KerleyQ

Exactly. I love them both, but they've both absolutely fucked up over the years. If they get back together (and I hope they do), it will be two grown ass adults who are fully aware of the shit they've both done in the past. I also hope we get a little more nuance in all of this as it goes forward. Like, I can absolutely see Aiden feeling hurt that his father hasn't been coming around for years, and also fearing that, once Lulu is all better, he'll just skip town again. But we've had writing over the years that indicated he was in communication with him, at minimum. So they shouldn't play this like they don't know each other at all.

Pretty much exactly what I was thinking when I saw her comment earlier today. She just kind of seems to be enjoying riling everyone up. Make the freaking statement already, or just move on. Please tell me you only mean that Lucas would be like a role model/sounding board kind of participant in this story. Because they didn't age Aiden up that much.

OK, but Emily and Bobbie? Dead. Nik, Laura, and Bobbie? All Lucky's family, the people who are kind of supposed to talk him up. Also, Nik hasn't been pro-L&L2 since the day he started banging Liz. And Laura seems to fully understand that Liz and Lucky aren't together anymore, last I saw. The only person in Liz's current life who has been remotely pro-Lucky since they announced JJ's return has been Terry, who Lucky did not "curate." (Edited because I confused Nik and Spencer for a second, there. Nik is, of course, still alive.)

Totally did not see the scene of Loretta on set in a body cast. How quick was the clip? So, if Glenn was the target of this shooting, now every victim had at least one implant in their body - shoulders and a skull plate. They weren't from the same supplier, since Dudenoff's was not from the same source Sazz's were. But, is there some doctor (like Dr. Maggie) who was performing follow up exams/care on them? It just seems like that's significant. When we didn't know about Dudenoff being dead yet, I was thinking that, between Sazz and Glenn, someone was after stunt people. But Dudenoff wasn't, to our knowledge so far, a stunt double. But maybe that's something the trio needs to look into. They need to go back to that bar. I do want to see them follow up on the serial numbers of all of the fake joints that were in the incinerator and find out if those were parts that were still in patients or had been replaced. Perhaps someone got a hold of discarded parts and threw them in the incinerator? I've had this niggling theory/hope that Sazz is not really dead all season, so finding out those parts weren't in her anymore would point that way. One more thing, my son just pointed out - maybe Sazz wasn't trying to write "tap in," but was trying to say "taping," as in "someone is taping inside your apartment"?

I've got to ask - when has Lucky had the time and opportunity to curate Liz's social circle? He literally just met Terry and Portia, and they were all focused on Lulu.

My theory on that was that she's the one who wrote the initial script. She probably planned on telling Charles about it before she made any moves with it. But, someone stole it, and she found out that it was being made into a movie. That would be the problem she left the message about, and also the reason she was anxious to talk to Charles, so she could tell him before the studio got a hold of him. It could fit with her watching Charles, too. She could have been watching for material for her script.

It was nice to see JJ get to do some real scenes instead of sitting around that damn poker table for weeks on end. His scenes at Lulu's bedside and then his quiet work at Bobbie's were excellent and a reminder of how good he is. And, damn, he and BH have chemistry even when it's just him staring at the back of her head through a window. Oh, Anna, honey, no. Although I'll own my hypocrisy. I hate that the kiss happened, but if Carly finds out, I will enjoy the hell out of her pain. How has Brennan become one of my favorite characters? And can we please get more Brennan/Robert scenes going forward, show? Please? Terry being an L&L2 shipper was fun.

God bless them for letting us see Taylor's hilarious collapse again at the start of this episode. It was just as funny this time. Poor spineless Finn. Now that his MIL is back in town, he's got to do double duty praising her and his wife at every turn. Hmm... I wonder what's "inspiring" Ridge more about working on the Brooke's Bedroom line. Is it his ex-wife lurking around in her collection of oversized 80's blazers in every shade of the brown rainbow? Or, and hear me out, is it watching his ridiculously beautiful partner modeling sexy lingerie? Steffy is way too obsessed with her parents' relationship. Even Will, who, so far seems to be a petulant asshole, displayed a healthier attitude towards his parents' relationship, and Steffy is a grown ass adult who was old enough to almost have an affair with his father before Will was even born. Again, I need Hope/Carter to have WAY more buildup than what we're getting. Carter has gone from happily playing Steffy's sidekick in her quest to fuck Hope over to "I've been thinking about you in lingerie" out of the blue to Hope? And this would be his, what, fifth interoffice romance? By this point, Hope, and every other woman who works at FC, should see Carter as either desperately horny for any woman he can make eye contact with, or a major player who uses FC as his hunting ground for more women. And considering that Carter has seemed like he has a crush on Steffy for a while now, it might have made more story sense, even if the ultimate goal is Hope/Carter, to have Hope and Carter teaming up to try to break up the Sinn marriage. Although I will find it absolutely hilarious if Hope hooking up with Carter ends up being the sign that convinces everyone something is terribly wrong with her. Carter only getting laid because the woman has a brain tumor is so on brand for his romantic history.

