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It was déjà vu all over again as Hope and Brooke and Flo, Zoe, and Xander got caught in their own conversational loops. Thomas was the only wild card, but he went from old Thomas to new Sheila! Make the connection with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you have repeated discussions like in the movie Groundhog Day? Were you the only one in the room who made any sense? Did you watch Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho one too many times? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Avant-Buckingham-Fulton clan this week!

Wow, what's going on, Scoopers? I thought only iPhone playlists could be set on auto-repeat, but B&B characters proved otherwise this week as they had conversations, unaware they'd already said the exact same things, and certain situations reran with different faces in the lead roles. And then there's Thomas going from Dudley Do-Right to Snidely Whiplash! Ready? Let's Scoop about it!

ONCE...TWICE...THREE TIMES A CONVO

Brooke tried to counsel who she saw as her wayward daughter, telling Hope she didn't have to get an annulment from Liam for him to be able to spend time with Kelly and Phoebe. Which is a great point...except this is the infinite loop Brooke and Hope seem to get stuck in now every time they're in a room together. But we have to back up a bit from that first, because there's a problem with Hope's annulment angle.

Chanel pretty much covered it last week, but I'll reiterate: it's not possible for Hope and Liam to get an annulment. I think the show's working off the premise that marriages that last less than a year can be annulled (which would be almost every marriage on this show), but there's one fatal flaw in the logic: Hope and Liam consummated their union. Not doing so is usually what makes an annulment an annulment.

Lope consummated their marriage to the point Hope (almost) had a baby! Not only that, but they did the marital deed just before Liam left for his Thomas-manipulated trip to Paris to visit Steffy and "the girls." Carter's contention that the marriage could be annulled because Hope couldn't have a baby doesn't work. Hope is clearly choosing not to attempt another pregnancy.

Perhaps it's more expedient for the show to dissolve Lope via annulment rather than plot out their waiting for a divorce. It's just not better plotting. Not that any of that mattered, because while Logan mama and daughter were going over the whys and why-nots of Hope's decision -- again -- Zoe and Xander were in the CEO's office talking about the whys and why-nots of keeping Beth's existence from Hope.

Admittedly, that chat started with Xander coming back from the Forrester compound and Zoe thinking that her bae had already spilled the beans. He hadn't, however, because Thomas had stepped in and pulled some sort of rank on him. Um, last time I checked, Thomas wasn't the interns' supervisor; Thomas isn't even a stockholder anymore, if I remember right. Thomas has no weight to throw around.

Then Zoe tried it, tearfully asking Xander if it was okay for Reese to be in prison for years. "Don't you care about him at all?" Zoe sniffed. "No, I don't," came Xander's blunt reply. You go, boy! Adain Bradley put in another set of boffo performances as Xander beseeched Zoe to tell the truth and promised to stand by her when she did. He'd even talk to the Forresters to help keep Zoe and Flo out of jail.

Aww, too bad; Xander spoiled it by making the same declaration he'd made the week before. "This isn't you," Xander insisted to Zoe. "Keeping secrets, lying to people..." Don't even get me started! It's been implied Zoe was so cray-cray after and possibly before Xander broke up with her that he hid out in a whole nother country. Zoe didn't suddenly become a Girl Scout the day she decided to drop her British accent.

Xander's devotion to Zoe is sweet, but you know what would have freshened up their arc? Xander threatening to break up with Zoe again if she/they didn't tell the truth about Beth. Everybody's just kind of agreeing to keep the secret without any real consequences. By the way, where's Shauna in all this? Did she drive to Vegas to get her stuff but just kept going so she didn't have to be involved in Phoebeth's saga?

PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH

During the Friday cliffhanger two weeks ago, Xander found out from Zoe that Beth was alive, and he accused Zoe of making it up. Last Friday, Thomas found out from Flo that Beth was alive and accused Flo of making it up! What are the odds that both Xander and Thomas would have the exact same conversation and the exact same reaction? I think someone's hitting Edit > Paste on those scripts.

Thomas did expand on the repertoire a bit. Stunned, he roared to Flo that Hope would have asked questions the night of her "stillborn" delivery! That she wouldn't have just taken Reese's word for it! But Flo clarified that Hope had done exactly that. I'm still wondering how Hope could be told she had a placental abruption and then see her own doctor, who couldn't have confirmed a diagnosis she didn't have.

