Why, it's Wyatt!

Caroline tried to put the kibosh on Rick and Maya's canoodling, while Katie blabbed to Brooke about Steffy's barrenness. But it was Hope who got an eyeful (or is that an iPhone) of a newcomer's "pic-a-nic basket!" Does a bear shower in the woods? Find out with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you harbor a secret, only to drop hints in your harbor instead of anchors? Did you try to catch your rival in the Web? Did your campground come complete with plumbing? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!

First off, congratulations to Heather Tom for taking the Outstanding Lead Actress trophy at the 2013 Daytime Emmy Awards! And Scott Clifton tied with Y&R's Billy Miller for Outstanding Supporting Actor, though I don't know that Liam really had any Emmy-worthy material to merit the title. That goes quintuple for B&B, who, in addition to five technical awards and the honor of Outstanding Directing Team, also brought an Outstanding Writing Team Emmy back to the studio. I suppose the team worked hard, but what they had to write about certainly didn't deserve any prizes. Last year was not a good story year for B&B!

This year has its problems, too, though it was a big week for Rick and Maya. The furious Rick called Bill and promised Maya he'd lay down the smackdown. So what did Rick do? He locked Bill in a fake jail for a few minutes. Really? That's the best the formerly diabolical Rick could come up with? And why did a prop prison cell even have a lock on it? Rick said he wouldn't let Bill out until he promised to stop messing with Maya...then released him without getting that promise.

The spoilers had Rick giving Bill "a taste of his own medicine," but it didn't come anywhere close. If Rick really wanted revenge, he could have had Bill thrown in a real jail for any number of misdeeds. At the very least, Rick could have left Bill locked in there overnight, which might even have humbled Bill a little. Instead, Mr. Dollah just smirked his way out of the room. "I guess that's that," Rick said as he smiled. No, it isn't! Bill didn't promise squat! And it wouldn't be worth anything if he did.

Caroline's rationale for wanting Rick back flip-flopped depending on who she spoke to. Carter got the "he's my first love" speech, while Maya got the full-on "I staked out that territory a long time ago" treatment. I did find it interesting to hear about Caroline's upbringing and education in New York, because it gave her some dimension. But Caroline was wildly inconsistent, threatening to put Maya in jail herself one minute and cuddling up to producer friend Rafael the next so he'd cast Maya in Carter's web series.

So, wait: Carter's a lawyer and a minister...but he came to L.A. to be an actor? I'm sensing Bobby Reno Syndrome over here! You remember, Robert Kelker-Kelly's character on Another World? He was a race car driver and everything else, including a surgeon called Shane Roberts. Maybe Carter will turn out to be Guiding Light's Remy Boudreau, after all! I suppose it could happen that Carter has other aspirations, but how did he recognize Rafael at the studio ten minutes after being hired over the phone?

Caroline's prediction that Rick would become jealous of Maya working so closely with Carter makes more sense than her trying to set Maya up as a porn star a while back. But why wasn't Maya the least bit suspicious when Rafael called saying her headshot had come to his attention? How would it have gotten there? Maya would have known where she had or hadn't submitted her rsum. I guess Maya was too blissed out on endorphins, or whatever other chemical was generated by her sweet sweet lovin' with Rick.

Yep, watching Bill and Katie get it on with all the secrets between them was cringeworthy, but Rick and Maya were "fiyah." Though their "love in the afternoon" was brief, B&B has been missing that simple soap staple for a long time. Post-funkiness, Rick gifted Maya with an heirloom necklace...after only one roll in the hay. Why not? His father, Eric, deemed Taylor the new Forrester matriarch the morning after they touched for the very first time! Must run in the family.

But I am going to go on a whole paragraph about this necklace! Rick's grandmother...Eric's mother...who we've never heard of before...left Rick this sparkly bauble? To our knowledge, Rick never met this woman! Do any of you remember even one reference to Eric's parents? Don't you get the impression that Eric's mother might have died before Rick was born? And if Rick had this necklace, how come he never gave it to Amber? A new necklace would have gotten the point of the scene across without bringing up these thousand questions.

