Why is Bill to blame for Liam's recklessness?
Everyone accuses Bill of trying to kill Liam and Sally, but Liam is responsible for doing the hokey pokey with a wired building and tongue slapping with Sally while his wife tried to rescue him this week on B&B.
Opinions are like asses. Some people have one, and some people are one. Some people sit on one without raising a finger to help a situation. Some people have one and unload on it others at the wrong time. And then there are some that are full of crap, leaving some people on the toilet all night, wondering where they went wrong.
This week, while Sally and Liam were trapped, everyone from Coco to Katie sat on their rumps and had plenty of opinions of Bill for detonating the explosives in the Spectra building while Sally and Liam were still in it. Not a "thank you" was uttered when Bill and Steffy saved Sally and Liam from the rubble. Brooke used the incident to nail her stiletto into Bill's heart one final time, and Steffy learned that Liam was cheating on her while she was trying to save him!
Like everyone else, I have an opinion, too, about what went on this week, and it's gonna leave some people squeezing the Charmin as we get two scoops deep in who's got it right, who's got it wrong, and who needs a brain colonic this week on the Bold and the Beautiful.
In case you missed it
Before I give out the colonics, shaken and intensely stirred, here's a quick rundown of what went on this week. You'll find a detailed synopsis in our Bold and the Beautiful daily recap section, dating back to the nineties.
Bill was quite happy with himself for demolishing the Specta building -- until he realized that Sally and Liam had run right back into the building after Justin had given the all-clear. Bill and Wonder Wife Steffy leaped into action to rescue Liam and Sally. Little did Steffy know, while she was risking her life to save Liam, he was rumbling in the rubble with Sally!
Maybe I'm overselling it, but Sally and Liam did kiss -- twice. She also professed love to him. He didn't reciprocate the words, but he sure did reciprocate the smooches.
After the rescue, Liam was adamant about telling Steffy what had really gone on in the building, and Steffy was astounded that, instead of calling for his wife, praying to God for forgiveness -- or hell, even pulling out his cellphone to let people know he was actually alive, Liam was slapping tongues with her biggest enemy since Hope Logan.
Meanwhile, Bill needed a shield to go with that sword charm to protect him from all the stones people threw his way as they accused him of trying to kill Liam and Sally. At this point in the program, I'd like to ask Coco, Saul, Darlita, and Shirley to take several seats, preferably in another country, for having the nerve to blame Bill when they were responsible for keeping up with the leaders of their merry band of sit-in idiots. It's all fun, games, and frozen dinners until buildings explode. Then it's every Spectra for himself, I guess.
Katie is full of surprises, and she is one of the few who actually understood what Bill was going through and empathized with him. Too bad that, in her quaking, "Oh, my God!" hysteria, she didn't bother to visit Liam and Sally in their coed hospital room. Yes, coed. Los Angeles is progressive, and Liam and Sally shared a hospital room.
Bill offered to pay for a new location for Spectra. He'd picked it out already and everything; however, beggars will be choosers, and the down-and-out Spectra gang apparently prefers the hard-knocks life to accepting any help from Bill. Except when it comes to medical bills.
Sally's bill indicated that Mr. Spencer had paid it. After Shirley had told Bill they didn't want his help, she acted like she didn't know if the payer was Bill or Liam, but we viewers know that man-infant Liam wasn't worrying about paying a bill while he was standing around in a butt-out gown, goading Bill to fire him while accusing Bill of trying to kill him and Sally. Bill had a controller for the explosives, not for idiots who run back into wired buildings.
When Brooke heard of Liam's horrific close call with death, she rushed right over to tell Bill that he may have been lucky enough not to lose a son to an explosion, but he was definitely losing his wife over it. Frustrated by Liam and Brooke, Bill couldn't even drink a perfectly neat scotch.
Bill believed the only people in the world that understood him and supported him were Wyatt and Steffy -- and oddly enough, his ex-wife. Little does Bill know, Katie is only brown-nosing him in case she becomes his daughter-in-law. Wyatt and Katie continue to worry about Bill's reaction to their relationship, but if Bill's getting the hots for his current daughter-in-law, he might turn out to be more understanding of Wyatt and Katie than they think.
