Is it just me, or are you noticing some rewrites and inconsistencies in the storytelling lately? First of all, you might not even notice the storytelling because you're bombarded with repeated flashbacks. I'm sure none of us need three flashbacks in one week of the same beach scene where Sheila saves Kelly from the entangling waves. We remember it. It just happened Monday. Likewise, the Aventine Keyhole memory is burned into our brain cells.
But then there are flashbacks, plot points, and scenes that make one wonder if there are indeed two universes on The Bold and the Beautiful. In one universe, security is tighter than ever at the cliff house, at Forrester, and anywhere else Sheila's victims might travel. In that universe, Steffy told the nanny that the kids can't even go outside.
In another universe, however, Finn takes Kelly to the beach and exhausts her before her big father/daughter day -- after she's already been at a sleepover. So, are the kids on lockdown or not? Additionally, Sheila can stalk Kelly and Finn to the beach without anyone seeing her, set up camp, and spy on them, and in a miraculous moment, be the only person on the beach to notice and run toward Kelly in the water, undetected by any security.
Had the two universes merged, a man in black would have dove-tackled Sheila while another in undercover scuba gear would already have pulled Kelly from the water! Steffy is bubbling-hot mad at Finn for calling Sheila "Mom," but she really ought to be angry at whatever security detail she and Ridge paid millions to no-show and slack off.
And what's with this double-daddy day, anyway? Are Finn and Liam competing for Steffy's heart and Kelly's, too? They better not embarrass her by both trying to have separate dates with her for the father/daughter dance.
In other multi-verse hell, Liam recalls the time Kelly was born as a time of planning, thinking, and dreaming. He made it sound like he and Steffy were happily married and anticipating raising their child together. The only problem is, in the other universe back in 2018, Liam was actually living in a hotel, and Hope had to convince him to be around his pregnant, estranged wife. Steffy begged Hope to intervene. Yeah, he and Steffy went to birthing classes, but Liam forgot that he created Beth with Hope on the cabin floor while Steffy longed for him to come back to her.
Speaking of things Liam has forgotten -- Liam told Steffy that he'd never forgive her betrayal with Bill. But now that Hope has betrayed Liam with his new nemesis, suddenly, the woman who had a one-night stand with his dad ain't so bad, eh?
Well, maybe Steffy isn't so bad, because among the things I'd forgotten was Steffy's love for laughter and dancing, which Liam reminded me of in a flashback this week. In that universe, she was so different than the terrified wife she's become in the 2023 universe because of Sheila. I was also reminded of what a stark contrast Steffy was to the my-way-or-the-highway Hope.
And lastly, folks, in what universe does a child who almost drowned want to take a shower alone and her parents let her? Asking for a friend.
Sometimes, the soap plays contrasting scenes off each other to hammer home plot points. The show juxtaposed scenes of Liam and Steffy talking about Finn hugging his mother with emotional exchanges between Finn and Sheila. I began to notice some parallels between Liam's feelings for Thomas, and Steffy's for Sheila, versus Hope and Finn's feelings respectively for those same people. I wondered if the writers were playing a joke on viewers, turning them into hypocrites for condoning one character's harsh stance and not the other's, of understanding one character getting drawn in by the dark flames, but not the other, or if we are really supposed to question whether Thomas and Sheila have changed and deserve second chances.
Hope and Finn are held up as examples of morals and righteousness. So, when each of them finds themselves attracted to the darkest characters on the show, aren't we supposed to consider that maybe the dark characters have seen the light? Liam and Steffy beg to differ. In fact, fresh off Hope's gaslighting train, the hypervigilant Liam refuses to let Finn gaslight Steffy about Sheila -- hence the video proof he felt the need to produce of Finn and Sheila's hug. Finn wants to see the good in Sheila, and Hope insists that Thomas is good. Is one, the other, or both right, or does the answer lie in between?
As Finn exclaimed that Sheila was his mom, I recalled Hope declaring that Thomas was Douglas' father. Sheila was integral in saving Kelly, and according to Finn, Steffy needed to cut Sheila some slack. By the same token, Thomas was integral to the HFTF campaign, and Hope insisted that Liam trust her judgment. Meanwhile, neither Hope nor Finn could explain their newfound feelings for Thomas and Sheila but wanted to explore them. Are Liam and Steffy wrong to insist to their spouses that Thomas and Sheila are dangerous?
Liam and Steffy each rejected their spouses at the first bad incident. Liam left Hope after he saw her kiss Thomas, and Steffy told Liam that she'd left Finn over his attachment to Sheila. The situations seem to be the exact same, but fans' feelings about the fallout widely vary.
