Finally some hope -- Without the capital H

In a shortened week, fresh storytelling provided a relief from the terrible triangle! Rick was up to no good, Thomas was the kissing bandit, Caroline was fit to be tied, and Stephanie turned wedding planner. Could it be that another wedding is the thing that breaks the Hope/Liam monotony? Find out in the latest Two Scoops.

What an interesting week on The Bold and the Beautiful! Only three episodes, but, amazingly, the show wasn't all about Liam, Steffy, and Hope. How did that happen? Did someone lock Bradley Bell out of the writers' room, and fresh ideas were generated? It was fun to pick up with characters that haven't been in the mainstream for a while, especially since their main focus wasn't on the terrible triangle.

Have I offended fans of the terrible triangle? Are there fans of the terrible triangle...or the trying triangle...or the thoroughly overplayed threesome? I doubt any fans of Hope, Steffy, and Liam were feeling pushed aside this past week because, while they weren't the only focus of the show for a few days, they were definitely part of the fabric. It was almost as if the writers had figured out how to balance the storylines.

For instance, Rick had a great opportunity to advance his agenda. While I'd love to see less of Rick glowering about his nefarious manipulation, the guy is succeeding. There's no doubt that he's up to no good, but in this show's history, characters like Bill and Stephanie have pulled that kind of stuff time and again. And truth be told, the Rick character has a track record, too. Didn't he once leak the entire Forrester Creations line to Jackie M. -- or was it still Spectra at that time? Whatever, it doesn't matter now. The point is that Rick can be as sneaky and selfish as Queen Stephanie, who made deceit and treachery a lifestyle.

To me, however, Rick's current game is as transparent as a pane of glass just cleaned with Windex! Thomas even acknowledged that he knows that Rick is pulling his strings to get him to go after Hope. Rick then convinced Thomas that he wasn't manipulating Thomas for any reason other than wanting to help Hope get away and stay away from Liam.

But Thomas is not stupid. He loves the idea of getting another chance at romancing Hope. He proved that with "the kiss" and then the follow-up when he gushed all over Hope about how adorable she is and why he can't stay away from her. Watching that scene may have had your toes curling because it was so over the top, but was Thomas telling the truth?

I don't know, but I suspect it. Thomas should be completely happy with Caroline, but he is willing to park her on the sidelines while he holds, comforts, consoles, and now kisses Hope until she stops thinking about Liam. Considering the similarities inherent in Thomas becoming the "Liam" in a Hope/Caroline/Thomas triangle, Brad Bell should nip this trio in the bud. Just the idea that Hope would go from one triangle into another is enough to make me question her sanity!

But Thomas is coming off as a jerk no matter how you cut it. Sure, he can claim the kiss was just a way to make the press get excited about the new Hope for the Future line, but Caroline should not put up with that nonsense. She really deserves more respect from Thomas. His impetuous actions, coming after days of his playing Hope's best friend, were a slap in Caroline's face.

Think about it, readers, how would you feel if that was your boyfriend? Would you understand his actions? Did Robert Pattinson understand Kristen Stewart's smooching with the director of the movie when she was supposedly in a committed relationship with Rob? (Okay, I promise I'll never mention the Twilight duo again!)

If Caroline turns to Rick because of Thomas' indiscretion, I'm going to lose a lot of respect for her. She knows full well that Rick is pursuing her, and he's been after her like a dog in heat since she arrived in L.A. That's not a very attractive quality in a man to me. Sure, it's flattering that Rick and Thomas were both ready to fight a duel for her, but Caroline has to be more sophisticated than that, doesn't she? Wouldn't you find it fun and different if she set her sights on a different man, like Justin? He might be too old for her, but I'm struggling to name an unattached bachelor who might catch her eye! Where are the men?

Caroline would never be interested in a guy like her Uncle Bill. There are times when I wonder what Katie sees in him. Let me be perfectly clear about what I'm saying here: Bill is a bully. He is not a good man. He's selfish, pig-headed, pushy, and smug. If he ever met a woman with those traits, he'd hate her guts. So is it all right for him to be an ass because he's a man, but a woman better not act like that around him? I would love to see some real growth from this character, but I don't think that's likely to happen any time soon.

Steffy, on the other hand, has been changing. At least in the last three episodes! Instead of reacting to Hope's press conference in a predatory way, by going after Liam, she told Bill that it was Liam's decision, and if he still wanted Hope, Steffy wasn't going to get in the way. Bill, naturally, wanted her to pounce on Liam like he was a ball of yarn and she was a kitty cat.

