Broken heart, deluded heart, horny heart; The Bold and the Beautiful Two Scoops for the week of October 14, 2024

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did your hormones make you sign on the dotted line? Were your ex-wife's actions so disgusting that you realized it was time to take her back? Were you diagnosed with a raging heart-on? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Finnegan clan this week!

Well, pitter-pat, Scoopers! That bulge in Will's pants was not extra material padded in to make a fashion statement, and, while Carter decided to trade Katie for her niece, Liam decided he'd been Hope-less long enough. But wait! Taylor's not dying—just dying to be Ridge's woman again in what may be soaps' most farcical medical diagnosis yet. Got a strong heart, y'all? Then let's Scoop about it!

UR HOT

I guess because we apparently needed some love in the afternoon, Finn and Steffy gave us a dose of gush and flashbacks about how they met, with a few extras covering their various ordeals. “You're my hero/No, you're my hero.” Blah blah blah. I'm all for couples not being threatened from without and within 24/7, but I didn't need to heed the copious commercials for Ambien for these guys to put me to sleep. Next.

Former intern Zende guided new intern Will, with Zende saying he was a terrible newbie. Well, if by that he meant he bounced back and forth between being a photographer and a designer the way he bounced between Nicole and her childhood bud Sasha, yeah. But Will didn't need to know where the pencil sharpener was. He just needed to know that there were plenty of hotties in the building.

That's right! Will proved himself a Spencer in one randy move! One minute he was all, “Nah, Mom, I dunno if fashion is my thing”; the next, it was, “look at all these chicks so fine, where do I fill out my W-9?” I know Will is young, dumb, and full of...money, but that stupendously superficial reason for taking a job made Ridge look like he'd joined the priesthood. And wasn't school Will's reason for staying in L.A.? When is he supposed to study on Forrester's decidedly non-9-to-5 schedule?

Well, Liam, who himself never actually works, dropped in on his new bestie/half-bro and offered to take the boy to lunch at Il Giardino. I'm gonna guess the only menu in the Forrester break room comes from that joint, because the main babe Will was groovin' on showed up for grub with her friend. After which Liam recruited himself as wingman and talked up Will...by showing the girls pics of his girls.

Will was right when he later deemed Liam the worst wingman ever. Liam seemed to sense the need for a course correction and swiped to a picture of a shirtless Will by the pool instead, but it was too little, too late; or is that too late, too little. The true c*ckblock arrived in the form of Sheila; Liam nearly horked up when she placed her hands on his shoulders while promising the young'uns free dessert.

How it's not in the employee handbook that a murderer, attempted murderer, and kidnapper works at Forrester's former favorite hotspot, followed by a warning to stay away, I don't know. But Sheila didn't really linger long enough...because as soon as she left, Will started asking Liam how things broke down between Liam and Hope...and suggested that Lope may be ready for the next round!

No, Will, don't tell Liam stuff like that! While the Waffler Prince (Ridge will always be King) hasn't had story of his own for well over a year, Liam was at least said to be soul-searching after his years of ping-ponging between Steffy and Hope. Unfortunately, Liam didn't hold to that when Will brought Hope into the conversation. Liam seemed to be considering more Hope for his future!

One more Will thing! Liam flat-out asked Will why Will hadn't run his decision to intern at Forrester Creations, rather than take a job at Spencer Publications, by their father. Because Will is a grown-ass adult now who can make his own choices, Liam! Yeah, Katie nudged Will along pretty strongly, and Will only took the cushy position so he could get into positions with models, but ultimately, Will chose for himself. "Run it by Dad." Honestly!

BE MINE

Carter's been on his own a while, as well, but he made it clear that his plan was to change his relationship status on social media, and damn soon. You know how they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach? Sir Walton knows that the way to Hope's heart is through her line, so he spent nights adjusting its numbers and giving it a more positive outlook, despite the faltering collection being on Steffy's chopping block.

Naturally, Hope loved it, but even she couldn't miss the goofy look in Carter's eyes and asked about his standing with Aunt Katie. Carter and Katie friend-zoned each other months ago—how did Hope not end up hearing about it? Carter declared he was free and single, and he and Hope talked about all they had in common. One problem, though: Hope may be single, but she is not free.

