Bold & Beautiful’s Solution to Its Taylor Problem May Leave Steffy Saying ‘I Do’ to a Whole New Nightmare

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We are among the Bold & Beautiful viewers who are like, “Wait, why isn’t Taylor around to help her daughter process the fact that she fatally a stabbed a psycho who was hell-bent on killing her?” The shrink, of all people, would want to be front and center to offer support to Steffy. But since she can’t be — owing to Krista Allen’s departure and a recast not having been chosen — she could at least insist that Finn’s missus get professional help in dealing with the trauma. And who better to provide it, Taylor might reason, than her old friend, James. After all, few and far between are the individuals who are as acquainted with the havoc that Sheila can wreak on one’s psyche — he was married to her!

But the James who shows up in L.A. to afford Steffy some couch time isn’t quite the same James that we knew and loved. Oh no. The years have not been kind to the psychiatrist, who has struggled with drug addiction and never-ending fears that Sheila might steal away with their daughter Mary, whether the young woman is willing to go or not!

At first, James seems fine, offering Steffy wise words and valuable insight into Finn’s fixation with his (all together now) birth mom. But as their sessions continue, it becomes clear that James isn’t steering Steffy toward what is best for her but what is best for… Oh my. Has the shrink become obsessed with Steffy? It seems so. He’s transferred his age-old crush on her mother, who fatefully took his virginity back in the day, to Steffy herself. Now he’s cleverly manipulating her to dump Finn and avail herself of an older, stabler man, one who could devote his heart to her and her only.

By the time Taylor is recast and shows up back in L.A., the damage will be done. A twisted doc will have convinced Steffy that marrying him is the best of all possible decisions for her and her kids. Taylor will be left wondering what happened to James, how he embedded himself so deeply in Steffy’s head and how on earth she can stop this wedding before her daughter makes the biggest mistake since… Well, since she didn’t check the number of toes on Sheila. (Here’s why that’s so important — and who we suspect she really killed.)