Manic kin: Love the doll you're with

God creates man. Man creates mannequin. Mannequin becomes God. God destroys Thomas. B&B was so preoccupied with whether or not it could, it didn't stop to think if it should. Now ''Chucky Hope'' is alive! Let's scoop on the ''L'' bombs dropped by Finn, Steffy, and Carter, and find out whether it's best to have the one you love or love the doll you're with this week on B&B.

Welcome back, Scoopers! Where to begin talking about the loopty-loop week? For starters, Liam apologized for being controlling and jealous, even though he didn't really think he was being controlling or jealous. He agreed to mind his own business, even though he believes that Steffy and Kelly are his business. Liam waltzed back into Steffy's house for the second time in a day, after already seeing Steffy at the clinic that morning, just to tell her all about how he was giving her space. My guess is Liam will be back in Steffy's business way faster than "Chucky Hope" will find herself back in the Forrester storage room.

Yes, you heard me. "Chucky Hope," the poseable replica mannequin of Hope Logan that the Forrester boutique shipped back to home base. From the moment Thomas unboxed her, she vowed to be his until the end. Some might think Thomas has gone Norman-abnormal with this doll, but is it any weirder than Wyatt and his cardboard Hope figure?

Abso-freaking-lutely! This Hope Logan Chucky doll is a thousand times more life-like but a million times more creepy than any cardboard cutout Wyatt had created for Hope.

On the other hand, it could be just what the psychiatrist ordered and the answer to a viable relationship for Thomas and Hope. He can have career Hope during the day, and submissive, love-crazed Chucky Hope at night. Just so long as he doesn't forget which Hope he's talking to at work and murmur, "Well, that's not what you said last night..." What can go wrong -- except maybe Chucky Hope who, jealous of real Hope, starts playing with Vinny's knives.

It's a good thing Zoe moved out of Vinny's place, isn't it? Thomas and his new girl have the place all to themselves. There is still the question of where Zoe will live. With the blessing of his ex-father-in-law, Zende will vie to convince Zoe not to leave her bras in Carter's drawers. It was great to see Julius, but are we really to believe that the gold-digging senior Avant popped in to urge his Forrester meal ticket to see other women?

Carter dropped the "L" bomb on Zoe. He's in love and ready to have a future with her and the private chef of her choosing. Finn and Steffy professed their love for each other, too. Will the couples live in socially distanced bliss, or will Liam and Zende have anything to say about it? Let's get two scoops deep into the music, the magic, and the manic emotions this week on The Bold and the Beautiful.

The ghost of marriages past

It was a treat for viewers when Obba Babatund appeared at the end of the week as Julius Avant to visit Zende. He let bygones be bygones and assured Zende that he could always count on Julius as a father figure, no matter what happened between Zende and Nicole. Julius' presence is just as regal as Eric's, and as I watched the scene, I wondered why the show didn't just have Eric talk to Zende instead of Julius.

Maybe it's just me, but Julius' appearance was kind of surreal. It was like the ghost of marriages past showed up to let Zende know what his future could be if he cleared his conscience about Nicole and muddied it right back up again by going after his friend's girl. I get that Julius might really mean what he says about still viewing Zende as a son. After all, Julius doesn't have any sons. But what I don't get is that the money-grubber in Julius would give his blessing for another woman to hit his Forrester lottery.

It also would have been nice if Julius, the ghost of marriages past, had actually given us insight into his daughters' past marriages -- like why they each broke up. All we know is that Maya and Rick, just like Nicole and Zende, really love each other, respect each other, and want the best for each other. Things just didn't work out. When I hear that type of thing from a friend about her breakup, she gets the skeptical side-eye from me until she wants to talk about what really went down, you know what I mean?

While it was cool of Julius to let Zende know he'd always be there for Zende, it was a little awkward for me to watch Julius advise the man who cheated on Nicole with her sister, that he should go after a woman who already has a man interested in her. Yes, I know, Julius is a lying, selfish cheater who hid Sasha under his wife's nose, but --

Oh, hell, there is no "but." This is Julius' wheelhouse, isn't it? When Zende revealed that another guy liked the woman he did, Julius asked why Zende should step aside for this other guy. Actually, it's more like Zende strip-sacking his own quarterback. Because, as I see it, Carter thinks he and Zende are on the same team, and Carter definitely has Zoe in the end zone.