Thomas demanded Flo tell him the whole story (which Zoe just told to Xander the week before; notice the pattern here?), deeming it "sick." Yo, Tommy, what do you call forging a dead woman's handwriting and using your son just to get some? Thomas became confused, wondering how Flo gave up her own baby while pretending to be Beth's birth mother. His befuddlement on that point was actually a good detail.

And it allowed Thomas to piece together that Phoebe was really Beth! Flo cried that she had tried to tell Hope that "so many times." Really? Because I haven't seen her try more than once or twice. But you could hear Thomas' wheels starting to turn when Flo pointed out that, if it wasn't for her, Hope would have stayed with Liam. You know that had to throw the ol' monkey wrench in Tommy Boy's deceptions.

"You were put in what felt like an impossible situation," Thomas told Flo. Where do we keep getting that? We all saw Flo agreeing to be Beth's "birth mother" and signing fake adoption papers, bagging $50K in the process. Reese didn't exactly have a gun to her head! Let's just stop trying to put a halo on it, because we know better, and Forrester should know that halos as accessories are so last year, anyway.

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN...OR DON'T

Liam was hanging out with Steffy and the babies -- Kelly's walking! Makes sense, since she was born on-screen a year ago last week. Too bad her parents forgot to give her a birthday party. Oh, well. Steffy had serious boo-boo face when she heard Lope had signed their annulment papers (I love that she's still pro-Lope) then wondered what Liam's deal was. He told his ex that he didn't really have a plan.

Um, Liam, aren't you bunking with Wyatt? He made it sound like he was living under a freeway overpass or something. Well, of course, Steffy couldn't have that, so she took Hope's advice and asked Liam if he wanted to crash in her guest room. I forgot that house had one. Isn't that where Wyatt stayed when he was macking on Hope during their Three's Company arrangement with Liam? Talk about full circle.

Well, Steam wasn't alone for long, because Thomas showed up unannounced, looking like he was ready to burst. You see, he had built up a head of steam, talking to Flo. "I could give [Hope] her child back!" he'd realized. Thomas seemed to sense that doing so would kill all chances he had with his one-time not-really-love, yet the secret needing to come out actually became more important than his libido. Amazing!

Thomas seemed like Mr. Rogers compared to his previous weeks of plotting and scheming as he determined he had to inform his sister she was raising Hope's child. "What I'm going to tell you is going to change your life," Thomas blubbered, trying to find the right words. But then, wouldn't you know it -- Liam came out of the nursery! What, he didn't hear Thomas in the other room? That door's pretty thin.

In what was maybe a more unique twist on confession-quashing than we've been getting lately, Liam got all pissy and thought Thomas was there to gloat about Liam being Hope-less. Liam was ready to throw Thomas out on his designer ass! Thomas tried to hold firm and revealed that what he had to say would seriously affect both Liam and Phoebe.

Steam's ears were just beginning to collectively prick up when lo! A baby's cry! Boy, Kelly and Beth sure take after their dad when it comes to bomb-defusing. Liam and Steffy got so involved with fussing over the babies that they forgot all about Thomas' urgency, even though he was standing right there. I know; it was so Thomas could see Steam function as a family. It was just a weird switch.

Well, the kiddos got their turn on the catwalk; then it was nighty-night so Thomas could again tell Steffy that what he had to say would change her life! Wednesday's ending was a duplicate of Tuesday's! Did someone have a 2-for-1 sale? Apparently, because Liam interrupted Thomas and Steffy's powwow a second time, saying some ish about how he'd be the only dad Phoebe would ever know.

Yes, yes, foreshadowing (another device B&B is doing too much of with this storyline), but what is Liam saying about Steffy? That she'll never get with another man? Of course, the way she keeps staring at that oversized Sears Portrait Studio shot of her and Liam, he may not be far off. "I just realized," Thomas suddenly interjected. "I have to go." And with that, Steam was left to wonder what the hell just happened.

WYATT'S NOT EXACTLY A SECRET!

I was wondering that, too, because Zoe, Flo, and Xander were literally into their third day of debating the dos and don'ts of spilling the Big Secret when Wyatt showed up out of nowhere and barged through the front door. Dude, you don't live there! And why do these people openly talk about Beth at both the Forrester mansion and Forrester Creations' main office? Can't y'all go to a Starbucks?

I honestly thought we were going to be in for yet another repeat: someone new learning about Beth and having to hear the entire sob story of how she became Phoebe. But Zoe stuck a sock in Xander and dragged the accentless telltale out so fast he almost had a cartoon cloud behind him like he was the Road Runner. This left Wyatt to notice Flo shaking, which, alas, opened the door to a repeat, after all.