Well, not this time. Steffy actually went after the man who really had some questions to answer -- her brother! Thomas needed to explain himself, especially since there was a time not so long ago when Thomas and Steffy were Cabo conspirators trying to keep Liam and Hope apart. Remember the ATV chase on the beach? Drunk Hope? The mariachi diversion? Bill's brain scan switcheroo?

It was interesting that Steffy was acting like a grownup for a change, while Hope was being skewered for acting childish. Her act of vandalism, spray-painting the symbol of the Spencer sword and then nullifying it with a slash, was over the top and silly, but was it really such an outrageous act of violence? Think about it. She could have taken Liam's clothes and set them on fire on the front lawn, which I think was done in the movie Waiting to Exhale. So Hope and Thomas did a little graffiti on the outside of the beach house. Hope was entitled to be bad. Steffy and Liam had played her for a fool on two different wedding days!

Ridge showed his inability to remain unbiased. He instantly condemned Hope for her actions. But the parent who really got on my nerves was Brooke. Will she ever get over the fact that it's Hope's life and not hers? Hope has broken up with Liam. It's over. If Brooke were a normal mother, she would simply support Hope's decision and stop saying again and again and again that Liam belongs with Hope.

Maybe it's just that Brooke relates Hope and Liam to her and Ridge, you know, another destiny duo. Brad Bell sure wants us to see it that way. But both Brooke and Ridge need to back out of their kids' lives and concentrate on other things. Arguing about Liam, Steffy, and Hope is ridiculous.

I also have to say that planning another wedding is just as absurd! Are you kidding me? Why even bother? This show has weddings every month! How many families do you know who create weddings every month of the year?

Anyway, Brooke and Ridge don't need to prove anything with another trip up the aisle. As I recall, the last wedding they had was alone on the beach, and it was pretty spectacular. Who needs hors d'oeuvres made with olives! And if a party is really necessary, just have the party after they tie the knot on the top of a mountain or under the sea!

The idea that Stephanie suddenly has this great desire to plan the wedding is also a stretch. Don't you think she's busy enough with her foundation, Dayzee's, and her health? Why should she want to dive into wedding planning when she just spent a few weeks on Hope's second wedding to Liam...the one that ended with Liam prancing around in his black BVDs.

All this seems to be the set-up for Ridge's exit, meaning Ronn Moss's departure from the show. His last days of filming have already passed, and we'll probably not see him after late October. It's hard to imagine how they'll be writing him off the show at this point, but I'm hoping for something really off the wall. I remember once when Brad's father, Bill Bell, wrote a story on The Young and the Restless in which Victor Newman imprisoned his wife Julia's lover. Nobody knew what happened to the guy; he just disappeared.

That kind of story has been done many times over on other shows, but they could create a total mystery with Ridge not showing up for the wedding and nobody knowing where he's gone. Brooke would be crazed. Maybe she winds up meeting Dr. Meade (the character who still has no first name) when she searches for Ridge, has a fall, and breaks an ankle? He could treat her ailment, and they could bond. Why not?

As for Stephanie's involvement in all this -- and we have been tipped off that she is intertwined in Ridge's storyline -- maybe she knows more than she's willing to share with Eric and Brooke about Ridge's plight? Maybe she's being blackmailed? Oh, well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I would love to find out that Dr. Meade's sister is Danielle, and he's best friends with Dr. Stacy Barton, so we could see those characters interact with the others. What's the point of bringing on great actors and then giving them nothing to do? It's not like the terrible trio are the greatest actors ever on soaps! They're kids. Good actors, but come on, what about the adults

So, till next week, please share your thoughts with me about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead... Your comments are always welcome at Soap Central, so stay in touch. And tell me which other characters you want to see fixed or changed -- or return to the show. All you have to do is click here to send me a message. And keep on reading Two Scoops every week!

Meanwhile, here are some letters from the readers!

• Wish we could send this triangle story to the Bermuda Triangle! Sheesh even the BERRIES weren't this bad. -- Kendy

• I am so tired of father and son's sleeping with the same woman. Why would Liam want his Dad's leftovers Steffy -- nasty just nasty. Now they want Hope to sleep with her brother. NASTY! -- Deborah

• Seriously, I've never taken the time to post something before, but this show is caught in such a downward spiral that something must be said. It's so predictable with this pathetic, drawn-out Hope, Liam, Steffy love triangle, which is just a rerun of the last two decades of Brooke, Ridge and Taylor, that I only have to watch the previews to know what's going on these days! When I do take the time to watch it, I can fast-forward through about half the show because it's just the same old conversation, only the actors are wearing different outfits. Everything you said in Two Scoops is entirely true. The producers and writers really need to drink some creativity juice. -- April

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