Let's do the time warp again

Everything old is new once more as the Leffy/Lope triangle makes a return for 2018 -- only this time, Dollar Bill has jumped ships. It's the bold and the rebooted with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you lose a game of Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice? Did you suddenly catch a moral virus? Did you find you were still first rate at flipping? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer clan this week!

Once upon a time, Scoopers, in a land that's bold and beautiful, a mighty ruler reigned called Leffy/Lope. The romantic tale of Liam Spencer and his two loves, Hope Logan and Steffy Forrester, became so powerful that its brightness drowned out everything around it. Well, here we are again. Is it a good idea to revisit, in detail, a triangle that even soap mags were decrying back in the not-that-distant day? Let's Scoop about it!

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR, BABY, TO BE IN MY SHOW

Maybe on paper, B&B thought it was time to bring The Leffy/Lope Show out of mothballs after six years, but I beg to differ. Taking one moment to ponder that they shouldn't be making out in the skyscraper that belongs to the man they pretend-ended their engagement for, Katie and Wyatt quickly moved from their own business to Steffy and Liam's. Katie couldn't believe Wyatt's report that Steffy was still seeing Bill!

Should Katie have any doubt? After all, she was the one who found herself out in the cold with Bill in 2011, thanks to Steffy. Instead, Katie (rightly) labeled Bill a liar, which rang no bells with Wyatt. The reverberant, metallic bong never once made Wyatt think his father might be lying about Steffy, despite the fact that newspapers are as apt to print pages of Bill Spencer's lies as they are other egotistical power brokers.

Meanwhile, Justin suddenly had a problem with the idea of faking Wyatt into believing Bill and Steffy were sleeping together again. Yo, Barber, when did you grow a conscience? You certainly didn't have one when you happily ran Spencer Publications in the CEO chair while the owner of said chair was at death's door in the hospital from a gunshot wound.

Also, Justin was totally down with having Spectra set on fire, so I don't know where he gets off whining about having to stage some pillows and apparently kiss them with a shade of Steffy's lipstick. (Justin, RuPaul's Drag Race is calling you.) Justin actually reamed Bill for trying to take his son's pregnant wife! Alas...to think Aaron D. Spears was put on contract for this.

Over at the Logan manse, Brooke and Ridge, who themselves sucked other characters into their marry-go-round vortex all throughout the '90s and the aughts, found the designer shoes on the other feet as they put aside any traces of their recent knot-tying to debate whose daughter should be with Liam. It was all so 2012, I thought I was going to have to bust some Gangnam Style moves again.

Hope cooked up a delicious meal of Milanese risotto...almost. Changing her mind, she treated Liam to vegetarian takeout. Ridge grimaced through some of the meal, not fond of the tofu. What's up with constantly equating veganism with tofu? It's not like the soybean dish is the only thing non-meat eaters eat. Hope insisted no one would pressure Liam regarding his marriage to Steffy, but she sure laid it on thick. Thicker than the tofu.

"Bill manipulated us," Hope reminded Liam after dessert, otherwise "we might still be married." Does no one on this show know that Lope was never actually married? They had several aborted or invalid weddings; the only one that stuck was their Italian ceremony, and Hope refused to legalize it after she found out Liam had kissed Steffy, unaware of Deacon's forged note telling Liam to move on. Hence, no Lope marriage!

GIVING MAD PROPS

Steffy decided to make Bill an offer on the cliff house where Liam had made a home with her -- and, at one point, Hope. "You think owning the property will make [Liam] come back," Bill scoffed. Well, he wasn't wrong. Steffy made an appointment to sign papers, which Bill put on speakerphone and Wyatt was able to take out of context because Steffy spoke cryptically, never once saying anything about a house.

Bill couldn't have been on a better lucky streak if he had bought Las Vegas. Able to twist Steffy's innocent day-planning into a salacious hint that Wyatt picked up and ran with, Bill cast Justin as an unwilling set designer who was reduced from hot-shot lawyering to turning Bill's office into a display out of Bed, Bath, and Beyond. But only after having a closed-door meeting with Steffy and making sure Wyatt saw them leaving.

