To Brooke or not to Brooke

From the sheets to the streets, Deacon and Sheila finally take their love public, and their union just might prove Taylor's point that, like mother like daughter, Hope's gonna "Brooke." The question is -- will Hope "Brooke" on Thomas, Finn, or both before reuniting with Liam? Luna is supposedly Li's niece, but here's why Li's rants about Jack might hint at Luna being on two sides of Finn's family tree at once. Plus, diamonds are forever, but is Eric Forrester? Let's scoop!

Since the beginning of this storyline with Eric and R.J., I worried that Eric's condition might be more grave than arthritis. If you recall, a few weeks back, Eric forgot Hayes's name, and Steffy had to prompt Eric with it. Some thought that was just an actor's flub, but I'm not so sure of that in light of Eric's suspected condition. With wobbly hands, he can barely draw or play the piano, and now he's hiding the fact that he's coughing up blood. He has sworn Donna and R.J. to secrecy, but the two of them are leaking worse than the Titanic.

While I don't mind that Donna revealed Eric's possible diagnoses to R.J., what in the heck was R.J. thinking to rattle off Eric's secrets to Luna? For all R.J. knows, Luna could be another intern spy like Coco was and just as unwitting. At least check her jewelry for cameras or mics, R.J.! Only time will tell if R.J. is right to blindly trust Luna, but I had to stare conspicuously around the room when Eric ordered R.J. to continue to keep the secret from everyone after R.J. had already spilled it to the person with the lowest clearance in the building.

I applaud John McCook for his acting and ability to make Eric's struggle palpable. When he pretended to play the piano, tears welled in my eyes at the thought of Eric not only losing his talents, but also at the thought of me losing Eric. Fictional or not, I've known this man for over 35 years, and it's gonna sting to watch him die. It might even hurt worse than witnessing Guiding Light's Phillip Spaulding discover his father Alan dead, sitting on a bench at the lake.

Eric wants diamonds on his gowns. Ridge and Carter balked at the bill; however, diamonds are forever, and so will be Eric's legacy. Is this Eric Forrester's final act? And if it is, should Ridge be told? Or should Eric go down his own way?

I'm on the fence about that because Eric doesn't want to leave the earth being pitied, but his family should know if he's dying. If this isn't Eric's final act, and Eric wins the competition, are Ridge and Steffy expected to step down from their co-CEO positions? The more this story unfurls, the more I feel that we might not make it as far as a competition. Eric's illness might have other ideas, perhaps causing Ridge and Eric to merge their collections in the end.

I do have one last nagging question, though. Can Eric still hold a bottle of honey?

Luna is the mystery R.J. just can't solve, but she offered him a few clues about her life when she divulged that she had a hippie mother and a staunch aunt and grandfather. A phone call between Luna and her mother revealed that her aunt is none other than Li Finnegan, and Auntie Li doesn't want Luna anywhere near the Forresters, even if her career depends on it.

Why would Li oppose her niece working with Finn's in-laws? I don't have a clue, but I do suspect that Li's relationship with Luna is more unseemly than it seems. Maybe I've watched one too many soap operas, but I can't help but suspect that there was a good reason Li went off on a rant about Jack and his adulterous deeds in the middle of her tirade about Sheila. If I recall correctly, Li wouldn't put it past Jack to have done more than just Sheila. The moment I heard Li was Luna's auntie, I thought, "Bingo. Jack must have done Poppy, Li's sister, too."

What do you think? Could Luna be hanging from both sides of Finn's family tree and be his cousin and half-sister at the same time?

Hope was moved to tears last week during her conversation with Finn about whether Thomas was the man she should continue to be with. She claimed that it had hit her once she was out of her marriage with Liam just how ground down Liam's love for two women had made her. I found that interesting because Liam expressed the same sentiment to her about her obsession with Thomas and Douglas. Hope sobbed to Finn, wondering if it was too much to ask to have a man love only her. And I was like, "But you have that right now. Why are you crying?"

Not only does Hope have Thomas and his undying love right now, but she's also had it for years. She also experienced love from a man who only wanted her when she was dating and married to Wyatt Spencer. I'd venture to say she had it from Oliver Jones, too, and would have kept having it if he hadn't made that fatal mistake at the graduation party. So, why is Hope acting like she has never experienced a man loving only her when she had Oliver and Wyatt and when Thomas is giving it to her right now?

Because it's not Liam. And when you can't get what you want from the man you love because he wants another, what do you do? You embrace your "BrookeSide."

Taylor zoomed into town on her turbo broomstick with a three-prong agenda. Prong one: Solve Finn and Steffy's problems by lending to the "Kill ma" chorus in his head. Prong two: Shamelessly wiggle at and flirt with Ridge, who she can tell has been working out even when he's merely joking about it. Prong three: Save Thomas from a fate worse than death -- a Logan.

Taylor took it hard when she got the news that Thomas has been rowing up a Logan canal. Hey, but at least it ain't Brooke this time, right? Brooke shot daggers at Taylor from behind an Eye on Fashion magazine, featuring Thomas and Hope on the cover. Yeah, can you believe the Spencers published that one? I'm surprised it didn't have Liam's vomit across it. No pun intended, but Brooke and Taylor are for once on the same side of an issue. Neither wants their kids in an intimate relationship together.

