...and I say 'sleeping' because until now, it seemed that Brooke and Taylor have been in some kind of perverse fog that surrounded Ridge. His spineless and self-serving behavior really punctuated the week well and had both women starting to see things a little clearer. Actually, this week made A LOT of things much clearer!
I can't launch fully into my Scoops tirade without giving kudos to the acting of SF, KKL, and HT...all three women really hit it out of the park and once again showed how really bad an actor RM is. His dialogue was great, especially giving Mommy the business after the confession. It's just the acting that leaves much to be desired and it is a shame when he is surrounded by such amazing talent. However, all the characters handled the big confession scene well and I have to say it was the best piece of writing I have seen in a while. Over the top and out of left field, but engaging none the less. I didn't miss a second of it and I can't remember saying that in a long time.
That having been said, I was happy to see the Queen Bee admit she is human like the rest of us and when pushed over the edge ( for whatever the perceived reason) is capable of just about anything. Of course, many in that room including Brooke, Ridge, Jackie and Eric have done all kinds of comparable things for a variety of weak reasons, so no one could really cast too many stones in my opinion. There have been set-up's, affairs with just about anyone, betrayals of all sorts...bottom line-no one hands are unclean and now Stephanie's are just as dirty as anyone else's. Welcome to the human race, girlfriend.
The best thing that has come out of all this, though, had to be the reactions of Brooke and Taylor. Brooke finally felt she had her open door to getting Ridge to 'make things right' and move her and the kiddies back into the house. She should have known he would waffle and stutter about not wanting to make a decision now. He NEVER wants to make a decision. He was more than happy to have the heart attack help him with his decision to marry Taylor again...make no mistake about it. Yeah, he should have been pissed off with Mommy but deep down it was the coward's way out and he loved it. And true to form, he is waffling one too many times and Brooke is readying the boot to send him to the curb once and for all. She will finally say the words that all B&B fans (lovers and haters of Brooke alike) have wanted to hear her say. 'If you can't decide, I'll decide for you.' GOOD FOR YOU! Welcome back to the world of empowerment and self-determination, Brooke! Glad to have you back. We have seen shades of this Brooke over the years but never 100% due to the deep-rooted obsession with Ridge and the Forrester's. Now she is awaken from her codependent coma and ready to take charge of her life and it can't happen soon enough. This is a Brooke I can get behind and really enjoy watching.
Meanwhile, at the Forrester House of Deception, Taylor finally came out of her deep sleep and realized that her commitment with Ridge is probably not as secure as she thought it was. Knowing Ridge was nudged into the vow renewal from his fear of Mommy dying, she is worried that he may go back to Brooke. Ridge did not exactly SAY much to reassure her in the study after the confession, now did he? Still stringing everyone along and not giving a straight answer to ANYONE. Par for the course. Taylor's meltdown also iced her relationship with Stephanie and showed that she does have a mind of her own as many of her detractors had, as of late, accused her of being nothing more than a Stephanie clone. As a matter of fact, I thought Taylor was harder on Stephanie than anyone in the room that day. Good for her, too! Wake up and smell the waffles, Doc, because your 'husband' has all the conviction of a rubber band. Maybe she should start looking around, too! She can date whomever she wants and focus and being the kind of mother those kids need now. One thing is for certain...Daddy is NO role model for anyone.
Another revelation last week came in the form of the third aborted wedding between Nick and Bridget. I was dancing a jig in my living room hearing Dante say what I said just last week...the wedding will never happen and it's NOT happening for a reason! Get a clue!! Including the trip to Vegas, they own the hat trick for failed trips down the aisle. Give it up and move on already! Dante could make Bridget a bit more palatable as a character and probably a lot less whiney and Nick is just better with Brooke. But we have a Hopeless crisis next week that will undoubtedly strain the Nick- Brooke relationship as he drops the ball when watching her in the pool. I guess it will be blamed on too much Alpha Male garbage between him and Dante and Hector will have to come in and save her. This seems to be setting up a Hector-Brooke scenario, though, which is not something I am really too excited about but I subscribe to the ABR (Anyone But Ridge) theory these days and just think she should be with someone who loves her without unreal expectations.
