KerleyQ

So, we went from the same damn dialogue every day in Liam's months long Thomas tour, where he had to talk about Thomas to at least one person per day, every day to our new repetitive dialogue of Hope and Thomas. "You're a shmoopy." "No, you are." Then some fucking. Then back to the "You're a shmoopy." "No, you are." Lather, rinse repeat. I'm not even sure who's trying too hard her now, Hope, Thomas, or the writers. And, of course, the repetitive Finn/Steffy scenes where she marvels over their love, compares it to Lope, and keeps hiding what happened with Liam from Finn. "I would never take what we have for granted." Um, aren't you doing just that when you withhold something like that from him? Brooke, what did you expect to see when you burst into Thomas's bedroom after seeing Hope's ring on the desk? Have some boundaries, woman. I know you like to be way too involved in Hope's love life, but knowingly interrupting mid-thrust is a few bridges too far.

It seems weird to me that they'd use

And to add on to that guess, wasn't Katherine Heigl in that New Year's Eve movie, hence the NYE glasses on the headshot?

Yep. I've said over and over that if they took some time on redeeming him, I could maybe buy it down the road, but he was on the outs with everyone for like five minutes, Taylor browbeat Steffy into accepting him back into the fold, and then Steffy decided he was all fine since mommy said so. We got one session with a therapist, which mommy attended and ran roughshod over. The last time we saw him before Taylor started dragging him over to Steffy's house to force a reconciliation, he was still being sinister and plotting. We haven't actually seen him do anything that shows he's better now. I liked Todd Manning for crying out loud. You can make a previously bad character root-able, even if they remain gray, but you've got to put some work into it. I don't think she's necessarily using it as an excuse for kissing Thomas, or even a weapon to force Liam to get over it. She's just pointing out what a giant hypocrite he is to act like this is the single worst thing that has ever happened in the history of their relationship when she's been forgiving way more with Steffy over and over and over again. And she's also using it as a point of reference for herself as to what a shitty partner it turns out her husband is, because he expects forgiveness no matter how many times he betrayed her with Steffy, but one kiss and he's immediately saying divorce. They way they both keep falling all over Liam for all this time, you'd think he must be doing something right in bed, but it turns out he isn't. But, Hope, honey, I saw those scenes with Wyatt back in the day. You were pretty freaking happy with what he was bringing to the table. That was one of the reasons I wanted her with Wyatt instead of Liam back then. She was still having issues being comfortable in bed with Liam, but she had no such hang-ups with Wyatt. She was clearly enjoying sex and letting loose then in a way she never did with Liam. I wonder if her entire relationship with him has been like that - never fully letting go in the bedroom because some part of her never fully trusted him enough to just let go and enjoy it.

This is where I am with him. He's great at playing a bad guy. But, sometimes playing "good" can be a lot more challenging to make interesting, and he just does not do it for me when he's playing "good." He's this weird combination of being way too earnest and "golly gee" dorky, while still looking sinister. And, yeah, I can totally see the Ford comparison. Don't tell us someone is all good now, show us them earning that. God, I need those kisses to come to light ASAP. If that doesn't blow up Steffy's life, I'm going to be so pissed. She's had multiple chances to tell Finn. And now that he had that line about how Thomas was just as responsible for those kisses as Hope was, he's not going to just let Steffy off the hook. And given the history, he won't buy that Steffy pushed Liam away. Of course, the obvious progression there would be for Steffy to go running to Liam, but it's way more interesting if she still holds onto that "nope, I'm not an option for you" stance with him, as she tries to fight for Finn. And then Finn ends up in bed with Taylor. And this is all definitely the time to bring Li back. The only downside to this whole story for Finn will be if, after leaving Steffy, he decides to open the door even a sliver to any kind of relationship with Sheila.

