Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you spot your missing destiny on the beach? Did you delight at the sight of your deadbeat daddy? Did you feel funny about your forgetful fiancé? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer clan this week!
Quite the week on B&B, eh, Scoopers? Deacon Sharpe hit town, and Ridge showed up out of nowhere to the relief of his agonized family. Hope, Liam, and Wyatt tried to make it about themselves but thankfully didn't really succeed. I don't get how any one person can bounce between two lovers and switch their feelings on and off. I guess Hope learned from Liam -- and Ridge! But before we get to the delusional dressmaker, let's drop into the Bikini Bar and spy on daddy Deacon!
Yes, Sean Kanan is back, bringing a sexier swagger than ever to our screens. It's amazing -- Quinn has really gotten on my nerves lately, but just add Deacon, and wow! Not only is she snarky and flirty, but Deacon immediately owned her. It seems he's the only one who doesn't let her get away with her...baloney. He certainly needed to be brought up to speed, though, which Quinn was only too happy to do -- especially when it came to encouraging a reunion with estranged daughter, Hope.
Hope was the subject of Liam and Wyatt's unusually earnest chitchat. It was interesting -- they both obviously want to be half-brothers to each other yet can't help resorting to chain-yanking. "Still envy me that I have a mother?" Wyatt cruelly asked. Liam was perhaps more cruel to himself, saying he and Hope were "happy" and "satisfied" before Wyatt came along. Um, Liam, have you kept Hope's pills along with that decrepit ice cream of Wyatt's? The pills she needed to be able to sleep with you?
Hope didn't need pills to trip when she saw Deacon at the door. I'm glad the show went right to Deacon trying to bond with his not-so-little girl -- their connection was genuine, and they touched on a lot of accurate plot points, such as Hope saying, "Mom was good at keeping you away from me," and reminding Deacon she hadn't forgotten him messing up her Italian wedding to Liam. Deacon and Hope's father-daughter relationship was always one of B&B's missing links, so it's nice to see it addressed.
Only thing I'm unclear about is, how is Deacon able to freely run around town? I guess, legally, Deacon's a free man -- when Bill bribed the warden to spring him, that must have included corresponding paperwork. It's just that, in the back of my head, I keep thinking Deacon could be considered a fugitive. He could also be considered dead meat, since I do remember Bill threatening to have Deacon killed if he ever came back to Los Angeles. Wait 'til Sharpe and Spencer meet up!
Back in the Middle East, we returned to the search for Ridge, already in progress. It's rather odd that B&B would skip a whole week for more Lope/Hyatt foolishness with Ridge missing, but Eric, Katie, and even Thorne were on hand to wring their hands as the Abu Dhabi search team called off their efforts. Well, of course they did. Search teams always do -- an indicator that a regular cast member is about to find the missing person. And that's exactly what Brooke did as she took a stroll on the shore.
Some people bring metal detectors to the beach, but Brooke apparently had her destiny detector on full blast, because she spotted Ridge the way a cat spots a bird from across the yard. Quicker than you could say, "Praise Allah," Brooke rushed Ridge up to the hotel room and thrust him in front of an overjoyed Eric. But, alas, Ridge had rather a non-reaction to all the fuss. He looked like someone had just tried to explain the theory of relativity to him, which did not get by Brooke and Eric.
In a nearby restaurant, Thorne tried to console a distraught Katie. Did any of you get the feeling that these two would make a better couple than Kridge? I liked their conversation, but I was getting mad at Katie for hogging it. Thank the soap gods Thorne cut in with "I can't go through all this again," citing the loss of Darla and Stephanie as the reason he held on to hope that Ridge was alive. When Katie discovered that Ridge was indeed alive, she threw herself at him, again triggering his non-reaction.
I had a non-reaction to the show's attempt to demonstrate how Ridge's disappearance affected the family. Please -- Aly barely knows "Uncle Ridge," and Carter and Maya have only known him in the six months he's been back from Paris. As for everyone else, they tried, but all the Rick/Caroline/etc. scenes felt manufactured to me, even after the group learned Ridge had survived. I wanted to buy their jubilation; I just found the family warmth underwhelming. Especially Hope's sappy speeches.
There were moments, however. "Caroline Forrester bakes?" Maya wanted to know. "Yes, Myra," Caroline winked -- a rather lovely reference to Caroline and Maya's feuding of a year ago. Pam nervously told Donna she felt Stephanie was responsible for Ridge's return. "If anyone can boss around the universe..." Donna concurred. And Rick admitted, "As furious as he makes me, I didn't want to learn to live without him." Like I said, moments.
