What a week for hypocrites and phony family concern! It was enough to make me gag listening to the sanctimonious Stephanie and Taylor espousing all this worry for Hope. Seriously, who are they to be so high and mighty about morality? Even if you despise Brooke - and I know a lot of you do - can you honestly say that Brooke has been a bad mother to Hope? The incident at the graduation party was not done to Hope. She was the unintended victim, but neither Oliver nor Brooke set out to harm Hope.
So here we have Taylor psychoanalyzing Hope from the sidelines, which in and of itself, is unethical. If Taylor really wanted to help Hope, why not give her the name of a doctor to meet? Oh, yes, Taylor called Brooke - which was the right thing to do - but not before gossiping with Stephanie. That was an uncalled-for activity for a psychiatrist. She should have told Stephanie that the conversation was inappropriate.
Even worse, though, was Stephanie. For those of you Stephanie lovers out there, please explain to me why she's so superior and full of herself. If she's the model of a perfect mother, if she knows more about how to morally guide children, where are Kristin and Felicia? Stephanie's daughters are nowhere to be seen. Is it possible Steph had a little more time and love for her boys and shunned her girls? And while it's true that Brooke has made a ton of mistakes as a parent, she's also been loyal and dedicated and present in her children's lives. I just can't side with Stephanie and Taylor when they characterize Brooke as pure evil.
This isn't the first time that Stephanie's treated Brooke like mother rubbish. Remember when she tried to have Child Protective Services take R.J. and Hope away from her? It was a rotten thing to do, and now her "adopting" Hope is an extension of that. After all, if Hope can't be at home because she's traumatized by her mother and Oliver - which is understandable - she could stay with Bridget. And what about Nick? He's always been a surrogate father to Hope, and yet she hasn't even called him.
But really, the best thing for Hope would be a therapist. Not Taylor, but maybe a family therapist to see Hope and Brooke together. It's just too important for Hope to try to work out her feelings with her mother. Their relationship has been too important to both of them.
It would also be wise for Steffy to suggest a little therapy with Ridge. After all, she's innocent of the Brooke video, but can she really justify all the chicanery she engaged in to get Forrester back? Ridge still doesn't know how Steffy blackmailed Bill Spencer. Do you think he'd feel any better about his daughter if the truth of her actions were to come to light?
See, this is why Stephanie is such a horrible role model. Blackmail in business is perfectly okay in Stephanie's rulebook. I'm convinced that if Stephanie and Taylor heard about Steffy propositioning Bill and stealing Katie's ring, they'd justify her means by approving of the ends. That's twisted.
But let's talk about happier things. (Are there any?) I know some of you would like to see Nick forgive Bridget, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. It's heartbreaking that Bridget may finally get the baby she always wanted, but you can forget about the happy, family setting. Owen and Jackie and Bridget do not a traditional family make. And even if Owen would like to be with Bridget to raise their child, I firmly believe that his love for Jackie is the real thing. He couldn't break Jackie's heart, could he?
Last week, I asked about R.J., and I'm still baffled that he's never even mentioned. Come on, shouldn't he have noticed that Hope isn't living in the bedroom down the hall. You know, she's not at breakfast anymore... Ignoring Brooke and Ridge's son is a huge oversight, even bigger than parking Thorne and Marcus and Thomas on the back burner to rot.
There was one thing about Hope's bizarre behavior with Oliver, her attempt to recreate the night of the party with the masks and the music, that had me cheering. Hope brought up some important questions that Oliver couldn't answer. It was dumb of him to assume that Hope wanted her first time to be at a graduation party, back against the wall, with a mask on her face. It was unconscionable that he had intercourse with a woman he assumed was Hope without using a condom. Hello! What about safe sex? Does Oliver think a girl like Hope would have sex without a condom and risk pregnancy or an STD? She's been portrayed as much smarter than that - and he should have known that!
While we're talking about smart, was it really wise of Taylor to give Steffy her 25% of Forrester Creations without discussing it with Eric, Ridge, or Stephanie? They are partners, so doesn't she owe it to them to consult about the change in ownership? Perhaps Stephanie would have preferred her son Thorne be given the shares? Maybe Felicia or Kristin would have wanted a piece of the family legacy?
It never made sense to me that Taylor was given a chunk of the business when she's a psychiatrist with absolutely no connection to the company. What about Thomas? How's he going to feel about his sister getting the company shares while he's given zilch? Isn't it bizarre that Stephanie has always resented the Logans owning any of Forrester, but Taylor - who's only a Forrester by marriage and currently is a Jones - was perfectly okay? Go figure!
There were some great letters in the e-mailbox this week. You can read them below and feel free to write us with your thoughts at Soap Central...
• I've been finding it very difficult to watch the pontificating by Taylor, Stephanie and Steffy this week. Yes, Brooke let her libido get the best of her but neither of those three are exactly without a shaky past. Doesn't Taylor even care that her daughter was BLACKMAILING people? And why does Steffy think she is so innocent? Steffy keeps repeating that Brooke "betrayed" Ridge, but I think Steffy's betrayal of his trust by setting this whole thing in motion was much worse -- at least Brooke's acts weren't intentional. And what about Taylor? I seem to recall her daughter Phoebe was none too thrilled when her mother was sleeping and almost MARRIED her old boyfriend Rick. And please, Steffy now cares about Hope? She just did all she could to destroy her relationship with Oliver, called her a "HO" at a press conference and told her and her campaign to take a hike. As for Stephanie, telling Hope that she believed Brooke intentionally slept with Oliver is really kind of sick -- even if she did believe it. I hope someone wipes the smug look off these ladies faces and soon! - E.F.
• I don't get it; every time someone in B&B is "sad" or "upset" or "depressed," they jump in the sack with someone else. ...You know, maybe I'm abnormal, but sex is the last thing on my mind when any of the above three happen to me. ...Why can't anyone just console someone on B&B without having sex? The writers must be all men to think that that is all women ever want or think about, even in their darkest hour after losing a baby. - Paula M.
• I enjoy reading the updates and news about The Bold and the Beautiful. It would be an interesting twist to have Taylor and Stephanie gain Thorne's shares of Forrester and oust Ridge as CEO and put Steffy in that position, and have Hope be her right hand. Or, have Taylor and Stephanie sell their shares back to Bill Spencer and let Ridge go it alone. -- Tim
Thanks for reading! Till next time, see you on the soaps!
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