A new year signifies a chance for a new you. Hopefully, The Bold and the Beautiful takes that to heart in the upcoming year's storylines. In case you haven't noticed, they've already taken it to heart with new wardrobes for their cast. If you're ever wondering what the heck Paris is wearing or grinning about how lovely Brooke looks, you can thank stylist Erica Pelosini Leeman, who signed on to dress the cast. Read more about Leeman's role here.
So far, the old clothes have been hauled off to the Forrester Foundation's charity, but the old plots are still in the studio. Triangles, triangles, and did I say triangles? You might find a couple of squares in there, too, and maybe you can even find a polygon if you look closely enough at the situation with Finn, Steffy, Liam, Hope, and Thomas.
Relationships make the show go 'round, and as we head into 2021, I have some advice and predictions for the women featured in episodes this week who find themselves in a game of romantic "Twister." After watching the show steadfastly focus on the third wheels in relationships, what's best for the kids, and whose portrait goes where, I also have a few ideas about plots the show could focus on in 2021, and these plots have nothing to do with onesie laundry or romantic competition.
In this Two Scoops, I'll give out some New Year's resolutions to Zoe and Steffy for the jams they find themselves in. I'll offer a few predictions about the conflicts on the horizon for them. As a bonus, we'll talk about three storylines I'd prefer to see instead of enduring another year of relationship geometry from The Bold and the Beautiful.
Last year, Zoe jumped from the love triangle frying pan and into the love triangle fire when she went from being Thomas' pawn to win Hope's heart to pining for Zende while in a relationship with Carter. Lately, Zoe feels a little boxed in by her sister Paris, who is not only horning in on Zoe's professional life, but also squaring up Zoe's love triangle. What's a girl to do when she wants all the eligible men and cushy jobs to herself?
My New Year's resolution for Zoe is that she learn a new song and take a turn for the subtle in the year 2021. She's singing, "Me, me, me," a little too much, and the more she alienates Paris, the more Zende and Carter will rush to Paris' defense. The spoiled Zoe could lose her coveted triangle status and even become isolated at work if she keeps disparaging her sweet, Punky Brewster-like sister, whom some at Forrester have started to see as the newest "angel" since Hope.
Why is Zoe so adamantly against her sister, anyway? Was Paris an evil kid who poisoned baked goods at her fundraisers? Did she remove all the screws from the houses she helped build in Africa? Yes, Paris is an annoying little sister who turns up at every opportunity and wants to plan Zoe's life down to what charities she talks about in interviews and which blue item Zoe will wear at the wedding. What Paris isn't, though, is a little sister threatening to out Zoe's secrets like Nicole had been with Maya. Or is she?
Unless Paris is Los Angeles' next Barbara Minerva (Lord knows she dresses like it), Zoe had better think twice about wishing her sister away. I predict it will make Zende's heart grow fonder for Paris and make Carter see the bratty imperfections in his supposedly perfect bride. I also predict that if Zoe keeps blatantly going after Paris, Paris will start blatantly competing with Zoe.
Zoe doesn't really want to start up an open competition with her sister. Usually, a competition means someone else determines the winner, and that takes the control out of Zoe's stingy little hands. If Zoe really wants to get rid of Paris, she should let Paris get hired and cheer for Paris while secretly sabotaging her on the job -- but soap amateur Zoe didn't hear that from me.
They say beggars can't be choosers, but apparently, expectant cheaters can be. I don't know what else to call it when a woman sleeps with two men 30 hours apart but chooses to tell one man she's pregnant over the other -- especially when the other man was just at her house and has more of a chance at being the baby daddy than the first man mentioned.
Steffy told Liam that Finn was spending nights at her house before she slept with Liam, and it seems to be a little soon after she slept with Liam for a pregnancy test. That makes me think Finn has more of a chance at being this baby's father than Liam; however, Liam is the man Steffy chooses to tell about the baby instead of Finn. I think it's because, deep down, she wants the baby to be Liam's, not Finn's.
Steffy doesn't need to tell anyone about this pregnancy at all until she finds out who the father is. Finding out is as easy as taking Finn's DNA to the doctor at about nine weeks of pregnancy. If she has to have Liam's DNA, well, that should be on file from the last paternity test. When she gets the result, she can dole out the cigars or roll out the lies, her choice.
Instead of doing things the fair way between the potential fathers, Steffy shares the news of what could be Finn's first child with Liam first. To me, that means Steffy still wants a family with Liam. She might get it no matter who the father is if Hope leaves Liam over the news of the affair. Something tells me that if the baby is Finn's, but Liam is single, Steffy will find a way to get back with Liam -- for Kelly's sake, of course.
Steffy wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place if she'd learned from her same mistake, approximately two years ago, of not wearing protection while she's rolling around, cheating. I'd say her resolution for the year should be to learn to use protection, but she won't even need it for nine months of the year, at this point.
Maybe Steffy's resolution should be to avoid drunk or impulsive sex the same way I need to avoid drunk or impulsive eating. Perhaps her resolution should be to go with her brain over her impulses. While these are all good resolutions, I wish she'd just resolve to give up Liam.
Liam and Steffy have become cartoonish in their antics. Steam is played out, Lope is played out, and baby storylines are played out. These three have been dealing with waffling and babies since the winter of 2017! It's time for Porky Pig to appear at the end of this storyline and stutter, "That's all, folks!"
