It's Valentine's weekend, but one can't tell it from the gloomy clouds parked over L.A. Sure, if you control your gag reflex long enough, you can bask in the vomitous, sugary rays of sunlight peeking through over Quinn and Shauna's house. Giddy about the Flo and Wyatt reunion, Shauna and Quinn are practically knitting baby booties and urging their kids to get married as soon as possible.
We all know what that means -- a wedding will not be on the horizon. At least not anytime soon. The reason for that, of course, is Sally. She happens to be inconveniently dying in the middle of Wyatt and Flo's happily ever after. Instead of dying with dignity the way she hopelessly envisioned, thanks to Katie, Sally will be showered with pity throughout her dying days by her ex, her romantic rival, and her ultimate enemy in business.
Wyatt struggles to figure out how to be there for Sally. Flo seems to know what Wyatt must do. In no hurry to be with Wyatt, will Flo suggest that he continue his wedding plans with the dying Sally? Would Wyatt pretend to still be in love with Sally to make her dreams come true in her dying days?
Meanwhile, Thomas is also using an illness to make his dreams come true with Hope. Munchausen by proxy is a disease in which caregivers make those in their care physically ill for attention. It's the closest thing I can think of to describe how Thomas is mentally harming Douglas to get attention from Hope. In Brooke's words, what Thomas is doing to Douglas is "disgusting."
Thomas' latest stunt is manipulating Douglas -- and possibly Hope, too -- into thinking that Zoe will take Hope's place. Will Hope sacrifice her happiness once again and marry Thomas once again to save Douglas the mental anguish of having a new mommy once again?
Been there, done that. And at this point, I question whether it will really be a sacrifice. I mean, have you seen the way Hope has been silently fuming about Thomas and Zoe lately? I'm just saying...
Liam proclaims that he loves Hope and will always love Hope. He will always protect Hope. That's kind of hard to do when he's all the way out in Malibu, tongue-slapping Steffy. Thomas is definitely right about the waffler, and he shouldn't even take Liam seriously as long as Liam, the human ping-pong ball, is at Steffy's. If Liam will do anything for love, will he return to Hope in order to save her from another misguided marriage to Thomas? Or even love Steffy enough to focus on her for once and not Hope?
Over at the burning Bridge, Brooke and Ridge are still brawling about Thomas and balling about how much they want to be together. With Brooke's sobriety at stake, can Brooke and Ridge love each other enough to solve their differences and reunite? Let's get two scoops deep into what our L.A. residents will and won't do for love on the Bold and the Beautiful.
You can't be mine, but you can't be his, either
Life was simple a couple of years back when Liam moved into hotels during breakups instead of shacking up with exes. There were no kids involved, either. All he and Hope had to worry about was what messages they found on the conversation heart candy she brought him. Three kids and a couple of divorces and annulments later, and we're once again questioning the lengths Liam will go to for the love of Hope or Steffy.
Hope can't get that staged kiss out of her mind. Just like the staged sex with Steffy that preceded it, Liam takes full responsibility for it. But this time, he's willing to love the one he's with instead of continuing to fight for his family with Hope. At least I think that is what's happening. Bill threw it into doubt by remarking that the living arrangement might still be "platonic."
Brooke begged Liam to go back to Hope. Apparently, he'll do anything for love, but he won't do that. Not this month, anyway. Instead, he opted for endless rounds of repetitive banter with Thomas, asserting that he won't let Thomas touch Hope -- meanwhile, he's busily "touching" Steffy.
The irony and hypocrisy are truly amazing. Thomas might be obsessive to the point of emotional abuse and dangerous stunts, but besides his lie about Beth, he hasn't hurt Hope even half as much as Liam has over the last six months with his divided heart. I'm not ready to root for Thomas and Hope. In fact, I still side with Brooke about him, but -- and this is a big but -- I might be starting to think that a singularly obsessed man is better than the dually obsessed Liam.
While I'm not on board with Thomas' pursuit of Hope, I'm ready to throw Liam overboard for his nerve to shack up with Steffy but still get in Thomas' face about anything that has to do with Hope. If Liam has chosen to go back down Steffy Road, he needs to stay in his own lane and stop trying to tell Thomas that he can't pursue Hope.
Here is what a few of you on our Soap Central message board had to say about it:
"Ok Liam is so full of crap and I just want him dead. If he can't die, then send him off to Australia for a few months! Let Hope move on with Thomas after being redeemed." -- Lakegirl04
"I'm coming around on Thomas a little. I just wish he liked Zoe (or anyone else) instead of Hope." -- jward1108
"I find it amusing that Thomas had the audacity to call Liam a waffler. This coming from a guy who is using a woman and his son to get another woman he is obsessed with. That's rich!" -- Reesiecup.
I agree that Thomas' audacity is rich, as rich as your username, but I can't deny that his words are true. Thomas has Liam pegged, and Liam has Thomas pegged. All that's left to wonder is who will pull the wings off whom first.
Before I make her mine, are you sure you won't be mine?