I think it has been, for the most part. I know the first season, I had Jan as my main suspect fairly early on, based on some lines of hers here and there during the season. In the second season, I remember it feeling obvious, to me, that the cop had been talking about Poppy when he was talking about meeting a beautiful woman (when we were supposed to be faked out and thing he was talking about Cinda). At that point, I suspected one or both of Poppy/the cop. Third season, I honestly had a twinge of suspicion of the mother and son when they were first introduced, and kind of kept waiting for something to jump out at me saying it was them. I got distracted by some other theories as the season went on, but by the end of the season, I was split between what actually happened and another theory. The whole theme of that season seemed to be what a mother would do for her child. It's not always obvious exactly what happened, but I feel like the killer and some pieces of the circumstances have been there to be seen as each season progresses. Sure, there are always red herrings, but I feel like that's pretty common for a murder mystery.

If they kill off Hope to save Taylor, that would probably legitimately have me done with this show. Not in a "I only watch for this character" kind of way, because while she's my current favorite, she's not the only one I watch for. But, the indignity of Brooke losing her child at the altar of Saint Taylor, and Hope losing her life to prop up Steffy's shitty ass mother? Hell no. I'm still pretty sure she's getting the pilot's heart, though. I know soaps can sometimes do completely pointless cameo appearances and all, but a guest star being in the hospital talking about his concerns over his heart health, only to be told how great all his tests came out, right as we're getting a story with a main character having a heart condition? That screams "here's the heart donor" to me. The migraines seemed like they were some plotline to lead to Hope/Finn - he discovers her tumor or whatever is causing them, they bond, things happen, etc. But I honestly have no idea where they're going with that. With Finn basically backing down from his anger and being all buddy-buddy with Hope again, I feel like they either trashed that story, or they're still intent on telling it, but had to detour for a while for Bitch in a Box and the aftermath (because Finn wouldn't leave or cheat on her right after his cousin locked her in a cage and tried to kill her). If they're backing off from Hinn, then whatever is causing the migraines is now going to be used as the explanation for "why is Hope acting like this?" And Carter landing someone only to find out that her flirting and sleeping with him was due to a tumor is pretty much exactly how this show rolls.

Next week's spoilers: Have we not already had numerous scenes of Will talking to Katie about how he feels about Bill? So much for Steffy not trying to interfere, I guess. What a shock. Are we really supposed to take Taylor seriously as a doctor when she gets serious diagnosis, doesn't get a second opinion, and then is hesitant to get one when it's suggested? It took me a second to remember who Grace was, and she is definitely a character I could have done without seeing again. She must be thrilled that Paris landed Thomas. Is Katie's fear that Bill is more into Brooke than her? Because, well... What is Taylor skeptical about? She hasn't seemed remotely skeptical, just resigned.

At this point, Carter is kind of a joke who comes across as just horny for everyone and anyone. Now he suddenly wants Hope? Was it just her turn in the rotation? Her name came up in his day planner this morning? He's an attractive man, and he had insane chemistry with Quinn, but now I just can't take him seriously. He seems super thirsty and like he's just trying to find someone, anyone, willing to sleep with him. We've had exactly zero buildup to him having a thing for Hope. If anything, he seemed like he maybe had a crush on Steffy. He never so much as sent a long glance Hope's way. When is Finn going to get tired of Steffy's crap? I'm not even saying that wanting him to get with Hope, at this point, I'm just saying that because this is such an unhealthy, controlling, abusive relationship. And the show really needs to stop presenting it as some ideal of true love. I cackled at Taylor fainting, rewound, watched it again, and cackled even louder. Doesn't every young man want to work on putting together a video of his mother modeling lingerie? And I fear that, if Carter talks Hope into modeling lingerie, we're going to end up with mother and daughter doing a joint lingerie shoot with their son/brother and partner/stepfather coordinating it.

