Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you continue planning for what happens before the afterlife? Did your reboot almost get the boot? Did the phrase "moving pictures" take on a whole new meaning? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!
Hello, once again, Scoopers! It's Mike, back to dig into the past week on B&B. And a mixed bag that was! Every time there was a knockout scene or performance, an alternate wispy story came in to counteract it. What did the Leffy luv have to do with anything? And seriously: Steffy having flashbacks about Liam? She got him already! At least Thomas' attempt at corporate improvement wasn't as silly, but our interim CEO's ideas during that meeting sort of scrambled my brain.
I just didn't get how installing Wi-Fi at Forrester and revamping the offices was supposed to increase sales, and I agreed with Rick questioning what the point is of going into a boutique only to buy something online. Call me old-fashioned. And now Thomas is playing the exact same game Rick played, offering Caroline her own line. Not very original. Amazingly, Rick supported Caroline's promotion. But she's a Spencer, all right, pulling a Liam by flip-flopping between Rick and Thomas. Also not very original!
And what does Hope intend to do with the snap of Thomas and Caroline's embrace? If only it mattered. I don't care about the Rick/Caroline/Thomas triangle, because zero time was spent developing it. Speaking of triangles, of course we got Leffy/Lope by extension. The only interesting part was when Rick tried to 'fess up about his Leffy lie, twice. Hope implied she'd take Liam back if he 'fessed up about being with Steffy. Oh, girl, don't go there. Let Liam have Steffy already. You're far better off.
Why is Taylor only tolerable when she's on the J-O-B? Our resident shrink was wonderful in her scenes with Katie -- she even downplayed Katie's claim that Ridge would be free for Taylor if Bill and Brooke got together! But as soon as Taylor put Rick and Hope in their places about Thomas, Shrew Taylor was back in full effect. Reminding Hope that she was with a "married man"? Taylor's usually insightful enough to know that every situation has its own circumstances (in that case, Liam having already filed for divorce). Wow, Taylor, every time I start to like you again...
Well, that's not to discount the awesome session with Katie, who is clearly losing it. But let me ask you this: wouldn't Katie's disappearance have been a lot more effective if Katie had just split without running to Taylor for the help she obviously didn't want? And why announce to Bill and Brooke that she was leaving? Why not just take off? Although arranging to send her cell phone to Aspen because she knew Bill would track it was...well, something Bill would do. That's called turning the tables, y'all!
And Bill is finally being punished for his misdeeds in a way that's satisfying to this viewer. It's tit for tat, after the suffering he caused. That said, I'm all for location shoots, but really -- Aspen again? That's four times in a year. It might work if we saw Bill and Brooke wandering the streets of the resort town, looking for Katie, but all we got was Liam and Steffy frolicking amongst the fall foliage. Boring! Or, to use Internet lingo, "location shoot FAIL."
It's interesting that Bill is returning to Spencer form, getting angry and making his trademark "anything less is not acceptable" speeches. Bill has been kind of a wuss through this whole thing, though I attributed that to his guilt over his Deacon scheme causing it all in the first place. Of course, Bill doesn't know that Katie's running because she thinks her heart is going to give out. Good drama, but B&B is really overdoing the constant sound of heartbeats. We got it two weeks ago; we're not that stupid.
I'm also not sure what the point was of Katie's hallucination with the morphing pictures, except for the fact that episode aired on Halloween. What did the infamous "Scream" image have to do with Katie's fears? Shouldn't she have seen visions that directly represented what she was tormenting herself with? Emotionally, the time for such delusions seemed fitting, but visually, I'm sorry to say they were lacking.
Now, a lot of fans are in an uproar about the possibility of a fling between Brooke and Bill. I'm happy to say that, so far, I don't see any evidence of it. No longing looks, inappropriately long hugs, or hand clasps. I think it's only going to go as far as Katie trying to make it happen. Imagine if it actually did! Would it be some weird karma for what Katie did to Bridget? At any rate, Bill may ultimately be unavailable anyway, as he seems to have taken a gang of sleeping pills! Dollar Bill suicidal? Stay tuned.
