The ties that blind

Zoe promised Reese she'd replace her lipstick with glue while several wondered if there was still glue between Bill and Katie. But Hope seemed crazy wanting to Krazy Glue Steam back together! Stick it to 'em with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you find out your father pulled the mother of all baby switches? Did you want to rename yourself Phoenix because you were rising from the ashes? Did you decide to regift your husband? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Spectra-Buckingham clan this week!

Meow, Scoopers! The cat is out of the bag, and it was ready to scratch up furniture all over the place. Until Zoe decided to re-bag the kitty, making Reese a proud papa! Meanwhile, Thorne's sudden departure had repercussions all over L.A., and Spectra Fashions got a chance to return from the dead. But then Hope tried to trend a tortured triangle! Hush yo' mouth, girl! Let's Scoop about it!

OH FATHER

So, Zoe found out that Reese had put a dead baby in Hope's arms and sold Hope's baby to Steffy, but Zoe wasn't about the rationale that Reese had done it to protect her from the mobsters he owed money to. "I refuse to be your excuse for doing something so heinous," Zoe barked. Then, when Reese said he'd done everything he could, Zoe snapped, "Except for stop gambling." You go, girl!

Seriously, Kiara Barnes is killing it with her performances in this arc, keeping it fresh while she's at it, since Hope's ongoing grief and Steffy cooing over Hope's baby are getting a little stale. Zoe didn't care that Reese could barely eat or sleep -- something that would have been nice to see for ourselves. Because to me, it looks like Reese is just going about his days as if he hadn't sent Hope down a spiral of misery.

Zoe didn't know if she could keep quiet about Reese's actions and left him to pull out his hair over whether she was going to blab -- if he wasn't already bald, that is. Zoe went straight to Xander, who really didn't get many answers as he got pulled into Zoe's impromptu visit with Steffy. The Sexy CEO, who does nothing anymore except clean baby barf off of things, was surprised to see her usually lingerie-clad model.

Just like Steffy and Taylor should have been able to sense something was off about Phoebeth's adoption, Steffy should have known right away something was wrong with Zoe. Because a gambler's daughter Zoe is not; she has no poker face. The mere mention of Phoebe had Zoe looking seasick. "There is something you should know," Zoe started to tell Steffy before the babies naturally interrupted her.

And, naturally, Zoe lost her nerve when she saw Steffy with Phoebeth, which left Xander more confused than ever. Why was he even there? Afterwards, Zoe went back to Reese, who was essentially discussing with Flo whether or not he'd look good in stripes. Had Zoe squealed on them, Flo wanted to know? Zoe dismissed Flo only to tell Reese she couldn't do the right thing because she couldn't send her father to jail.

Ooh, bad move, B&B. Now, when the truth of the baby switch comes out, Zoe will be an accomplice because she kept the secret. And if Zoe tells Xander about it, he'll be an accomplice, too. I know many of you are clamoring for Phoebeth's storyline to be over. I'm okay with going on with it longer if it gets interesting. But it feels rather bogged down right now. Zoe agreeing to zip it makes her part in it feel anticlimactic.

By the way, I hear that not only is Flo going to be sticking around, but she's going to get a famous mother. How is that supposed to work? Flo is now criminally involved in a baby kidnapping and an illegal adoption. This can only end with her going to jail, not running around L.A., free, and getting a mom while she's at it. Of course, this is B&B, where almost any crime can be committed without penalty of anything. Right, Bill?

DO I MAKE YOU THORNE-Y?

It's still ten months away, but I think at this point it's already safe to say that my Best & Worst column for 2019 will list Thorne as Worst Exit. What the serious hell? He gets uncomfortable once seeing Will, Katie, and Bill function as a family, and next thing you know, he's out the door? I'm sorry, but that was lame. Unfortunately, that fits, because "lame" can easily be applied to Ingo Rademacher's entire run on B&B.

And that's not Ingo's fault! Well, besides not being able to pronounce "FAR-ester." Thorne is only a legacy character, right up there with Ridge and Brooke and Eric, but the show seems constitutionally incapable of writing for him the last decade or so. They made a huge deal out of Ingo signing on, but all he really got to do was chase after Brooke and Katie, both of whom were with other guys when he did.

