Three steps forward, two steps back

Katie's vendetta is the only one that makes sense. Who can blame her for wanting to rid herself of Steffy? She must sense that Bill is attracted to Steffy, especially after he wouldn't let Katie fire her.

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did your photographer offer you wine? Did you stoke a family feud so much John O'Hurley was on your door? Did your mama suggest you get back with your ex - again? These and more situations faced the Forresters this week!

Oh, dear. We were off to such a good start for 2010, but we took two steps back to 2009, or 2008, or...well, you pick it. We'd finally gotten off the Brooke/Ridge/Taylor merry-go-round, only to see it start up yet again. Thankfully, Ridge and Taylor's smooch was just another of Taylor's fantasies. And the fun-loving Stephanie didn't last long, did she? She's back to her anti-Logan, Taylor-supporting self, to the point of telling Brooke she wished she'd killed her at the cabin! It's interesting to hear B&B reference the infamous Big Bear strangling attempt, but, as Katie would later say to Brooke, "Wow, that's harsh!" Bad enough Stephanie seems to be waffling between trying to help Brooke and stabbing her in the back during the same conversation. Ridge was right, Mums - butt out!

Taylor is also caught between moving forward and living in the past. It's understandable she'd still think about Ridge (although they haven't had a substantial relationship since Sheila shot her in '02), but fantasizing about him again is old, and seriously setting back her story with Whip. Frankly, Whip is all we've got to save us from another triangular retread. Implausible as it was for him to set up a date for Taylor in Stephanie's office, could he have been any more romantic during it? Heal thyself, Doc - work through those old Ridge feelings fast before the Whipster gets away! At least she doesn't want to be called "Doc" anymore, and she does come alive when Whip is around. My prescription, Ms. Hayes? Two doses of Whip daily, and make sure to take with food!

Back on Rerun Road, the so-called Forrester/Logan feud (which was really only ever Stephanie feuding against Brooke) is back, and being cranked up louder than Lady Gaga's latest hit. Suddenly all the Forresters and Logans are against each other. Brooke's thanks for going to bat for Ridge? "Is that against some sort of Logan code?" The whole thing's getting a little ridiculous. Ridge sitting outside the house in his car because Donna and Katie are there? Katie bragging that the Logan name is what sets them apart? The whole feud, while based in a certain amount of history, seems very out-of-nowhere and completely overemphasized.

For instance, what was Stephanie smoking when she implied Hope and Marcus were practically running Forrester? Has anyone even seen Marcus lately? Stephanie keeps saying the Logans are in charge - the Logans are not in charge! Katie is CEO, yes - but if anyone is in charge, it's Bill. While Donna ordering Thorne around would indicate some sort of Logan shift on her part, she's still Mrs. Forrester. And Stephanie's contention that the Logans have "trashed the place" is absurd. Seems the company was doing pretty well when Brooke was CEO - a position she only pursued after the Forresters tried to bilk her out of her rights to BeLieF back in the day. So I don't know where all this Forrester/Logan squabbling is coming from. It feels really forced.

The only vendetta that makes sense right now is Katie's. Can you blame her for wanting to rid herself of husband-kissing Steffy? She must sense that Bill is attracted to her, especially after he wouldn't let Katie fire her. Where is Bill, anyway? He's been mysteriously absent since he and Katie made up. Surely he'd have something to say about Katie favoring Hope this strongly. She's so obvious, Ridge and Taylor have finally considered there might be a reason Steffy is being edged out. Let them add it up soon! They need to know that their expert PR daughter with more talent than all the Logans put together has been putting the moves on a married man. Everyone's silent about it because they want to keep Ridge from blowing up, but really - it's time that secret was exposed. Steffy knows she's the cause of much of the trouble at Forrester, yet she outright lied to her mother and said she didn't know what Katie would have against her! The girl needs to be sent to bed without dessert, if y'all know what I mean!

Fortunately, the unexpected detour on Rerun Road turned out to be a short one as the week progressed. Ridge defended Brooke to Stephanie, and Brooke defended Ridge to Katie, which seemed to put our supercouple back on the right track. That left Nick literally playing gumshoe, trying to get a DNA sample from our very obviously up-to-no-good photog Graham. Clever plot device, but did anyone else think Nick was so hammy that he was giving himself away? And why would Nick call Sandy about his evidence when Graham was just a few feet away? Nick needs to watch some 24 to learn more about espionage. And pack your bags, because I think Sandy's taking a trip to The Dark Side very soon. "If you did this to me," she told Graham's web site, "you're dead." I see a storyline-dictated bodybag exit in Graham's future.

Now, what to make of Sandy's newly arrived brother Oliver? (Why do soaps name new characters after popular characters on other soaps? OLTL, anyone?) They do seem like family, and sure, their bonding was sweet. But doesn't it seem too little, too late? Oliver knows his sister was raped, but stayed away for years. And why is he so anti-Whip? Is there a story there? How funny was it when Sandy referred to Oliver's job - "being a DJ in a coffee shop? Welcome back to L.A.!" First off, Insomnia is a coffee house, not a coffee shop, and while coffee houses might have karaoke, I don't seem to recall they have DJs, unless I'm missing something. But gosh, it was great to hear CJ mentioned! Where is he? It would be awesome to have Mick Cain back full-time, keeping Sally's legacy alive!

Will it be Oliver who saves Hope from Graham? We know she's cruisin' for a bruisin' going back to that studio - assuming she gets there, that is (I don't think she was in an accident, despite Friday's cliffhanger - do you?). It would be a nice touch if Steffy saved Hope, especially because their truce lasted about an hour. "He's not your Dad!" Steffy sniffed. This is where Hope's sudden aging causes a little bit of confusion. First we're led to believe Hope doesn't know Deacon is her father; then we're told she does. But wait - she knows, but doesn't know the whole story. Needed a scorecard for that one. Understandably, the family would choose to keep the sordid details from the teenager - which is why it was devastating for her to overhear them. I'm glad Hope barged in and confronted Brooke and Ridge instead of sulking off and keeping it a secret for weeks - gave her character a little extra gumption and integrity.

But so much was made of what might happen if the press discovered the circumstances surrounding Hope's birth. Don't they already know? Didn't the truth about Brooke and Deacon come out when it all happened? Or did the Forresters manage to keep it secret? I'm fuzzy on that one, but one thing that's definitely off to me is Taylor and Stephanie insisting that those crazy Logan girls are going to make a spokesperson of Hope even if it causes a scandal. Brooke would be the first person hurt by such a scandal! So the Logans wouldn't want the truth out any more than the Forresters would. James needs to come back and help the Forresters through their persecution complex! (I'm sure he offers group rates.) And so what if the world finds out Hope isn't a Forrester? Steffy, Thomas, and Ridge aren't Forresters, either! But nobody seems to have a problem with that, do they? Do they? I think not!

All this talk about Deacon makes me wonder if he's going to make an appearance soon - although, since he's in jail on Y&R, that would be quite the trick. For now, things are at least moving forward ever-so-slowly. Let's keep Ridge with Brooke, Taylor with Whip, and Stephanie over at Jackie M. Let's get Bill back in the mix and put Ridge in the CEO chair finally. And let's never, ever take a stick of gum from a sailor-turned-fashion magnate! You never know where your DNA's gonna end up. Thanks for letting me Scoop out my opinions - make sure to scoop your own out right here on the soapcentral.com message boards. See you again around Valentine's Day - and whatever you do in the meantime, be bold!

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