Strangely, Rick started getting jealous of Carter during his afterglow with Maya. I know B&B was trying to align it with Carter and Maya ultimately acting together, but it was a weird conversation and an even weirder time for it. Personally, I'm already tired of the keep-Rick-and-Maya-apart games. They just got together. Why can't their relationship develop a little? And if Caroline really wanted to cause trouble, why not just recruit Jesse? What, B&B can't afford Ricky Paull Goldin? Oops, did I say that?

Meanwhile, Brooke sat Eric and Donna down and told them she had miscarried Bill's baby. It's a shame we haven't seen more conflict for Donna, who is, after all, caught in the middle between her sisters. What a wasted opportunity. Brooke's single trademark tear rolled as she admitted she'd really wanted the baby. But she breathed a sigh of relief, too, saying now there was nothing to hide. Yeah, nothing except that you bumped uglies with your sister's husband! Nothing to hide. Oh, Brooke, really.

As for Katie, she had been so worried about Brooke and Bill boinking that she had another heart attack, but she's basically blown Brooke's panic attack off like it was a headache. Could Katie really not put two and two together? Tell you what she could do, and that is blab to Brooke about Steffy's infertility. I am so disappointed. Not only would Katie being the only one privy to the secret have lent itself to great drama, but Brooke is the last person Steffy would want Katie to tell! After Hope, that is.

So much for the Keffy truce. Katie really needed to be slapped. Though she did pick up a few points giving Brooke a reality check about pushing Liam and Hope together! You'd think that Brooke, who just lost a baby herself, would have been a little more sympathetic to Steffy's plight. Maybe even have gotten overemotional about it, making Katie wonder. Instead, Brooke happily arranged for Hope and Liam to spend the day at Big Bear. Isn't Liam the editor of Eye on Fashion? He can't just take the day off!

Liam was glad that Hope was there to talk to. But Hope's method of consolation included planting a big wet kiss on him. Liam is just as married now as he was last year during the infamous annulment period. Hope needed pills to be with Liam then, but here she had no problem with it? Hope was also channeling Caroline's inconsistency, because in one breath she'd talk about giving Liam time, and in the next she couldn't wait for them to be together. Their whole exchange this week was really very repetitive.

Liam knew there was more to Steffy's departure than met the eye (as he rightly told Thomas), and amazingly it kept him from waffling right back into Hope's arms. Even in Big Bear, Liam thought of Steffy, although you would have thought the woodsy environs would have made him think of their times in Aspen. Hope finally clued in and told Brooke she was coming home, but as Hope exited the cabin, Liam gave Hope an equally wet, very mixed message kiss!

And then we inexplicably circled right back around to where we were before Hope said she was leaving, with Liam snuggling her on the couch. Huh? I felt like I'd missed an episode. Liam was shocked when Hope "reverted" to making a break for it! I think our Emmy-winning writing team got their wires crossed somewhere. At least Hope declared an end to "me trying to force my way into happily-ever-after." Wish she had been that mature the whole week, but I'll take what I can get.

So what does a banished fairy tale princess do? Why, she wanders through the woods and finds a prince of a man with a strategically placed leaf barely covering the crown jewels. Have you ever been to a campground where you can have a shower right next to your tent? Yeah, neither have I. And how far did Hope walk? I thought the Forrester cabin was on private property, including a helluva lotta land. Either Nature Boy was camping illegally, or Hope clocked some serious miles in her high heels!

And Hope, the Internet's full of hot guy pictures. You didn't need to snap a live one. Her smartphone was the only thing that was smart, because Hope's stupid giggling gave her away, prompting Mr. Buck Naked to give chase. Then, suddenly, Hope fall down go boom! Seriously? She wasn't in a horror movie running from a serial killer! Or was she? We don't know anything about this guy yet, except that he likes to hover over unconscious women, stroking their hair. Hope can always use her pic to identify him in a police line-up!

Of course, we know the fresh meat is Wyatt Fuller, though the families of B&B don't know that yet. I also suspect that, while Leffy/Lope's body isn't quite cold, we may be in store for a whole new triangle. Wouldn't it be great if it only looked that way, but really Wyatt was going to play elsewhere on the canvas? Caroline likes the hot boys. Donna could use a ride in the Cougarmobile. And hey, Pam's got nobody to bake lemon bars for. The possibilities are endless!

What impact do you think Wyatt will make on B&B? Do a little speculating on the Soap Central message boards or the comments section! Send an email! Leave a voicemail. Because you know your comments could end up in a future column. Like these!