On the one hand, I hope that these two convince Liam to go "magnanimously" offer to take Hope back, and she says "no, we're good. By the way, I fucked Thomas," and walks away, leaving him in tears. On the other hand, while Annika was selling the hell out of her scenes, I just have this visceral creeped out reaction to MA. I don't even think it's exclusively just Thomas as a character, but something about the way he plays him, or something. And their pillow talk scenes were largely about her clearly being on the rebound/reacting to Liam being a complete tool, and her feeling like she stepped out of her shell. But there's also a bit of an element of her trying too hard here. It's like since kissing Thomas blew up her family, she thinks she needs to make it worth it, so she's over-investing in this right now. I appreciate that Hope is driving her own story, because she rarely gets to do that. It's pretty much constantly shit happening to her, not her taking action. Sheila can go away any day now, and Deacon can have literally any other storyline. I'll even grit my teeth and deal with him and Taylor as long as he can be done having "dates" with Sheila in the prison waiting room.

Sadly, not mine. Just a picture I found when I was looking for a cute profile pic to use.

I just can't get behind Thomas/Hope because I could still see the manipulation he does. Like with the ring. If the real meaning behind it was genuine, he wouldn't have immediately been "OK, then, now we can fuck!" because she took it off right then and there. If he actually cared about her well being and state of mind, he would have told her that it's not the right time, and he doesn't want to sleep with her on the rebound like this, while she's just been talking about the fresh breakdown of her marriage. Did Thomas finally get his own place? Liam, ugh, shut up. I should be able to sympathize with you, but you've made it impossible. Wyatt is the superior Spencer son, by far. My only complaint is that I wish he would bring up all the Steffy shit Hope has put up with. I know Hope brought it up, but Liam can brush off her bringing it up as her just trying to justify what she did. He needs other people, who he might be more inclined to listen to, to remind him of how much Hope has forgiven and how, for her, Steffy has been that "Thomas" figure for pretty much every minute that the two of them have been together. But, Hope has gotten over it every time, including when it was possible Liam had gotten Steffy pregnant. Of course, I'd also like Wyatt (or anyone) to point out to Liam that he complained about Hope working with Thomas so much, and lost his cool at Hope about it so many times, including trying to tell her what to do about her career, that he should consider that the stress of all of that may have contributed to Hope doing something so out of character for her. Deacon, come on, man. Why do you have to self-sabotage for Sheila, of all people?

I was so surprised by how much I liked Hope and Liam when AN came into the role, because, while I didn't like Liam with Steffy (may we never hear "cha cha cha" again), I also was not a fan of how much Liam and Hope sabotaged themselves over and over again. And I actually liked Hope/Wyatt, but uber hate that they married because Liam was like 2 minutes late. Liam and Ivy were good together, but always had that cloud hanging over them of "we're only pairing him with her because we have no other option right now." It was clear that the show intentionally cast someone who looked a lot like JMW, and that Ivy was just a placeholder until the show could get JMW/Steffy back. And then they made that clear when they had Steffy kill her off.

I had one little dangling thread of hope on that one after she said something like "I want to be with the man who only wants me." Since that's something he's told her over and over, it kind of almost felt like it could be a little bit of programming. That and, as others have pointed out, Thomas has had no point of view in this whole story. I've been thinking for a while that that is because he's not "all better" and they've been hiding that reveal from us. Because you know, it will be such a super duper shock when the guy who has been a manipulative asshole about Hope from the second he set foot back in L.A. turns out to, gasp, still be a manipulative asshole.

I don't know why I keep forgetting that Steffy is necessarily going to be off screen for a few months soon. So, we can't really get a lot of a Steam reunion, if any in the immediate future, unless SC is going to take some time off, too, and they write the two of them deciding to get out of town together for a while? Maybe Finn finds out about the kisses, we get the Finn/Taylor hook up, Steffy finds out, freaks out, and leaves town?

That's going to be my real test with Liam - have they made me hate him so much that I won't even sympathize with him not wanting the guy who was an accomplice in his daughter's kidnapping to live with and help raise her?