It does seem that B&B has a fascination with death lately: Stephanie yes, Katie no, Bill maybe. A little morbid, but appropriate enough for Halloween, right? But now that holiday is over...and I think the walking dead Katie needs a reality check from Stephanie, who actually is dying. I'd like to hear Katie try to pull her "I won't be here" spiel on Stephanie these days!
You know, when the news broke that Stephanie would be exiting via the Grim Reaper, I said that Susan Flannery was going to be flirting with Emmys. And that B&B would, because the nod would be for an actual story instead of an event (anyone remember Beverly, who disappeared after that whole foster care Emmy bid last year?). But I'm going to amend that slightly and say that John McCook may prove to be the shining star of this entire arc.
Yes, the Eric/Stephanie flashbacks were wonderful. What long-term B&B fan wouldn't thrill to see the show's original power couple in sequences dating back to the '80s? I was certainly thrilled. But it's Eric in the present day that's blowing my mind. "You filled this house with elegance and joy," Eric said, choking back the tears as he faced a future without Stephanie at his side. I'm so glad he got his own "day" -- and even though I would rate Thorne's a close second, Eric's "goodbye" was easily the best of the bunch.
Didn't it seem strange, though, that Dayzee was told of Stephanie's impending demise off-screen? Sure, she didn't need a whole day to herself, but her already knowing felt off. As did all the talk about how much of a difference Stephanie has made. Have we seen Stephanie continuing her work with foster kids and the homeless? No. If Stephanie had remained as Zen as she was then, as she is now, you could almost forgive it. But we know Stephanie did make one last visit to the dark side with the berries, and it does make all the praise heaped on Stephanie feel a little hollow.
Thankfully, even Stephanie realizes that her halo is more than a little tarnished. I loved that she took responsibility for herself, admitting she had spent most of her life self-absorbed, self-centered, and angry. That is the Stephanie we saw. "I should have spent more time being grateful," she reflected, "instead of always looking at what was wrong." I'm paraphrasing there, but what wisdom -- and wisdom we should all have now, not just when we're at death's door.
I said in my last column that I wanted to celebrate Stephanie Forrester's life, as well, so let's start right now. On the heels of remembering that she hasn't always been sweetness and light, let's shine the spotlight on Stephanie Forrester's Top 10 Most Evil Moments. Because when La Forrester was good, she was very good. But when she was bad, she was highly entertaining to watch!
10. Your Mom's A Looker, But She's A Hooker
Ridge's half-brother, Nick Marone, had taken control of Forrester, which Stephanie wanted to restore to Eric. So Stephanie did some snooping and found out that Nick's mother, Jackie, had once turned tricks to keep food on the table. Hoping to sabotage Nick's Forrester fashion show, Stephanie located a former client of Jackie's and put him on the runway for the show's finale, exposing Jackie's sordid past to the world. Stephanie spelled out "HO" for the Future long before granddaughter Steffy did.
9. What A Shot In The Arm
Stephen Logan was tired of Stephanie always hating on his daughters. So he romanced bipolar Pam, got her off her meds, and arranged to have Pam shoot Stephanie. But when Pam regained enough of her senses to stop herself from offing her sister, Stephanie grabbed the gun and pointed it at Stephen, grinning, "Say hi to Beth for me." Even though Stephanie "only" shot Stephen in the arm, it was a helluva way to settle a family feud.
8. Your Kids Are My Kids
When "evidence" surfaced claiming Brooke paid off a doctor to say Bridget was Ridge's daughter and not Eric's, Stephanie stepped up her vendetta against Brooke and shamed her into leaving town. And after Brooke neglected to call Rick and Bridget one night, Stephanie (not knowing Brooke was suffering from brief reactive psychosis) marched into court to have the children removed from Brooke's custody, even moving them into her home. Stephanie capped her maternal display by having Brooke arrested when she returned and spent time with her own kids. And Ridge and Thorne thought they'd had it rough.
7. Really, You Shouldn't Have
Bridget had already forgiven her mother, Brooke, for sleeping with her husband, Deacon. But Stephanie went on alert when Brooke showed an interest in Nick Marone, another of Bridget's paramours. Inviting Brooke to her home, Stephanie gifted Brooke with a fancy box -- a box that contained a loaded gun. Stephanie suggested that everyone would be better off if Brooke took the gun and shot herself. Instead, Brooke took a shot at Stephanie. Well, it's the thought that counts.