Do Steffy and Taylor exist just to gaslight the viewers? "My mother would never target a relationship like that." Really? Really?? Like her last return to town wasn't her being a heat-seeking missile headed directly for married Ridge's junk. Let me guess, you, Steffy, also would never? Spare us. Taylor's dialogue all carries an implied "because I'm dying, you see!" after every single line. How has nobody cracked the code on all of her "I am going to embrace every minute I have left," comments she's making a dozen times a day? I knew Katie was going to pull the exact shit she was pulling. Bill had a new woman in his life, and she got all jealous and could not tolerate it. Now that he's available and openly pursuing her, she's avoiding the question entirely. I figured after I saw rumors of Taylor's impending "death," that Katie would dither after Bill puts himself out there, and then, just when Katie is maybe ready to admit she's interested, Ridge will have married Taylor on her "deathbed," and Brooke will be free and clear. As someone who will probably never fully give up on Brill, I am preemptively resenting the show for yanking my chain, but damn Katie deserves this so much. So I'll enjoy it for whatever little bit of them I get, because Katie's pain will make it worth it. Will is kind of an asshole, isn't he? Couldn't spend five minutes with his cousin without being all "dude, how could you not know you were dating a psycho murderer?" Like him not trusting her because he was all in his feelings over daddy having a new kid makes him some kind of great judge of character and not just a petulant asshole. And, Lord, they're going to be the next generation of Hope and Steffy, as they become surrogates in the Batie vs. Brill saga, aren't they? Not that RJ has ever been a fan of his mom being with Bill, but he's a fan of his mom, period, so Will being a dick about her will naturally have him defending Brill, even if it's not what he would prefer.

I don't know if you all caught it, because it's been super subtle in the writing, but Steffy is really happy her mother is in town and hopes she stays. You really have to pay attention to the subtext to get it, but it's there. I cracked up at Steffy basically telling Hope "I'm not going to try to get my parents back together because my dad is such an unrepentant waffle that I feel confident he'll waffle his way back over to my mom for some length of time sooner or later." Do Steffy and Finn have anything between them other than sex and their shared worship of Steffy?

I think Marshall is going to be one of their red herring suspects eventually. My theory is that Sazz wrote the original screenplay, and she maybe hired Marshall in some capacity, like an assistant. Like others have guessed, Glen actually knew that was Marshall when he mentioned the beard. If Marshall was working for Sazz, Glen may have seen him hanging around with her at the bar. So my guess is that he stole Sazz's script, and that's the problem with the movie she was talking about when she left Bev that voicemail. I don't think he's going to actually turn out to be the killer, but I think that they'll suspect him once they realize that Glen knows him, and they find out how. I was genuinely surprised that, when they kept going on about how one person could have done that all in 12 minutes if they were in super great shape, Oliver didn't immediately throw out Jonk as a suspect. Instead, we got Martin Short's freaking brilliant scenes as Oliver attempted to reenact it. "It's already been 38 minutes" and the bird feather in his hair had me dying. I thought Steve Martin was excellent in his more serious scenes in episode 2, as Charles mourned Sazz, but Martin Short was just as excellent in these comedic scenes. Back to Jonk, my immediate guess was that at some point, after he freaks out some more, Oliver is going to find out from Loretta that Jonk's reputation is all publicist created, and not remotely real.

I let out a snort laugh when Steffy, while extolling all of her mommy's virtues, talked about how much integrity she has. Yeah, Taylor is just oozing integrity. When Brooke was talking to Ridge about how she's trying to be friends with Taylor, she still should have also put her foot down with Ridge. Something like "but that doesn't mean it's OK for you to be all flirty and touchy with her. Or to start attending 'family dinners' with her without me. You and Taylor have a bond and will always be family, but you need to stick with some boundaries to keep that bond platonic and not lead her on."

I don't think I necessarily "like" them, but I will say that this is the first man LW's Carly has had chemistry with since Jax. And, I guess the silver lining is that it will get him airtime? It really seems like they have been. I did see someone offer up an alternative theory (not remotely a spoiler, just a wild guess) that it's not them setting them up for anything romantic, but it's setting up a reveal that Ric is Dex's dad, somehow. Whatever it is, they've been throwing them in too many scenes together for them to not have something in mind for the characters.