"Now he finally sees that Hope was the problem." Um, fucking what? This is the first time that Hope has been "the problem." The rest of the time it was your psycho brother, obsessing over Hope for years and committing all kinds of crimes and manipulations in his desperate quest to get into her pants. It's going to be kind of hilarious if all of this crap is just maneuvering to reunite Steam. Is there anyone left who wants that? I don't think I've seen a single Steffy fan anywhere on the internet who doesn't vastly prefer Steffy having a husband who has never looked at another woman over the waffle she'd be getting by default. And Liam fans can't be jumping up and down to see him becoming the biggest asshole on the show to prop Thomas to facilitate it. I cackled at Finn saying that Thomas could have stopped Hope from kissing him or just not let himself be alone with her in Rome in the first place. Oh, it's going to go down when he finds out about those two kisses Steffy hasn't told him about. I'm disgusted that we had to see Hope reassuring Thomas like he's this poor innocent flower.

I really hope this is like a one time deal, just her deciding to burn it all down herself, so that Liam can't come back and try to rebuild things. And, apparently, they really are going with the whole "Thomas is really reformed now" thing. Still think it would have been better to show him actually putting in the work instead of just deciding to make Liam an irredeemable asshole to make Thomas look better by comparison.

Yeah, that is what I thought was a cowbell, but I can see now what you're saying about it being part of the trophy.

Is that a cowbell hanging right by the black diary? Could someone here be related to Will Ferrell?

I so wanted Hope to really unleash some anger on Liam today, more than that tiny bit of it she showed when she realized he had to have already gone to Steffy. we all know that Thomas has done awful shit to the two of them, but Steffy's resume of terror against their relationship is far lengthier, including essentially abducting Hope twice. But, of course, Liam can't get his rocks off with Thomas, so he can't squeak out of that "biggest threat" category like Steffy has for years. I still don't want to see Hope and Thomas together, and I thought it was ridiculous that Hope went running to him for comfort when she has Brooke, RJ, Katie, Donna, or Deacon to go seeking hugs from. But, what I kind of do want to see if Hope and Steffy bonding and having some nice girls nights out where they both realize and laugh over what a complete asshat waffle Liam is. Kind of a more real version of what their mothers were going to do. And in their case, it could maybe even really work, since Steffy has a husband who treats her a million times better than Liam ever would and has eyes for nobody but her, so there's no reason for any friendship there to devolve into another fight. Maybe it turns out that all they needed to be able to fulfill that dream of raising their kids together as a blended family was for them both to be done with his waffling ass. And, maybe in six months or so, they can bring in some guy from the FC offices in Europe who Hope had a fling with when she was working there. I don't like how they are dressing RJ, but, then, does anyone on this show have a consistently decent wardrobe?

When Bill and Wyatt exist, why is Liam the Spencer character we get 24/7? I want to see Douglas hanging out with Bill and Wyatt. Can we get scenes of him spending time with them because all of the other adults in his life are dealing with shit?

That checks out with Jayne saying her relative was born in 1946. Is there anywhere to see a good screen shot of the clue wall? I always feel like they move over it so fast or only show one or two objects in a scene, that I never get a really good look at it.

Since Steffy is being firm in her "nope, not an option" stance with Liam, I think I have some idea of what's going to happen. (All speculation on my part). Liam is going to stick to his desire for a divorce. Hope is feeling so overwhelmed with guilt that she's not going to want anything to do with Thomas, even with Liam asking for a divorce. But, now that she's given Thomas that encouragement in Rome, he's going to be convinced he really has a shot, and he's going to take the express train to creepy town again, until Hope ends up in a situation that Liam needs to rescue her from. And given that this show does nothing original these days, he'll probably get the heads up to rescue Hope from Douglas who will, once again, have overheard some of daddy's evil plans.

I'm really hoping that Bill tears him a new one when he goes running to him now. Since Bill has been in such a contemplative mood, regretting his romantic fuck ups of the past, and saying he just wants to get Katie back and have his family again, I would expect him to not react well to Liam throwing it all away over one kiss, no matter how much he doesn't like Thomas. I also want him to tear him another new one if he dares try that "guess she ended up being just like Brooke after all" line around him.

