While watching the show the other day, this line stopped me in my tracks. Steffy said to Liam: "Hope has had everything she's ever wanted." Excuse me? But has Steffy ever been deprived of anything in her life? Both these girls are princesses. Neither of them knows what it really means to want something and not be able to get it! Steffy's words were simply out of left field and completely inappropriate for the situation.
Steffy went on to declare to Liam that Hope was not a good person, that she had a pattern of walking out on him. Can you blame Hope? And what a bitch was Steffy to feed into that insecurity in Liam's psyche! I'm sorry, Steffy fans, but what she did was nasty and rotten. And why the hell was Steffy there anyway? The moment Liam and Hope had a falling-out, Steffy swooped in to pounce. She bee-lined to the beach house as soon as she smelled discord in Liam and Hope's marriage. If the situation we're reversed, would Hope do that?
At this point, I really had decided that I want Steffy and Liam to get together. I think Hope needs to move on with another man. I think this triangle has grown tiresome and dull. I don't care anymore. Steffy and Liam are good together, so let them have each other. The three-way fighting has to stop.
It's also aggravating to watch all this vacillating on-screen. One minute Hope is the happy honeymooner, all blissful and secure. Then she learns (sees) her husband was ready to run off with her stepsister on the day of the wedding, and Hope justifiably flips out. She was right to have been shaken up. I give her that.
But did you understand that complete reversal in Steffy's office -- "I hate you" -- then walking out on Liam (again)? I didn't. It was just juvenile behavior. She's not emotionally mature enough to be a married woman. If she had any smarts, Hope would demand that Liam go with her to couples' counseling to deal with this situation. Who walks out on a marriage before the ink is dry on the certificate?
Then you have Steffy vacillating, too. She gives up on nobility and reverts to being a man-eater. If she gets her way, Steffy will dictate to Liam what she wants and take him away from Hope. Within hours of being the mature member of this triangle, Steffy boomeranged back to her base instincts and decided to dig her nails into Liam's carcass to rip him away from Hope. Please, can't she grow up -- can't any of them?
Of course the biggest vacillator is Liam the lame. I guess he watched those Bob Hope movies too diligently because he's imitating Bob the bumbling coward brilliantly. That's precisely what Liam is now: a bumbling coward who cannot think for himself or assert his will. Does he even know what or whom he wants? I don't think so. There's a song in the Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow called, "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love, I Love the Girl I'm Near." That's Liam. When he's with Hope, he's hopelessly in love with her. When he's with Steffy, he can't resist her kisses.
Come on, Liam! This is not rocket science. Commit to one woman and stop "dating" the other. You're not a Mormon and cannot have more than one wife. And I seriously doubt that Hope and Steffy would be comfortable as sister-wives! It's crazy that the lynchpin in this entire story is a man who's so indecisive. Liam's like Silly Putty. You can bend and massage him into any situation and he'll stay there...until someone else comes along and pulls him into another situation.
Soap heroes are made of sterner stuff than this, folks. They're men who are tough and determined and sometimes ruthless. But you watch them because you admire strength and resolve. Liam is a newfangled, sensitive man-boy, and I don't know anybody who likes or admires this character. Scott Clifton has played more interesting men on General Hospital and One Life to Live, so it's not his fault.
Generally speaking, I've thought that Hope and Liam were right for each other and only fell apart when Steffy began interfering -- around the time of the bachelor party. But now I think that Liam and Steffy are really better-suited to one another. She's stronger than Hope, so she can be the alpha dog in her relationship with Liam, and that's what he needs. He's not cut out to be the dominant partner. Hope truly needs to find out that there are other fish in the sea. Liam is never going to be able to convince her that he's over Steffy...because he's not.
But there is a big iceberg up ahead, and we all can see it, right? Hope and Liam had a honeymoon. They had mucho amore in Italia, and you can bet your bottom dollar Hope will soon be carrying a bambino or bambina. That's right; just when Liam bounces back to Steffy and they start singing choruses of "Thanks for the Memory," Hope will announce that she's having Liam's baby.
Once again, Liam will be forced to choose. Once again, we'll be forced to watch. Once again, this torturous triangular will play out for eight more months. Excuse me while I start knitting baby booties...
Last week there was something else going on among our Forrester friends and family... Marcus was facing jail time for his texting and driving charge. There were many problems with this story, but let's start with one that was odd to me.
Why has it taken this particular story for every African-American character to finally have some action on the show? Is that what it's taken for Dayzee, Marcus, Justin, and Anthony to finally get airtime? A public service announcement about texting while driving? Even Baker and his son, the two cops on the case, are African-American! When Lieutenant Baker was chastising Marcus as a privileged young man who ignored traffic laws and thinks he can get away with it, I was wondering whom he was talking about.
There's nothing privileged about Marcus' upbringing -- Dayzee either. Sure, now they're in the lap of luxury as part of the Forrester clan, but that's not their backgrounds. Baker's implication is that they're spoiled rich kids who need to be taught a lesson.
And don't even get me started on Anthony's reaction after learning that Marcus had been driving the car! Anthony knows full well that Dayzee just married Marcus. He knows that Dayzee has changed Anthony's life for the better by getting him off the streets. And yet Anthony showed no compassion when he was told the circumstances of Marcus hitting him with the car.