I was cracking up and rolling my eyes during Steffy's speech to Ridge about how Taylor brings joyful energy to the family. If there is one thing I'm not getting from RB's Taylor, it's joyful energy. Even her clothes are bland. We've gone from KA's clavicle-forward wardrobe to a 1980's female stand-up's wardrobe. And is Steffy trying to push mommy and daddy back together again? Begging Ridge to get her to stay in town, when Steffy knows damn well that the only thing that ever keeps her in town is having Ridge. There could potentially be an interesting story in what Taylor's repeated abandonment has done to Steffy. But this show will never acknowledge that shit. We get constant reminders that Hope has issues because of her mother's romantic life over the years, and how she doesn't want to "turn into" Brooke. But never any acknowledgement from Steffy that she doesn't want to be the kind of absent parent her mother was? I'll say it again, dragging Li into this was a shitty thing for Taylor to do, knowing she doesn't want her family to know. Taylor has worked at the same hospital over the years. She doesn't have her own contacts there she could have used to find a good cardiologist? She has to drag her daughter's MIL into the middle of this and burden her with keeping the secret? I was thinking the same thing. My cousin has the same diagnosis. She was put on medication, and within a couple months, her test results were in a "normal" range. She, of course, has to be mindful of her health and go in for regular appointments for the rest of her life, but it was known right out of the gate that there was a treatment for it, and it wasn't an immediate death sentence. It's going to be hilarious when they act like Finn and Bridget have to come up with some exotic experimental treatment for something that millions of Americans are successfully being treated for.

The spoilers for this week: Also, there's a link mixed in among the spoilers for an article about how Will and RJ are going to have a feud, and it's suspected that it will involve a love triangle between the two of them over Electra Forrester, Ivy's niece. Um, isn't Will still a teenager? I know RJ isn't exactly 30, but I don't think his romantic rival should be a teenager who just came home from boarding school.

I'd find it kind of a hilarious statement on the state of this show if they killed Sam off with the temp replacement in the role. I've seen some stuff saying that the stuff we're seeing with LH as Sam now was filmed right at the same time they filmed the baby's funeral. So I'm not sure if we're going to see her back, and it just seems like LH has been there a long time because of the block taping schedule, or if LH is going to be wrapping things up.

I've been rolling my eyes at that set all week.

"So, you'll accept food from Josslyn, but not me?" Well, to be fair, Ric, Joss has never slipped anything into Liz's food or drinks, so... I really wish Liz would stop accepting his invitations at all. It's clear what his intentions are, and she's smart to not want to go there with him. Also, while they absolutely had chemistry back during their first relationship, it's really just not there now for me. They just feel kind of awkward together now. Liz still has chemistry with Jason and (from the little bit we got Friday) Lucky, but I'm just not seeing it with Ric. So there's not even the excuse of undeniable chemistry to pretend all the water under that bridge doesn't exist. So, Anna and Holly, two women who should, after decades of this kind of thing, know better, just have that conversation out in the open in a place they know is crawling with this guy's men? What could possibly go wrong? Also, I feel like Holly's "you and Jason?" line was basically telling us all "yeah, we're going to go there with them." Why, show? Why? Again, if there was some kind of undeniable chemistry, I could get the temptation, but there is not.

