Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you have to put your nursery decorating on hold? Did you get busted like you were on an old episode of Cops? Did your Mother's Day come late, but twice? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!
Remember how Bill used to call Liam a "weasel" when they first met? That name now seems to be justified. I really liked Liam at first; his burgeoning relationship with Hope was sweet. I even stuck by him while he cluelessly bought into Amber's lies. And Leffy/Lope might have been tolerable if it were relegated to two episodes a week, like this week. But telling Brooke he ripped up the annulment papers because he didn't want to tell the world his marriage to Steffy didn't happen? Weasel! Deluxe.
His apparent earnestness doesn't excuse his kissing Steffy moments after vowing to stay by Hope's side, and Brooke doesn't even know about that! Liam implored Brooke not to tell Hope about the papers. Oh, really? What about his indignation after finding out about Steffy's lies? Or going off on Hope because she went back on her promise to stop taking pills? He's okay with secrets now because he has one to keep? Bad enough he acted like Hope should have just sucked it up about the press. "What happens when she has children and has to deal with real stress?" Oh, no, you didn't, you hypocrite weasel!
I would like to see Steffy and Hope capitalize on their newfound "truce" and dump Liam in Italy. He doesn't deserve either one of them. And when Stephanie and Brooke are in a scene and all they can do is talk about Leffy/Lope, you know it's a sad day. By the way, didn't Hope recover from her pill-popping awfully fast? And what -- the press isn't hounding her anymore? All because she moved out of Liam's? Thank the soap gods we had other stories this week to balance things out.
"Ramber" imploded, and it made for some strong exchanges between Jacob Young and Adrienne Frantz, but the entire Amber/Rick/Caroline "triangle" faltered due to a complete lack of story development. This was exemplified in a single line from Rick to Amber: "You look great. Is Caroline around?" How many times this week alone did he kiss Amber, only to turn around and pout about Caroline's indifference? His connections to both women were wispy, and that does not a triangle make. It was just one more casualty of B&B's obsession with Leffy/Lope.
Certain elements of Amber's scheme were legitimately funny. And Jacob Young proved he's up for about anything. But that corny "comedy" music needed to go, and Amber turning Rick's "drag" pictures toward Caroline every chance she got was overkill. Caroline's discomfort seemed weird, too, maybe because we knew what was coming for her from the spoilers. She wasn't being judgmental, she said (was too!); she just wished Rick didn't feel he had to hide "his" cross-dressing. That was her problem?
So she "detests secrets." (Forrester's the last place she should be, then!) Obviously that was meant to underscore the secret in Caroline's family tree. But her own motivations are also a victim of underdevelopment. She can't go out with Rick because he's too uncomfortable to admit he likes to wear women's clothes. She is going out with Thomas, yet she seems more interested in Rick. Does that make Thomas the consolation prize? Caroline's being set up as this paragon of virtue, but her stances and decisions so far certainly make her fall short of that ideal.
Can I just say, though, how much I loved the sibling connection between Rick and Hope? And that Hope was involved in a different storyline? Her playful banter with Rick was sweet, and if Hope were always that strong, Leffy/Lope would have been done last year. Hope did owe Rick a favor or five, though she managed to extract a confession from Caroline in record time. Would Caroline really entrust a secret to a girl she's only ever seen almost drown in a pool after acting goofy?
Armed with the drag photos, Hope made a beeline to Rick's unforeseen house, where Amber was trying to drag Rick into bed. No wonder Rick wanted to take Caroline out for chicken and waffles (!), because he was doing some champion waffling himself. And why did Amber feel the need to go into full-on vamp mode? Wouldn't she have stood a better chance of reaching Rick if she had just told him sincerely how much she still loved him? If she'd tried that, Hope would have interrupted more than a seduction attempt.
Now, exposing Amber's Photoshopping was one thing. You can't blame Hope for hating Amber after the "Liam is my babydaddy" stunt. But how out of left field was it for Hope to tell Rick about the pills in such a "by the way" fashion? Something about that mean-spirited reveal seemed off to me. Probably because the whole story was off to begin with. Amber didn't hook Hope on pills. She did try to warn Brooke that Hope was getting addicted. But if Amber really wanted to do the right thing, she should have run to Hope about those pills being potentially tainted as soon as she found out about it.