I predict that, no matter whose baby Steffy is carrying, Hope will be unable to forgive Liam for cheating. She will move on guilt-free to a relationship with Thomas. I also predict that Thomas will have no problem thanking Liam for being the waffling, cheating louse who always "circles back" to Steffy, proving Thomas right and ending Thomas' single streak.
Finn might not be able to remain in a relationship with Steffy, regardless of whose baby it is, because -- for one, Steffy won't remove Liam's portrait from her wall. Who wants to look at that every day after you learned you got cheated on? And for another, Liam will probably still be bringing Steffy flowers and staying for dinner, whether he's both kids' father or just Kelly's. Two is company, but two baby daddies is a disaster under one roof.
I could be wrong. Maybe the polygon family will gleefully become a hexagon family if Finn turns out to be the father. I highly suggest Hope's New Year's resolution be to dump Liam for good, but, you know, she's so forgiving and all. They might be all patched up by June.
Or maybe Steffy's wrong. Maybe Steffy got a false positive on her home pregnancy test, and her New Year's resolution should be to keep her mouth shut until she has medical certainty about her condition. Wouldn't it be wild if Liam and Steffy destroyed their relationships with Hope and Finn only to learn that Steffy took a defective test?
The new year is already set up for triangles and squares, but I've had enough romantic geometry to last me a lifetime. It might be wishful thinking, but what if there were no such thing as romantic triangles for plots? Wouldn't it be awesome if the writers knew that there were such things as mysteries, tragedies, and adventures? I sure do miss stories like that on The Bold and the Beautiful. I even miss romance. By romance, I mean the classic boy meets girl stories that don't involve an interloper looking to steal the boy or the girl.
For 2021, I wish the writers would ditch the romantic triangles and focus on character-driven plots with fulfilling endings. It looks like we are headed right back to laundry mountain at Steffy's house, but what if B&B returned to fun stories like the HFTF diamond or tragedies like who shot Stephanie Forrester? Maybe it's time to learn that Kelly really isn't Liam's daughter or that Douglas really isn't Thomas' son. Here are three storylines I'd like to see play out in 2021 that have nothing to do with romantic triangles:
Caroline is alive and wants her son. I am a big fan of Linsey Godfrey as Caroline Jr., and it was sad to see her character put to death to advance Thomas' return to Los Angeles with Douglas. I would enjoy a storyline in which mysterious incidents and encounters between Douglas and a woman unfold into a story about his mother truly being alive.
Yes, it would be a story much like Ridge's journey to literally dig up Taylor, but it would lead to a fight between Caroline and Hope and Thomas for custody of Douglas. Perhaps it could be a storyline that bonds Hope and Thomas as they fight to keep their son. I have always wanted Douglas to be Ridge's son, so I can imagine the story culminating in Ridge learning the truth and having to choose the best home for Douglas. Of course, that would pull Brooke into the mix, forcing her to once again side with her daughter or her husband.
Bill Spencer meets Skid Row. Once upon a time, Stephanie lost her memory and wound up on Skid Row, but what if Bill somehow lost his fortune and wound up friendless and homeless? Maybe he double-crosses Karen too many times, or maybe Quinn finds a way to take it all from Bill before he learns that Wyatt isn't really his son.
I don't know how it would happen, but somehow, Bill loses it all from the houses to the yachts. Wouldn't it be something new to see Bill living over Dayzee's and waiting on Quinn's table in a tight little uniform? Maybe even worse, Bill is forced to take a job as the dressmaker's assistant!
Or... maybe Zende is gay. Speaking of Karen, we have had a lesbian couple on the show. We also had B&B's groundbreaking storyline about Maya being transgender. Maybe it's time for a Forrester male to out himself as gay on the show. We have yet to learn why a solid couple like Nicole and Zende broke up. The "new" Zende seems to like women, but he also seems kind of awkward and reticent around them. Could it be because he's more comfortable with men? Maybe Zende has a love-hate relationship with his cousin Thomas because he's actually attracted to him?
These are just ideas for stories other than the typical love triangles that have weighed the show down for the last three years. If my ideas sparked your creativity, maybe you have an idea for a storyline that has absolutely nothing to do with triangles or babies. If so, leave it for us in the comments section below.
Spoilers and rumors state, as I guessed, Steffy told Liam about the pregnancy first because she has a glimmer of hope that they can be a family. Apparently, Liam has a glimmer of Hope, too -- as in the wife he wants to stay married to. I highly doubt Hope will be his wife for long when there's a hunky, devoted stalker like Thomas just one couch away from her. Thomas might be obsessed, but he's obsessed with Hope, not Steffy. That has to be an asset at this point. Maybe it's time Hope gave Thomas a real chance. What does she have to lose?
Conflict continues to brew about Paris' role at Forrester and in Zoe's life. We can look for strong reactions from Carter and Zende when Zoe expects Paris to leave town.
Let me know what you predict will happen, and if you have any resolutions for our wonderful L.A. residents, I'd love to read them in the comments below. Thanks for scooping with Mike and me all year long! Here's to hoping for new dramas and less triangles in 2021. Stay bold and beautiful, baby!
Chanel
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