Now, I ask you, if you were in Anthony's shoes, I suspect that you'd be angry. However, would you not also contemplate how Dayzee might react after he said the police should throw the book at Marcus? Does Anthony presume that after being so angry and vengeful to her husband, that Dayzee will welcome him back to the coffeehouse to resume his employment after he recovers? Would you take him back? I think I'd have serious reservations because, after all, Marcus is Dayzee's husband. Her first loyalty must be to him, even if he made a terrible mistake. To me, Anthony's reaction was out of character and out of line.
I don't have much sympathy for Marcus, however, because what he did was absolutely wrong. There should be serious consequences. Even if it turns out that it was not a direct hit and run, Marcus was still guilty of negligent driving. That's unforgivable, and he will be punished.
But is Marcus also a blockhead? Who experiences something like that and then fails to call his father, the lawyer, before speaking with the police? Did he think he was chatting with a buddy? Lt. Baker was fishing for information, and Marcus was blabbing like a gossip girl.
Which brings me to the legalities... We've all seen enough Law & Order episodes to know that Marcus was never read his rights. Anything he said cannot be used against him in a court of law. That should protect Marcus if he ever has to stand trial.
Then there's the CSI angle. Again, we've all seen this stuff on television. Why wasn't Lt. Baker investigating the car for damage? Why wasn't the car in the L.A.P.D. garage, going through forensic testing? Baker just assumed that the car hit Anthony based on Marcus' mumbled answers and superficial elements from the crime scene. Apparently, the detectives never saw the pothole or bothered to access the security cameras the way Caroline and Thomas did. Good for those two, but why weren't the cops doing their job?
In the bail hearing, there were additional errors that drove me crazy. Baker described Marcus as a serial text addict who'd sent over 150 texts in one day. When Justin pointed out that it was Marcus' wedding day, the judge didn't accept that as an excuse. However, what is the average number of texts a person Marcus' age sends and receives in a 24-hour period? Maybe 150 or more is average. At the very least, Justin should have challenged the assumption that Marcus was an addict.
Then when it came to getting bail, the judge threw Marcus' family connections in his face. Excuse me, but that's reverse prejudice. He was being tougher on Marcus because he had a good family! Justin could have argued with the judge that Marcus would be willing to surrender his passport and driver's license. Furthermore, with the current overcrowding in the L.A. jail system (that's how Lindsay Lohan got out for violating her probation), Justin could have asked the judge to put Marcus under house arrest instead of in a jail cell.
It made no sense. It was punitive, especially in light of Marcus' immaculate record. He's never been arrested, nor has he had any run-ins with the police. He's got a good job, is a stable citizen, and should have been given the benefit of the doubt. Eric could have stood up and accepted full responsibility for Marcus, assuring the judge that Marcus was not a flight risk.
And finally, if it was such a big deal to the judge, he could have set the bail extremely high -- one million dollars -- to make it difficult for Marcus to come up with a bond. For the judge to do none of those things and just send him into the jail system to await a trial was ludicrously bad writing. Bad, Brad, really, really bad!
And now it's going to take Caroline and Thomas to save Marcus. That's also really poor writing. It should have been Dayzee doing the investigating. She should have been compelled to rescue her husband, to find the security footage, to be the heroine. She then could have gone back to Anthony and chastised him for jumping to the wrong conclusion about Marcus and being so quick to judge. There are lessons to be learned in this storyline -- starting with no texting behind the wheel -- but it shouldn't be Ken and Barbie types like Thomas and Caroline doing the teaching.
I'd love to talk more about the great other tales on B&B...but we haven't had much more to report. Sadly, I don't see more on the horizon, unless wonderful actors like Crystal Chappell, Jon Hensley, and Hillary B. Smith are given something to do.
So, that's it for now. Please share your thoughts with me about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead. Your comments are always welcome at Soap Central, so stay in touch. And tell me which other characters you want to see fixed or changed, or return to the show. Contact us at Soap Central. And keep on reading Two Scoops every week!
Meanwhile, here are some letters from the readers!
• The Steffy, Liam, Hope trio is sickening. Enough already! Stop trying to make Hope out to be a saint. I can't stand her angelic character. Stop making Steffy out to be a love-starved puppy. Liam isn't even worth it. He is not that good-looking, he has no backbone, he's a dork! Steffy was better off with Bill. What happened to Thorne and Taylor? Please bring back the core characters. But please do not center on Brooke and Ridge. Also, please do not give Amber another story line. She is the most irritating character. Thanks for letting me vent. Hope the show gets it together soon so I can enjoy it like I used to. -- Anna
• I love the actresses that play Steffy and Hope, but I am very weary of the story line of the love triangle between these characters. Everyday my sister and I say to each other, "how much longer will this story line be dragged out?" I would love to see Hope happy and for Steffy to find a "real" man. That would make Bill and Liam jealous. It would have been interesting to see Steffy get pregnant on Hope's wedding day. I would pay good money to see Bill get caught for what he did to ruin it all! -- Cindy
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