Paul Hollister gets my vote for Man of the Year, and the year has just started. This is a man who sees what he wants and goes after it when the time is right. As a bartender at Il Giardino, he's confident enough to approach a wealthy and successful woman, unintimidated by the fact that she has a child with his boss and has ex-husband moguls like Ridge and Dollar Bill. Hollis got Brooke's number as cleverly as an expert pickpocket, forcing romantically jaded old me to grin.
But where did Hollis go wrong? Allowing the "best friend" to plan his date with Brooke. Why? Because she's his competition, and he doesn't even know it. But so far, neither does she. I think Taylor is consciously setting Brooke up on dates when, subconsciously, Taylor would rather cockblock men around Brooke.
Some viewers became turned off by how overly obsessed Taylor seems with Brooke's love life. She just asked Brooke the other week if Brooke wanted to start dating, and Brooke told her no. So, it seemed a bit pretentious when Taylor was overly aware of Hollis' attraction to Brooke and practically planned Hollis' date with Brooke for him at Brooke's house, one level down from Brooke's bedroom. Next, she helicopter-parented the date, waiting on the property until Hollis left before showing up herself in the bedroom.
I have a lot of questions. Was Taylor overly aware of Hollis' admiration of Brooke because BFFs just notice these things? Or was it because she saw it as a chance to manipulate Brooke into trouble with Ridge? Or was Taylor's jealousy radar up because someone else was flirting with her crush?
Some viewers I socialize with in my soap sphere think Taylor just wants to make sure Brooke is ensconced with a man so that when Ridge returns and sees that Brooke has moved on, he'll turn to Taylor. Some half expected Taylor to be outside Brooke's window, taking pictures to post on social media for Ridge to stumble upon. The problem with that theory is Taylor knows as well as most of us do that an unavailable Brooke is the most attractive kind of Brooke for Ridge.
Taylor could just be a BFF trying to help out her girl. Or Taylor might want her BFF to become her girl but doesn't know it yet. I think Taylor might be refusing to live with Brooke and at the same time shoving Brooke at the sexiest man around because, subconsciously, Taylor is trying to make Brooke unavailable for Taylor. I think Taylor, just like everyone from Ridge to Eric, to Nick, to Bill, and all in between, has fallen for Brooke's charms and might have even fallen in love with her.
Taylor was smooth to set Brooke up with Hollis because if Brooke started that relationship, it would put distance between her and Taylor, and it would eliminate the idea of Taylor living with Brooke. Additionally, if Taylor was entertaining romantic ideas about Brooke, they'd be squashed or shoved to the back of her mind like her "maternal rage" against Bill, and Taylor could go on with her life without embarrassing herself to broach the subject of her feelings with Brooke.
As it turns out, Brooke doesn't want to date. She doesn't want to sleep around. She just wants to be with someone she knows and who accepts her as she is. Could that be Taylor?
When Hollis took an interest in Brooke last week, some Brooke cynics said that he was a gold digger. That might be true because Brooke is solid gold. She's also a MILK (Mom I'd Like to Kiss). Hollis, like many other men on The Bold and the Beautiful, prefers a mature woman even when a younger option is available. Let's take a look back at some of those men.
Clarke Garrison. Despite Stephanie Forrester hiring Clarke to date her daughter, Clarke had the hots for Kristen's mom. Later, Clarke went on to have a baby with Sally Spectra.
Deacon Sharpe. Deacon loved older women. He had an affair with his wife's mother, Brooke Logan. He had the hots for Jackie Marone, and while in Genoa City, he romanced Nikki Newman. Back in Los Angeles, he married Quinn, who, on a side note, bedded Liam.
Rick Forrester. Rick always dug older women, starting with his babysitter Amber. He went on to have a fling with Ashley Abbott and also became engaged to marry Taylor Hayes when he could have had her daughter Phoebe. Lastly, Rick had the impeccable taste to become enamored with Jackie Marone, who happened to be married to the young Owen Knight.
Thomas Forrester. Thomas crushed on Brooke big time during the "Taboo" storyline. Lust for Brooke definitely ran in the family -- or at least that's what Taylor thought when she diagnosed Thomas with Oedipus complex.
Carter Walton. Carter hit the MILK jackpot with Quinn only for it to turn up craps when she took off on him after their forbidden love had finally become ordained by Eric. Moss doesn't grow under Carter's feet. He's already moved on to Katie, who I should mention also provided a little MILK action for Wyatt Spencer.