Aly, on the heels of declaring her undying friendship to Hope (well, of course she would, now that Hope has dumped Wyatt), thanked Oliver for his support while she was "terrified" during Ridge's absence. I've said this before, but, while I appreciate the show keeping characters tied to the canvas with these kinds of mentions, there's no meaning, because we didn't experience their events along with them. There's a maxim in writing called, "show, don't tell." And B&B really needs to bring that maxim back.
Case in point: Ridge is found wandering on the beach. We are told by a day player that Ridge was rescued and cared for by a convenient off-screen doctor. Back in the day, we would at least have seen this doctor fish Ridge out of the water. And why was Ridge pacing that exact stretch of beach in front of Brooke's hotel? We need to see these things. Making these things happen and then telling us why they are happening is not satisfying storytelling, despite the time and budget restraints soaps face these days.
The same goes for Thorne reporting that Felicia and Kristen are coming to visit and Eric adding that Steffy and Thomas are on their way. You know we're not going to see these people, because they're all off-contract; they're not even recurring. Unlike Carter and Maya, who are still going in circles about Oliver's intentions toward Aly. This story's not on our screens often enough to really make us care if Oliver has ulterior motives, much less invest in exactly why Maya's involving herself in his business. Oy.
But anyway...things finally got going in the desert when Eric asked the all-important question, "Can you tell us where you've been?" Ridge couldn't, which made both Bill and Justin heave sighs of relief. Justin at least cleared things up when he said that he didn't know what was going on with Ridge, Bill, and Brooke post-wedding; he pointed out that Ridge had hired a helicopter, as well, and thought he was boarding it. Bill and Justin will be toast when the others find out they orchestrated Ridge's Nestea plunge!
Isn't it odd that no one's tracked down the mysterious helicopter, or its pilot? Surely there were witnesses to Ridge's "cooling off" -- other people on the beach, people on the hotel balconies, even the officiates at Brooke and Bill's wedding. Are helicopters, and folks falling out of them, so common in that part of the world that no one paid attention? Ridge, who saw the Spencer logo, doesn't remember it because of his concussion, and Katie was upset that he didn't seem to remember her, either.
You know why Ridge doesn't remember "every moment that we've shared," Katie? Because there were only, like, five of them. Even your flashbacks were limited to a couple of park dates! Kridge are being portrayed as star-crossed lovers, but they were so rushed and underdeveloped that I just can't take them seriously. And Katie, honey -- the doctor said Ridge was not to have any stress at all. That does not mean pressuring Ridge over and over to remember you! Desperate much? How unlike her that is.
After Ridge finally recalled a line from his and Katie's poem, he was allowed to return to Los Angeles, which he wanted to do all week. He was greeted with a big homecoming hoedown, but admitted to Katie that he was only pretending to enjoy it because of the missing pieces of his memory. Understanding, Katie told Ridge she didn't want to wait to get married! Huh? Why is she pushing so hard? It's making me want Ridge back with Brooke! Of course, maybe that's the reaction the show wants.
Having found out from Deacon that Ridge is alive, Quinn relayed this information to Wyatt, who crashed Ridge's homecoming to wax poetic to Hope about how the man who raised her had come back to her. Naturally, Liam came looking for Hope and spied her hugging his rival. B&B's not getting the point: Liam/Hope/Wyatt has gotten as stale as Hope/Liam/Steffy was. Yet, this past week, the trio shot scenes in Monaco and Paris. I wish I could tell you that I care who Hope ends up with. I don't!
I do care about the intriguing chemistry between Deacon and Quinn. I'd hoped for it but couldn't be sure until Deacon said he was reformed; Quinn replied, "Yeah, and I'm the queen of Lollipop Land." And Deacon said he needed to be spanked! Watch your butt, Deacon -- that's just how Quinn rolls! "Dequinn" (or is it "Queacon") is already the couple to watch this summer, and after only a couple of scenes together. Deaky is as freaky as ever, and I can't wait to see how his return rattles the Forrester-Logan-Spencer clan!
So, what exactly does Ridge remember -- and not remember? Will Quinn lure Deacon into her plan to once again secure Hope for Wyatt? And will Hope's romantic roulette ever end? Talk to us on the Soap Central message boards or the comments section. Send email or leave a voicemail! Or talk about it on Facebook below. Your comments could end up in a future column. Like these!