When we last left off, Zende had texted Zoe the winning "sack" play, asking her to make an excuse to ditch Carter and meet Zende. The question is, will "Monday blend into Tuesday, and Tuesday blend into Wednesday..." before we learn which man Zoe leaves hanging?

If only Zoe had her own lifelike mannequin, we wouldn't have this problem. Zoe acts more like a mannequin around Carter than a love. She can just sit her doll there at the dinner table. Carter won't even know the difference while she goes off and has all her fun with Zende and her guitar.

Speaking of Zoe and her guitar, be sure to give a listen to our talented Kiara Barnes (Zoe) play guitar and sing to Zende in the video below. Well, well, well, Zoe and Nicole have something in common. They're both singers.

Here's what a few of our message board members think about the Carter/Zoe/Zende triangle:

"He's been in town for what? for 2 weeks soap time, but it's hard to tell since his outfit hasn't changed. Zoe started flirting the moment she saw him and even though he says he and Carter are good friends, He's made up his mind to go after her...and don't seem to be caring about the consequences of hurting his friend." -- lady8952

"Bell dusted off Julius Avant to add some well-needed diversity to the show. But that conversation between Julius and Zende was totally ridiculous and out of character. Julius Avant was many things. Open-minded and non-judgmental were not among his personality traits. Julius would have faulted Zende for breaking his daughter's heart, and demanded answers. He may not have given a hoot about Maya, but Julius adored his little girl Nicole. I'm sure he's going to give dating advice to Nicole's estranged husband." -- Forever Fan

I agree, Forever Fan. You have Julius nailed dead to rights. And Lady8952, you have a point about Zende never changing his eighties-Joker suit. Every time I see him, I hear Prince singing, "Party man! Party man! Rock a party like nobody can!"

Giving up the ghost

Julius Avant wasn't the only ghost of marriages past haunting the Forrester and Spencer families. This week, Hope forced Liam to exorcise his Steffy ghosts. Hope also tried to assure Liam that her Thomas marriage ghosts were gone, but I think she's gonna need a Bible, some holy water, and a cross to make the power of Christ compel Thomas.

Not that I believe Liam's ghosts are gone, either. Liam just beat them back after Hope did some husband shaming. He'll probably be on his best behavior until the next time he barges into Steffy's house and finds Finn walking around in a robe. It will be on then, won't it? Finn will be the worst man for Steffy and worst influence on Kelly, who Liam will swear is scarred for life because Finn spent the night. Oh, gosh! What if Kelly can hear through the bedroom walls?

Finn and Steffy expressed love for each other, but not two seconds after they kissed, Liam waltzed in to tell them how sorry he was for being a jerk about their relationship. If Liam really self-reflected the way Hope had told him to, then he wouldn't have gone back over there, after he'd already seen Steffy twice that day, just to convey that he wouldn't butt in anymore. I think she would have gotten the message if he'd just stayed home, refrained from interrupting her and Finn again, and stopped himself from saying another word about her choices.

Our message board members have distinct opinions about these ghosts, too:

"He's acting like his dog died, having to leave Steffy alone." -- nuckies_fan

"He is annoying. He just has to run over there with his news, 'I will leave u alone,' etc. Then leave and don't go there except for Kelly. Liam is just too in love with Liam." -- Teaday13

"Today Liam reminded me of what Ridge did when Taylor married Whip. In the middle of their wedding, Ridge...gave a speech about how he gave his "approval" of Taylor moving on to another man. Looks like Liam just did the same. Came across as pompous to me." -- Baby Bumblebee

For now, Liam is officially off Steffy duty. He's free to wear his Mr. Rogers' sweaters and make puppet shows with the kids. Little do he and Hope know, there's a puppet show going on at Vinny's place. We just don't know who the puppet master is -- Thomas or the mannequin doll.