• "I first want to say I love B&B. But the last few weeks, I just want to reach in the TV and bang Brooke and Hope's heads together and tape their mouths shut! It's all about them and what they want. Too bad [B&B] decided to end Steffy's role; she and Liam were great together...thanks for letting me vent. Can't wait to see what's in store in the weeks ahead. Oh, yeah, Maya and Rick!" -- Leta [EDITOR'S NOTE: To my knowledge, it was the decision of Steffy's portrayer, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, to revert to recurring on the show. B&B didn't decide to write Steffy off on their own...]

• "Brooke should [have] told Bill from the start and the baby would [have] been alive...it's her [fault]." -- Keneisha

• "Okay, it's official. I despise Brooke and Hope. Talk about two cold hearted witches! It started when Hope's immediate reaction after learning about Steffy's miscarriage was 'maybe now is MY time with Liam.' Seriously? This is someone who thinks of herself as a role model to young women? Heaven help us all. And now, after learning about Steffy's inability to have children, Brooke says that she always knew that Hope and Liam were destined to be together...what mother, knowing the whole story, would send her daughter off with Liam to the cabin so that they can 'just be together'? But, hey, she's not pushing...right. And, while I'm on a rant, who in God's name votes for the Emmy Awards? B&B wins for Best Writing, but JMW doesn't win as Best Younger Actress? No justice there, that's for sure. Thanks for writing my favorite SoapCentral column!" -- Mary

• "From the tone of your article, are you suggesting that JMW is NOT returning to B&B after her break?" -- Manda

Like you, Manda, I don't have any inside information to that effect. But when I see an actress leave a show to work on other projects, I would say the odds point to her being gone for a good long time. (Adrienne Frantz, anyone?) And, if JMW finds success in movies or primetime -- which she's certainly talented enough to do -- wouldn't coming back to playing the same tired triangle seem like small potatoes to you?

Speaking of odd points, let's get back to some serious Points to Ponder:

"Everything's changing so fast," Liam said dizzily. You can say that again, brother... "Big Bear's always been one of my favorite places," Hope commented. Well, it should be, Hope, you were born there!... Hope assured Liam that while a priest wouldn't ambush the cabin, a bear might. Wouldn't be the first time; just ask Aunt Donna!... Good continuity for Katie to mention that she also lost a baby. And was that Brooke realizing she was "pretty insensitive" pushing Hope on Liam? Who knew?

Caroline does raise an interesting question: just how long was Maya in jail? We know very little about that, and not enough about how Maya ended up in the clink in the first place. Maybe if Jesse ever returned, we could get clear on it... Rick threatening to fire Caroline? Look who found his huevos! Was Rick's contention that "she's not the person I thought she was" an intentional reference to Caroline's personality transplant, or unintentional? And Caroline said she thought Rick liked her being bratty, except she wasn't a brat when they got together...

According to Hope, Eric "has a couple of cars in the garage." Really? Cars just sitting there rusting while family members visit the place twice a year?... "You are a good man, Rick Forrester," Maya gushed. You may not say that if you knew the things he did to Ridge and Steffy; Rick has never been properly redeemed for that... Rick having a Mayan ringtone on his phone was actually pretty cute. But I raised an eyebrow when he told Maya "every time I think I know everything there is to know about you." Even if you spend 24-7 together (which they didn't), you can't get to know that much about them in just a few months!

How is it that Caroline has a picture of Maya conveniently filed away in her iPhone? I have to admit, though, that I enjoyed her being snarky to Bill. She's one of the few people who could probably get away with it, too!... "I don't want to seem unprofessional," Maya said, worried other Forrester employees would see her and Rick nuzzling. "At this company?" Rick deadpanned. Best line of the week!

All righty then! That's all I've got for you; my Scoop is officially empty. But I'll be back for you next week, when we'll do something a little different. After all, 2013 will be half over by then (did I really say that? Where it is going?), so we'll revisit the past six months with the ten best and worst things B&B has offered us so far this year. They've packed an awful lot into it, haven't they?

In the meantime, will Hope wake up to find Wyatt over her and say "Liam who?" Will Maya get cast on Carter's web series? (Of course she will.) And just how will Taylor say her goodbyes this time? Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

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