Say it with me, gang, "irrevocable trust." Yes sir, that's the ticket. Don't just have documents drawn up to leave the family company to an unworthy heir, make sure that what you've done can't be undone! I don't know, folks, is this really a mistake by Stephanie or is the mistress of manipulation pulling a fast one? Has she double-crossed Taylor out of another marriage to Ridge, but made certain that Thomas will someday take the company from Ridge? You have to wonder, because Stephanie is usually too smart to be outfoxed by her own schemes.
But here's the part that baffles me: wouldn't Stephanie prefer getting Brooke out of Ridge's life -- which she was close to pulling off -- than ensuring that Thomas would someday oust Ridge as CEO of Forrester? I mean, if she didn't want the trust to be irreversible, why was the lawyer instructed to write it up that way. And why name Taylor as the trustee? Methinks there's more to this story than we've seen thus far!
I'm really struggling to understand Taylor, the scorned woman. On one hand, I get that she's hurt. Ridge led her down the garden path once again, then left her at the altar. That's nasty, even though he was a victim of Thomas and Stephanie's lie, too, so what he did to Taylor was not intentionally malicious. It was, however, thoughtless. It was ridiculous for him to turn to Taylor before the ink was dry on his divorce from Brooke...especially since Ridge was still in love with Brooke. Had he just taken some time to sort out his feelings... But no, not on this soap. On this soap, everything is done quick and sloppy. That's how Taylor has wound up a shattered woman, and Ridge and Brooke are back in bed together. Are they planning to rip up the divorce decree and pretend it never happened? Will they do another beach wedding? Does anybody care anymore?
But let's get back to Dr. Hayes. For Taylor to take out her rage on Stephanie and Ridge -- while giving Thomas a complete pass -- is just bizarre to me. Taylor thinks that the Forresters have taken too much from her? Really? Is this the same woman who's been part of every Forrester family function for over a decade? Where would she be and what would she have without the Forresters in her life? The only Forrester who's ever really wronged her is Ridge, and that's because he loves two women. He's chosen to live with one over the other. Get over it, Taylor.
Accept that fact and move on -- finally. But no, instead we have a major feud brewing. Bigger than the Hatfields and the McCoys. We have Ridge Forrester's family with Taylor versus Ridge Forrester's family with Brooke! Everyone take sides and attempt to kill each other! What a healthy situation, don't you think? Steffy wants to punish her Daddy for not being Daddy enough for her. Hope wants to protect Mommy because Brooke's been downtrodden by the likes of Stephanie and Taylor long enough. Why can't we all just get along?
This past week, I really thought that Ridge acted like a worm. Where is his spine? I know he has a backbone somewhere, but where is it? How could he listen to Taylor say that she's been basically a single mother because he's been an absentee father? Where was his outrage? Has Taylor forgotten that she was "dead" for ten years, and Ridge and Brooke raised those three kids? Who's rewriting the story these days anyway? Ridge sure wasn't a disengaged dad when he was threatening to kill Rick for schtupping Steffy, remember? He threw him off a roof! Don't you think that was proof that he loves Daddy's Little Girl?
Then there's the question of Thomas giving up the trust. Ridge pointed out that it would be unjust for Thomas to be rewarded for his part in Stephanie's scheme. He asked Taylor -- this woman of integrity and class (or so we thought) -- to do the right thing by having Thomas sign away the shares. Ridge wanted to distribute those shares from Stephanie -- when she perished -- to Kristen and Thorne and Felicia. That was fair; those are Stephanie's children. They have more right to Forrester than any grandchild, on either side of the Forrester family tree.
Instead of agreeing with Ridge about what was fair, Taylor told Ridge, in so many words -- "Screw you." Excuse me, is this the same Taylor who was so cavalier about her shares of Forrester that she tossed them to Steffy without a thought to Thomas? Now, suddenly, she's fighting like a mother tiger to get Thomas enough shares so he'll control the company? How duplicitous is that? Taylor is a frigging psychiatrist! She shouldn't be determining who's going to run Forrester Creations in the future! Get back to your practice, Doc, and lay off the fashion biz.
One last thought about Dr. Hayes: she claims that she's no longer best friends with Stephanie? Their friendship is kaput because of what Stephanie did to Thomas. Really? It looks like Stephanie's actions -- on purpose or not -- will give Thomas a bigger chunk of the family business than his father or grandfather. How scarred is he by that? Taylor needs to learn that for all her warts, Stephanie is more valuable as a friend than an enemy.
