In L.A., there was a whole lot of faking going on, from fake reviews to fake excuses for hovering around one's step-family member. Grams won't let one fake review get her down, but is Ivy really going to let Quinn and Ridge's fake speeches stop her from protecting Eric? Some things might be fake in L.A., but the scooping is real this week about the Bold and the Beautiful.
While the pristine Liam can't come up with any fake news to entertain Bill with about Ridge's behavior at the Forrester wedding, Bill has no problem publishing fake news about the Spectra preview if it gets him the space he wants to build his chrome and mirrors high-rise. Little does Bill know, his next story might be a factual one about Forrester fakes flying off the Spectra hangers.
Ivy's hand slap is like Lay's Potato Chips for Quinn, who might need more than just one to make her leave Ridge alone. Or maybe Ridge is the one who needs the speeding backside of Ivy's hand to get the message. Quinn and Ridge claim to like living dangerously, and though Quinn tells Ridge that they have to stop, Ridge keeps showing up for the next round of verbal foreplay.
At Spencer, Bill caressed a phallic, chrome model building, drooling at the thought of all the mirrors he'd construct if only the hillbilly Spectras would get off their land. Bill implemented a plan to take down the Spectras by posting a fake and scathing review under Jarrett's name and by bribing their loan officer to deny any extensions. Shirley, however, reminded Sally that the low road to success was available in the old Spectra tradition of stealing Forrester designs.
In case you missed it, Ivy knew a secret, and she was dying to expose it. While Quinn tried, in the most-deranged way imaginable, to get Ivy to keep quiet about the kiss she'd seen, Ridge was at the office about to put himself on blast to Brooke about it. As he slowly detailed what happened after the wedding, Brooke stopped him before he could get to the juicy part.
Brooke doesn't have to know every detail about what Ridge does when she isn't there. Lucky him, right? I wanna know where you've been and who you smell like when you get home. But that's just me. I mean, I'm not saying I don't trust anybody, but...he does seem kind of fruity-flowery lately. Is it me, or do they have fake female perfume cologne for men now?
Brooke assumed Ridge hadn't broken any promises, and she said she trusted him. Uh-hmn...How much of it is trust, and how much is it about avoiding having to reveal to Ridge that Bill pops out of every corner with a hunk of red meat for her when Ridge isn't around? And does R.J. know about these "grab Brooke by the sink" moments with Bill? Because R.J. is suddenly questioning whether the marriage is what Brooke wants.
If Ridge found out about these moments by the sink with Brooke, I can hear her explanation now -- "Oh, Ridge, come on. I don't have to know everything you do. Besides, you and R.J. already know that I never say no to anything." Giggle, giggle.
Seriously, though, what will Brooke really feel when she finds out about Ridge's interactions with Quinn and that Bill has been right all along in his predictions that Ridge will cheat? My guess is she'll wish she did let Bill cop a feel by the sink.
Ridge couldn't even pin Brooke's wedding dress design to a dress form without thinking about Quinn. When Brooke strode in and flashed her undies, his thoughts of Quinn momentarily evaporated in the steamy office. Katherine Kelly Lang looked fabulous in the modest lingerie, but knowing Ridge was dreaming of Quinn's lips before he ravished Brooke made me queasy.
Once the hanky-panky was over, Ridge resumed telling Brooke about the post-wedding events. She dismissed the talk, but was he really going to tell Brooke about this odd web of seduction he entangled himself in? It's never in Ridge's nature to tell the truth until someone makes him, so I wonder where he was really going with all the talk about giving in to the darkness and being such a bad person. Does he actually think this of himself, or is Quinn brainwashing him to keep the game going? Where is Taylor when you have a head case on your hands?
Ivy sat through a downright bizarre brainwashing session from Quinn about what Ivy had seen the previous night. I don't know if I completely understand Quinn's train of thought. It sounded like she was saying she'd kissed Ridge as a gift to all the poor exes she'd mistreated. First, I thought the story was that her exes mistreated her. Second, I'm sure they would have liked to get their consolation kiss instead of Ridge getting it.
It was cathartic, I guess Quinn was conveying. She said she was righting a wrong, though it was something Ivy should understand due to what Ivy had done to Wyatt. Low blow, Quinn.
