Steffy’s Bold & Beautiful Exit Means Sheila Is Living On Borrowed Time
Apparently, someone at Bold & Beautiful realized that behind those giant purses lurked a very pregnant Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, and that her maternity leave was about to start. Thus, a show that usually endlessly spins its wheels went into high gear… giving viewers both whiplash and a pretty good time!
The Uninvited
I guess Sheila’s not a “strike-while-the-iron-is-hot” kinda woman. How else to explain she waited a few weeks before approaching Finn as opposed to making contact while he was still feeling all warm-and-squishy about her having saved Kelly’s life?
“You don’t write, you don’t call, then you just show up… “
Also, what was up with the whole lurking at the sliding glass door thing? Surely she had to know that approach wouldn’t score her any points with anyone. Kudos to Finn for immediately dragging her into the house, but he then basically stood back to see what would happen. I half expected him to go all Tina Turner in Thurderdome and declare “Two women enter… one woman leaves!”
“And now, a preview of the No Hope For the Future line… “
Hello, I Must Be Going
Truth be told, the Sheila/Finn/Steffy showdown was a bit less exciting than I’d hoped it might be. But I liked that it relied less on a big, explosive shouting match than on a relatively quiet, emotion-driven confrontation.
“I’m going to use my inside voice even as I tell your mother to get out!”
By the time Sheila and her single cocked eyebrow exited, it was clear to Steffy that there was only one way out of this situation: She had to pack up the kids and leave. And one episode later, she’d done that… apparently taking mom Taylor along for the ride!
I mean, that wasn’t really the only option. I’d have maybe suggested sending Finn away and taking his mom. Now, to be clear, I like Finn and Li. But what I’m saying is that Finn serving as a human bread crumb to lead his mad mom out of town would allow Steffy and the kids to stay in a place where they are surrounded by people willing to protect them.
Then again, those people haven’t really done a bang-up job of it so far, have they?
The Final Act
In any case, following the logic we’ve now set in place, the only way Steffy can come home is if the threat of Sheila is, as Finn put it, “eliminated.” Much as I love Kimberlin Brown in the part, it’s definitely time for Sheila to be “rested” again.
“I’ll just take my various weapons and leave, then!”
Despite the fact I’ve been champing at the proverbial bit for a “Who killed Sheila?” storyline, it’s unlikely that the show will actually do away with the iconic character. Although they could get so much publicity out of a storyline, with an entire ad campaign built around a slogan like “See how Sheila’s story ends… and this time, it’s for real!”
I’m reminded of an incredible ad for the British soap Hollyoaks which touted their “Who shot Mercedes?” mystery. The promo — which you can watch below — actually got me to seek out the program and become hooked on it. And while that show’s vixen survived the attempt on her life, I feel like the real selling value here — especially given how many times Sheila has “died” — is that this time, it would really, most sincerely be the end.
Where’s The (Forbidden) Love?
There wasn’t really much else going on this week… which means we got no Thomas/Hope (unless you count about her having a couple flashbacks while talking with R.J. about her heart’s desire.
“Am I dreaming?” asked Hope… only to realize that sadly, she was.
Credit: CBS screenshot
I just don’t get why the show built the Thomas/Hope story only to, once they’d connected, let it die on the vine. Yes, they had to focus on the storyline which would accommodate Wood’s pregnancy, but why waste time showing Hope endlessly chatting with her sibling instead of her having these same conversations with Thomas? (Fortunately, it looks as if we’ll get some actual ‘Thope’ action next week…
Meanwhile, I kinda wanted to scream when Wyatt jokingly asked how Liam could have possibly landed both Hope and Steffy. Why? Because as usual, the show ignored history by not having Liam respond, “Hey, you managed to date them both, too, so how tough could it be?”
Random Thoughts
• Thanks to the complete lack of actual storyline which ushered Joshua Hoffman’s R.J. onto the canvas, I’ve had next to no interest in the character. But that has definitely changed as R.J. has bonded with — and defended — Eric. I’d love a story in which R.J. decides to tell Eric’s story (which is, of course, the story of both Forrester Creations and Bold & Beautiful) on social media. Talk about a wonderful tale… complete with all kinds of flashbacks, which could be not only used on the show but posted to the soap’s actual social media accounts. In other news… Why has this show not hired me? I’m full of good ideas! (I hear some of you saying, “Yeah, you’re full of something, Richard!)
• I feel like some of the recent scripts have been far more creative and less reliant on six lines of endlessly repeated dialogue. Anybody else notice?
• How awesome was it to have Bill finally resurface on Friday? You, sir, have been missed! Now, let’s get him (and the always excellent Don Diamont) into an actual storyline.
• Speaking of Bill, I like that they finally wrote a few lines explaining why the plot he and Ridge cooked up went south. And it made sense, too. Who can’t see the often obnoxious publisher cutting corners — which would later prove the plans downfall — in order to achieve his goal?
