Katie stirs the pot, Taylor returns, and secrets unravel on The Bold and the Beautiful

The Benjamin Button vampiress of soaps, Dr. Taylor Hayes (Mom), is back again, leaving fans fearing that the more things change, the more they probably stay the same. Remember when Taylor was more than a prop in the Bridge saga? Like a game of telephone, Poppy confided something to Luna that wound up in the ear of Chief Baker. Will the cost for R.J. be Luna? Plus, Brooke's underwear is popular again, this time with women! Can HFTF ride Brooke's garter belt straps? Let's scoop!

The Family Feud game show has always been the same. Two families pitted against each other, giving answers they think the viewers would as they compete for money. The Logan versus Forrester feud is no different, but just because this formula works for a 30-minute game show doesn't mean it works for a 30-plus-year-old soap opera.

Viewers should have known something was up The Bold and the Beautiful's sleeve the other week when, out of nowhere, Ridge set Steffy straight about exactly how their family had separated and the role he'd played in it. Because B&B runs a lot of scenes that lead nowhere, I didn't pick up the hint that Taylor was waiting in the wings.

Had it not been for the fact that Krista Allen had just vacated the role of Taylor Hayes -- whom Ridge recently turned into a disappearing romantic clown act once again -- I would have suspected that the woman in the bushes, watching Brooke and Ridge, was Taylor. Even though Taylor had her heart ripped out and handed to her by Ridge less than a year ago, I'm hoping against hope that she isn't back to fight for him. After the whole Brooke BFF humiliation, just no.

As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same -- except for Taylor's age. The role of Taylor Hayes is now being played by Rebecca Budig, proving once again that not only can Taylor never die, but she can't age, either. Preview pictures of the 51-year-old Budig with the 37-year-old Jacqueline McInnes Wood (Steffy) give off sisterly vibes, not mother/daughter ones, making me suspect that the show brought Taylor back even younger to pair her with Finn.

For me, the younger Taylor channels the young Katherine Kelly Lang's Brooke sparring with her daughter Bridget for Nick's affection. Or, to add a new layer to the same old Logan war, maybe Taylor does "oopsie" with Finn the way Brooke did with Deacon and winds up vying for Finn against Hope once Steffy dumps him and returns to Liam.

Steffy's been looking for a fight with the Logans, and she told Finn that it would be nice to have someone on her side. She also mentioned to Hope how good it was to have one's mom around. I'm sorry, but if Taylor didn't show up to help her daughter through the home invasion ending in death, I doubt she's back to support Steffy. It's gotta be about Ridge, but would she dare reignite her fight for Ridge after he left her at the altar in a dirty wedding dress?

B&B doesn't know what to do with Taylor if she isn't hovering like a ring wraith, fixated on taking "The Precious" Ridge from Brooke. Brooke is at the height of admiration with the rebirth of her career and Ridge by her side, but what does Taylor have? Children bitter about her breakup with Ridge and a career that allows her to escape the continent each time Ridge hurts her. Perhaps the writers forgot that Taylor used to be a whole character, and not just a Bridge roadblock.

Okay, we get it that the prince adores Brooke, but what about the prince who loved Taylor? Taylor used to belly dance with snakes, folks! Where is that Taylor? Taylor had romances with Storm, Eric, Thorne, Whip, and Nick. She battled Morgan and was hypnotized by Pierce. She battled alcoholism and even had Brooke's baby! Her life wasn't all about Ridge and kids, and I pray to the soap gods that her stalking Brooke and Ridge from the bushes is a red herring and not a hint that more of the same is to come.

I know that Taylor thinks Ridge is the love of her life, but she is clearly not his. Move along!

Hope's gloating about Steffy missing her flight quickly evaporated when Steffy turned her hurricane eye back toward decimating HFTF. I agree with Hope that Steffy is downing the line just because it's Hope's, and no, I don't put stock in what the "side with whomever he speaks to first" Carter has to say about it.

Steffy said Zende and R.J. were doing just fine but might need a different project, and Hope noted that no one had even seen the designs yet. Steffy stated that no one was asking to see them, and there was no social media buzz. I said it before, but there's no way social media is sleeping on the fact that Thomas left that line and that romance. Instead of tripping, Steffy could have easily said to Hope that if Brooke's Bedroom was a success, it would give HFTF a reprieve. Steffy chooses to keep HFTF on the chopping block, which is where her marriage might land if Hope continues to garner Finn's sympathy.