Thorne's part in Will's custody seemed to be Ingo's high point, though Thratie's marriage felt like a shotgun wedding. To hear Thorne admit he rushed into it is refreshing -- I'm just not buying this whole "I'm still grieving over Aly and Darla" thing. Aly, I understand. But Darla? Thorne wasn't mourning for her when he nearly married Donna in 2007, or the three times he got involved with Taylor after that.

I full well agree with Chanel's contention last week that B&B doesn't know how to write for characters if they're not Steffy, Hope, Liam, Brooke, Bill, or Ridge. Whether you sign a newbie or a veteran like Ingo Rademacher, you create the story first and then cast your actor. Not the other way around. Ingo's Thorne clearly had no game plan when he first came on, and it showed.

Look at Jon Hensley, who was only As the World Turns' Holden for upwards of 25 years. All his doctor got to do was patch up a few of Steffy's boo-boos, which any day player could have done. Chris McKenna from The Young and the Restless was brought on with great fanfare, yet he gave Katie one therapy session, and he was gone. Are you seeing a pattern here?

We don't need more refugees from Big Brother or mothers for characters we barely know. We need to have our legacy characters respected and written for appropriately. We need B&B's many back-burnered characters to get their own stories instead of gossiping about others' stories. And Thorne needs to be front and center once and for all. I still vote for bringing Clayton Norcross back in the role!

WAITING WITH BATIE BREATH

Still, for as much as Thorne's here's-your-hat-what's-your-hurry exit rankles, it's the repercussions that worry me. The flip side to Thorne ditching Katie was that he felt she still had feelings for Bill. Where did that come from? Did Katie show one spark of feeling toward the Dollah while she was playing pizza boy with his son? If anything, Thorne should have been worried that Katie was rebounding from Wyatt. I was.

Seriously, Katie heard one concerning comment from Will and dropped Wyatt like he was the gun she threatened Quinn with. The very same day, she let Thorne kiss her. If that's not the definition of rebound, my dictionary is wrong. So, this abrupt theory that Katie is carrying a torch for Bill is just baloney in my book. Besides, if Katie goes back for Batie 3.0, she deserves everything she gets.

Long before Bill tried to ditch Katie for Brooke -- twice! -- Bill nearly ditched Katie for Steffy. And, knowing Katie had a heart condition, he threw her over his shoulder and locked her in a tower to keep her from telling Liam about that era's round of Bill's misdeeds. I'm sorry, but I'm hoping Katie's being real when she says she's co-parenting with Bill and that's it. Third time won't be the charm here, trust me.

Yet both Brooke and Donna wondered if their youngest sib was still crushing on some Stallion. Come on, guys, why would you want Katie with Bill again? Justin was even worse, calling Donna over to basically suggest that they work to reunite Batie. Justin, don't you start with me. It's bad enough you tried to bust moves on Donna. You two had your day!

Why are we chemistry-testing Donna and Justin? Whatever off-screen dalliance they had that produced Marcus was just that (though it was nice to hear mention of him again), and their 2011 we-just-got-married-for-Marcus nups were shorter than a Britney marriage. And let's not forget that Justin kissed old friend Dr. Maponya while married to Donna...which Donna doesn't even know about!

"We raised a great kid," Justin beamed to Donna. No, you didn't! The Waltons raised Marcus! Donna gave him up for adoption, and you didn't even know about him until he was grown. Then they gushed what a man Marcus had become. He was a man by the time Eric adopted him eleven years ago! So, yeah, not on board for Dustin, though I do think it's high time Donna and Justin got their own storylines. And romances.

SPECTRA-L VISITS

Bill, who continues to insist he's a changed man, summoned Wyatt to his office. Excuse me if I'm still with Ridge on this one in thinking that Bill is just trying to clean up his image to impress Brooke. Thankfully, Bill hasn't been in Brooke's orbit most of 2019 -- so far. Anyway, despite barely acknowledging Wyatt for months, Bill now decided he wanted Wyatt working at Spencer Publications once again.