Surely, Flo knew she could tell Wyatt anything! We got that, Wyatt; you've already assured her of that more than once. Flo shrugged and said she was worried about Hope; Wyatt started to wonder why his unofficial girlfriend was so hung up on her new cousin. But that was as far as he pressed. Hell, all he had to do was yell at her like Thomas did! She caved like a hundred-year-old mine shaft over his voice-raising.

AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

Hope enjoyed some rare hangtime with both Brooke and Douglas, jovially telling the boy she'd be his date. "You can't date a married lady," Douglas pshawed. "Liam would be mad." OMG -- there may be hope for the Forrester family yet. Douglas was gone in the next scene, which gave Brooke a chance to remind Hope she didn't have to sacrifice her marriage for Douglas, Kelly, and Phoebe. Brooke, stop!

Memorizing lines must be a breeze for these guys lately; Hope reaffirmed she was doing it all for the children. This time, a child interrupted, but welcomely so: Douglas trotted back in and presented Hope with a lovely bouquet of hand-picked flowers. I'm impressed! He did that on his own without his pop goading him into it. Thomas must have smelled blood in the water, though, because, all of a sudden, there he was.

The cookies at the main house must have been baked with homing signals, because Brooke and Douglas bailed to intercept them right quick. Alone with Hope, Thomas did something unthinkable -- he almost told her the truth. For as much of a s**t as he's been since coming back from New York, he really seemed conflicted. You'd think keeping Beth's "death" quiet so he could finally win Hope would be a no-brainer.

Yes, I saw glimmers of the old Thomas, the one who knew the difference between right and wrong. "There's something you need to know," Thomas started to tell Hope. But Hope blathered something like "the pain will fade because of Douglas...and because of you." That was all Thomas needed to hear! Any truth-telling went out the window; Thomas kissed Hope, and she didn't look like she was going to barf this time.

Hope was willing to take things a day a time and see what happened. Thomas was ready in a minute like Minute Rice. "I'll do anything for you," he promised. And boy, would that end up being an understatement. I would seriously love it if Douglas turned out to be Ridge's, after all! That would take the wind out of Thomas' sails! Wouldn't be so horny to make a family with Hope then, would he!

SUMMER OF SHEILA THOMAS

Later, at Brooke's, Ridge marveled at Thomas' designs. I was more marveling that Thomas had time to sketch them, considering he never works. That's also becoming true of Ridge, which is why I experienced an internal "Huh?" when Brooke suggested Ridge pull back from work so they could fly off somewhere, adventuring. Am I missing some spin-off of B&B where characters are actually getting their jobs done?

Yet Brooke stopped short of pulling up Trivago and abruptly declared she didn't want to leave Hope alone in her emotional state. So, why offer the trip in the first place? Brooke rightly observed that Hope hadn't been thinking clearly since losing Beth. Tell it, girl. Why hasn't someone called James in to help with Hope, or even Dr. Barton, the shrink Hope had when she got a complex sleeping with the "married" Liam?

Ridge decided Hope and Liam might be good together. I'd expect this from a guy who made out with his "daughter" Bridget; Hope and Thomas are stepsibs; even Jerry Springer wouldn't touch such a pairing. Brooke didn't share Ridge's vision. "I just get a very strange feeling from him," La Logan said of her one-time berry buddy. Thomas being hopped-up on berries again would certainly explain his behavior!

Indeed, Thomas summoned Zoe, Xander, and Flo to the Forrester CEO office, where, again, anyone could walk in at any moment, and laid down the smackdown to the shocked trio. Despite his hours-ago adamance that Hope needed to know the truth about Beth, Thomas decided that everyone was going to keep their lips zipped about it, case closed!

But Thomas didn't leave it there. Zoe naturally crumbled and opted to not tell a secret she didn't want to tell, anyway. Flo was a little harder to convince, but the former croupier inevitably got back into her subservient position; her determination to come clean would ring so much truer if she didn't end up turning into a big wimp every time. Xander, however, showed some balls nobody knew he had.

Scoffing at Thomas' claim that he was the future of the company, Xander called BS and caused this viewer to figuratively cheer as he said that Thomas didn't care about Hope or even Douglas; Thomas was only out for himself. Ya think? Xander made the most sense of anybody this week! The Avant cousin recognized threats in Thomas' promises that they could all reach their career goals if they kept quiet.