If Taylor wants to keep her condition from her family, it was a really shitty move to choose Li as the doctor she consults with. Yeah, HIPAA and all, so Li is, of course, used to not being able to discuss a patient's condition with anyone without permission, but she's now going to have to keep from her son and his wife that his MIL is dying? Of course, being a shitty person is kind of Taylor's MO, so... Oh, look, Taylor is holding that football for Charlie Brown Brooke, again. Brooke, honey, she does not want to be friends with you beyond using that "friendship" to manipulate you, just like she did last time, when she used it to keep you from getting back with Ridge, so she could sneak behind your back and pursue him herself. I mean she already did it right off the bat, making it clear that she won't be friends with you if you don't control Hope and devote your energies to protecting Steffy's marriage. And I think we can all be damn sure that Taylor will, soon enough, use this "friendship" as leverage to get you to sign off on (and even encourage) Ridge marrying her to fulfill her dying wish, despite her assuring you that she has on interest in trying to win Ridge back. That whole conversation she had with Ridge about him not marrying Brooke again, combined with her health news, makes it clear she's there to get that ring on her finger before she dies. I'd put good money on the pilot. That was, I'm assuming, the whole point of his scenes. The show was telling us "hey, here's a barely there character with a perfectly healthy heart!" And then, when Taylor is saved by Tom Arnold's heart, Brooke will be "that Logan slut" for daring to want Ridge back when it becomes clear that Taylor is out of the woods, and the marriage is no longer a deathbed wish being fulfilled. I was thinking that the writers decided they didn't want to keep going with Brooke as Steffy's co-CEO, so they're just pretending that all that happened was Brooke being the Brooke's Bedroom model again. They just couldn't bear to have Steffy not winning for more than 90 seconds. I have no problem, as a general rule, with just about anyone referring to Finn as being a father to Steffy's kids (because he's not Kelly's father, but he is her very involved stepfather who she seems to adore). But, I specifically remember scenes with KA's Taylor where she wanted to ignore that Hope is Douglas's mother, legally and in every other way that counts. So, Taylor ignoring that Kelly has a father who is alive and actively in the picture, so she can use Kelly as one of her pawns to browbeat Brooke over Hope's crush on Finn, is hypocritical and self-serving (which is, of course, how Taylor and her daughter roll, so...)

What a snoozefest today's show was. And, again, I can't help noticing that Steffy and her husband's great declarations of love were all about how he'd do anything for her, and she's the most important thing in the world to him, etc, etc. Yeah, she said she loves him so much, but that over the top "I'd do anything for you" shit was only flowing in one direction. It basically comes across like she loves him because he agrees with her that she comes first and is the most important person in the world. To be fair, this was also one of the many reasons I couldn't buy into a Hope/Thomas love story. All of her declarations about her feelings for him were about how much he loves her and only her. You can draw a parallel between Thope and Sinn about how both women are mostly into how much the guy isn't waffling over to another woman, after years of Liam waffling back and forth between the two of them.

I really want to know, do they switch writing staffs every other episode, or something? Because Finn was more abrupt and angry about the kiss talking to Brooke today than he was with Hope yesterday. Oh, look, there's Steffy ranting about Finn not listening to her to the guy who's kissed her twice without her confessing to her husband. So, again, Finn is supposed to stay away from Hope completely after one kiss, which he was very upfront with Steffy about, but Steffy doesn't need to limit contact with the guy who has been very aggressive in saying he wants to break up their marriage. Not only that, but Steffy is actively bitching about her marriage to him. When Finn came in and Liam stammered around about whatever item of Kelly's was his excuse to come over for some personal time with Steffy, Finn should have called both of their asses out on that bullshit. Even just a "Kelly isn't a forgetful child, but somehow she always forgets stuff when you need to come talk to my wife." I'd have a tiny morsel of respect for Liam if, when he said Hope isn't a homewrecker, he'd added "like us," or if when Steffy was ranting and raving about the kiss, Liam reminded her that he'd kissed her twice, and asked if Finn was aware of that. Just a little bit of self-awareness that the two of them have done worse many times would be appropriate here. Sure, he was half-assing defending Hope, while, of course, backpedaling to kiss Steffy's ass, but even Ridge defended Hope better. Oh, and considering how close he and Brooke were, I hate that he didn't speak a single syllable in her defense when Princess SuperBitch was whining about her. Speaking of... Hey, Ridge, Taylor needs the same talk you gave Steffy a while back, about how if she has a problem with you choosing Brooke, take that up with you, because it was your choice, over and over again. Oh, back to the "are there entirely different writing staffs from one day to the next" issue, Eric acting like this is the first time he's seen Taylor since her return. She was there at the Everybody Must Love Steffy extravaganza. Remember, Eric? She was the one who isn't Brooke that was hanging all over your son? And, of course Eric's house feels like home to you, Taylor. That's where you lived when you were in a relationship with him, remember? Are we allowed to remember? Or are we supposed to pretend that Taylor has always lived in some kind of purity air lock, only leaving it for Ridge's dick? I wonder if there's a reason Finn didn't include the detail about Steffy threatening to cut Hope's line when he told her he knew she'd told Hope to stay away from him. Did the writing staff forget, from one scene to the next, that he knew that part?