We knew in advance that Thursday’s episode of Bold & Beautiful was going to be special. What we didn’t know was that it would create a game-changing dynamic… and then say, “Meh, never mind.” Let’s dive in, shall we?
The Ugly Truth
I know I wasn’t the only one whose jaw dropped during Hope and Brooke’s argument in the special episode which was written and directed by Heather Tom, who also had a featured role in the episode. (If you want to know more about how someone appears in an episode while directing it, check out our incredible chat with Tom here.) One of my most regularly-issued complaints regarding this particular soap is the fact that the characters almost never reference — or seemingly remember — their own history. Yet in these scenes, at least some of that painful past was dished up during the Brooke and Hope’s scenes, which turned into the equivalent of a verbal food fight.
“How many times are you going to allow that man to make a fool out of you?” asked Hope, tearing the words right out of every viewer’s mouth. And after realizing that Katie, too, had betrayed her, Hope was not buying into the “Logan women” line her aunt tried selling. “I only have this last name because mom was too ashamed to give me my father’s name. Isn’t that right, mom? Your little mistake.”
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What I loved about that particular moment was that the script didn’t then throw in a line explaining the backstory. (Deputy Editor Charlie Mason wrote here about how wildly annoying this can be and why.) I literally braced myself for Brooke to respond, “You know I felt awful about sleeping with my daughter’s then-husband, Deacon, and that resulting in your birth!” But no, we moved right on with the scene, thankfully. Longtime viewers got the reference, and newer viewers got the context without being yanked out of the scene by awful exposition.
Going, Going… Not Quite Gone
And then there was the amazing moment when Brooke said Hope would never understand what she and Ridge have. “Had,” spat Hope. “He doesn’t want you anymore. When are you going to get that? You would rather betray your own daughter and be with a man who drops you at the slightest inconvenience!” I mean, did anyone else gasp and shout “Preach!” After all, this is a guy who literally dashed off to pursue Taylor after — and I can not stress this enough — being hit on the head with a pinecone!
Anyway, the whole gloriously messy sequence led to Brooke and Hope nearly coming to blows as the mother asked “Who ARE you?” This was an amazing moment to me, because I thought that perhaps we were finally kicking off a story in which Hope took a closer look at everything that’s gone down in recent months, from her marriage falling apart to her out-of-nowhere feelings for first Thomas then Finn. Brooke’s simple if heated question was one many fans have been asking for ages. Who is this version of Hope?
For a hot second, I had an incredible vision of where this might lead. Until, that is, the least dramatic thing that could possibly happen happened: Brooke and her daughter tearfully hugged it out.
More: Proof that Ridge is the absolute worst!
Yup, one of the most exciting moments in recent Bold & Beautiful history set up a compelling story and then backed away from it.
What’s Next For Hope?
One thing that hasn’t changed is Hope being at loose ends. She has no fashion line, no boyfriend and is at a major crossroads in her life. I kinda wanted to see her anger at Brooke and all things Forrester turn into a burning desire to make them pay while also proving herself. If you’re a longtime reader, you know I’ve long wanted to see someone, anyone, launch a fashion house to compete with Forrester. Could Hope finally be the one to make my dream a reality? That’d be cool, but I doubt it.
More: Could this daytime vet be Brooke’s next love?
As for Carter… well, here’s hoping he’s happy being Ridge and Eric’s lapdog, because that’s pretty much where he’s landed. Sure, he’s got a new love interest in Daphne, but that’s got “backburner” written all over it. I suspect we’ll see about as much of this pair down the line as we do Liam or Ivy. Because while I absolutely love Daphne, I could not be more aware of the fact that I’m playing solo on that team. (If I’m wrong and you’re #TeamDaphne, please say so in the comments… it’d be nice to have company!)
Random Thoughts
• I can’t with Deacon ranting about Luna when he’s married to Sheila. It’s exactly the kind of blind-to-hypocrisy writing this show excels at… and I don’t mean that as a compliment. And then there was Sheila jokingly saying that Luna would probably “appreciate” the amusing story behind her missing toe.
• The moment Electra nixed the notion of getting intimate with Will, I knew Luna would offer to, er, fill the void, so to speak. I don’t think I expected it to happen approximately six minutes later. Were Luna not an inexplicably-set-free serial killer, I’d be totally into this story. But she is, so I’m not.
• I guess Ivy is still hanging around somewhere off-screen, at least based on the text Electra received. Watch them suddenly decide to reveal that Ivy and Liam have been dating this whole time. #ShowUsDoNotTellUs
The first three months of 2025 have seen daytime suffer some tragic losses. Join us in observing a moment of silence in memory of those we’ve lost, as memorialized in the gallery below.