When Wyatt insisted he had a cushy gig at Forrester Creations, Bill scoffed, "What, posting things on social media all day?" Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's pretty much what Wyatt did at Spencer, too. Yet it was clear Wyatt was still smarting from having been kicked out by Bill and told he had no guts. Ouch! I'm glad that neither Wyatt nor Liam has completely forgiven Bill yet; it's much more realistic.

Wyatt thought Sally would freak if he went back to work for the man who had destroyed her but got the surprise of his life when Bill declared, "Bring her!" Yes, the Dollah would put Sally to work at one of his fashion magazines or something. After Wyatt and Sally hit the sack yet again -- because, you know, that's our indicator that they're supposed to be in love -- Wyatt had his own idea. To bring back Spectra!

Why didn't anyone think of this before? The moment Bill started making noise about how reformed he is, someone should have told him to put Sally back in business to make up for burning and exploding her out of it. Better late than never, I suppose; I've always wondered what the O.S. (Original Sally) would think about her great-niece designing lingerie at Forrester instead of restoring her legacy.

Sally wasn't sure what to think about the idea when Wyatt presented it to her. "You built your way up in their ranks," Wyatt reminded Sally, regarding her Forrester job. It's true! When Sally first showed up to revive Spectra two years ago, she had only her imitation of the O.S. and no cred in the fashion industry. Now, she's made enough of a name for herself that rebooting Spectra only makes sense.

Needing one more roll in the hay to decide on it, Sally thanked Wyatt for his confidence before he split for Bill's to tell him he was a package deal with Sally. But I'm confused. Sally didn't seem to think Bill would go for Wyatt's ultimatum that Wyatt would return to Spencer if Bill rebuilt Spectra. Why didn't Wyatt tell Sally that Bill had suggested bringing Sally with him? Did I miss something?

Then, when Bill, who's swearing he's a do-right kind of guy now, heard that Wyatt wanted him to restore Spectra after destroying it, Bill balked. He tried like hell to squirm out of it. Doesn't that run counter to what Bill had just told Wyatt about family and being a better person? Bill should have offered to do right by Sally the second he started babbling about being a changed man instead of waiting for months.

Bill claimed he wasn't in the dressmaker business. Dude, you so were -- from 2009-2010 when you took over Forrester at the behest of your recently departed father! Speaking of whom, Bill again said he didn't want to be like Bill Sr., though we got the new nugget that Bill had met him later in life. Must have been after Bill Sr. left B&B around 1992, 1993. That would fit.

But Bill finally came around, with Wyatt decreeing Spectra would be under the Spencer umbrella. Hey, it's not the first time -- also around 1992, 1993, Bill Sr. bailed Spectra out financially and had Karen running the place! So, the more things change...anyway, I hope Thomas returning doesn't mean he's going to come between Wyatt and Sally. I'd much rather see Katie in a triangle with them!

LOVE TO LOVE YOU, BABY

And while we're on the topic of triangles, in my last column, I applauded B&B for not using Hope's "miscarriage" as an excuse to have Liam waffle over to Steffy again. However, I spoke too soon, which we'll get to. First, Steffy couldn't decide if she was freaked out by Hope's attachment to Phoebe or cool with it. Consulting Liam and Brooke, Steffy seemed to come from both places in conversation.

I'm just glad Steffy finally referenced her own miscarriage as a way of relating to Hope's pain. Now, Brooke just has to get on board with that. They might forget these details in the writing room, but we don't. When Hope got home, she told Liam to forget about her and go get some hangtime with Kelly and Phoebe. Liam looked like he was picking wax out of his ears to make sure he heard his wife right.

We were then treated to a rare -- if somewhat baffling -- scene showing Steffy as a harried mother, cooking the kids' baby food (or was it just dinner?) and dropping a bottle of formula. Lo and behold, Liam stopped by just in time to help. Is this supposed to signal that Steffy can't do all this by herself, after all, and that her ex-husband is the only one who can provide assistance?

For all this talk about Taylor and Amelia helping with the infants to the point it sounds like Steffy fobs them off, the women are nowhere in sight these days as Steffy juggles laundry and bottles solo. Steffy was happy to have Liam step in but told him Hope needed to be his first priority. "That's not what Hope says," Liam grumbled, telling Steffy that he kept thinking things would get better, but they weren't.

