Father's Day in Feb! The Bold and the Beautiful Two Scoops for the week of February 3, 2025

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you learn that your local jail didn't have a lost and found? Did someone beat you to your brilliant master plan? Did you find out that you majored in impregnation in college? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Walton-Finnegan-Nozawa clan this week!

It was Finn's turn to play Pin the Tail on the Father on The Bold and the Beautiful

Tag – you're it, Scoopers! Assuming the latest round of DNA tests are correct, the fourth time is the charm for Luna as Finn learned that the poorly named Hayes wasn't his only child. Is Luna a compelling enough character that we should care who she calls “dad”? Over at Forrester, Steffy's pisspoor attitude was a dead giveaway, and she decided to appeal to Carter's conscience when her Daphne seduction plan was clearly working. Should she rethink her rethought strategy? Let's Scoop about it!

April Fool's Day

If Steffy had hoped to re-enter Forrester Creations with any semblance of subterfuge to somehow fake Carter and Hope into relinquishing control of the company, her finger wagging at Hope surely couldn't have been part of it. Steffy told her sometime-stepsister that she had returned for the sake of her family's legacy, but she bitched so much about how she and Ridge were robbed that Hope became suspicious.

When we've reached a day where Steffy is being more caustic than Li, you know Steffy needs an attitude adjustment. I've always liked Steffy's spiritedness, but for too long now, she's just been some combination of smug and hostile. How does Finn stand her? If she keeps this up, Kelly and Hayes are going to do an intervention on her. Plus Steffy clearly lacks the skills to play nice with her enemies to get her way.

Steffy would have been far better off staying home and letting Daphne carry the water in The Great Plan. And speaking of useless compatriots, Zende entered the Steffy/Hope fray and got mega compliments on his design work, with which he was told the company would thrive. Are Zende's sketches that much better now? A year ago, they sucked so hard that he was tanking the Hope for the Future line.

But then, history reminds us that Zende learned design from online tutorials and not from actually going to school for it, so maybe it stands to reason that he's probably turning out what amounts to stick figures compared to the prowess of Eric and Ridge. By the way, is Zende the only designer that FC has at present? He worried that Carter wouldn't put his stuff into production, but it seems, without it, Forrester has no collection. Who else is putting colored pencil to paper over there? It ain't Hope.

And...isn't Zende supposed to be some kind of double agent? Steffy told her adopted cousin that his intel was invaluable, but he's not really doing much to help the cause. If anything, all we saw him do this week was listen to Steffy detail her mustache-twirling plan. Oh – and the Z Man met Daphne. I kind of thought sparks would fly, which might have made things interesting – you know, put Zende in the middle?

Instead, Zende left to let another YouTube video teach him how to design while, across the way in the CEO's office, Daphne bulldozed her way through her continued attempt to seduce Carter with all the subtlety of a hippopotamus in a kiddie pool. And Carter was getting flummoxed by it! Is Daphne's ubiquitous perfume drugged or something? Or does Carter just find Daphne far more interesting?

I mean, let's face it – compared to Ms. Rose, Ms. Logan is kinda milquetoast. But Steffy must have coached Daphne to pull a Red Hot Chili Peppers and “give it away, give it away, give it away now” because Daph let it slip to Carter that she had a specific reason for approaching him at Forrester, but she'd never tell him what it was. Was that meant to intrigue him?

Daphne did have a clearer method of beguilement – she spritzed a different scent of hers behind each ear and asked Carter to follow his nose. It always knows! Of course, that's when Hope walked in, wondering what was going on. What followed tripped me out. Hope was offered a chance to sniff Daphne, so Hope got in real close and did so. Wouldn't you love it if Daphne ended up seducing Hope away from Carter? Man, I'd pay to see that.

Labor Day

Daphne left Carter and Hope in their perfume-induced stupor, but when Hope threw her arms around Carter...he frowned! Rut-ro! Daphne is getting under his...well, I assume skin, if not something else. This could only mean victory was at hand! So what happened? Daphne reported back to Steffy about how connected Hope and Carter were...and Steffy announced that it was time to change tactics!

Huh? Can Daphne not read the room? Her enticement of Carter was working! Why didn't Daphne mention that part? Mastermind Steffy decided that the new plan of attack was to get Daphne to see that Hope was using him. Oh, are we back to that? I don't think Hope and Carter are particularly well-matched, and their relationship was too instant for me, but I've never been under the impression that Hope has been using him.

