Veteran fans of The Bold and the Beautiful recall Stephanie’s showdowns with Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang). Recently, Soap Hub chatted with Lang about the dynamic between the two characters for Soap Hub’s Flashback Friday.
Katherine Kelly Lang: Brooke Was All Wet
In 1988, episode 346, which is on the B&B YouTube channel, Brooke was at the Forrester pool when Stephanie (Susan Flannery) came along. Steph wasn’t happy about being alone with Ridge’s girlfriend, but she wasn’t about to let her drive her from her own mansion’s grounds. The two women proceeded to engage in a cat-and-mouse banter as each jockeyed for power.
Stephanie wanted Brooke’s parents — Stephen and Beth — to reunite so that her estranged husband Eric (John McCook) would stay with her. Meanwhile, Brooke wanted the Forrester matriarch’s acceptance so that she could have a future with Ridge. “I don’t think that they weren’t in the throws of total rivalry at this point,” shares Lang. “We were trying to figure each other out, learning how to control each other.”
Playing Stephanie Forrester to Perfection
Making a veiled dig at Brooke for using her body to keep Ridge’s attention, Steph commented that Brooke’s bikini was “quite a ball of string.” Brooke deftly said that the two-piece swimsuit was a gift from Ridge, and he wanted her to wear it. “I can see why,” a knowing Steph said.
To her credit, Brooke attempted to extend an olive branch to Stephanie, telling her that she’d give anything if they could be friends. “How about never seeing Ridge again?” Steph deadpanned. “I’d consider that a real act of friendship.” Brooke maintained that she truly loved Ridge. “The way your mother loves my husband?” Steph snarked.
Katherine Kelly Lang: Giving Thanks
Subtly taking added control of the situation, Steph brought up Brooke’s dad and his job at Spencer Publications. She let Brooke know that she not only got Stephen his position there but that she also paid his wages. Stephanie added that she believed there was a real chance that her parents could reunite, which would please Donna and Katie greatly.
“You should thank me,” Stephanie informed Brooke. Just then, Ridge returned, and both women were determined to keep him in the dark about their conversation and the secrets each was keeping from him. As Steph started to leave, Brooke proved that she could give as good as she got. “Mrs. Forrester? Thank you for making me feel so welcome,” Brooke said as she did her best to show Stephanie that she wasn’t going anywhere.
“I feel that [Stephanie and Brooke’s relationship] got worse [after that],” Lang says. “That scene was the beginning. I’m not sure if she had slapped me yet for the first time when this scene occurred. I found those scenes really interesting. There were quite a few of them like that.”
While Stephanie hoped that Brooke would get in her Volkswagen and hit the road back to the San Fernando Valley, Lang says that she and Flannery got along swimmingly (no pun intended). “Susan was so professional,” Katherine Kelly Lang says. “I thought, ‘How does she play every single moment?’ She was so fully there in every moment. She made such strong choices. I’m still trying to figure out what she did!”
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