I guess Taylor has to blame Stephanie in order to absolve her criminal son. I give credit to terrible Thomas because he's trying to do the right thing. He did sign the papers to undo the trust, but Taylor's fighting to keep his piece of the company in order to reward him for lying and destroying Ridge's marriage to Brooke. Taylor's determined to protect Thomas, but she's actually teaching him that his actions have no consequences. He told a major lie, and every time Ridge suggests a punishment, Taylor fights it. Why? Doesn't she want Thomas to learn a lesson?
I'm beginning to think that Taylor's kids are like invading locusts. They want to destroy everything in their path. So much for peaceful coexistence. They don't want to share; they want to rule. Where did they learn that? Not from Mom and Dad, supposedly. And yet, we've seen Steffy blackmail Bill to wrest Forrester Creations from him for her own REST (Ridge, Eric, Stephanie, and Taylor). Then Thomas was willing to go along with Stephanie's monster lie to grab the reins of the company. And both Thomas and Steffy make no bones about wanting power. This past week, Steffy and Thomas put Hope in her place, even though she has as much right to be moving up the corporate ladder as they do. If they want to focus their antagonism on an interloper, go find Marcus. He's more of an outsider than Hope. He's adopted!
Of course, right now, Steffy's mind is not on the boardroom. She's focused on the bedroom. That brings me to the biggest "YEECH" of the week. Bill and Steffy are probably a better couple than BIll and Katie. But seeing Bill and Steffy attempting to make love in Steffy's childhood bedroom was just indecent. Who thinks like that? It's perverted to want to be a little girl in a little girl's room, having hot passionate sex with a married man. Does Brad Bell want to get the CBS censor on his head! Look, I could buy a Big Bear encounter, in front of the fire...or a fling at the Malibu house with the ocean roaring outside the door...but in Steffy's bedroom on a twin-size bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and origami hearts? It stinks of kiddie porn! And it was made all the worse when Steffy stopped the action to slip on some Victoria's Secret lingerie. I had to avert my eyes!
By the way, did you see anybody reaching for a condom in that scene? After Bill screamed about Liam's failure to practice safe sex -- which of course wasn't really anything but a lie because Liam never actually had sex with Amber at that time -- you'd think old Bill would be putting a glove on that thing just in case little Steffy's not on the pill. Instead, they were gung-ho to do the deed and not worrying about STDs or unwanted pregnancies. That's wrong on so many levels.
I would love for someone who approves of Steffy's actions to explain to me how Steffy is not a predator for going after Bill, but Brooke is a predator for going after Ridge? Remembering that Ridge was married to Brooke before Taylor, why do the Taylor fans believe Taylor's been wronged by Brooke? And yet, Steffy has no claim on Bill at all; she just wants to ruin his marriage to Katie, and that's okay? How come?
There were some sweet scenes between Brookd and Stephanie, but I'm just not buying the reconciliation. If you were Brooke, would you even let Stephanie in the door? Stephanie's explanation for her villainy followed by this transformation into Brooke's friend and supporter just doesn't work. It would be nice if it was real, but it seems contrived. Stephanie may be stunned that Taylor doesn't want to be her friend any more, but don't you think Stephanie still wants Ridge to end up with Taylor? No matter what Stephanie says, she's not suddenly a Brooke supporter.
So, this coming week, I imagine we'll get a lot more of Bill and Steffy's smoldering desire. What does that mean for Katie and her surprise vow renewal ceremony? Strikes me that if you're planning such a ceremony, it might be better if it's not a surprise. Bill looked like his teeth were going to fall out when he got home to Katie and the Reverend!
While we're on the subject of characters, who would you like to see get more attention on the show? Who'd you like to see come back? Click the Feedback option at the top of the page, the email me link at the bottom, or click here. Meanwhile, here are some letters from the readers!
• Thank you Brad Bell for the Eric/Thorne scenes this week. Finally, Eric put Stephanie in her place for her devious machinations. I cheered out loud when Thorne broke down his feelings on the latest Forrester madness. Yes, it was awesome and something that I've been waiting to see for a long while. I was honestly not expecting the reason or insight Stephanie gave as an excuse for her actions, but as a longtime viewer, it did make some sense. Also, it seems like Mike and I are on the same page regarding Stephanie's future. Now would be the perfect time to either put her in a coma or kill her off while everyone is still ripe with resentment! - Shawn