Ridge and Steffy came to this conclusion before they even peaced out of Forrester, and, as it's an erroneous conclusion, any plan based on it is not going to be effective. Besides, if you recall, Steffy successfully wrenched control of Forrester back from Bill in 2010, when she was barely out of college, by threatening to tell Katie that he'd been kissing on Steffy if he didn't give in. Why isn't Steffy handling Carter herself? With Finn's blessing, Steffy could dupe Carter similarly, and it would make Hope so mad!

Brooke wasn't enjoying touting the CEO title again – partly because she disagreed with how Carter and Hope had gone about taking over at Forrester, mostly because her own plot to get the company back had cost her Ridge. Reminding Carter that he and Ridge had been besties, Brooke asked Carter if his rein was worth losing Ridge's friendship.

La Logan knew that Carter wasn't a bad guy and that hurting Ridge the way he did had to have been weighing on his conscience. And she seemed to be getting through to him! Later, when Carter boasted to Hope about all the “expansion” he'd been setting up (what, one perfume line?), he ended up not looking exactly thrilled. Is pulling a Jiminy Cricket on Mr. Walton all it's gonna take to get him to cave?

Not-Valentine's Day

Steffy popped in to the Forrester mansion only to find her parents all over each other. Naturally she was happier than a pig in slop, but I am really not feeling Tridge 87.0, and I think a lot of you aren't, either. It's not because we're on a third Taylor and the chemistry doesn't feel right. It's because Ridge did his old change-sweethearts-like-he-changes-his-underwear thing again, and it's rendered this new round of Ridge and Taylor uninvestable.

But anyway. When her mom and dad asked how things were going at Forrester, Steffy – with a straight face – said she was doing her best to play nice. If that's your nicest, Steffy, I'd hate to be around for your most disagreeable! Steffy reiterated her latest idea to wear Carter down by appealing to his values, feeling that, if Carter wasn't able to forgive himself for the coup, it would be a chink in the armor.

Well, great, Steffy, but Brooke thought of it first! It was strange that Stephanie's granddaughter and former nemesis both separately landed on the same strategy at the same time. Pity; they could have worked together, which would have been kind of cool. And since when does Steffy care about Carter's humanity? I feel like whoever crafted Steffy's offensive doesn't know what to do with it. Gangsta Granny Stephanie would have had a firm plan before taking her first action.

Brooke stopped by to see if Ridge had cooled off, but he still felt that his Logan's taking the CEO seat defined her as “the enemy”. Hell, Ridge didn't think Brooke was that much of an enemy in 1993 when she grabbed 51% of Forrester (I've been watching that arc on B&B's YouTube page; good stuff!)! And back then, Brooke's motives were malicious! Ridge honestly can't see Brooke was trying to help here? Girl, you're stylin' without him. Go and see if that hunk Connor Davis is still around!

Mother's Day

Well, it took long enough, but Poppy finally decided to go see Luna in jail. And surprise! Luna wasn't there! I found it odd that the prison staff initially acted as if Poppy was making things up when she said she had visited her daughter in that very room. Even odder, the man Poppy dealt with told her he wasn't at liberty to divulge where Luna had been transferred to.

I can understand Poppy having to provide proof that she's Luna's mother before anyone would give her info, but to just blow her off? Was leaving instructions to roadblock whoever asked about Luna part of Bill spiriting her away? If so, he didn't think it through. He had to have known Poppy was going to want to see Luna eventually and that questions would be asked when Luna was nowhere to be found.

Poppy then met with Li, who continued her apology tour at Il Giardino. Not that Poppy isn't entitled to every regret Li can express for treating Poppy like crap for decades, but you're layin' it on a little thick, there, Li. And you know what that means – Li is going to have reason to go back to smack-talking the Popster real soon. When Poppy told Li that Luna was missing from the slammer, Li was pissed!

Li was ready to go over to the correctional facility and do some correcting of her own by body-slamming someone the way she did Luna! Poppy talked her out of it; that's a shame, because I would have liked to see Li using her Nozawa powers for good. As for the errant inmate, Luna was back to telling Bill how she never meant to kill anyone (yawn), though she did, for the first time, express concern for what she'd done to Finn and Steffy. Hmm.