Her house-buying complete, Steffy blankly accepted Bill's hug and thanked him for keeping her mother out of jail. Wyatt saw this and determined that Still's continuing relationship must be true. Yet he somehow didn't hear his father and ex-wife talking about the sharpshooting Taylor. Later, Wyatt relayed they had been whispering, but he still should have been able to read Steffy's non-romantic expression from ten paces.

Then, for a reason I'm not sure I understand, Wyatt walked into Bill's office. Of course, Wyatt found the burning candles and apparent evidence of burning lovemaking. Could Wyatt not see that those candles were freshly lit? Those wicks couldn't have been burning more than five minutes; Wyatt's set enough similar scenes with Hope, Ivy, Steffy, and now Katie, that he should have clued in.

Wyatt flamed Bill, who offered up a fake mea culpa. Bill insisted that Wyatt couldn't tell Liam what he saw, when just moments before, Bill was saying Wyatt was the only one who could relay this information to Liam. "She's pregnant with your son's kid!" Wyatt wailed -- yet didn't think to point out the hypocrisy of Bill's objection to Wyatt's relationship with Katie. Dropped the ball on that one, didn't ya, Wy-Wy.

Wyatt decided Liam needed to watch The More You Know and ran out to set his half-bro wise...without going to Steffy first to see if any of Bill's claims were true. Steffy would have said "no way, Jos" and Wyatt could have nipped the whole thing in the bud. Thomas did the same thing when Bill faked him out about Caroline, but Wyatt didn't even have a Caroline to corroborate the bullhockey like Thomas did.

CABIN FEVER

What is it about Liam and cabins? I mean, they suit him, but you'd think he'd have been less inclined to make the Logan one his domicile after he shared one with "Eve" for several weeks. Much like when Wyatt rescued "Adam" from his mother's clutches, Wyatt tore into this cabin, where he must have caught the definite whiff of Ridge's You Should Be With My Daughter cologne. Now in an $8 body mist.

Yes, Ridge heard what Hope said at the veggie dinner about not pressuring Liam, but the Dressmaker decided to take the carnivorous approach instead. Saying something Ridge should be able to relate to, Liam admitted he loved two women. But Ridge didn't have time to commiserate, since Liam announced that he was, in fact, going back to Steffy. Ridge was overjoyed and threw his beefy arms around Liam. Lucky Liam.

Wyatt let Liam ramble on about how his decision was to return to Steffy, especially for the sake of their child. Then Wyatt dropped a bomb on Liam like he was a member of the Gap Band. Liam heard all the sordid details about embracing and lipstick-stained pillows, yet he had a rare moment of clarity considering he was in the midst of Leffy/Lope again, telling Wyatt, "You better be sure." Could Wyatt have misinterpreted things?

Proving that brain cell capacity was dwindling all over L.A., Wyatt swore there was no other way to explain what he had heard and seen. Come on, Wyatt. Even you don't lick Bill's boots anymore; how can you be so gullible? Maybe Wyatt's senses are dulled from the fact that Bill promised him the CEO seat "one day." While Wyatt tried to fix Liam a Scotch Wyatt knew Liam didn't have, the dazed Liam slipped out the door.

To me, it was almost as if Liam had slipped into another concussion-induced fugue state! But, chances are, a 100% aware Liam was heading over to Steffy's. In other words, Bill's plan was working perfectly. So much for Bill changing his ways after his brush with death, eh, Scoopers? It's like Bill's almost worse now. Though it's doubtful Steffy's going to fall into Bill's bed again after hearing how he screwed his sons.