Ivy did do a number on Wyatt in a similar situation with Thomas, but Ivy came to her senses and came clean right away -- even if she had a little bit of help from Steffy. Ivy regretted what she'd done. But not Quinn. Quinn plainly said she was the type who knows she can escape consequences if she avoids getting caught. If I were Ivy, that type of attitude from Quinn would make me leak like the White House.
Apparently it did with Ivy, too, because she was ready to leak all over Brooke right there in the Forrester corridor when she got to work. Ivy teased Ridge with threats in front of Brooke but ultimately decided to just keep on eye on Ridge and Quinn for now. You'd think that was enough of a wake-up call for Ridge, but no. Like a moth to a volcano, he wound up right back on Quinn's doorstep for another seductive battle of wit.
Meanwhile, Bill has reduced himself to siphoning information about Ridge out of Liam. Bill wanted to know everything about the wedding, down to who caught the bouquet. He quizzed Liam about Ridge's behavior at the wedding, but Liam replied, "I got nothing." Bill was surprised that there was no dirt or wedding drama at all.
Me, too, because Liam seemed not to know about the cake incident in the kitchen! Liam can feel Steffy's love from all the way in a mountain cabin, but he can't feel her Hulk rage as she power-plows someone's face into a cake in the next room? "Nope. No wedding drama. I expected it from Ridge and Quinn, but nope," was Liam's clueless response when asked again.
No one but Steffy, the Spectras, and Thomas seems to know about the cake incident in the kitchen. To Steffy's chagrin, Thomas can't stop watching and laughing at the footage. Maybe that's where all the "views" Sally thinks she got really came from -- Thomas, who accessed it every minute from his phone, laptop, tablet, work computer, and PS4.
By the way, Wyatt dashed my hopes of him being in a social media storyline when he declined heading Spencer's social media department. It might be why Spencer hasn't reported on the cake incident. Apparently, no Spencer reporter "follows" Steffy, either. I wonder what Nicole, who heads Steffy's social media now, thought when she woke up and saw what happened in the kitchen on her wedding day. She's probably stewing on an exotic beach because Steffy's social-media upstaged the bride.
Monday's episode was worth the watch because the Spencer men always bring a family feel to the screen, even if Bill is saying, "There's no way I made either one of you." Bill said something like it after he'd gleaned everything he could out of Liam about Ridge. Bill told Liam and Wyatt that they were wasting his time. Liam huffed about wasting Bill's time and insinuated that he could have been a doctor with the time of his that Bill wasted.
Did Bill waste Liam's time quizzing him about the wedding and Ridge? Wyatt and Liam sure didn't seem to buy it when Bill said he loved the bouquet toss at weddings. It's probably because it does the single-women searching for him, pre-Brooke of course. Or maybe he was a blue ruffled-tux-wearing wedding planner in another life.
Bill also loves his new phallus building model, too. He can't wait to plop the real thing down over Spectra's carcass. Can someone tell me why Spencer needs another tower in L.A.? I bet a penny that it's to lock Brooke in to keep her away from Ridge after she returns to Bill.
For some reason, Ivy chose to push for a double wedding in Australia instead of telling Brooke about the kiss she'd seen. Steffy also suggested a double wedding to Brooke. Who in the world ever thought Steffy would not only suggest that Brooke share the wedding aisle with her but would also be all chummy with Brooke about Brooke marrying Ridge?
How do you feel about Steffy's change of attitude about Brooke and Ridge? Maybe Steffy's just going along with it because she knows that, odds are, the wedding won't happen, or the marriage won't stick. Steffy used to be Brooke's worst nightmare of a stepdaughter back in the day, and Thomas was right there with Steffy in their schemes to derail Bridge.
Was it surreal to see Brooke and Steffy laughing and planning their weddings together? Or were you too distracted by the hair pineapple on Steffy's head to notice? And what about that one braid thingy on Steffy's forehead, centered in all that flowing hair, making her look like a Shih Tzu? Then there were Sally's side-head twists and frontal quiff that made her look like Prince during the "Diamonds and Pearls" era.
The actresses are beautiful no matter what, but like Jarrett, I have to tell the truth -- some hair experiments went wrong this week. Stylists, you can put Steffy in a crown bun. That's fine, but do not tack a unicorn braid on the sexy CEO's forehead ever again.
I was digging the attraction between Ridge and Quinn for a time, but I'm getting a little bored with the same conversations between them. I'm just as bored with Bill's one-tune song about Brooke. That man is too damn rich, powerful, and attractive to be sitting around, waiting for a louse like Ridge to mess up again.
