit for his decision. In my fantasy scenario, Ridge then goes running back to Brooke begging her forgiveness, only to have her reject him. “Fool me once, shame on you,” she should say. “Fool me 453,236 times, shame on me. Taylor can keep you!”
Free Bill Spencer!
If they really are shaking things up, here’s hoping the next move is getting Luna out of Bill’s orbit. This story has done serious damage to one of the show’s strongest characters and has tested the patience of even the most loyal viewers. It makes no sense on any level. Is Bill going to spend the rest of Luna’s life hanging out in his living room?
Then there’s Finn. Months ago, when it was first hinted that he might be Luna’s dad, I was all in for numerous reasons, not the least of which is that it made sense (at least on a certain level). Now, however, I’m baffled as to where this is supposed to go. Once Luna’s hiding place is discovered, she pretty much has to go back to prison… right? So tying her to Finn (and, by extension, his equally murderous mom, Sheila) doesn’t seem to have a lot of longterm potential.
Ditto Luna crushing on Will. What’s the point? Maybe Bill discovering that his houseguest is making googly eyes at one of his sons will be what it takes to have him wake up and ship her back to jail. The writers seem to want to redeem her, but how? At this point even revealing (somehow) that she didn’t actually kill Tom and Hollis wouldn’t help, given that even while living in the lap of luxury, she’s whining and showing next to no remorse. I love Lisa Yamada and have since first Luna appeared, but this character is, for me, beyond saving.
On the plus side, the week-ending previews revealed that not only is Remy returning, but he’ll discover Luna at Bill’s place. So maybe this is going somewhere after all…
Random Thoughts
• I can’t believe they launched Ivy’s jewelry line without having her on screen. (Instead, they explained she was off giving interviews to the press.) Also, why are they acting as if Forrester never had a jewelry line before? Has everyone forgotten Quinn’s work?
• I’ve written a lot over the years about this show’s lazy, repetitive dialogue. But even by the standards we’ve come to expect of Bold & Beautiful, Tuesday’s episode was stunning. Not a single thing happened. The episode started with Finn wondering how to tell Steffy the truth and ended with him saying he’d do so the next day… which of course, he didn’t. In between, we got filler with various people talking about Luna’s crimes.
• The show continued to insist that this week was Steffy and Finn’s wedding anniversary. Wonder if when their actual August anniversary rolls around, we’ll celebrate then, too.
• I laughed aloud when Taylor warned Steffy, “It’s too easy to fall into old patterns if you’re not careful” while standing next to Ridge. To quote Reality Bites, “I can’t define irony, but I know it when I see it.”
• Despite most of the week taking place on the same day, nobody bothered to mention it was Valentine’s Day until the episode which actually aired on the holiday. That said, the stuffed bear Will gave Electra was adorable and felt like what a real teen would give his girlfriend.
• Speaking of gifts, that special piece Carter had made for Hope was… I’m gonna be kind and go with “clunky.” Also, was it candy? Why did it break so easily, aside from the obvious symbolism of his broken heart?