Don't you find it hilarious that Bill is now shipping Lope? Yep, Bill acknowledged that he had kept Liam and Hope apart years ago, and now he was righting that wrong. Even Justin knew that was only because Bill wanted Steffy. Bill declared that Steffy was in denial about him because she was carrying Liam's child. Steffy keeps saying "Eww" in regard to Bill, but I can't help wondering if he's onto something. It's Bill's baby, anyway, right?

HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT

After receiving enough white roses from Liam to make FTD gag, Steffy opened her door to find the be-caned Taylor standing there! Holy shrinkanoli! I thought Tay-Tay had gone back to Paris, or at least left L.A. No, the help Taylor needed was right there in Malibu, Steffy learned. Well, I agree most mothers want to be near their kids, especially as moms get older...but how come Taylor hasn't bothered to see Thomas all this time?

And don't tell me it's because Thomas took Sally & Co. to New York. Tally was under police surveillance for Bill's shooting and not supposed to leave town -- and I haven't seen a scene where Thomas and Sally traded the City of Angels for the Big Apple. Have you guys? No, Taylor is superglued to Steffy; Doc hasn't even gone to see Ridge, the object of her usual obsession. Now you know something's wrong with her.

Steffy and Taylor shed tears over Liam's gift-card declaration that he was coming home, but over at Forrester Creations, Hope shed tears of her own as Ridge and Brooke gently told her that Liam had not chosen her. Which brings me to another point: why did Liam keep saying he had to make "the most significant decision of [my] life"? Every decision regarding Steffy and Hope has been defined that way. For seven years!

The cloud over Liam's head made Steffy's roses wilt as he sulked in. Liam made little sense, getting upset because Bill had "touched" Steffy while negotiating the sale of the cliff house. Steffy vowed she'd change the locks so Bill couldn't just walk in, but it wasn't getting through to Liam. Shouldn't he be smelling a rat regarding the disparity between Steffy's words and Wyatt's claim? It's like Liam just assumes Steffy is lying.

Liam did say he felt like Steffy was always keeping secrets from him, perhaps accentuated by her choosing that moment to admit Taylor had shot Bill! Stranger, Steffy only spilled that steaming cup of tea to explain Bill "touching" her. The revelation really had no importance beyond that! Besides, Liam just used it to confirm the lengths Bill would go to for Steffy. Kind of a non-event, if you ask me!

"Keeping your mom out of jail gives him power," Liam told Steffy about Bill, and he's spot on there. Wait 'til Liam finds out Steffy only signed the annulment papers for that same reason. Liam kept dropping vague hints about his upset, never actually telling Steffy he'd learned about her penthousing his pop. He only hinted, "I'm trying to give you the chance to tell me" and "not after everything I've learned."

Leaving Steffy in total confusion, Liam declared he was filing the annulment papers and that their marriage was over. No wonder Steffy cried, "Why?!" and told Ridge the discussion had been "a complete miscommunication." This is yet another hallmark of Leffy/Lope: silly misunderstandings and contrived plot points. 2011 and 2012 were full of them. Yet we're into another go-round, right here in 2018. It's farcical, really.

As is obvious, I am distinctly less than thrilled about the current direction of B&B. I thought we were finally past dropping everything for Leffy/Lope. The "adults" in the room are back to talking about its push-pull, and those who aren't happen to be conveniently missing. We've got Ingo Freakin' Rademacher on contract, and all his Thorne is doing is making scarves...off-screen!

Anyway, while Steffy cried on Ridge's considerable shoulder, she thought to call Wyatt and ask him to talk to Liam on her behalf. Steffy became confused when Wyatt wouldn't reach out and touch someone; he totally dismissed her and hung up, thinking she was lying when she said she had no connection with Bill. Is some of that ink leftover from Wyatt's wedding ring tattoo getting into his blood stream? He should know Steffy better.

Having forgotten to change the locks to her new abode as promised, Steffy found Bill waltzing in like always. She couldn't believe Liam thought they were doing the horizontal tango again. "Why would he think that, Bill?" Steffy asked Bill sourly. At least Steffy seems to have a clue here; she senses Bill's back to his usual game of dirty pool, obvi. But Bill reiterated that Steffy was better suited to him than she ever was to Liam.