Carter believes that Brooke's line saved HFTF for now, but what if there was a way Brooke's Bedroom might turn things around for HFTF permanently? I propose HFTF do the "What Lies Beneath" promotion. Hope and Brooke can collaborate, creating a campaign and fashion show featuring HFTF on top and Brooke's Bedroom underneath. Maybe it's time for HFTF to hit the runway with some breakaway outfits or silk and lace "from the boardroom to the bedroom" wear.

It would give Hope a wardrobe boost from that hideous tinsel robe she wore the last time she tried to seduce Finn. Hope is attractive, but she needs a lot more than sultry gazes to give Finn the hint that she's down for the down low. When Finn slipped out to take his phone call, and Steffy thought he was taking too long, I instantly thought of Ally Brooke's "Low Key" song lyrics, "All your friends are looking for you. They don't know where you're at. 'Cause you left with me and slipped out the back..." But alas, it was just a fantasy, and Finn had not really slipped away for a rendezvous with Hope.

If the writers know what's good for viewers, they should consider an HFTF collaboration with Brooke's Bedroom to bring out the sizzle between Finn and Hope before this storyline fizzles. So far, Hope gazing at Finn while he only has eyes for his wife makes Hope look as desperate as Taylor Hayes standing in the bushes, watching Ridge kiss Brooke in practically the same place he'd kissed Taylor when they'd been in Monaco!

R.J., come on, man. Just come on. Did you really think you should break your girlfriend's trust and tell your nosy, bitter aunt what Luna had confided in you? And did you really think it was best to leave Luna in that upset condition to get your dad a pizza from the murder cat, owned by his nemesis Deacon and his literally killer wife, Sheila? R.J. is lucky someone didn't drop a toe on that pizza or sprinkle it with parmesan crack.

Seriously, R.J. just wondered the other day if he should have told Katie about the mints after it had sent her clucking that Poppy is a killer. After that, without hesitation, he "thinks Katie should know" about the backpack and the letters after Luna had asked him to keep it zipped.

Maybe Luna deserves that betrayal because Poppy had asked Luna to stay silent, only for Luna to turn around and tell R.J. Talk about ruining your happy family, Luna! It was one thing to turn on your mom by so readily believing she could kill, but it was quite another to risk your family with Bill just to be honest with R.J. Like a game of Telephone, Poppy's secrets went from her to Luna, to R.J., to Katie, straight into the ear of Chief Baker. I wonder how bad it sounded by the time Katie repeated it to him. Bad enough for an arrest?

That busybody Katie is always in the middle of something she has no business in. For example, when she accused Ridge of shoving that doctor under that truck or when she took it upon herself to make Bill fall for Brooke. Or that time she followed Storm to Ashley's with a gun and got herself shot. I kind of wish that instead of Katie calling Chief Baker, she'd gone to find the letters herself, only to wind up demolished in the condemned building.

I miss Liam. Just a few scenes involving Scott Clifton this week showed me just how much. Liam showed up to support Bill, who, by the way, was way more mature than Luna and R.J. by not spreading to Liam what Bill knew about Poppy and Tom. Bill talked to his son about Will instead. "Poor kid," Liam mumbled when Bill explained that Will had walked in on Bill and Poppy. I wished Liam had instead said, "Yeah, well, that's nothing compared to what I had to ear-witness of you and Quinn going at it!" Wasn't Hope over there once while it happened?

I always grin upon seeing Scott Clifton with his on-screen dad, Bill, but I fear Liam is going the way of Wyatt, slipping quietly out of town for lack of a storyline. The Spencers are needed on this show, and Nozawa Power ain't strong enough to carry the Spencer load. Luna's cute and all, but she cannot replace Liam. While I'm glad Liam isn't playing the role of "Mini-Steffy" that much anymore, it's time for him to stop being a plot side piece and once again become the savory main dish.

Tom wasn't the only one-hit wonder back in the day. Danny Romalotti also had a breakthrough hit, "Rock On," performed by The Young and the Restless' Michael Damian in 1989. Romalotti had a long music career. I'm kind of curious about whether he was at the much-mentioned music festival, and if he had a groupie named Poppy hanging around his tour bus. Maybe we'll find out when Christie Blair and Danny show up for a party at Eric's house next week.

Also next week, Will shares his doubts about his new sister and Poppy with Liam. Chief Baker shows up at Bill's house with handcuffs and evidence -- Poppy's round mint case in a baggie. The last time we saw that thing, it was in Luna's purse, wasn't it? Maybe the shocking twist will be that Luna killed Tom while wilding out on mints.

That's it. I'm all scooped out, but I'd love to read your two scoops about the week and predictions about what's ahead for Taylor and Poppy. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!

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