Wouldn't want to meet you in a dark Aly

The highly successful California Freedom showing culminated in Rick proposing to Maya, and celebrations abounded. But while Julius saw dollar signs, Ivy saw the signs of a seriously disturbed Aly, who arranged her own showing with Steffy on the side of Pacific Coast Highway. What happened next was a twist that may even have 'out-twisted' Myron/Maya. What does Aly's death mean for B&B? Turn on your high beams with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you get bubbly over the prospect of your family marrying into bubbly? Did you discover that your best friend's artwork really is subjective? Did you take a cue from that old Prudential commercial and get a piece of the rock? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Avant clan this week!

What the hell just happened, Scoopers? Either B&B has just pulled off the greatest plot twist the show has seen in ages, or we've just been treated to a senseless death for shock value: Aly Forrester is dead! Or at least that's what we're being told by our characters and various legitimate soap sources. Then why do I feel like the door's still open just enough that Miss F may turn up alive at some point? And if Aly really has joined her mother in Floating Basketball Land, how will that impact the show? Grab your tire irons and let's Scoop about it!

Of course, we have to backtrack into the California Freedom fashion show. And why not -- the show backed up into the previous Friday's footage, putting their fierce transgender models on repeat. Other revisited territory included Aly scowling but not acting on the directives given by Floating Evil Darla Bubble. At least Aly finally broke up her inaction by laying into Steffy, who appropriately let her cousin know that a live fashion show wasn't the time to air her girlish grievances.

Steffy maintained her composure, exhorting the awestruck crowd to embrace acceptance and personal freedom, and Ridge got a brief moment to revel in his deserved glory (seeing CaRidge on stage together solidifies them further to me; it seems appropriate that, for the first time, Ridge's lady is a fellow designer). But Rick grabbed the mic and took a page out of Ridge's well-worn Casanova playbook -- Rick proposed to Maya right there on the runway in front of the world -- and her parents!

Everyone oohed and aahed, and Rick started going on about Maya's honesty again -- admittedly, it was a great proposal, but these guys still have a way to go before they can redeem themselves in my eyes. They are starting to do that more, but I digress. Seeing Maya's professional and romantic success, Mama Avant was sold, but Papa Avant, who had been ready to bolt before Maya modeled the showstopper, grumbled about how he had asked his future father-in-law permission before popping the question.

However, when Rick offered to pay for the Avants to change their flight, Julius changed his tune. "This union absolutely has my blessing," the big J beamed. Rick and especially Maya were thrilled. But once alone with his wife, Julius soaked up the leftover Champagne and spoke of how "all of this is ours now that our daughter is marrying Rick," prompting Vivienne to call his ass out. As I said last week, Maya still needs payback for her own gold-digging behavior; I can't think of a more perfect way to deliver it than having her father use her. It's a pretty good plot development, really.

Meanwhile, Aly kept going in circles, giving everyone stink eye and declaring she had to stop Steffy and Maya in the name of decency yet still doing nothing. It became clear that Aly is anti-trans, which, given her mindset, came off as rather disturbing. And I still have to ask: where were the bikinis and lingerie Aly was so dead set against? California Freedom simply turned out to be a collection of elegant dresses -- though there was enough gray in the gowns, it didn't really evoke freedom to me. Anyway, everyone knew Aly was losing her grip on reality, but only Steffy was reaching out to her. Huh?

Thankfully, the much-missed Thorne was on his way to see the fashion show, albeit on a delayed flight. Why did no one call him the minute Aly started regressing? Or tell him what was going on when he decided to fly in? No one got a clue until Ivy found Aly's hate board in the closet. I'd guess Wyatt recognizes the signs of insanity from Quinn's various episodes, and Liam has most literally been on the pointed receiving end of that craziness, so Liam declaring a "mental health emergency" was certainly on point.

But did anyone else feel like they were watching Scooby-Doo or something as Liam, Ivy, Wyatt, and then Rick, Maya, and Zende sat around talking about Aly's descent into madness? I hate when soaps balance out dramatic events with people chatting about said dramatic event. We were also given expositional information: according to Hope, Liam reported, Aly had a therapist, who needed to be called.

I admit that Ivy contending she could rob a bank and still be golden in Aly's eyes while Maya would still be demonized for saving a baby from a burning building did go a long way toward illustrating Aly's state of mind. Of course, grandma Stephanie was hardly the saint Aly defined her as, to say nothing of Darla, who, again, only got pregnant with Aly by sleeping with a drunk, married Thorne, who thought he was making love to Macy.

At the most poorly attended post-fashion show celebration I've ever seen (Ridge and Caroline "went home" following their greatest triumph? Everyone else was down at the pool?), the party talk focused on not only Aly, but Darla's death, which was explained in great detail by Zende. He'd attended Darla's funeral as a child and picked up his info by eavesdropping on the adults. Hold up there, Z-boy! You weren't anywhere near Darla's funeral, and neither were your adoptive parents, Kristen and Tony! Granted, Taylor accidentally mowing Darla down is the stuff of Forrester family legend, but Zende could only have heard it second or third hand, like the others. Nice try, B&B.