6. Tea For Two, But None For Me
Long before Brooke, Stephanie had another target in her war against the women in Ridge's life: Morgan DeWitt. Stephanie forced a teenaged Morgan to abort Ridge's baby, then sent her away. Later, when an unstable Morgan resurfaced and tricked the married Ridge into getting her pregnant again, Stephanie sweetly offered Morgan some tea -- laced with a drug intended to trigger a miscarriage. Morgan's eventual tumble down Taylor's staircase accomplished that, but Stephanie's brief turn as the evil queen in Snow White was a close second.
5. Big Bear Cabin or Bates Motel?
Brooke had already been involved with Stephanie's husband, Eric, and Stephanie's son, Ridge. But Stephanie really went "psycho" when Brooke took up with Stephanie's number two son, Thorne. Stephanie lured Brooke to the family cabin in Big Bear, where she proceeded to slap and punch Brooke before choking her and threatening her with a fire poker. It was easily La Forrester's most violent moment in 25 years on B&B. Good thing Brooke didn't try to take a shower.
4. Hit Him Where It Hurts
Stephanie was understandably torqued when she found paperwork that revealed she was the true owner of Forrester Creations, and that Eric had kept it a secret for decades. Viewers knew that Eric was in for it, but what we didn't expect was that Stephanie would introduce her knee to Eric's baby-makers. Eric may have had it coming for his deception, and perhaps even his dalliances with Brooke, Sheila, and Lauren, but talk about hitting below the belt!
3. It Ain't Exactly A Love Connection
Stephanie made a grab for Brooke's younger kids, Hope and R.J., when Brooke unwittingly left them alone for the night. To distract Brooke from the custody battle, Stephanie sicced the handsome Andy Johnson on Brooke, giving the man Brooke's address and telling him where to find her spare key. But the scheme backfired horrifically when Andy raped Brooke in her own home. Stephanie went out of her way to apologize afterwards, but Brooke -- and most of the audience -- couldn't forget that Stephanie had set the wheels in motion for the brutal attack.
2. I Have A Berry Good Idea
Stephanie and Brooke had finally made peace when Stephanie was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. But then Stephanie heard that Brooke and her stepson, Thomas, had gotten high on psychedelic berries while stranded on a deserted island, and shockingly used the event to finally get Brooke away from Ridge. Stephanie promised a gullible Thomas her 25% stake in Forrester Creations if Thomas lied and said he'd had sex with Brooke. He did, Brooke's marriage was destroyed, and Ridge was set to remarry Taylor, until Dayzee convinced Stephanie to confess. Perhaps Brooke was better off as Stephanie's enemy after all!
1. Have A Heart...Attack
Taylor had come back from the dead, wanting to reunite with Ridge. But Stephanie's usual badgering wasn't working, so she bribed a doctor into helping her fake a heart attack. Stephanie's family rushed to her side, and Ridge predictably went back to Taylor to keep his mother happy. But Brooke smelled a rat and confronted Stephanie in the hospital, yanking her life support and daring Stephanie to die! When the truth came out, the Forresters turned their back on their queen, because they knew what every fan knew -- that the scheme had been the most evil thing Stephanie Forrester had ever done.
Limiting Stephanie's evil deeds to ten was harder than I thought! Did you agree with the list? Did you not? Was there a moment you'd rather have seen up here? Write in about it -- and/or your own favorite Stephanie Forrester moments -- and your comments may find their way into a future column here at Soap Central. Here's what our readers are saying this week!
• "I was also drawn to Bold 25 years ago because of the beautiful and talented Susan Flannery. I will miss her. These goodbye scenes are Emmy gold! As for what we have to look forward to, I am curious, but not excited. That is probably not only because the writing has been idiotic at times but that "he" refuses to see how intelligent his overall audience is in 2012. Yes, we still want escape with perhaps some silliness and absurdity. What we do not want is such drawn out and worn out story lines...they should write for the other talents as well..." -- Kristen
• "My problem is with Steffy. If I knew my beloved grandmother was dying I would spend as much time as I could with her. Not sucking face with some guy. Liam isn't going anywhere. He's already proven that. So she should get back to Stephanie before it's too late." - Jackie