I know I said above that watching Hope grieve for her baby was getting old, but I only mean watching it is; I'd fully expect any mother to still be mourning a child less than two months after losing it. So, Liam's statement made me think back to the original Dynasty, where Blake basically told Krystle to get with it after deciding she'd grieved for their own dead baby enough. Pick up the box set for inspo, Liam?

Steffy and Liam wondered if Hope was becoming obsessed with Phoebe. Liam saw that Hope was finding solace in spending time with the newborn, but Steffy was dubious, thinking Hope was getting worse instead. Oh, Steffy, honey. If you only knew how much worse Hope is getting. She's about to get us all spinning around on that Leffy/Lope marry-go-round for the three millionth time, and I'm out of Dramamine.

ONE HUSBAND, GENTLY USED

When Brooke found out Hope had sent Liam over to Steffy's for play time with Kelly and Phoebe again, La Logan saw where this was leading. Having played her own game of keep-away with Taylor over Ridge before most of us had heard of the Internet, Brooke felt Hope was going to push Liam into reconciling with Steffy. Even the Slut from the Valley worried we were going to have to sit through Leffy/Lope some more.

Last week, Hope was racked with guilt about having fallen asleep while delivering Beth, feeling that, had she willed herself to stay conscious, her daughter might have survived. Now, her guilt has transformed from that into feeling bad about keeping Kelly and Phoebe from having a father. Brooke correctly reminded Hope that Liam wasn't Phoebe's daddy, but Hope wasn't hearing it.

And it's this reasoning that's making me feel Hope isn't playing with a full deck anymore. Not that I don't completely sympathize with her grief or how it could drive her to behaving irrationally. But Hope made more sense when she was hopped up on antianxiety meds; actually, if she got hooked on those again, it would not only be perfectly plausible but a solid nod to history.

Knowing Steffy had taken advantage of Lope rifts before, Brooke made a beeline to the cliff house, telling Steffy, "I need you to support their relationship as much as possible." Wow, shades of Stephanie when Ridge was married to Taylor, isn't it? But, unlike Brooke in those days, Steffy replied that she would never do anything to undermine Liam and Hope and that she genuinely cared about her stepsister. Awww!

Not that it mattered, because Hope was doing plenty to undermine herself. Seeing Liam had come home from visiting the babies, Hope nearly installed a revolving door to send him back out to them. Liam couldn't understand why Hope was pushing him away. It wasn't long before she started babbling about Liam being a family with Steffy and the girls -- and that's when Hope really started losing it.

Not that Annika Noelle played that beat directly, but it was there in Hope's wide-eyed expression as she exclaimed that she hadn't had her daddy when she'd been little. Hope's regressing! Liam insisted Hope didn't know what she was saying, but Hope was adamant. Steffy was the mother of Liam's child, not her, and his life was with Steffy and the babies...not her!

Well, what do you think, Scoopers? Can Liam hold strong, or is he about to serve waffles again now that Hope is giving him permission to do so? Is Zoe right in choosing loyalty to her father over loyalty to her employers? Should Katie give Bill a third chance, or should she run like a frightened deer? And are you glad Sally is getting to rebuild her legacy at long last? Tell all 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!

"If you choose to do this storyline, make it interesting to the viewers. Everyone instantly bonding with Phoebe makes no sense at all. In the real world, most parents given the wrong baby after birth not only do not recognize the error, they do not want to return the baby they raise after the truth comes out." -- Juliette

"I don't like this story line...it hasn't even [gone on] long enough for Steffy to have the baby if they are going to turn around and give her back...they need to make the storyline more juicy. Have Hope have a mental breakdown and take both babies. Let her think that since they are sisters then they should both be hers, she deserves to be a mom. Let her go off the deep end. If she has a wreck and Kelly gets hurt and the only way she can be saved is through a biological sister, then they can figure out that Phoebe is really Beth. Hope will get her baby back and the truth will come out. But let it be more than Zoe snooping and finding out..." -- "mem65"

So, I'll be back in two weeks to once again dish on all things B&B. Personally, I think if Spectra is going to rise again, Sally should bring Clarke and C.J. back to help run it instead of the nuSpectras! Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And remember: no matter color, creed, religion, gender identity, orientation, or nationality, we're all beautiful.

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