Amidst all this, Aly finally decided to do something besides scowl: she'd recreate that Forrester family legend with Steffy in the starring role. Aly somehow managed to punch a nail into Steffy's tire without being detected by Forrester security, and the tire went flat in apparently the exact spot on Pacific Coast Highway where Aly became motherless. I'm all for poetic justice and stories coming full circle, mind you, but unless Aly's nail had a feature where you can program how far a car travels before the tire's tube gets punctured, I'd say there was some serious convenience going on.

With the now-invisible Floating Evil Darla Bubble goading her on, Aly hit the gas and gunned for Steffy, who was attempting to change the tire herself instead of, I don't know, calling AAA and staying inside the car until the tow truck came, which she would have been advised to do. I guess Aly slammed on the brakes between episodes, because suddenly Steffy was hauling her cousin out of the car and scolding her for trying to turn her into road kill. Aly screamed that all Steffy and Maya knew how to do was take -- it was really hard to argue with that, Scoopers. Really hard.

Ashlyn Pearce gave her all in these scenes, but I have to go on record as saying it was Jacqueline MacInnes Wood who was the most compelling. That, and pretty much all we've seen Steffy do during both her 2015 returns is vamp around trying to lure Liam back; it's far more intriguing watching Steffy in this kind of situation, and I'd guess JMW enjoyed the acting challenge, too. Steffy did her best to talk Aly down, and it looked like the mission was successful as the tearful Aly allowed Steffy to pull her into a hug.

But holy halted Hallmark moments, Batman! Aly's crazy came back, and Miss F grabbed Steffy's tire iron, batting at Steffy like she was a piata at a birthday party. (Aly might as well have had the requisite blindfold on, because that's about how good her aim was.) The girls struggled over the weapon, and Steffy found herself on the ground, with Aly looming over her, clutching a rock. Um, Steffy, even dim-witted horror movie heroines try to make a run for it. This was no time to lie down on the job!

Aly brandished the rock, ready to scramble Steffy's brains to protect "my family" and "my company," when Steffy grabbed the fallen tire iron and took a whack at Aly's legs. As Steffy stood up, Aly went down, cracking her head on a bigger rock. Then all was quiet. Steffy's jaw dropped, which, given the rumblings I've seen around the Internet, was the same reaction most of us had. Were we seeing what we thought we were seeing?

No worries, mate! The video Ivy shot would surely clear it up for us. Wait a minute -- the video Ivy shot? Miss I-Can't-Tell-I'm-Being-Dumped smartened up long enough to reveal some secret hiding places Aly once told her about; en route, Ivy saw Aly and Steffy's confrontation on the side of the road and pulled over. Did Ivy rush out of her car to stop the mle? Did she call the cops, or Liam, or Aly's father? No way, Jos. Ivy whipped out her phone and filmed the altercation. Seriously. She did!

This is where an otherwise good chunk of drama gets soiled by muddy reasoning and logic. By her own admission, Ivy didn't even know why she decided to play videographer in that moment. And Steffy, who hadn't done anything illegal, chucked the tire iron she and Aly were fighting over into the bushes. What was Steffy scared of? It's not even like with Taylor, who actually hit Darla with her car, accident or no accident! All Steffy tried to do was deflect Aly's imminent attack by hitting her in the leg. Steffy had no idea Aly would fall and kill herself on a rock. So why act guilty?

Did I say "kill herself?" Yes, it appears I did. I was sure Aly would just be unconscious for our daily cliffhanger to make us think she was dead, so we'd talk about it all night. But everything went slo-mo, the paramedic shook his head, and Steffy and Ivy wailed like banshees. Everything on screen told us that young Alexandria Forrester, Thorne's only child, was dead.

Now that's shocking! And there wasn't the slightest hint of that development anywhere, not in official spoilers nor on sites that post the most outrageous rumors. In that sense, Aly dying was one ballbuster of a plot twist. I'd still say Aly was alive if it wasn't for Ashlyn Pearce tweeting about her departure. Yes, killing Aly off was juicy, juicy, juicy. But was it necessary?

That's what I'm sitting here wondering as I try to take it all in. Aly's always had problems, even as a little blonde munchkin, and no wonder -- having your beloved mother die on your birthday, only to have your father try and marry the woman that ran her over? That's unspeakably traumatic for any child. So when Aly was SORASed in November 2013, most of us remembered her blacking out pictures of Taylor and shredding Taylor's wedding dress, figuring Aly was about to cause Taylor a world of hurt.

Instead, Aly came on as a Hope-worshipper, losing it only after Hope took up with Wyatt instead of the "appropriate" Liam. Aly briefly went after the visiting Taylor with an all-too-convenient axe then listened as Taylor took responsibility for Darla's death. With help from new boyfriend Oliver, Aly made peace with Taylor, finding both love with Oliver and friendship from Pam and Charlie, bonding with everyone over their shared medieval interests. Aly even held it together as Rick and Maya basically abused her. But somehow it was Steffy's cleavage-filled return that set Aly off again.