It was nice to see Bill back in his element -- and leather collar -- this week when he set out to ruin Spectra Fashions before they even get off the ground. His weapon of choice was the poor unwitting Jarrett Maxwell. Jarrett tried to avoid the Spectra preview like the other one hundred invitees, but at Bill's coercion, Jarrett showed up to Spectra all alone, without even a pen, pad, or cellphone camera to keep him company.
While it was odd that a seasoned columnist like Jarrett would show up so ill-prepared, it didn't matter because the Spectras were equally and woefully unprepared. They had no location for the show, no swag bags, no press kits, and no plan. But, hey, Darlita would probably tell me that they had no cash for it, either, seeing as she hasn't been paid for sitting on her butt yet.
Though the Spectras had no guests, no other friends, or relatives as fillers -- not even Thomas or C.J. -- what they did have were models and a desk for Jarrett to prop himself against as he tried not to show his uneasiness with the whole thing. The Spectra gang also had a lot of heart, which I think is what won Jarrett over. It couldn't have been the designs. Bill was on the money in his fake review about those, and he hadn't even seen a picture.
The designs seemed like they'd been other dresses that Saul had deconstructed, mixed up the pieces and patched together as new, feathery Frankenstein originals. That's the best I can do, folks. You've got to see them to believe them. If you did see them, you'd be like, "Yeah, nobody but Sally would wear that -- and Lady Gaga back in the day."
Jarrett returned to Bill, looking as if he'd been assaulted, but in a strange twist, Jarrett was looking that way because he dreaded telling Bill that the show hadn't been horrible. While viewing the circus outfits, Jarrett had seen promise and potential in Sally as a designer.
Bill didn't care what Jarrett saw. Bill wanted Jarrett to write that no one would even wear that crap as a Halloween gag costume. Jarrett quibbled about his ethics, but Bill asserted that only Bill's ethics counted if Jarrett wanted to keep his job. I'll bet Jarrett slept in a pool of sweat that night, if he slept at all, because he was acting as if Bill was forcing him to commit murder.
Maybe it is fashion homicide to Jarrett, who couldn't bear to ruin a budding designer's chances with lies or half-truths. Jarrett offered to talk about his negative expectations in the review, but it wasn't enough for Bill. Having suspected that Jarrett would be a wuss about it, Bill handed Jarrett a review that Bill had already written and ordered Jarrett to put his name on it.
Jarrett posted the fake review, which absolutely crushed Sally's spirit. Up to this point, my jury was still out on the young Sally Spectra. As she read aloud the review and ingested each awful adjective Bill had used to describe her work, my heart grew five sizes for her. Listening to Geisha-girl-hair Steffy revel in the review while quoting it to Thomas, who listened with a disgusted and wounded look on his face, I somehow slid over to Sally Spectra's side.
I don't like bullies. I hope no one does. I didn't agree with Sally flinging cake on Steffy for attention, either, but I got no thrill from the recitation of Bill's biting words:
"This pitiful attempt at a showing was an abomination that categorically proved two things: Sally Spectra has a sense of humor, since she played a joke on the fashion industry, and that she has absolutely no talent."
I could almost hear Bill's voice when Sally read, "Her creations are hideous, vulgar, and clumsy." Further, her showing was the proverbial wrecking ball to send Spectra crashing down. I commend the writers on keeping Bill's voice in the writing. That was excellent work on your part. Thank you for creating one multifaceted, complicated asshole in Bill Spencer.
Unlike me, Thomas didn't recognize the tone of the fake review, but he knew enough to suspect that it didn't sound like the erudite Jarrett Maxwell. The limited vocabulary was the giveaway for Thomas. Sally knew what it sounded like to her. It sounded like the end of their dream. The saddest part of this week was when she looked at her crew and half-sobbed that she was sorry for taking them that far and not delivering.
In that moment, I heard how much Sally really wanted it, and she wanted it for all of them. She'd tried to do it the right way...with just a little mischief. It was bad enough that it didn't work out, but the whole world was reading that she was a joke. Add to it that she revered her great-aunt, but Bill had written that she'd wrecked her aunt's legacy. I really felt sorry for her. I felt so sorry that I looked at the dresses again just to see if I could find what Jarrett said he'd seen.
Nope. Bill was right. They were hideous. They were bad.