Luna also reminded us once again that there was no way she could be related to Tom Starr. I guess someone must have programmed some convenient dialogue into Luna's ankle monitor. Because, at that moment, Finn was busy running his own DNA test to find out whether or not Poppy was telling the truth when she said that he wasn't Luna's father! Does Finn have any actual patients? If he does, they're all pressing buttons like crazy right now.

Father's Day

Finn blew his own mind when he came up as a match for Luna. And – in a smart move – he opted to confirm the result by running a second test in succession. Geez, Luna's had so many DNA tests done that she should work for 23AndMe. Where was all this chromosomal examination when Sheila showed up saying Finn was her kid? All we've ever gotten is corroboration that Jack and Sheila slept together. It's never been proven she's Finn's mom! Wouldn't now be a good time?

Before Poppy could lunch with Li at the IG, she had to ditch her sis, as Finn phoned insisting that Poppy come to his office. You know, where he never treats patients. Well, Finn had a head of steam built up, but Poppy wouldn't let him say anything, making sure to let him (and us) know that their one-time shag was okay because they weren't biologically related, cough cough.

Their name-only auntie-nephew boink was beautiful and all that, but Finn didn't want to hear it. Finn knew that Aunt Poppy had tried to pop one again. She'd lied when she said Luna wasn't his daughter! Poppy did her best to squirm out of it, but then Finn showed her the two tests, and the jig was up. Poppy was contrite! She hadn't known for sure that Finn had fathered her child, and she hadn't wanted to ruin his life!

I won't lie – all along I've felt that Poppy has gotten a raw deal every which way. She'd made mistakes, but the poo people flung her was unfair. Now I'm beginning to wonder if Li was right about her all along. Poppy lies as easily as she takes her “special” mints. It's hard to muster any more sympathy for her when all she does is mislead her loved ones and flood them with falsehoods, especially as she only does it to protect herself.

Finn raged at his virginity taker, screaming that Poppy had robbed him of his daughter! (Finn must have learned that word from Steffy, Liam, and Hope, who overused it right out of the dictionary.) Absolutely, Finn should feel deceived. But dude! Why U mad? You're acting like you missed out on raising Shirley Temple when Luna's Nozawa power has been fatally dosing sports drinks with poison.

And this came up as Finn continued venting at Poppy. “You shut me out and raised a murderer!” Seemed harsh, but then again... Finn went on, “None of this would have happened if I'd been there.” Now that I have some dispute with. Poppy didn't help things by making Luna's father an enigma for her and creating such instability with her gadding about, but it's not like Poppy made Luna a killer.

If you really want to go there, Finn, you'd better step off your soapbox and start thinking about who Luna's other supposed relative is. Some people are born sociopaths, and this may be the one thing that truly links Sheila to Finn – if Sheila is Luna's grandmother! Most grams buy their granddaughters dolls; Sheila will be coaching Luna how to make her own poison (like Sheila did in 1995 when she “killed” herself!).

Many of you have been wondering how the timeline works if Finn is Luna's dad. Well, we finally got that crucial info: Finn was 18 when he and Poppy popped each other. If I recall, Luna was said to be 21, so that would make Finn 39 today – 40 if you factor in the nine months of Luna's gestation. And I think that tracks. Hell, after SORAS, Steffy is pushing 35 (she was 18 herself when Jacqueline Macinnes Wood took over the role in 2008), so all is right in Calendar Land.

(Red) Flag Day

It would seem that Luna's stint at Spencer State Prison is about to be commuted. Or at least, she'll be transferred back to a real jail once she's discovered in Bill's custody, which is about to happen. Bill stupidly left Luna alone in the joint, leaving Will to call out to air when he and Electra dropped in without notice. Didn't Liam make a point to mention a while back that Bill's door was uncharacteristically locked?

If that's the case, how was Will just able to breeze in? If he let himself in with a key, I missed it. Luna stashed herself, but Will's radar beeped when he happened upon food that “Bill” had inexplicably left sitting out. Rather than excuse themselves, Will and Electra chose to hang in Bill's “empty” pad and talk about Luna. Electra wanted to know all the dish, and Will was only too happy to serve it.