Aly's ultimate meltdown was inevitable -- but it feels like it's a year too late. This is what we should have had while Taylor was in town. Making Steffy the target is fitting to a point, but Aly's real beef was with Steffy's mother. Not to mention, now we'll never know why Aly was so hung up on sex. Thorne confirming that Aly took refuge in her head and railed at anything that deviated from her perfect vision of life was helpful, but I'm more grieving missed storyline opportunities right now than I am grieving Aly herself.

I still think Aly was sexually abused in some way or that she sensed she was born out of infidelity; imagine how Aly would have reacted upon confirming that her saintly mother wasn't so saintly after all. And even if killing off Aly is the endgame here, look at all the final scenes we were cheated out of: no last conversations with Pam and Charlie, or Thorne -- hell, Aly's last scene with Oliver (who is conveniently missing in Milan) had her berating him for staring at Steffy. Aly and Oliver never had much screen time as a couple, and I know that people often disappear from our lives without our getting closure, but I feel like this young couple deserved more than that.

And while I'm really glad Thorne finally showed up, it seemed too little, too late. Most of his big return seemed to be more about Liam, Ivy, Wyatt, Rick, and Maya, and later, when the sobbing Steffy told Thorne that his daughter was "gone," Thorne just stormed out. Again, maybe that's more realistic, but Thorne not having a final scene with Aly or making a futile attempt to ride to Aly's rescue just doesn't feel right.

Maybe under different circumstances, Aly's death could have meant she'd spectrally reunite with Darla, but since Aly and Darla both went evil (though Floating Evil Darla Bubble was only in Aly's head), now we can't even have that. I will say that killing off Aly creates a monumental mess for the characters of B&B in terms of drama, and that's a good thing. For one thing, Winsor Harmon will have to stick around long enough for some powerhouse Thorne scenes. Why that man isn't front and center as the legacy character he is, I'll never know. And now both Thorne and Ridge have lost a daughter.

Plus, this sure throws a monkey wrench into what was quickly becoming the annoying quadrangle of Ivy/Liam/Steffy/Wyatt. Liam had already decided to reunite with Steffy, who told him to hold off on dropping Ivy until the glow of California Freedom wore off. So Ivy thinks she still has a shot with Liam, and Wyatt seems fine with taking whichever girl his half-brother doesn't want. Boring, right? That's what makes the prospect of Ivy sending Steffy to jail with her misinterpreted proof more tantalizing -- especially because Steffy and Aly being together for Aly's death bonded the rivals in a strange way.

I've never been particularly invested in Aly as a character -- which has nothing to do with Ashlyn Pearce, a fine young actress. It's just I never felt Aly reached her crazy potential when the time was ripe, and then she got over Darla's death too fast. I did like Aly's sweet friendship with Ivy; the flashbacks highlighting it this week reminded me how much. And Oliver, who had spent four years in bachelor purgatory after losing Hope, had finally found romance with Aly. That's all over now. (I could say with Thomas coming back I might finally get my Team Tholiver, but this probably isn't the right time.)

And Ivy, who always seems to be filming stuff at the wrong time, has decided that Steffy is guilty of murdering Aly and deemed herself the go-getter of justice! We haven't had a good umbrella murder story since Storm tried to off Stephanie in 2007. Looks like, at least on B&B, this summer's gonna hurt like a ___________! -- to quote the radio edit of Maroon 5's latest song, anyway. How do you feel about Aly Forrester's surprise demise? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or on the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could wind up in a future column! Like these!

• "So glad [about Aly's death]. She was an annoying character." -- Sam the Mailman

• "[About] the flashback of Darla's accident. It's true Aly wasn't there when it happened, but she actually 'reenacted' the accident a couple of months later when she ran away from home on a dark and foggy night, wandered around on the PCH and was inches away from being mowed down by Taylor herself! That, in combination with the stories she must have heard about Darla's accident, makes it very likely that she would have built up an imaginary memory of Taylor hitting her mother. The fact that this memory is a bit TOO accurate falls within the 'willing suspension of disbelief' IMO because the alternative, reshooting the scene slightly differently, would be impractical and expensive." -- Ann

• "[Aly's is] a tragic death that shouldn't have happened. [B&B] had the potential to do a good mental health issue." -- Daniel

• "OMGOODNESS this is one of your best columns I love it! Aly needs to learn the truth about her mom -- Darla was no saint -- but [Ashlyn Pearce] is killing this [storyline]... " -- Lori

I was sure I was going to get back to doling out some Points to Ponder this column, but as they say, I just can't -- not with visions of Dead Aly distracting me! Except to say this: Pam, shut up about the lemon bars already, and Zende daring Nicole to work the runway was cute, but it shouldn't have been juxtaposed with the news of Aly's death. I'm still open to the possibility that Aly faked her death to frame Steffy! But whatever B&B has in store, Chanel will be here next column to opinionize with you about it, and I will be back again on August 10 with both of my trusty Scoops. Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

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