Some think Liam was wrong to leave Hope, but Steffy is right to take a hike on Finn. Others think the direct opposite, and plenty fall in the murky details in between. For my part, I'm #TeamLiam when it comes to Hope and Thomas, but I do think Thomas might have actually changed. When it comes to Sheila and Steffy, I hate it, but I'm always #TeamSheila. So, yeah, cut her some slack. Do you have any idea how hard it is to swim with nine toes, Steffy? Do you?
As for Hope and Finn, I find myself sympathizing with Finn, not Hope. Finn can't help whose genes he was born with, but Hope surely could help whose jeans she unzipped. Let me know if you see parallels in the storylines, what team you are, and why in the comments section below.
Ridge and Brooke reconciled in Rome and immediately fell back into old habits: canoodling all over the place and wedding planning. "I know we've been through this, but let's get married again," Ridge said. Yeah. Totally unromantic. Brooke was ecstatic, but there was probably a collective groan in the audience and people running out of fingers as they tried to count up what wedding number this would be. Twelve, people. I think this is wedding number twelve.
I was hoping they'd find out that the divorce hadn't gone through, sparing us from having to haul out something old, something grumpy, and something bored -- a.k.a. me! Come on, guys, do I really have to sit through another wedding, not to mention the almost weddings? I was thirteen when Ridge and Brooke first laid eyes on each other. Now, I'm 50 this year! I hope Brooke and Ridge don't mind that I won't be RSVPing. I've got arthritis, and it's getting hard to push my walker up to that big house on the hill. In other words, we're too old for this mess, writers! Put them together and leave them together!
It's Eye on Fashion, not Eye on Criminals! Wyatt offered to do a feature about Sheila in Spencer's largest fashion magazine, but what is it supposed to be about? The world's most fashionable criminal roaming free due to the magazine owner's idiocy? Also, Wyatt must have forgotten that Spencer owns news stations, talk shows, newspapers, and other magazines. Plenty of more fitting outlets for news about criminals.
Finally, Carter got something legally correct. Carter finally ended the legal quagmire surrounding Finn and Steffy's testimonies by explaining to Ridge that, because Finn and Steffy recanted their statements, the D.A. can't make a case against Sheila for their shootings due to lack of evidence. And do you think Finn and Steffy want to tell the D.A. why they recanted but want to give new statements? I doubt it. Plus, learning that Finn and Steffy were blackmailed because Taylor is an attempted murderer might open up a whole other case.
Muhammad A-Li Finnegan. Li didn't bring Finn into this world, but she just might take him out for his own good to keep him away from the birth mother who did. Finn called his adopto-mom for some hugs and comfort, but when she found out he'd been hugging Sheila, she wasted no time in telling him that it was no wonder his wife had left him! Tough love, Finn. Tough love. Sheila better watch out because Li can float like a butterfly and survive the sting of a bee! And Li might want to delouse herself from all the Sheila cooties she got from hugging Finn.
Mama and Daddy grossness. Let me just say this: I affectionately call my father "Daddy." Yes, at 50, I still do. So, I don't want to be privy to the Mama/Daddy sex talk between Deacon and Sheila. What I do want to be privy to is the look on Liam's face when he learns about Deacon and Sheila and realizes that Beth is in as much if not more danger from Sheila than Kelly is. By the time Liam figures it out, Thomas will probably have driven Sheila off into a ravine, anyway.
According to upcoming spoilers, Finn is in the hot seat all week, and boy, it's a scorcher when his pull-no-punches adoptive mother tells him what she really thinks of his emotional confusion surrounding his birth mother. Finn might also have to go rounds with Ridge once he learns what happened at the beach and at Sheila's hearing. Finn will then have an encounter of the blistering kind with Liam, and Finn will make his priorities clear. After all that fighting, Finn's gonna need a hug from his mama.
One person Finn apparently isn't scheduled to spar with about Sheila is Taylor. Her name is missing from the spoilers, and I have to wonder if she's in hiding after the judge said all of Bill's dealing with the FBI were shady. Maybe she fears her deal for her crimes might be overturned?
In other spoilers, Brooke and Hope have competing visions of the future, and Hope tells R.J. why her marriage fell apart. R.J. better wear a gas mask because I feel some "Steffy, Steffy, Steffy" gaslighting bubbling up. Be a woman and tell your brother you love bumping uglies with his brother, Hope! Leave Steffy out of it.
Well, that's it. That's all the scoops! Until we scoop again, I'd love to see your remarks about the week in our comments section below. I will be back next week with a mid-year review of the best and worst of B&B '23. I hope that you'll check it out and let me know what you think have been the hits and misses of the year (so far) on The Bold and the Beautiful. Until then -- 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 -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.
