Can't see the Forresters for the trees

Would it do the Forresters and Logans some good to sit down for one big group therapy session? Children meddling in their parents' love lives. Women fighting over men that clearly aren't that into them. Dangerous dismissals of the importance of family. Our Dan J Kroll is here to tell it like it is. He's not a doctor, but he plays one in this week's Two Scoops.

Would it do the Forresters and Logans some good to sit down for one big group therapy session? Children meddling in their parents' love lives. Women fighting over men that clearly aren't that into them. Dangerous dismissals of the importance of family. Our Dan J Kroll is here to tell it like it is. He's not a doctor, but he plays one in this week's Two Scoops.

Well, well, well... look who's here. It's me! I'm stepping in this week for AMJ in a far less-publicized crossover than the one currently going on between The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. I never can tell exactly how fans feel about crossovers. Do crossovers really bring in any new viewers?

I almost figure that everyone who watches Y&R keeps the channel on CBS to also watch B&B. In my mind, that's how it works. A bunch of years ago, a character named Rae Cummings crossed over to all four ABC soaps. But again, most soap fans seemed to turn on ABC and leave it on through the soaps and then Oprah and the local news. I admit that I like crossovers. I like seeing new people in the proverbial sandbox, just as long as the reason for the crossover makes sense.

In this crossover, Y&R's Nikki Newman wants to know how Deacon helped someone fake their death. It's kind of amusing to me because, while Deacon didn't physically help Sheila fake her death, he's keeping her non-death a secret. Clearly, Deacon hasn't learned his lesson. I don't see any way that Deacon can get out of his shacking up with Sheila that doesn't involve him violating his parole and heading back to jail.

One of the benefits of dropping in once or twice a year to Two Scoops is that I can offer my thoughts on a broader scale rather than just the previous week of shows. But don't worry, I have plenty of thoughts on what happened last week.

My parents are divorced. Would I have wanted them to get back together? Maybe when I was five. There is a reason that they got divorced, and, as an adult, I know that they do not belong together. Steffy is a grown woman, and her scheming, plotting, and overall petulance about wanting Taylor and Ridge to get back together is really irritating to me.

That isn't a commentary on whether or not I think Ridge and Taylor should be a couple. I'll get to that a in a little bit. I just don't think anyone should be meddling or even had a say in the love life of another person. Yes, Steffy loves her mom and know that Taylor would love to get back together with Ridge. But that is Taylor and Ridge's business. Same goes for Hope. Obviously, Hope wants her mom to be happy, but I don't know that fighting to keep Brooke in a relationship that doesn't seem overly happy is a good look, either.

Also, while I am sure he thought he was being... supportive?... Liam having any input on the "Tridge Bridge" matter is outrageous. I am pretty sure there's an IHOP menu item named after Sir Liam of Waffle.

For the life of me, I don't understand how or why two people would fight over the same man/woman/person. Let's say you're in a relationship with someone who cheats and, perhaps, cheats often. Why would you fight to win back a cheater? What's the prize -- a two-timer who didn't think enough of you to remain faithful? Yay! Is "winning" the goal here so that you can say you "defeated" the other person that wanted your partner?

You should not be defined by your relationship status. What's the point of being in a relationship with someone if you constantly have to worry that the person might leave you? I will never understand why Brooke and Taylor degrade themselves by chasing after Ridge. The same applies to how I felt about all those Steffy/Liam/Hope triangles. If he doesn't want you -- or worse, he doesn't know after a decade if he wants you -- leave him. L-e-a-v-e. H-i-m. Look for someone else. Find a new hobby. Volunteer at a local charity. Go to a local shelter and adopt a bunny. You deserve better!

This belief that the "little woman" needs a man to be fulfilled in life is a relic of soap-tellings past. And no, I am not going to suggest that Brooke and Taylor give up on Ridge and turn to each other. Talk about cutting out the middleman. Brooke and Taylor both deserve to be happy, and I truly believe that both could be happy -- maybe even happier -- without Ridge.

I get a little cringey when there are veiled (and sometimes not-so-veiled) comments that hint that Hope isn't Douglas' "real" mom because she adopted him. Is Zende not really a Forrester because he was adopted? What about Ridge, whose biological dad was Massimo Marone? If the Forresters are going to toss around these sorts of blanket statements, then they need to remember that by their own definition, they are not "real" Forresters.

And that sounds absolutely gross, doesn't it? I bristle when characters make sweeping comments about what does and doesn't constitute family. But no matter what your definition of family is, that doesn't change the fact that Thomas is nuttier than a fruitcake or an Almond Joy. I'm not a mental health professional -- and I don't play one on TV -- but I don't know that I feel that Thomas is stable enough at the moment to be the primary custodian of a child. Or a hamster. Maybe a goldfish.