In fact, strangely, in the same breath that he relayed how he'd almost had a sister in Luna, he described his not-sister as beautiful. The unseen Luna loved it, and it fueled her rather wispy fascination with Will, but it's kind of a weird thing to say about an almost sibling. Will went over the whole deal with Luna, from faked DNA test to Il Giardino employee killer, I guess because he and Electra had to have something to do.

The new boos must have had more exposition to lay on someone because, by the time Bill came home, they were gone. Luna explained how they'd arrived out of nowhere, and Bill told Luna for the four-thousandth time that no one could know she was there. If Bill was so concerned, why did he even leave? Surely, they have Instacart in Bel Air if he needed groceries. (For more about Bill's dad and some speculation about his mom, check out my article.)

Bill sure hadn't been at Spencer Publications because Liam turned up for his regular wellness check on his pop, distinctly mentioning that Bill hadn't put in an appearance at the publishing powerhouse in forever. When Liam alighted on the subject of Luna having caged Steffy, Luna wasn't too happy. You realize the fact that Ridge also mentioned this caging means something.

Over at the cliff house, Steffy was getting ready to let Finn inside her cage for their anniversary wait a minute! Holy calendric switcheroo! Everyone knows that these Finnegans were married in August, not February! Their wedding was in 2021; it's not so far back that our memories are fuzzy and a month change can be pulled over on us. Why was it necessary to make it their anniversary right now?

It's not like Finn telling Steffy that her abductor is his daughter wouldn't be dramatic enough without having it happen during a celebration. And yes, Finn was determined to tell his wife about Luna's DNA (a reaction to his having kept secrets about Sheila before? He did that with Hope's kisses, too; this does imply growth). Poppy wasn't about it, though. She insisted that her nephew-lover keep his mouth shut!

Yeah, that Poppy, lying 'til the end. The truth coming out would ruin her reinvigorated relationship with her sister! So sad, too bad, Pops. Li's head is going to explode when she finds out about the Finn/Poppy popping; that's gonna be some must-see TV. But Finn was resolute. Before revealing Steffy's tormentor as her stepdaughter, though, Finn made his own trip to the prison and was also given the bum's rush when he asked about Luna.

This had to have been a feature of Bill's plan, all right. I'm not up on my crime procedurals, but I'd think that prison admins would have to let relatives of inmates know where they've been moved. Finn called Poppy to ask if she knew Luna's whereabouts, only to get another speech about how Finn should stay quiet about Luna being his kid. But Finn wasn't having it.

Steffy interrupted her own romantic flashbacks of Finn with flashbacks of being in Luna's cage; real mood killer there. Finn came through the door, and Steffy regaled him with professions of how wonderful everything was between them, how much they'd survived, and how all their trials were over. Which is soap code for, “You 'bout ta git dat bubble burst, honey!”

Do you believe Finn is really Luna's father, Scoopers? Or, after four candidates, do you think still another contestant's gonna come on down on The DNA Splice Is Right? Does Steffy's switch to tapping into Carter's sense of right and wrong make sense to you? Are you still able to root for Tridge when Ridge loved Brooke not long ago? Has Poppy deserved the flak she's gotten all along? Should Zende be playing a bigger part in the coup to reverse Carter's coup? And could Finn really have headed off Luna's murderous tendencies at the pass? You now know what's in my brain about it all, so tell me what's floating around your own gray matter in the comments below!

In just over two weeks, we will all go Beyond the Gates with CBS' new soap! Are you excited? Have you heard about it but don't know enough to get excited? Well, our Beyond the Gates section has tons of write-ups on behind-the-scenes goodies and the characters that will populate the fictional Fairmont Crest. Including some advice I have for the good writers of GATES that you might want to check out. You've got 'til February 24 to brush up on this new show, 'cuz that's when it premieres!

For Finn, DNA spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E as Steffy finds out she's her kidnapper's stepmom, and, undoubtedly, Sheila is going to soon have one child in her family line she can actually get close to. Plus, I don't know what it means, but Remy was in B&B's recently released cast photo for 2025, so how is he gonna figure into everything? My only answer is to keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And remember – no matter color, creed, heritage, religion, gender identity or orientation, we're all beautiful.

(Purchase Adam-Michael James' books on Amazon here!)

(Listen to isletunes, AMJ's podcast featuring nothing but music from the artists of Prince Edward Island, Canada.)