"Your threats of prison have no power over me," Xander snorted. "So now what?" And it's that "now what" that has me cocking an eyebrow and brushing my hair behind my ear. If Xander didn't fall in line, Thomas would "systematically destroy Zoe's life" and make sure she and Reese stayed in jail as long as possible. "You'll wish you were in prison," Thomas insisted with a glare, "safe behind bars from me!"

That's right, Scoopers -- Thomas Hamilton Forrester has turned into Sheila Carter! Did you ever think two years ago when Thomas was running around Monte Carlo with Sally that he'd end up a villain? Thomas may, as Brooke opined, have "a troubled past" (no different than anyone else on the canvas), but I can't for the life of me figure out how Thomas could have gone to the Dark Side.

"But his mother Taylor's crazy!" you say. (And where is she hiding out these days?) Maybe, but the butter had been slipping off Taylor's noodle for years. Thomas, I don't get. Zoe, Xander, and Flo huddled together and realized that the ish had just gotten super real. "We just made a deal with the devil," Xander said in horror. "Thomas isn't just in love with Hope -- he's obsessed!"

Ah, now that hits the nail on the head. From the jump, even back in Cabo San Lucas in 2012, Thomas' "feelings" for Hope have felt forced, not like they sprung from any real sense of affection. That's gotta be why he's not in the least bit concerned that Hope is in no way, shape, or form over Liam; she's not even on the rebound. But does Thomas care? Nope. His only goal seems to be to possess Hope, one way or the other.

However, Thomas must be studying Sheila's 2017 playbook, not the playbooks from the '90s and even early aughts that actually tracked. Earlier, Hope called up Liam and asked him to snap some pics of him and the babies. Something about Phoebe triggered something in her, Hope admitted to Brooke, something she thought was only for Beth. So, Liam complied and passed on some pixels.

Visiting Hope again -- or should I say "stalking," since he snapped her out of her reverie by showing up in the cabin without an invitation -- Thomas poured the salt he brought with him into Hope's wounds, reminding her that Liam was living with Steffy now. Hope got all weirded out and put all her pics of Liam facedown, declaring Liam squatting in Malibu again was exactly what she had wanted.

Ah, methinks Hope hath been protesting too much these past weeks. It did bother her that Liam needed yet another change of address card. (How many places has this guy lived the last two years?) Seeing Hope staring at pics of Phoebe, Thomas angrily ordered Hope to put her phone down (!), then did a one-eighty and wrapped his arms around her. Brooke saw it. That can't be good.

But this is where Thomas lost me. While Hope wandered around wishing she could press "delete" on physical photos of Liam, Thomas grabbed Hope's phone and deleted her picture of Phoebeth! What for? Does Thomas think Hope isn't going to notice it's missing? Is his intention to make Hope forget about that baby and focus on Douglas instead? Sheila hiring the gardener/masseur to seduce Quinn made more sense!

What do you say, Scoopers? Are things getting too circular on the show? What do you think would put a fresh spin on the Phoebeth saga? And is there legit rationale behind Thomas' actions, or is he simply acting out of character? Plug into 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!

"I've started to FF through every Zoe/Flo, Zoe/Flo/Shauna scene. So repetitive. There is ZERO justification for letting a mother believe her baby is dead. How can anyone find this story line enjoyable?! The most enjoyable part finally for me will be when Wyatt finds out the 'only person he can trust' (Flo)...has let his brother believe for months that his child is dead...that those three women can sleep at night is shameful. If Xander is the one who winds up dead hopefully that will mean the end of Zoe. I have disliked the character since day one! Once this story line wraps she'll have no purpose.." -- "Robo158"

"I agree that poor Xander will bite the dust this summer. Maybe Zoe calls Reese in a panic now that Xander knows the truth. Reese arranges for someone to mess with Xander's car, without Zoe's knowledge, and that's what causes the "accident"...and Flo will get off the hook, because [on B&B], Logans can do no wrong. But I wish the truth would come out, so I can see Wyatt kick Flo to the curb for what she did to his brother and Hope. I am not sure that will happen, though." -- Christine

It's my last column of the spring, Scoopers! Summer is upon us, and Chanel will usher it in next week, whereas I'll wrap up June for you in two. Thanks for reading my ramblings, and let's see if the Phoebeth saga uses its airtime to go in some new directions, because the only thing that should be repeated this much is chocolate! 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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