A Critic’s Review Of The Bold and the Beautiful: Abused Themes, Stooping & Lamenting

When it comes to The Bold and the Beautiful, every fan has their own opinion – and Soap Hub is no different. For five days, we sat and watched the good, the bad, and everything in between, and now we offer you a handy review, and a cheeky critique, of B&B’s week that was.

The Bold and the Beautiful: The Critic Complains, Natch

Though I’ve managed to remember that May is a “sweeps” month, the same can’t be said for The Bold and the Beautiful — how else to explain that drama-busting moment when Hope (Annika Noelle) and Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) were alerted to the fact that the jet had been repaired and they wouldn’t have to remain in San Fran after all. Ugh.

So, it was back to endless days of Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) regurgitating to Finn (Tanner Novlan) the line that she doesn’t trust Hope around Thomas because Hope was “gazing with desire.” Ugh.

If Steffy really can’t find something better to do with her husband than grouse about the 90210-esque antics of her brother and multiple-times stepsister, then that’s a problem that needs immediate addressing — though I do have to agree with Steffy’s “You just don’t flirt with someone who used to be obsessed with you.” stance, and sadly that’s exactly what Hope is doing, consciously or not.

The two actual diversions from the Hope/Thomas “storyline” were in and of themselves variations on previous abused themes.

Like Jack (Ted King) before him, Finn felt the need to give Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) exactly what she wanted — which was a face-to-face — just so he could…tell her that he wouldn’t be answering her requests for a visit in the future. Do you know what would have really driven that point home? Not stooping to showing up in the first place.

Elsewhere, Taylor (Krista Allen) crowded Deacon (Sean Kanan) and did her utmost to steer him in Brooke’s (Katherine Kelly Lang) direction in much the same manner she’d steered poor, besotted, chanceless Hollis (Hollis W. Chambers). And though she swears that she has no ulterior motive, it’s pretty darn clear that she has an ulterior motive.

Ugh. And another ugh.

Further B&B Musings

* How many times an episode do you expect to see both Hope and Thomas flashback to the purposefully cruel comments she made at his expense?

* If you’re going to trot out Daytime Emmy award winner John McCook, couldn’t you, at the very least, give him something meatier than helping to remind the audience of RJ’s familial relation to Ridge and play sounding board to the young man’s concerns that his mommy isn’t too happy about her split from his daddy?

Also, how many [expletive] times did Brooke need to assure RJ that she was at peace with her decision? I lost count after the fourth time he wondered “But are you sure?”

* Kudos to Darin Brooks [Wyatt Spencer] for always bringing the funny. Between his animated facial expressions and body language, I can almost — emphasis on the “almost” — enjoy one of Liam’s (Scott Clifton) “Woe is me” laments.

The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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