"You're in love with an idea," Bill said of her determination to return Liam to her side. (Ouch, Bill, you're touching on my own romantic M.O.) Bill gave me a geekgasm when he said he and Steffy would be together "if we hadn't trapped [Hope] in that gondola." Admittedly, there have been some nice continuity touches throughout all this. "I wasn't ready then, and you weren't either, even though you thought you were," Bill added.

That's an interesting perspective on a long-ago story arc. Bill even suggested that they have more children! That botched D&C reversal Steffy had in Europe must have left her especially fertile. I think Steffy seemed tempted. I don't buy she has no inklings toward Bill at all, not after she panted after him from 2009 to 2011. Was it just the hormones of youth; is Steffy more mature now? Should Still just be a thing already?

If Liam's old school reaction to all this is any indication, Steffy may well be better off with Bill, after all. Hope dropped by with a reunion gift for Leffy that she got at Pier 1 or somewhere and was surprised to hear from Liam that Steffy was still seeing Bill. Liam came right out and told Hope, but was all mysterioso with Steffy? That's what I mean by contrivance.

For some reason, Liam had fresh candles flickering, despite the fact he'd just gotten home (does Brooke run in and light them when she sees Liam pulling up?). But never mind, they set the mood: Liam was tired of the repeated pain and suffering associated with his marriage to Steffy. Hope had been his rock, his light, and Liam knew what he wanted now. Would Hope marry him?

So, LIAM'S PROPOSING TO HOPE THE SAME DAY HE WAS GOING BACK TO STEFFY AND ANNULMENT PAPERS AREN'T EVEN FILED YET AND HOPE AND LIAM HAVEN'T EVEN DATED TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE STILL COMPATIBLE? Yes, that was in all caps, because that's how W T serious F I feel about it. This is Liam giving Steffy Hope's warm engagement ring all over again! Only with the girls reversed.

I know that triangles, sudden romances, and bait-and-switch are all part of Soap 101. But are we really supposed to believe even Liam "King of the Wafflers" Cooper Spencer can go from "I want to build a family with Steffy" to "I want to marry Hope" in the span of a few hours? And do we really need to pull water out of this particular well? Leffy/Lope was already pretty dry six years ago. It's 2012 all over again!

How are you feeling about this new ride on the Leffy/Lope train? Does Bill shipping Lope and pursuing Steffy give it an updated twist? Or should B&B have left well enough alone? Talk about this time warp in the Comments section below or on the soapcentral.com message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could wind up in a future column! Like these!

"Liam is so happy he didn't try to kill his father and can get on with his life. Huh? He's a certified psycho! Twice he has had mental breakdowns of enormous proportions but doesn't even consider it a problem." -- Portage

"HFTF may as well be about gender equality and the environment; after all, the original premise was that Hope was NOT like her mother Brooke. But we see now that the apple is lying at the base of the tree from which it fell...Thorne and Hope would be a mind-blowing couple! Think of it, Thorne gets a baby to replace Aly, and Hope can have all the drama she seems to need." -- Marie

"I don't want to see Liam continuing to waffle between Steffy and Hope...I'd like to see him with Hope and let Steffy finally admit she has feelings for Bill and be done with it. Take some of the spotlight off of them and shift it back onto Watie. I would have much rather seen Katie and Wyatt call Bill's bluffs, get married anyway, and show him he can't manipulate his way to what he wants all the time. He needs someone to go head to head with him and not falter at his threats. It would be nice to see his son and ex-wife fill those shoes." -- Amber

If B&B is really taking us back to 2012, that means I'll be six years younger on my next birthday this summer. Even BeLieF's wrinkle-free formula can't do that! We'll Scoop it all again in two weeks, so keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And remember, now more than ever, no matter color, creed, religion, gender identity, orientation, or nationality, we're all beautiful.

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