I hope that was a fun trip down memory lane and that it reminded us that older men don't have all the fun in Los Angeles. If I forgot any young man who loved a MILK on this show, let me know in the comments section below.
Was it just me, or did anyone else think that Bill and Sheila's cliffhanger became more like a trip over a small rock by the next episode? Sheila is racked with thoughts of the pizzaman, causing her to act like her dough is not cooked around the studious Bill Spencer. When he pressed her preoccupation, she said she missed someone terribly. Flashbacks led us to believe that when we'd tune back in the following day, she'd reveal her longing for Deacon. To our eye-rolling annoyance, Bill wasn't even in the room when the scene picked back up the following day. Off-screen, he took a call to close a deal.
Really, Bill? You tell this woman you are devoted to her happiness, and you suspect she doesn't like being alone while you work; however, you walk off in the middle of her confession about what's wrong with her -- something you hounded her to find out about all last episode? I guess all I can tell Sheila is welcome to her future because Bill hasn't changed. Business trumps all.
What in the name of the almighty Dollar Bill does Bill Spencer think he can do to get Finn and Steffy to open up to Sheila? Bill can't possibly believe that if he just asks nicely enough, they're gonna agree to this after the blackmail exchange between the three. The only thing I can think of that Bill can do is threaten to take Douglas. Douglas is a Spencer, and we all know Bill can buy judges. Maybe Sheila's key to Finn is through Douglas, just one in a million other reasons Steffy should have thought it through before taking Douglas on.
Taylor tried to mediate between her children, telling them to "find the love." I guess they are still looking for it -- along with those unicorns, rainbows, and pots of gold Ridge says Taylor believes in. The whole time Taylor was trying to reason with her children, I couldn't help but think that it's not a job for Super WRP (World-Renowned Psychiatrist), who falls off buildings in a single bound. It's a job for arrogant Ridge, who will speak his mind, no matter whom it hurts. Where is Ridge?
During the Forrester versus Forrester showdown, Thomas spoke two truths that bear repeating. One, he said Steffy hadn't even let Douglas know his father had been there to support him. Thomas is entirely correct. Steffy claims that she will let Douglas see Thomas if Douglas wants to, but she didn't let Douglas know it was an option. She never set up a time for Thomas to come over that day and help Douglas settle in like Hope and Liam got to do, and when Thomas did show up, Steffy did not ask Douglas if he'd like to see his father.
While Thomas should not show up unannounced, Steffy could have prevented it by communicating with Thomas and proactively setting the rules. She should know she has to do that because she's already experienced him visiting whenever he feels like it.
The second thing Thomas spoke the truth about was Steffy and the Parent Trap. She started the scheme up, and after he'd done what she'd asked, he was the only one suffering the consequences. If you remember, back in the fall after Monaco, Steffy told Thomas that they had to put a stop to Bridge and get rid of Brooke. Many will say that she didn't mean to accomplish it illegally; however, in my view, Steffy knew she was talking to a sociopath, and when you tell a sociopath to get rid of someone, you'd best buckle your seatbelt for the outcome.
Frankly, because Steffy and Thomas have this many deep-seated issues between them, it baffles me that she thought she was the right person to take Douglas. In fact, Steffy has no faith that Douglas will choose Thomas once Douglas is tired of the cliff house. If her goal isn't to help Thomas repair the relationship for a fair custody arrangement, she should have told Douglas that she was flattered; however, his choice was between Hope and Thomas, not a third party.
What do you think? Should Steffy have let Douglas decide if he wanted to see his father on such an important day? Do you think Douglas will notice that Thomas wasn't there for him that day?
Next week's spoilers have me guessing that the soap gods heard me when I said it was time to end HFTF. I could be wrong, but what else could the unsettling news Hope receives about the line be? Also next week, Deacon and Liam express concern about Hope.
Taylor continues to try to make peace within her family. Deacon and Sheila say goodbye -- again. Wyatt and Liam continue to be disgruntled about Bill and Sheila, but Bill reveals something to Liam about Sheila.
Thanks again for joining me for Two Scoops! I like reading your thoughts, too, so please share your thoughts in the Comments section below or head over to our message boards. I look forward to responding if I get a chance. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!
Chanel
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