Liam and Thomas clashed because Brooke riled Liam up about what Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Thomas was up to with Hope this time. This week, Thomas amped his jealousy scam up a notch by letting Hope and Douglas have a sample of how grody existence would be if Thomas actually had a romantic life. Douglas didn't like it one bit and feared that Zoe would replace Hope as "mommy." Thomas' simple solution to that? He asked Hope if she'd end Douglas' fear by becoming a family with Douglas and Thomas.
Hope would do anything for Douglas, but she won't do that. Or will she? She already proved her devotion to Douglas by sacrificing herself to the Kraken once and by refusing to give in to Liam's ultimatum. I'm horrified to think she'd return to a loveless marriage, even for Douglas' sake. Hope had better remember how repulsed she felt anytime Thomas touched her the last go-round. And he won't be taking any refusals on a second wedding night.
Even though I think the dilemma Thomas manipulated Hope into is contrived, it does make me wonder how many people are in loveless marriages for the sakes of their kids. I assume that, with the divorce rate at around 50% in America, kids dealing with separated parents and their new love interests has become commonplace. I would think the answer to the problem is to help the children cope with the new person in the equation, not cave in to the desires of the children and live in a family devoid of parents in love.
I'm sickened by Thomas purposely putting Douglas in that position and for setting Zoe and Douglas off on a bad note. Thomas told Vinny that it was a win for Thomas either way because he'd just keep dating Zoe if the trick didn't work on Hope; however, Thomas made it that much harder for Zoe to form a real connection with Douglas by springing her on Douglas like the scary ghost on the wall. On the other hand, Zoe should have had her own wits about her and stopped Thomas from kissing her with Douglas right behind her.
I call the stunt contrived because, as I just said, Zoe, who is dating a man with a child, should already have been trying to forge a relationship with Douglas or should have sought to be discreet as long as Thomas was keeping her and Douglas from bonding. Additionally, Hope should have already been having this talk with Thomas or at least expecting a time to arise when she had to help Thomas integrate a partner into Douglas' life.
It could have been done successfully, too. Douglas hadn't flipped out about Sally being with Thomas in New York. At least not to our knowledge. Douglas didn't flip out about Liam taking his father's place, either, when Hope had reunited with him. I dare say that Douglas might have wanted that due to the way Thomas had been treating him at the time. This thing with Zoe is really a nonissue, and Thomas boldly told Hope as much when she broached the subject with him.
Thomas explained the facts of life to Hope, who obviously didn't get it. If Thomas isn't going to be with her, he isn't going to be a monk, either. He'd find somebody. Douglas has to get used to that. All are true statements. Lobbing the ball in Hope's court, Thomas asked Hope to let him know, before he went on with Zoe, if Hope wanted another shot at all that sexiness. Nothing wrong with that, and I would have respected Thomas if he'd had this conversation with Hope after organically throwing a party for Zoe, not orchestrating it all to manipulate Hope and Douglas.
Some viewers do not think Hope and Douglas have the right to dictate to Thomas what he does in his personal life or expect him to consult with them beforehand, but I disagree somewhat. While they can't dictate Thomas' life to him, Thomas has a responsibility to talk to Hope about things that will affect Douglas, so that they can help Douglas cope well with it.
But, as I said earlier, Hope should have anticipated this. She has enough experience with it from being with Liam, doesn't she? Will Hope accept being the third wheel in yet another family dynamic, or will it be more enticing to take Thomas up on his offer to become his singular obsession?
I will be yours as long as you disavow your son
Before Hope does anything impulsive, like running off to Vegas with Thomas before Zoe can, Hope had better consult with her mother, who is radically opposed to all things Thomas. We know very well that Brooke would do anything for love, so it's a very serious situation when she still, months and months later, won't tone down one notch about Thomas, even at the expense of her marriage to Ridge and her sobriety.
Even Liam is gravitating away from the Hope and Thomas crisis, trying to show Steffy his heart, whatever that means, but Brooke keeps sucking him back into the vengeful vortex along with her. Ridge has had enough of it. He doesn't want Shauna, but he also doesn't want to keep hearing it about his son, who has been on his best Dr. Jekyll behavior lately.
Brooke can't do it. She can't change her feelings about Thomas, and she's bitter about Ridge's relationship with Shauna. Will these two ever find a compromise and reunite? Ridge has to get rid of Shauna. That's a no-brainer, but it's not so simple when it comes to his son.
Brooke must back off the notion of sending Thomas off for mental help. That's just not going to happen. I'm starting to doubt there is any middle ground these two can find about Thomas. Unless Thomas does something extremely bad that would open Ridge's eyes, Brooke's case becomes weaker every day -- especially because Hope is coping with Thomas. If she can, why can't Brooke?
I'm on Brooke's side. I haven't changed my feelings about Thomas. I guess I'm just worn out. I'm ready to say "uncle" and move on with it already. Are you?
Will you be mine until death do we part in one month?
This week, Sally's doctor gave Sally a 30-day expiration date. From the silent view of the waiting area outside the doctor's office, fans peered through an office window and watched the doctor tell Sally and Katie the diagnosis. By week's end, the name of the illness remained unknown, but the fear of the nameless killer has shaken Sally, Katie, Wyatt, Flo, and Bill to the core.