The mothers are on the same page, but the kids are not. Hope believes that Thomas understood the rules and boundaries in their relationship. For her, the dinner with Douglas hadn't changed a thing. Thomas, on the other hand, believes their union is inevitable. As usual, he just has to wait her out until hell freezes over.

When Taylor failed to talk some sense into Thomas, she attempted to appeal to Hope. Hope shut Taylor down and announced that she was proud to be like her mother. That proclamation means it's just a matter of time before Hope's gonna "Brooke," and when Hope "Brookes," the question becomes what woman will be affected by it?

"Brooking" usually means breaking someone's already unhappy home so that the wife can forever blame the other woman for being the cause, not the symptom, of her failing marriage. Will Hope embracing her "Brookeside" spell doom for Steffy and Finn's marriage?

If anyone caught Hope's final scene of the week last Friday, they might have seen a spark of Brooke in her eyes when she flashed back to Finn hugging her and saying she could do better than Thomas. In that moment, Hope seemed to be embracing her Brookeside and figuring out that, while Liam might be too waffly and Thomas too clingy, Finn might be just right for her.

If Taylor is worried about Hope unleashing her "Brooke" on Thomas, Taylor doesn't know what she's in for if Hope targets Steffy's husband. Finn is in the perfectly vulnerable position to be Brooke-in-ized by Hope. His wife has abandoned him and relegated him to the role of ship-on-demand spouse. He's being hammered by two crazy mothers, and he's alone and shirtless half the time. He's ripe for the picking just as his mother and Hope's father become engaged, tossing Hope and Finn into each other's empathetic orbits.

Being a friend, Finn advised Hope that she deserved better than Thomas. I think anyone would agree that Hope and Thomas' "Kneel before Zod" worship relationship is unhealthy for her and for Thomas. It was quite awkward and embarrassing to watch Thomas tell her again and again that she was his everything while she glared back in satisfied silence. Not only that, but Finn's reference to Thomas as a Svengali indicates that Thomas probably hasn't really changed, despite Taylor, Steffy, Ridge, and Hope's aspirations for him.

Sure, you might say that Finn is hopelessly devoted to Steffy and wouldn't be right for Goldilocks, either, but that's just what makes it a "Brooke" move. Other characters have done it, too. I'm merely calling it a Brooke move because Taylor has run around proclaiming that Hope is becoming her mother, and Hope has embraced it. If Hope is anything like her mother, she will create a wedge between Steffy and Finn before finally deciding, "Meh, I think I want Liam again," in just the same way Brooke, after capturing Thorne, couldn't forget Ridge.

I would venture a guess that Hope going after Finn would be just the thing to reactivate Liam's feelings for Hope, too. There's nothing like jealousy to make a man remember his destiny. Just ask Ridge, who never liked to see Brooke with another man, even when he was married. The only person whose reaction I can't gauge in this scenario would be Thomas. Is he changed enough to bow out and let this be his redemption story? Or will Hope wind up chained to the bed in Thomas' bedroom?

When exactly did Finn open up Kelly's International Delivery Service? Is that his work-from-home gig or something? I'm perplexed enough that Steffy and Hope haven't had one conversation about Liam and his divided heart, but Steffy, as she chats frequently with Liam while in Europe, has time to text Hope to run an errand for Kelly. If I was Hope, I would have told Steffy to get her BLF, "Best Lover Forever" Liam, to drop it off on his way to file the dang divorce papers that are probably still on the floor of his car.

If this pillow was the best way to get Hope to Malibu, so be it. While Finn was being a friend to Hope, it would have been nice if Hope had been a friend in return and asked him why he was FedExing his family out of his life one toy at a time instead of drawing them back in. What is Finn doing to get his family back in town? At this rate, I'm sad to think Eric's grave illness or death might get Steffy back faster than the speed of Finn.

As Sheila and Deacon take their romance from the sheets to the streets, the towners are gathering their torches and pitchforks again. Sheacon will meet strong resistance from their children and the rest of Los Angeles. Hope has a negative reaction, and Deacon must defuse the situation. Wow, Hope, and here I thought you believed in forgiveness and second chances.

Hope will turn to Brooke and Ridge, hoping they can stop Deacon from doing something he'll regret. You know, kind of like they were able to stop Hope from doing something she'd regret with Thomas? Insert eyeroll emoji. Hope doesn't know her father very well if she thinks he'll listen to the dressmaker. Ridge confesses to Brooke that he did know about Deacon's involvement with the nine-toed wonder of the world.

As Hope and Finn commiserate about their parents, Brooke and Ridge confront Deacon about Sheila. These are just spoilers, but it seems like Hope is not giving Sheila the same chance that Hope gave Thomas, and that's disappointing, considering that she just told Douglas how important forgiveness and second chances are. Why can Thomas be forgiven, but Liam and Sheila cannot?

Hit me with the answer to that loaded question in the comments section below. I can't wait to read the replies! And until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!Chanel

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