Bold & Beautiful Just Previewed the Next Steffy/Hope Showdown — Plus, Will the Real Bill Spencer Please Stand Up?

Bold & Beautiful Just Previewed the Next Steffy/Hope Showdown — Plus, Will the Real Bill Spencer Please Stand Up?

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI; CBS Screenshot (3)

Despite this being a short week thanks to March Madness, Bold & Beautiful delivered some pretty solid drama… some of which a lot of you think only unfolded in the imagination of our Deputy Editor, Charlie. The soap even offered up an unexpected preview which most of you probably didn’t see. Read on and we’ll discuss it all! 

Hope’s Big Decision

As is the nature of the beast, I knew in advance that Hope was going to reject Thomas’ latest proposal. But honestly, Matthew Atkinson did such a wonderful job — his face radiating happiness, his eyes aglow with love — that I kinda wanted Hope do what I knew she wouldn’t and accept his proposal.

But truth be told, Hope not only made the right decision but did it for the right reasons. She didn’t reject Thomas. She didn’t reject his love. She didn’t deny loving him. She simply said, and I quote, “I’m not ready for a forever commitment.”

And that’s ok. People on this show, more than any other, tend to dash down the aisle. The words “long” and “engagement” do not co-exist for them.

Thank God For Liam (Insert Eyeroll Here)

What happened next was downright predictable and beautifully foreshadowed when, upon hearing her brother had been rejected, Steffy pulled Thomas into a hug… and literally glared at a photo of Hope that sat behind him. It was a really well-directed moment and perfectly set up the showdown to come.

Is it surprising that Steffy took this occasion to rip into her longtime nemesis? Of course not. But it was also inevitable. And in case you weren’t able to connect the dots, Liam did so over his lunch with Carter. You know, the lunch that served no purpose other than to recap what was literally happening in the scenes before and after.

“Hope is in this weird position where she can’t marry him, that would be a disaster,” Liam explained. “She also can’t turn him down, because that, too would be a disaster, right? It risks setting having him fly off the handle again. But more than that, it risks Steffy and her wrath, and, you know, nobody wants to make an enemy out of Steffy!”

Cut to… duh: Steffy and Hope’s clash.

Say What?

We can — and probably will — debate until the proverbial cows come home whether Steffy was right or wrong in her point of view. For my money, she was 100 percent in the wrong. But there was one moment I’d like to think we can all agree was downright insane, and it was when Steffy said… checking my notes to make sure I get this right…

“You’re not capable of considering his needs. You’re not putting him first.” I literally hit rewind to make sure I’d heard that right, because it perfectly encapsulated an issue I’ve had with Bold & Beautiful for a while now: There’s a weird,, misogynistic, 1950s morality that kinda oozes from the scripts. Women’s needs come second. How dare Hope put her own above those of Thomas?

When Thomas told his sister he should have done what he’d promised Hope he would — namely, give her more time — Steffy reacted as if he’d suggested a nuclear option. We’re supposed to think of Steffy as a modern woman, and yet here she was, acting as if marriage was the only possible outcome if two people truly cared about one another.

This Way Madness Lies

I get that in Steffy’s mind, encouraging Thomas to end things with Hope was her being a supportive sister. But knowing that he loves Hope, wouldn’t it have been more supportive for her to perhaps see things through the other woman’s eyes? Again, Hope did not reject Thomas in any way, shape or form. She simply said she was not ready to be his wife.

But there was Steffy, literally saying, “Hope said no to you. Now, it’s your turn to say no to her.” Girl, no. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works!

More: When Calls the Heart spoilers galore!

Who could have ever imagined that Brooke, of all people, would be more sympathetic to Thomas’ pain that pretty much anyone else? I loved the scenes between them because unlike past encounters, it felt genuine and honest. There were no agendas, just a hurt guy asking his would-be mother-in-law to try and explain why her daughter had broken his heart. Honestly, I wish we’d gotten more of them and not been interrupted by Ridge’s arrival.

Round Two

Despite my issues with this stuff, Annika Noelle and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood brought their A-games to the scenes. I mean, I cackled aloud when Steffy spit out the line, “You have gone full Logan!” And when Hope responded with “How dare you!” we got to see her fiery side come out, which is always a good time.

Best of all, if you liked those scenes, you’re gonna get more next week.  How do I know (aside from this being. Bold & Beautiful, where cut-and-paste scripts are pretty much the norm)? Because those who, like me, watch on Paramount Plus wound up getting a little bonus at the end of Wednesday’s episode: Several scenes teasing the continuation of the Hope/Steffy showdown, including the blonde trying to (unsuccessfully) smack some sense into the brunette.

More: The Hope/Steffy preview you didn’t see

You Really, Really Hate This Idea

The only other plot points to play out this week involved Luna’s quest to find out who her dad is. Watching the scenes in which Poppy asked Finn to provide Luna with a “strong male presence” left some of us convinced that he is, in fact, the young woman’s father. When Deputy Editor Charlie Mason said as much in a story, it made a whole lotta people angry!

That said, we’re sticking by it and will happily accept mea culpa’s when the truth comes to light.

Meanwhile, the scenes between Bill and Luna were unexpectedly sweet. Or maybe I should say uncharacteristically sweet? Sorry, but I just don’t buy Bill telling the young woman, “I like being someone you can trust with your feelings.” The dude wouldn’t even say something like that to his actual children, let alone the daughter of a woman he’s gone on a couple dates with.

Bill later telling Luna he was cautious around the ladies because “I have [money], and a lot of women want it” felt more genuine… although we’ve never once in all these years seen him involved with someone meeting that description. Maybe Sheila, but he was the one playing her in that scenario.

Random Thoughts

• Wonder what Paris is up to these days? I might just ask this question every week until she either reappears or is quietly removed from the opening credits.

• Liam was punchable as ever, actually thanking Steffy for acknowledging that Hope had kissed Thomas. As if Hope’s single foray into cheating somehow erases his entire history of ping-ponging.

• Speaking of Liam, he had the most honest line of the week when he said, “I don’t want to think the worst… actually, I do want to think the worst.”

• You know what was weird about Thomas’ proposal? That he set up this whole scenario — gorgeous dress, dim lighting, candlelit meal — in the afternoon, which we know because we cut to Liam and Carter’s lunch. Who does a big, romantic proposal over lunch? In the middle of the workday? At their office???

• We need to add something to our popular Soap Opera Drinking Game: Chug every time someone mentions that Hope has been wearing that engagement ring “around her neck” or “as a necklace.”