I stand corrected this week...I did not think Eric would turn his back on Stephanie after the great confession. That shocked me and what shocked me more than that was the kiss of the week he planted on Brooke. I KNEW HE STILL HAD A THING FOR HER! I did call that one a week ago and though I think it was wildly inappropriate and unnecessary, I thought he showed a small amount of spine for once. Ok, so he's disgusted with Stephanie now but how long will it last? The jury is still out on that one. I'm thinking it could be the end, though. He did pack that bag awfully fast! He should be careful, though when judging Stephanie so harshly...I seem to remember he was the mastermind of the Thorne-Brooke deception involving Ridge trying to seduce her in Venice to show Thorne she was still in love with him. All that was particularly cruel and shows that he can be just as manipulative if so motivated. As he is busy moving his things into the Glass Beach House, we have also gotten wind through the rumor mill that he may make a real play for Brooke in the form of a proposal. Hmmm...for marriage (unlikely as he is still married) or for business? He could really exact revenge and give Brooke the CEO position to frost the Old Lady. Now THAT would bring about the real heart attack for sure! Should be interesting to see...though I am putting my money on it being business related as even I don't believe Brooke would want to be romantic with another Forrester right now.
I do have some major problems with two things from the past week. First, exactly how selfish do you have to be to plan your attack on Stephanie during the wedding ceremony of your two kids? Jackie and Brooke really should have played this one better and waited until after the ceremony when the newlyweds were on their way out the door. I thought that rated a very high 9 out of 10 on the Tacky Meter. Come on ladies...
The other thing that raised my eyebrow was Brooke's comment on how deep a bond is between a mother and her son 'like mine with RJ.' HELLO!!!! You do have another son!! His name is Rick! I just can't get over this feeling that her character cares more for RJ that any of her other kids just because he is Ridge's. That's just plain sad and I was surprised to hear that. Hopefully, in the midst of the drowning scare, she will come to appreciate that she was blessed with 4 kids instead of just one. As it is you have to feel sorry for that baby just for being related to the Waffle King!
I loved the emails I received this week on the Worst Couples question I put out there in last week's column. There were some foul unions that I had forgotten about. Here's a list of some of the best:
Rick-Amber, Sally-Clark, Stephanie-James (?), Sheila-Massimo, Brooke-Ridge, Thorne-Brooke, Thorne-Taylor, and Brooke-Deacon. How about Macy-Deacon or Sally-Eric? Ewwwwwwww.
As I do 'Rants' each week to complain a little, I thought this week I would give out the 'Give 'Em Hell Award' to Brooke for the smack-down she laid on Stephanie in the guest house. And I laughed out loud when a cane-wielding Stephanie was bested again by a freshly empowered Brooke who fought back and made it clear she was on the brink of shedding the Forrester curse forever. I hope it lasts, for her sake. But it sure was fun to watch that scene and kudos all around to the actresses for making it stellar soap viewing!
My burning question for this week...if you could create the new direction for Brooke's character, what would you have her do now? With no Ridge around to emotionally handcuff her, what could she do with her life? Be creative as I know you all will!
Who's on the Soapbox?
Dean writes... '...I hope they will bring in someone new for Brooke because she needs a new man in her life and it should not be Nick nor Ridge...give Brooke some backbone and make all her fans proud of her.'
Roxy writes... '...Stephanie lied about her heart attack because she wanted Taylor and Ridge to get back together. Maybe she was wrong but for Eric to turn his back on her was totally wrong after all she is his wife and she has taken a lot of BS off of him...he is always taking Brooke's side against his wife.'
Until next week, stay in touch with your thoughts...it's the best part of my week when I hear from everybody!