Why do so many people know about this illness when Sally swore Katie to secrecy several times? Because while Katie's new kidney can hold water, Katie can't. Katie told Bill and Wyatt, and Wyatt told Flo. Now someone just has to tell Quinn in order to make the unwanted pity party complete. My guess is that Flo will tell Shauna, Shauna will tell Quinn, and Quinn will tell Eric.
Like human dominoes, Eric will tell Ridge, and Ridge will tell Steffy. Next thing you know, everyone will stare at Sally with long-faced smiles. They'll suddenly love her work. She will win the showdown competition. Wyatt will ask Sally to elope. Quinn will bless the union. Everyone will make Sally's dreams come true because they know that in 30 days, they can tear down the set, take those tacky designs out of production, and the widow Wyatt will be free to marry Flo.
Unless everyone's magnanimous overtures boost Sally's immune system, and the next thing we know, Sally is in recovery! It would serve them right, wouldn't it? It could happen. Maybe the writers' reluctance to name the illness is their way of having an out in case they decide to heal Sally. Sally has really grown on me, and I hope that is the case.
For now, unfortunately, it looks like Sally's story of her struggle with an illness while being a single woman with a troubled career might be upstaged by a story about another of Flo's sacrifices. Lo and behold, the great Flo now knows that Sally is ill, and she knows exactly what Wyatt must do. One guess -- Flo will tell Wyatt to be with Sally for the next 30 days, and she will just wait for him by Sally's grave to resume their romance.
Absolutely putrid. Really, any of these scenarios I have conjured up would be an affront to everything Sally Spectra is. Sally would rather grovel than have a romantic rival hand over the man in play. She'd rather pack her box and walk out of Forrester than have them pretend the designs from her trembling hand win over Thomas' work. And she'd probably rather be arrested for shooting Bill than to have his respect only out of pity.
Maybe I'm wrong. Lord knows I have been in the past. I can say that the storyline has me in its grip, and I hope the payoff is that Sally finds a way to beat death. Katie gave Sally a pep talk that moved me to tears on Friday, and it made me decide that Katie really is the best character to see Sally through this trying time. Katie has been there. She looked into death's eyes and spit in its face, and she will not, if it's within her power, let death take Sally.
Because of that, I give Katie a pass on telling Bill and Wyatt about the illness. Katie is the professional patient. She knows best. Sally will most likely wind up thanking Katie for doing it. I just wish people who care about Sally, like Saul and Darlita, could be the ones in the know, even if Sally won't tell her sister or Grams.
There was no way Katie could keep that secret from Bill. She and Bill had vowed long ago not to keep things from each other. Bill watches her every move because he's worried about her kidney and her heart, so he would not have stopped asking questions until she did say what was weighing on her.
Wyatt needed to know to help support Sally. Did he really need to tell Flo, though? I'm just so over Flo's selflessness. Quinn praised it to the high heavens, making it predictable that Flo will perform yet another sacrifice. Well, that's fine, writers. But I still won't like her. She could part the Red Sea, and I still want her gone. And she can take that Cowboy's cheerleader outfit she had on with her.
Here is what some of us on our B&B message board had to say on the matter:
"It makes me sick. Wyatt couldn't get over there any faster to inform her which is none of her business. I hate that Katie told him that. I don't want Wyatt and his pity anywhere near Sally. It is nothing but a slap in the face and I want them out of this, Katie too." -- Russellgm
"We are now going to have to sit through another one of Flo's "sacrifices" of giving up Wyatt for Sally. As much as I love Sally and don't want her to go, I was looking forward to seeing her so much in this story. I got Wyatt being told but him running to Flo like a little tattletale just ruined it all for me." -- QTPie
"I am praying that Sally gets a miracle cure, and Wally makes love one time. Which she gets pregnant with Wyatt's son. Flo learns she is barren and lies to Wyatt about it." -- Lakergirl04
"I can see where this dumb storyline is headed, and this is speculation on my part. What if Sally was misdiagnosed? She learns about it and decides not to tell anyone about it." -- RoccoG1996
I hadn't thought of Sally getting pregnant, but with Quinn and Shauna constantly talking grandbabies, it's possible that it could go that way. I also hadn't thought of there being a misdiagnosis that Sally would hide in order to hold onto Wyatt. I can see a pathway for the misdiagnosis. Sally doesn't want second opinions. She doesn't even want to go in for a follow-up. It's asinine but paves the way for mistakes.
You guys have some good imaginations. That is why we always love to hear what you think.
In a look ahead: Will Thomas Be Exposed?
In next week's preview video, Liam is out to expose Thomas, one way or another. Despite Liam's warnings, Zoe doesn't believe that Hope is on Thomas' radar. Thomas vows to push every button he can to get Hope. Douglas witnesses more canoodling between Zoe and his father, and he tells Hope that he wants her and his father to be together.
Thank you for getting two scoops deep in the drama with me this week! Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!
What are your thoughts on The Bold and the Beautiful? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
