The best week ever

Nick did the honorable thing by keeping Sandy's confidence, but was that fair to Bridget? The problem with Bridget being excluded is that Sandy and Nick now have a secret.

It's only the beginning of 2010, but I'm ready, willing, and able to step right up and tell you that this past week was the best ever on The Bold and the Beautiful. Don't scoff! I'm completely serious. There were scenes this past week that had me sitting up straight and watching with my jaw dropping. The show has evolved, building on last year's Daytime Emmy win - and on the way to another if it keeps up this quality.

I'm trying to decide what was the most stunning moment, and I'm going to say the evidence room with the rape kit evidence. I have never - NEVER - seen a story like that anywhere on TV or in movies or theater. It was shocking. It was heartbreaking. And, I suspect, it was a reflection of reality that makes me sick to my stomach. Just the way that scene was created was brilliant. Nick and Sandy had no idea what they were going to see, and neither did we. It was an amazing story twist and led to an emotional breakdown by Sandy when she found the rape kit had never been processed.

Now there's this connection between Nick and Sandy. I wish Nick had included Bridget, even though Sandy wants to keep her out of the loop. Nick did the honorable thing by keeping Sandy's confidence, but was that fair to Bridget? The problem with Bridget being excluded is that Sandy and Nick now have a secret. I don't expect this to last for long because I believe in Nick's desire to be a better husband this time around with Bridget. Hopefully, Sandy's support system will be expanding, since her brother is coming to town and she also has Whip. Nick needs to be careful.

Then there was the cold wave of truth that roared through Forrester Creations. I'm not just talking about Katie and Bill learning that Eric and Ridge were leading a mutiny against Spencer Publications, although that was fantastic. The truth that blew me away was Steffy's real feelings about the Logans. Hello, Stephanie, Jr.! Is she not her grandmother's grandchild? That venomous hate-filled diatribe against Donna and Brooke and Katie was the epitome of Stephanie's bile. You see what happens when you preach hate to children? Little Steffy and Thomas heard their grandmother's vicious attacks against Brooke as children, and they learned to hate Logans. It's sick but true.

It's like prejudice. The Logans are evil and unforgivable wretches to Stephanie's true believers. Imagine if she had been preaching hate of another kind... that's how influential she was as a role model. That's why the scene between Bridget and Stephanie was also such a contrast. Bridget admires Stephanie and asked her to be part of her children's lives. Will she still feel like that after learning about Steffy's attack on Bridget's mother and aunts? Will Bridget blame Stephanie for Steffy's antipathy and trace the roots to Grandma Stephanie?

What about Ridge and Eric? How do you think they liked Steffy's spew? While Ridge has never been a model parent (far from it), he should have smacked Steffy for disrespecting Brooke like that. Steffy talked about who had the right to be in charge of Forrester, and condemned Katie for being in Eric's chair, but what are Steffy's qualifications to be the head of PR? She was in the mailroom not that long ago, remember?

I don't like Bill, but he was absolutely right to chop Eric and Ridge down to size for their lame attempt at mutiny. What kind of morons are they that they thought horrendous designs would hurt Bill and not their artistic reputations? It was a foolhardy plan. Bill was right; they were acting like spoiled children. They were taking their crayons and making ugly pictures to get back at Daddy Bill. Boo-hoo.

Bill also made mention of the reality of the economy, with so many people without jobs or struggling to get by. It makes the squawking by the Forresters about their ownership of the company all the more unattractive. Bill was ruthless in his desire to get the company, but the deal he gave to all the Forresters was generous. If the Forresters knew they couldn't live with the terms, they should have let Forrester go into bankruptcy... but then Bill would have bought it up anyway.

I have three sisters. I tell you that because I really understood Katie's being so upset about her sisters plotting against her. I don't think I could ever hurt my sisters by siding with my husband, especially when it came down to Eric and Ridge's pride and ego. Blood is blood; Katie's their little sister. They were completely wrong and Brooke and Donna knew it.

Brooke was the one who lobbied for the family to sign off on Bill's deal. She had to know that her part in this was critical. For her to go along with Eric and Ridge's plan, which would have destroyed Katie's career and reputation, was a betrayal. Remember, Katie has really tried to make the new Forrester work. She's bent over backwards to be the peacemaker. Remember, too, Bill could have named Justin the CEO or someone else. He chose Katie to make it better for the Forresters.

The fight between Katie and Bill was tremendous. They were both right. I saw both sides of the argument, but Katie should not have left the beach house. She should have gone into the other room, taken a time out, walk on the beach... she should not have left. Bill is too insecure in his emotions to understand why Katie went to her sisters. He doesn't understand that her actions didn't mean she was choosing them over him.

Which brings us to Steffy... Why did she really go to the beach house? If you believe she wanted to tell off Bill face to face, I have some swampland to sell you cheap! Steffy is a snake in the grass and she went there to destroy Katie's marriage. Frankly, I don't understand the idea of using sex as a weapon, but Steffy does. She's a guided missile aimed at Bill's groin! Her goal is to break up Bill and Katie, and she's using her body to do it. Excuse me while I vomit!

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's takes two to tango and if Bill gives in to Steffy, he's just as guilty. But why did she go to the beach house if she's not nefarious and deceptive? What will her father and mother think when they learn what she's been up to? I think they'll be ashamed of her. And they should be.

One last story point, it was nice to see such harmony at Jackie M. Owen's little Grampa celebration was sweet. Right now, working at Jackie M seems like a much nicer place to be, don't you think? Everybody's happy. Everyone's working together. Pam's baking lemon bars.

Here at Soap Central, we've received some interesting letters from you. Take a look:

• Katie may be CEO but she never makes any decisions. She's supposed to be in charge but take a look Bill makes all the decisions for her. Why doesn't he do his own thing at Spencer and let her do the job he hired her for? I don't think he trusts her to do it. ...I can see Steffy going after Bill yet again. GAG! Put her on a leash and send her packing. -LA Fox

• Look, Allison, where have you been? Talking about certain characters getting theirs. Taylor and Ridge's children have been on the back burner since Taylor's kidnapping and being raised by Brooke and Ridge. I don't agree with Steffy's actions, but she is like her father, always getting daddy's approval. Let me tell you something, I have been watching this show since the beginning, the first episode, if there is anybody that deserves to be gotten its the Logans, especially Brooke. I say bring Caroline back as the real owner of Forrester and really shake things up. Everyone thinks that Brooke is Ridge's first love. No, Caroline was and can still be. Is someone reading this! Talk about drama, there you have it. - Dee L.

Answer: Interesting idea, Dee, but Caroline died of leukemia. Of course, this is a soap, maybe she's not really dead, just making everyone think she's dead. (AJW)