I don't trust that Thomas has a long enough track record of making sound decisions. Now that I think about it, does he have a track record of making any sound decisions? I don't for a minute doubt his love for Douglas. I don't doubt that he wants to spend as much time with Douglas as possible. Those are wonderful things, but they don't give Thomas carte blanche to get whatever he wants. I think the existing living arrangements work for now.

It's also a bit disturbing that world-renowned psychiatrist Taylor Hayes has bought into the belief that Douglas should be living with Thomas. Then again, I am not sure that Taylor is following her own advice in how she is handling her personal/love life. I want to see Thomas truly focus on his mental and emotional health so that he can get a to a point where he is able to care for Douglas. With a therapist who isn't his mother.

I am trying to decide how I want to see Carter and Quinn's relationship play out on-screen now that Rena Sofer has left The Bold and the Beautiful. There really are only a few possible scenarios -- if you can think of more, please let me know.

They split up. With Rena out, any relationship breakup would need to happen off-screen. After everything that the couple did to be together, splitting up because Carter leaves his underwear on the floor or because Quinn put an empty carton of milk back in the fridge doesn't seem believable.

Quinn goes to work abroad (or in "the other room"). Quinn could go work for Forrester in Europe. And I supposed that would work, but only for a short time. We wouldn't get any Carter/Quinn Zoom calls because Rena has left the show. That would also seem to hamstring any future storyline for Carter, since 97% of B&B storylines seem to deal with relationships.

Quinn and Carter leave town. I don't want Lawrence Saint-Victor to leave the show, and it has been made clear that he doesn't want to walk. If it came to it, Carter could say that he is headed off to be with Quinn wherever she's gone. After a period of time, the show could...

Recast Quinn. I feel like this is the most likely scenario, but that doesn't mean that I'm thrilled about it. Rena was and is Quinn. I'm pretty sure that somewhere during the last 30ish years of operating Soap Central, I've said something to the effect of "no role is unrecastable." And if I did, "unrecastable" is still not a real word. I've checked. It should probably be more along the lines of "almost no role is unrecastable" because I cannot imagine someone other than Susan Flannery playing Stephanie Forrester. Ditto for daytime icons like Erica Kane or Victor Newman.

The measure here is whether or not the benefits of recasting would outweigh the negatives of not recasting. I don't know what future Carter and Quinn story would look like. I don't want cheating or a love triangle. Actually, scrap that. A Carter/Quinn/Katie triangle would have been popcorn-worthy. Rena Sofer and Heather Tom squaring off? I'd have also needed a box of Milk Duds for that one. But with Rena gone, that dream is gone.

Would B&B devote time to crafting a story that showed Carter and Quinn getting over their love butterflies and dealing with the reality of living together and all the bumps in the road that come with it? I don't think any soap would. It's not melodramatic. If there isn't a decent storyline on deck -- and Sofer hinted at this in a recent podcast appearance -- then recasting doesn't seem like an option.

Quinn dies. I don't like this option at all. But it seems to be the one that checks the most boxes. Splitting Quinn and Quarter up doesn't work. Having Quinn be constantly MIA doesn't work. Recasting without story doesn't work.

Look at me solving all sorts of problems in a Two Scoops column. It's like I'm Dr. Phil, though I am not a doctor and don't play one on television. There are still some other things that need fixing. Since this column is already a bit on the long side, I am going to do the next few in a more rapid-fire format.

Nine-toe Sheila needs to go away or at the very least take a nap. I think she should have been off-screen and "dead" longer than she was. The only way I can see Sheila sticking around is if she runs into a burning Forrester mansion and saves everyone. Hopefully, she won't be wearing the mask, because I suspect it would not respond favorably to that amount of heat.

Zende and Paris are floating aimlessly. They either need a story or they need to be cut. Let's get Nicole back into the picture and find out why Zende and Nicole really ended their seemingly fairytale marriage.

Don Diamont is wildly underused. Heather Tom, too. I need them to have meaningful story.

If the Forresters are all about being Forrestery, Rick should return home. Ditto for Kristen, Thorne, and Felicia.

Okay, I am going to skip out now so that I can find out how to buy tickets to Forrester Fest '23. Chanel will be back here with her regularly scheduled column next week. Until then, remember that beauty can be found all around us. For me, I enjoy the beauty of my flower gardens, and I'm going enjoy the last few weeks of the growing season.Dan

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