I know Liam apologized to Steffy for the kisses, but he looked so pissed off that she wasn't just falling into his arms. He really got pretty fucking comfortable having two women on the hook all these years, and he is not happy that Steffy didn't get with the program.

I like that a lot of the cast seems to be onto Jayne already. Yes, there are a few who are all "oh, mama Jayne! We love you!" But, a lot of them are onto that act. And I think Travis helped undo her good name a little bit on the way out when he told Gabriel (with Chris sneaking around listening in) that he showed her the clue and she knew exactly who it refers to. Monet was smart to tell everyone she just pulled Travis's clue to confirm his identity. Chris is definitely not someone you want knowing you checked out his clue. He's sneaky, and he's already working to ingratiate himself with multiple people. No need to get on his radar. I know people suspect she pulled someone other than Travis, but they don't know who she did pull. Overall, I don't think this cast is as good at this game as the cast of the first season. It's like all of them (except for one or two people) think that they need permission to start speculating about who someone is, and they can only look hard at one or two people per episode. And you become a target of the whole house by checking out one person's clue? How stupid is that? I can see Shayne being mad about him getting her clue, but why would the rest of the cast say that paints a target on his back? Instead, it should be "of course he looked at Shayne's clue. She's one of the people that isn't giving the rest of us anything to work with." As much as I liked Travis, picking him was the smart move on Gabriel's part, given what he knows. He thinks that he and Jayne are now the only people who know who Shayne's relative is, so that's something he can keep in his pocket in case he gets picked to be the guesser again. Everyone knew who Travis was, so if Gabriel picked Shayne this time, and nobody else's identity became obvious enough in the next episode, whoever picks would have picked Travis, which would leave Gabriel without an accurate guess in his pocket. And, yes, Jayne, we get it. It's a game, and you want to win. We could do with at least fifty percent less gloating about your lies in your confessionals, though. I really hope someone figures her out and sends her home soon.

The only thing that could have made me enjoy Steffy more today would have been if, when Liam said he doesn't see how he can go forward with Thomas being in their lives, she would have said "well, if you're not sure how to do that, you can probably ask Hope for tips on how she's stayed with you despite me being in the picture." I also would have loved for her to hit him more in the face with what Hope and Finn have forgiven the two of them for, compared to what Hope has done. "She and Finn forgave you and I for having sex and it being possible you were my baby's father. A kiss seems like a walk in the park compared to that." Credit to her, though, for repeatedly telling him to go back to his wife and family, and for making it clear that she is no longer an option for him. I'm guessing that part about pretending him kissing her didn't happen is going to end up coming back to bite her in the ass, though. If I had to guess, I'd put money Liam blurting it out to Hope to hurt her, and then it will snowball from there. (And he probably won't even be fully honest with her that Steffy rejected him and told him to cut it the fuck out, so the story will get around sounding like she was a fully enthusiastic participant.) She really needs to tell Finn what happened and make it clear that she put a stop to it. I'm still liking RJ. I liked when he told Hope she had to spit it out herself to their mother, he wasn't going to do it for her.

I was so bummed when the previous Thomas left, because he and Sally were so good. (Of course, Sally had chemistry with literally everyone on the show). The writers trashed every single bit of that character development when they brought him back. I can't even see the Thomas that was with Sally and this Thomas as the same character. Also, it's always bugged me that they tried to act like his head injury was responsible for all his bad behavior, and he was just such a great guy after that was corrected. No, the head injury was the reason for the Hopequin mess, but he had no head injury when he was abusing Douglas and planning on drugging Hope to have sex with him while going so far as to murder a young woman to keep the Beth secret. He's always been a shitty person, he just pulled the earnest good guy act after the brain surgery the same way he's pulling it now. And everyone in his life was so scared by him almost dying that they went along with it.