• "Although it may not be a popular opinion, I can understand why Hope would choose to be with Liam. Somewhere deep inside, Hope does not want to follow in Brooke's footsteps where she is led entirely by her heart and passion. In the end, it's brought nothing but heartache and multiple couplings. When Hope is with Wyatt, she loses herself to him in the things that she values the most. Hope and Liam do have a history and ...had there not been so many manipulations and machinations they would have been married. Wyatt is a fun loving, sexy kind of guy, exactly the type that Brooke would have fallen all over but, maybe just maybe, Hope is trying not to repeat the past to make a better and more stable future for herself.." -- DanaWhy did Carter look so unhappy when Hope announced that Ridge was alive? Even brother/rival Rick was thrilled. For that matter, why was Hope so stone-faced and cryptic when she first entered the meeting she called? She could barely contain her joy before; it felt like she just did it for effect, which seemed sadistic... Note the strategic placement of flowers to cover Linsey Godfrey's growing baby bump. Nice job, but you could totally tell that's why the blooms were there!• "I don't understand why Bill allowed his helicopter to take off. All he had to do was tell Justin to stay where he was and Ridge and Brooke wouldn't have been able to go anywhere. " -- Tom
• "First, I think that even if Hope does go to Monaco to get married, it's not going to happen. She's too commitment-phobic. She'll find some excuse to run. Or more likely, Liam will give her a reason to run. By the way, supposedly, Hope 'saw a violent side of Wyatt when he punched Liam.' I thought she saw Liam's similarly violent side when he punched Wyatt back in the summer. Second, yes, Quinn was wrong to send the selfie to Ridge, but he was just as wrong to go off like that. Of course, she's the easier target for everyone's blame. Third, these triangles and quadrangles are just getting more and more melodramatic. Why can't the writers end them and give us a really SMART storyline for once?" -- Meira
• "As long as Ridge is played by Thorsten Kaye, he can stay missing...he has successfully turned the Ridge character into a narcissistic jerk who is totally unlikeable...the Hope/Liam/Wyatt triangle is such a tired storyline now that I think people don't even care who the hell Hope ends up with anymore, but most likely they'll milk that one for another 6 months. Deacon Sharpe coming back is the only cool thing that has happened on the show in months...[and] Aly's sociopathic fits of anger...are over with now since she has forgiven Taylor out of nowhere. Hopefully Taylor won't be back...nobody even brings us Thomas or Steffy anymore. How come they aren't there looking for their dad? Obviously, time zones...don't exist on planet Bold, since they can fly from LA to Dubai in a couple hours, and when it's daytime in LA it's still daytime in Dubai! Haha!" -- Medusa
• "Sorry...it still feels like 12-year-olds are writing these awfully stupid scripts. Everything with everyone is wrong for the characters and totally out of whack for this soap's history! I keep hoping it is all going to lead to something, but none of it goes anywhere! Maybe Felicia will add some spark...I know Deacon will!" -- Patricia
When did Ridge take that photo with Brooke wearing the red dress? The only time she wore it with him was in the episode he returned; did they hire a photographer to capture their reunion?... Brooke's first words to the resurfaced Ridge about their connection, and about how "you will always be my best friend" was actually very sweet -- and it even seemed like Brooke was over him romantically. Brooke looked very happy for her sister when Katie saw Ridge alive... Bill thought back to cooling Ridge off, but his flashback included Ridge's vantage point from inside the helicopter. Why? Bill wasn't on board with him!
How was Quinn able to pull up a studio picture of Deacon on her phone? Is he Google-able? Also, how can she know anything about Deacon and his history? Did she read his character profile here on Soap Central?... Two very astute pieces of dialogue: Hope telling Aly, regarding Hope for the Future, that "I don't think I have a right to tell anyone how to live their lives," and Wyatt suggesting that perhaps Liam reminds Hope of Ridge. Hmm. Hope was raised by the champion waffler of all time!
Eric told Hope that Quinn was "no longer welcome at Forrester Creations," and all I could think of was that line from Young MC's hit, "Bust A Move": "That's one more girl you won't be gettin'." Now, it's bad enough that all of Forrester's senior executives were on an extended trip to the Middle East, but at least Rick and the Young Ones were left in charge. But what about Forrester International? Thorne is out of the office, and now Steffy and Thomas have also ditched the company to travel to L.A. So who's running the place? Taylor?
Happy Summer Solstice, Scoopers! Enjoy the longer days, and the Emmys, which you can keep up with right here on Soap Central -- including live Tweets and other soapery! As for the Scoopery, Tracy will bring it to you once again next week, and I'll see you July 7 with more of my own. Thanks for reading, and, as always, keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!
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