A bump on the head can be quite consequential

Hope said she's trying to trust Thomas for her son's sake, but she's still keeping an eye on him. Someone should tell Hope that a spider can't even keep enough eyes on Thomas. It's just like Brooke said -- no matter what outward faade Thomas presents, one always has to wonder what's going on in that mind of his. When the Hope doll talks to him, Thomas realizes that he doesn't even know what's going on in his own mind -- or if it's actually going on outside his mind.

Matthew Atkinson plays the dark, dramatic Thomas with a complicated flare that always keeps viewers on the border of desiring to protect Thomas or of calling the Uber paddy wagon to take him away -- ha ha! While Thomas has always been cunningly bonkers, we never expected him to start playing Bates Motel over at Vinny's place. At least Hope didn't have to become his taxidermy prey in order for him to keep her forever.

Viewers are riveted by Thomas' careen off a Norman Bates-esque cliff. We have no idea where this is going to go. Will Thomas fall down the Bates rabbit hole and start knifing people that the Hope doll doesn't like? Maybe the Hope doll comes to life for a romance like Andrew McCarthy's did in the 1987 movie Mannequin.

Who knows; it can go anywhere. I just pray to the soap gods that Douglas never stumbles upon this doll. Can you imagine if Vinny walks in the apartment and sees that thing? "Dude, seriously? Man, come on. I mean, you know this is sick, right?" I can already hear Vinny saying.

And "sick" is the right word. That brings us to the question many viewers must be asking. How did Thomas get this sick? We know it can't possibly be that little bump on the head he got when he retrieved his keys from beneath Pam's desk.

Maybe Thomas got into one of Vinny's drug stashes, or it could be as simple as it runs in the family. Thomas could have inherited it from his "manic kin," shameless pun intended. Mental illness runs in the Douglas family -- from Stephanie's father, to her sister, to her grandchildren. Taylor, who spent half her life dead, isn't exactly the pillar of mental health, either. Don't hold your breath for a mental illness story, guys. I think this story is just for fun.

Thomas checked the back of the Hope doll's head to make sure he wasn't being pranked by someone who'd planted a voice box inside it. That means he hasn't lost all of his marbles. All we can do is enjoy the crazy ride and hope the writers explain why Thomas was doing so well the last few months only to wind up on Cuckoo Row.

Here are a few opinions about it from our message board:

"I think it's the bump on the head that caused Thomas to obsess over Hope again, and I think some irregularity in the brain will be discovered. At least I hope so! This is just weird. And awful." -- Camille78

"This really is the last thing Thomas needed to see. A version of Hope that's going to say all [the] things he's wanted to hear for so long. Next she'll be saying she hates Liam..." -- Doe

"At least Thomas is taking his obsession with hope out on a doll and not Hope herself. At least he won't do anything to Hope herself. If it keeps him able to be a father and able to continue working with Hope without hurting her I say go for it..." -- brigros

Interesting viewpoint, Brigros. The problem I see with it is that the Hope doll tells Thomas what he wants to hear and will probably echo what he thinks. The doll might start telling him to do things to Liam so that he and Hope can be together. The doll might even tell him to do something to Hope, so he and the doll can be together.

In a look ahead

As the plot focuses switch for the week, look for Quinn, Ridge, and Brooke to come to the forefront. Quinn hasn't learned her lesson, and even as she searches for a new address to call home, she's still plotting revenge on Brooke. Quinn isn't too happy with Shauna, either, and Wyatt's nose flares when he hears Quinn's latest diatribe about Brooke, who, along with Ridge, finally gets the news they've been waiting for.

Thomas issues Finn a warning about Liam. I can't imagine what it is. Let me guess; it's a warning that Liam will lecture Finn to death. Steffy senses that Hope has a personal stake in Steffy's relationship with Finn, and Hope navigates her nebulous relationship with Thomas.

Thanks for scooping with me this week. Please feel free to leave your comments and theories about Thomas and the Chucky Hope doll in the comments section below. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!

Thanks for scooping with us this week. Let us know what you think about the week's events in the comments section below. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!Chanel

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