Not only did Miss Virgin 2011 jump right out of a marriage to Liam into a steamy “situationship” with Thomas, but she also jumped out of said “situationship” into drooling over Steffy's husband. Hope only stopped daydreaming about Finn a few weeks ago—and only because Steffy threatened to cancel Hope for the Future if Hope didn't. The one now in need of soul-searching time is Hope, but she ain't takin' any.

And is B&B the only soap who rushes characters into relationships, or are the other three remaining shows doing it, too? Carter could have at least asked Hope out on a date, but no. He skipped several steps and planted one on Hope right there in the office, not even waiting to clock out. We know Carter has the moves, because Hope isn't the first lady to succumb to his charms.

I like that Carter acknowledged having ditched Paris at the altar in favor of reuniting with Quinn. And no one can say he hasn't flown solo for a decent amount of time. I could fly with Cope (Harter?) if Hope was a lot more available than she is now. But at this stage, I fear Carter is going to get his heart broken yet again, because Hope simply isn't ready. Even if B&B is ready for yet another of its infamous triangles.

LUV U

Buoyed by his chat with clear relationship expert Will, Liam went to Forrester, bringing in the big guns: Beth and pizza. Taking a page from Thomas' playbook, Liam also let his kid butter Hope up with an eye toward some sweet, sweet lovin'. Indeed, Beth, coached or not, performed right on cue and went on about how their pepperoni noshing was like a family dinner. Which Carter inadvertently interrupted.

Hope asked Carter to stay, and he initially did, developing an instant bond with Beth. In fact, Beth grooved on Carter so much that she wanted to tag along when Carter finally did excuse himself. Left alone with Hope, Liam reminded her how they had survived her not-miscarriage and thinking Beth was dead. “Did we really go through all that just to end up apart?”

Ah, Liam, such a romantic. Even he told Will that Lope 2020-2023 had tanked because Hope had kissed someone Liam “despised” (looking at you, Thomas), but that didn't seem to matter to Liam anymore. Maybe because Liam turned around and kissed the married Steffy—twice. Would Finn be so cuddly with Steffy if he knew about those smooches that Steffy has kept secret from him since last year?

One of Liam's selling lines to Hope was that Finn would never leave Steffy. And Liam should know, having attempted to wedge himself between Sinn. The one right move Liam made in his pitch was to apologize for always having a divided heart. Hope thanked Liam, but she wasn't there anymore. She had moved on. Would she have said that hours before, when Carter hadn't made a play for her yet?

Carter had his own problem in that he walked in on Brooke telling Steffy that Hope should reunite with Liam. Why, Brooke? You were there for all of Liam's BS, and just because you and Taylor (more on her soon) have been sighing over the same man for three-and-a-half decades doesn't mean Hope should. Carter opined that it would be nice if Hope found someone new. Amen, but no ulterior motives there, right dude?

Carter hoped to find Hope alone once again but instead found her hugging on Liam. Awkward! Beth cut in with a lemon bar she'd gotten from Pam (nice way to keep Pam on the canvas with Alley Mills gone, but the lemon bar thing was old in 2008) and got swooped out by Liam, leaving Hope to assure Carter that Liam's visit hadn't affected their “moment.” And Cope made out again! I guess that means by next week, they'll be married.

HEART THROB

Now, I'll give our show credit for one thing: they did their research on broken heart syndrome. It's a legit ailment where, according to heart.org, “the most common signs and symptoms are angina (chest pain) and shortness of breath.” And “arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats) or cardiogenic shock also may occur.” It's an original twist, I have to admit. But come on!

What a cop-out! For one thing, it completely undercuts the drama B&B was trying to build by steering Taylor away from a life-threatening prognosis. For another...the condition may be real, and there's no denying the connection between mental health and physical health...but it sure makes Taylor look weak. Her last real relationship with Ridge ended in 2002 because of Sheila's (accidental) bullet. How can Taylor still be pining for this man?

Sure, Tridge remarried at Stephanie's behest in 2005, there was their aborted man-and-horse wedding in 2009, and they did reunite briefly in 2022 until Thomas' AI voice stunt crapped out that wedding. However, Taylor, a psychiatrist of long standing, should not be spending so many years hung up on anybody. I'd maybe buy this syndrome if she and Ridge had just broken up. But not now.

Another thing we don't need to see is a 2024 version of a Bridge/Tridge triangle. Yet the way is being paved for one. First, Brooke caught Ridge talking to Li and rightly assumed the convo wasn't just about Poppy (not that we'll ever see Miss Mints again), and La Logan later crowed to Eric that she really thought her rebooted friendship with Taylor—which we never see them developing—was the real deal this time.