But Sally and the crew weren't bad, as Bill had written. Success is talent and luck. They were lucky to get Jarrett, who would have been a lot nicer in his review. They are lucky that a talented designer like Thomas has goo-goo eyes for Sally because he can help them with tips. I believe Sally has a good heart and good intentions because she decided to walk out at the wedding without getting her publicity shot. So it's hard to see her crushed by someone like Bill, especially when she doesn't even know she has an enemy in him.
And I got kind of mad at Shirley. As cute and cuddly as Grams is, I was offended at the idea of stealing designs from Forrester through Thomas. Yes, it's a Spectra tradition. Yes, they can make them cheaper and faster. Yes, they will fall apart after two uses, but women don't wear dresses like these over and over anyways. But no, because Sally wants to be a designer, not a thief. Sally wants success on her own merits...Right?
I don't know the answer, but I do know Sally wants to pay her bills and her employees. I do know she needs to get Grams a return on her investment, and in addition to the fake news Bill just spread about her, he also talked her loan officer into not giving her any extensions. See, Sally, you gotta be nice. His name is Shifter, not Shifty -- even if it is how he acts.
Grams's plan fell into place when Coco Spectra arrived. The writers are killing me with the names, okay? Coco is Sally's younger sister and probably R.J.'s new love interest, since he keeps talking to people about love and relationships. It just so happens that Forrester needs interns, and for some reason, Thomas and R.J. are choosing them. I can see how it will go already. "She's hot -- accepted. She's way hot -- accepted. He's a dude. Got enough competition around here already --rejected..."
The last batch of interns was students or new graduates except for Nicole, who lied about still being in college. Darlita and Saul told Thomas they wanted internships, but Thomas said they had to be in school. If Maya could get Nicole in, Thomas could have gotten Saul and Darlita in.
Do you have to be in school for tailoring? Why can't Saul have a sewing room apprenticeship? Because Thomas knows Saul is crushing on Sally, that's why. There's a chance Thomas might know of Saul's crush, but Saul is certainly giving Thomas the mean mug whenever he's around.
Grams wants Coco to infiltrate Forrester as an intern spy to steal designs. Little does Grams know, interns hover around Pam! It'll be interesting with Pam and Charlie watching things around Forrester, but Sally had better decide in a hurry what's more important to her -- the budding interest with Thomas or being a success by stealing his family's work.
Not every viewer has warmed up to the Spectra gang. From our comments section last week, b.kirk says, "Please recast Sally. This girl just does not have the baudy side that Sally Spectra needs and please get someone with a little more meat on their bones...Poor casting folks"
When Sally first debuted, our scoop column questioned the wisdom of recreating the old Spectra gang right down to the names. I asked if the new Sally would cut the fabric when up against the real Sally, and I hoped that this new one would become her own character. In my view, she has. She smiles like the original Sally. She has the red hair and "bucko" lingo; however that is where the similarities end, and the new Sally begins.
I've decided that the young Sally doesn't dress like the original because she really isn't a copy of the original. The young Sally dresses that way because she designs that way. She's serious about that look of hers, even if Steffy snickers that Sally dresses like a clown and is a clown. I don't disagree with Steffy on the dressing part, but Sally isn't a clown.
Maybe Sally isn't as sophisticated as the original, but she's young. Sally Spectra the First had to blossom into the woman she was by the time we met her later in her life. For all we know, by the time this new Sally is the first Sally's age, she might act exactly like the original -- or better.
I'm crossing my fingers that we'll see some conflict from Sally about stealing designs. I'd like to see her struggle with doing it versus exhibiting her own originality. Maybe she'll study the stolen designs, alter them, and learn from them. I'd prefer Thomas teach her, but if not, I would like to see something more than just design-stealing. It's been done over and over with Spectra and Jackie M, and I just don't see this Sally settling for being a copycat.
Bill had better watch out because the next time he's playing Legos with his cigar boxes, Sally Spectra might march in and knock them down instead of him knocking her business down. Just what kind of an opponent will Sally be for Bill?
Tell us what you think of Bill's fake news ploy and the fake excuses Ridge and Quinn made about what's really going on between them. Will Sally sink to the underbelly of counterfeit fashion or use Forrester to find her own design vision?
Until we scoop again, if you really need to scrape the scummy bottom of the barrel and put out fake news to win, the prize you're after had better be 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.