I loved Rick yelling "I went to the mat for you!" Like him, I also thought Amber had changed because of Rosey. It was insightful of Amber to suggest that she only schemes when scared or threatened. The idea of her seeing a shrink wasn't a bad one. And Rick's "It's one thing to hurt me -- it's another to hurt my sister" admission gave him a lot of depth. But he's pulled enough crap on his own by now that you'd think he'd be a little more forgiving. "Caroline isn't a threat!" he insisted. Wasn't she, though?
Meanwhile, Brooke and Ridge bantered about the "two exceptional men" that were interested in Caroline. Exceptional? Rick seduced Steffy to torment Ridge, and Thomas threw his mother under the bus to grab a stake in Forrester! Only thing that saved that scene was Ridge's sudden wisdom. "They're all adults who can handle their own love lives," he told Brooke. "Why don't we concentrate on ours?" Preach, Ridge! If B&B would apply that logic to Leffy/Lope, it would be a much more watchable show.
Not that B&B isn't to be congratulated for making soap history this week. A smitten Thomas wanted to know more about Caroline's parents. "You know everything there is to know about my family," he cooed. (Yeah, I doubt that.) And when Thomas smartly clued in to Caroline having mama Karen's last name, Caroline changed their dinner plans to include her. Caroline must not have been a very obedient child, because Karen had clearly said "no!" Caroline needs a time-out!
And hold the phone -- I thought Karen lived in New York! Now suddenly she's taken a beach house in L.A. Okay, she wants to be closer to Caroline. But doesn't she have some honcho position at the Big Apple branch of Spencer? Well, I guess anything that gets Karen on my screen more often works for me. I wasn't a huge Karen fan in the '90s, but I have found her increasingly calming presence in recent years very appealing. And when Caroline barged in with Thomas, they found out someone was in the kitchen with Dinah -- and it was Crystal Chappell!
With Jarrett, of all people! Apparently he, Karen, and her "friend Danielle" go way back. But the dinner must not have been spicy enough, because Thomas kept peppering everyone with questions about Caroline's absentee father. And when Bill inexplicably showed up, Karen looked like she needed some Pepto. "You two girls have traveled a lot!" he said as he noticed the photos of Karen and Danielle. "You know what people might think!" Well, Bill was never one to make people feel comfortable. And the exchange made Caroline more adamant about telling Thomas the "family secret."
Caroline really needed that time-out, because she kept trying to tip Karen's hand, and it wasn't Caroline's decision to make. So how surprised was I when the resistant Karen put her arm around Danielle, looked Thomas in the eye, and told him that Caroline does have two parents: them! I knew this coming-out moment was, er, coming for a solid month. But somehow I still didn't think B&B would go through with it. While every soap from ATWT to DAYS to AMC to OLTL to even Y&R was introducing gay characters, B&B's only claim to that fame was Lauren's hairdresser Sergei back in '97.
And you know what? B&B handled it very well. No scandal, no sensationalism -- just some honest trepidation (Karen didn't want to be judged), and a quiet, simple admission. Now, that's the stuff Emmys are made of! B&B has been on my You-Know-What List for so long that it feels foreign to say this, but kudos! And Thomas, who I have loathed since Taboo and the berries, has officially redeemed himself in my eyes. "I feel bad you guys felt you couldn't be yourselves around me," he admitted, saying he didn't have a problem with people who loved each other. You go, boy!
Another big round of applause goes out to Joanna Johnson, who publicly came out in TV Guide ahead of this story. What a brave thing to do! Especially since I know some of you will have a problem with that, and with Karen's relationship with Danielle. Guys, look: I know all the hoopla these days about marriage and religion and politics. But what it all boils down to is, if someone lives their life in a way that doesn't hurt themselves or other people, then it isn't for anyone else to tell that person how to live. Good for Joanna Johnson, and you know what? If I've never made it clear before...Rick sure looked good with his stubble this week! (There. Now Joanna has company.)
Karen swore everyone to secrecy so that Bill wouldn't find out. Which, of course, means he will. I'd like to think Bill is sophisticated enough to not have a problem with sexual orientation, or at least that he's enough of a freak that he wouldn't care. He's a sports bar kind of guy -- he's probably paid to watch two girls getting it on, you know? But he's been such a butthead anymore that I'm sure he'll take issue. Hell -- Katie just told him she was going to have his baby, and he demanded that she get an abortion!