But you know what happens to overconfident characters on soaps. Brooke found Steffy exhorting Ridge to give Taylor “a little extra love” just seconds before Ridge got a call from the Tay-Tay and rushed right out to see her. Oh—and this was right after Steffy told Ridge she wasn't going to try to parent trap him and Taylor again, only to ask him why her parents weren't together. How old is Steffy again? Will, who just discouraged a reunion between his parents, is more mature than Steffy, and he's basically half her age!

After Brooke staked her claim on Ridge to Steffy, she ran right back to Eric and wondered if maybe she was in denial about Taylor only being back to spend time with her kids and grandkids. Eric helped by shipping Bridge, though Brooke decided she had to be vigilant. She'd just have to pay Ridge a visit over at Taylor's! What is this, 1995? Ridge, and especially Taylor, may have de-aged by virtue of their recasts, but, together with Brooke, they are all too old to be playing these 20s and 30s games.

Over at the cliff house (because, ya know, Taylor has no money to get her own crib), Ridge responded to Taylor's difficulty in accepting her broken heart syndrome (you're not the only one, Doc) by reminding Taylor that Grace would do more tests. It's nice to see Grace getting something to do after over two years—we last saw her comforting a freshly dumped Paris; wonder what Grace would think of Paris being with Thomas, who also screwed Zoe over?—but Grace's return was so random.

Ridge surprised Taylor by announcing that he was bringing someone in who could mend her broken heart. Honestly, I half expected Taylor's one-time mentor and fellow shrink James Warwick to saunter in. Instead, Ridge introduced Taylor to a healer who specialized in realigning chakras. Taylor said she hadn't pegged Ridge as someone who believed in the metaphysical, and I hadn't, either, but I must say that it was kind of a nice touch.

Like I said, our physical health is very much affected by our feelings, thoughts, and mental state. The healer also spoke of the effects of trauma on our bodies. Up top, healer. But let's talk about Taylor's real traumas: “dying” twice, being kidnapped by Omar and then Morgan, setting herself on fire, hitting Darla with her car. Even being shot in the literal heart by Sheila, I would think, would be a pretty direct connection.

But no, the implication was that the heartache Taylor carried in regard to Ridge was causing all the problems. Ridge told Li that Taylor needed to talk to “someone” (meaning a qualified professional), and I couldn't agree more. The chakra stuff can only help, but Taylor is clearly stuck emotionally, and she needs to unstick herself—fast. Because, as I said, it's hard to root for a character who's still heartsick, now literally, over a marriage that ended eons ago.

I've never had any of my seven chakras realigned—and that's not to say they don't all need to be torqued—but I would bet money that Ridge would not be part of Taylor's process, especially if he told the healer that he was the source of her heart-stuckness. (Which he probably didn't.) I knew I'd been punked when the healer sat Taylor and Ridge down and had them gaze into each others' eyes. Uh-huh. Get your money back, Ridge.

All right. Maybe there might be some merit to having Ridge put his hand over Taylor's heart and insert his energy into the equation, since it's her years-long yearnings for him that have caused her affliction. Maybe there's some poetic justice to it. But you know we did this just so Brooke could roll up and see Ridge's paw between Taylor's boobs. What is this, 1993? Because I very recently saw Brooke get all boo-hoo watching Tridge canoodle from their porch in an old episode!

Yeah, okay—clearly I don't think this has been B&B's best week. It feels like if a character isn't dying or going nuts, the remaining romantic travails just fall flat. Is it just me? Do you think a Carter/Hope pairing could work? Did it make sense for Liam to try to ask Hope to come back? Do you think Will should have been brought on as an intern when his only experience is checking out girls? And are you buying Taylor's broken heart syndrome? Stencil your own candy heart in the Soap Central message boards!

Things are a little meh right now, but perhaps when Ivy arrives with her niece, Electra, things will be shocking. (See what I did there?) Does Ivy being Electra's aunt mean that Electra's mom is Ivy's sister, Jessica Forrester, missing since 1996? I hope the show mines that history (maybe with a visit from Jessie!) and doesn't just make up another sister for Ivy. Guess we'll find out, so keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

(With Halloween upon us, check out Adam-Michael's “Bewitched” books on Amazon at tinyurl.com/amjbewitchedbooks)