I'll reiterate what I've already said about "Batie" -- they're done. B&B tries to play them like they've overcome all these obstacles. "You make me a better man," Bill tells Katie. "When I think of Bill and me and how much we've grown!" Katie gushes to Donna. But they haven't overcome squat. Bill plotted to kill Amber and made Katie the bad guy when she raged about it. He declared his love to Steffy and almost slept with her. He helped Steffy keep Liam from Hope. He faked an MRI and then locked Katie in a tower to keep her from telling Liam about it!
This is overcoming obstacles? Bill has never taken responsibility for anything or shown the least bit of remorse, and Katie has become the ultimate doormat, taking him back time after time. We've never seen them work through anything; ergo, they haven't grown. All the lit candles and tender moments in the world are not going to sell this couple, and a "miracle" baby isn't going to do it, either. (Was Katie left barren after losing Nick's baby? I forget.) The abortion demand should have Katie filing for a divorce and taking half of Spencer Publications with her!
What's going to happen when Katie finds out how Bill sicced the press on Hope in Aspen? Or when Bill brings Deacon to L.A. to further harass Hope? Likely, Katie will just pout a bit and then throw her arms around Bill again. Ugh. I have no respect for this couple. Don Diamont and Heather Tom deserve so much better!
So, that's where my head is at this week. Where's yours? There's plenty of room for all opinions here at Two Scoops. Tell me what's on your mind and your comments may end up right here. Like these!
• "I know I am in the minority here, but I started watching B&B again because I got hooked on [Leffy/Lope]...they are trying to make them the new [Bridge/Tridge] that literally carried the show for years. I like this story because it does pull in a lot of the cast..." -- Priscilla
• "I...enjoyed [B&B] until [they] allowed Hope to lose her virginity to Liam and then [allowed] him to continue thinking about Steffy...it's like all Liam was after was Hope's virginity and now he's done with her..." -- Wanda
• "No wonder [Hope and Steffy] are messed up and don't know how to have a healthy relationship with men. Look at what kind of parents [they] grew up with. And the examples that these parents set for their daughters." -- Pamela
• "I am so happy that B&B did not get an [Outstanding Drama Series] Emmy nod. They really were lazy with the [Leffy/Lope] plot. We watch soap opera for drama but dang this plot just became stupid..." -- Cassandra
• "...As a person who has been on medication for mental health issues since 1982...[B&B has] set back the fight to have mental illness shown in the right light...for Bill to refer to Hope as some kind of loony or crazy is just what we have been fighting. There are so many people committing suicide because their families don't know what mental illness [is] and because of the stigma, [they] will not seek help. Shame on you!" -- Linda
Time to ice this cake with some Points to Ponder:
So much was made of Liam having to wait six months for the divorce. Now, a couple months later, we're down to "a few weeks?"... "This not musical chairs, or beds," a newly sagelike Steffy said. Yeah, you keep telling yourself that... "I won't be pressured by you," Liam told Brooke. If Liam were truly devoted to Hope, he wouldn't feel pressured, would he! And didn't Brooke change her tune! Liam rips up the annulment papers, convinces Brooke to lie about it, and tells her following through with the divorce is the honorable thing to do, and Brooke hugs him with a single perfect tear rolling down her cheek!
At least Caroline closes a door before telling a secret, unlike everyone else on this show... "We're going to add this dress to couture," Ridge proudly told Thomas. Haven't all Forrester dresses been part of a line historically? Can a single design be added, or does it get produced separately?... "Our collaboration is history," Rick seethed to Amber. Can he make that decision?... Thomas seemed to think he could score points with Caroline by dissing Rick's designs... "I'm not completely blameless," Hope told Brooke, saying she should have thrown Amber's pills away. Then Brooke turned the blame back around on Amber. Good way to reinforce the concept of taking responsibility to your daughter, Brooke!
So, the question remains: who is Caroline's daddy? Did Karen and Danielle use a surrogate? A sperm donor, maybe? Or might Thorne (or Connor!) have to add a deduction to his taxes next year? And what will happen when Deacon finally crosses paths with daughter Hope? Looks like Father's Day is coming a little early this year, so keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!