Liam didn't appreciate being saved. He berated Bill at the hospital and was even pissy that Steffy had driven him home from the hospital after he'd said his legs hurt. "Am I walking weird?" he sniped at her. Well, Liam, you just got out of the hospital after being wedged under concrete. Maybe he's mad at Steffy for rescuing him before he could take his cheating to a whole new level that probably would have left him walking weird indeed.
Steffy didn't know who'd blown debris up Liam's butt, but she was just as sick of hearing "Sally this and Sally that" as Bill was. Well, Steffy actually does know who blew the debris up Liam's, butt; however, it wouldn't have gotten there if Liam cared about his family half as much as he does about Sally these days.
Steffy told her husband that it was time to kiss Sally goodbye. Liam confessed that he'd kissed Sally, all right, and she'd said she loved him, too. Now Liam wants Steffy to understand the dire circumstances that led to it happening and to forgive him.
Should Steffy forgive Liam after she told him dozens of times to leave Sally alone? Bill took off his wedding band, but has he really let Brooke go? Will Wyatt and Katie confess their relationship before they wind up stammering during the "person to my right" Thanksgiving game?
More importantly, why was Coco wearing a shirt from the wardrobe of a seven-year-old in the seventies? Garanimals ain't got nothing on Coco's fashion this week on B&B.
Brooke, why did you even bother?
Brooke made an appearance this week. It wasn't to rush to her husband's side to console him after he'd risked his life to charge into a crumbling building to save his narrow-minded, prideful son. Brooke blames Bill for Liam and Sally almost dying because, according to Brooke, Bill just has to have everything right now. She must mean as opposed to the never that Liam proposed.
There Bill was, at home, alone in the dark. He hadn't even washed the soot out of his moussed hair or changed his ripped-up shirt before Brooke appeared like the wicked witch of his conscience to demolish whatever was left of his resolve after the Spectra gang and Liam had tried to bury him in blame for Liam and Sally's incident.
Brooke shouldn't even have bothered to show up. She had already returned her rings and walked out on him a few weeks back. She claimed to be there because she cared, so I assumed she'd show Bill some humanity, something she hasn't done in weeks. I had hoped to see Brooke struggle with leaving the man she loves at a time like this in his life; however, seeing Bill downtrodden, blackened by smoke, and worn down by the ill words of others hadn't stirred a single wifely inclination in her.
Bill told Steffy that he wished Brooke could be compassionate and understand him like Steffy did. Steffy said Brooke loved him but hadn't seen what he'd gone through as Steffy had. Like Bill told Brooke, Brooke would have been there to see it if she'd been a devoted wife. You know, like Steffy is to Liam? Brooke saw Bill's pain this week, but she remained dispassionate and cruel toward him while, ironically, claiming that he needed to be less cruel to others.
Brooke seemed to only be there to wave the Liam flag in Bill's face and fault Bill for the result of decisions that grown adults had made in risking their lives over an obsession with a freaking building. Bill obsessed about putting a building up, but Liam obsessed just as dangerously about one coming down. Brooke complained that Bill couldn't understand that Liam had done it because of his principles and his beliefs, not because Liam was having a tantrum.
Except Liam was having a tantrum. Liam tried to get his way over Bill's, and Brooke does not know Liam if she believes otherwise. Liam did what he did because he is just like Bill. Liam has to be right, just like Bill. Liam has to get his way, just like Bill. Liam refuses to compromise, and Liam will not wait for things, just like Bill.
Liam might be worse than Bill because Liam manipulates justice and supposed principles to get his way. Beneath the surface, it's only "justice" and "doing what's right" if it's done Liam's way. When Liam made a mistake with the building ownership, he was willing to do anything, including risk his own life and the lives of others, to keep things his way.
Bill seemed heartless to want to proceed with the demolition, but it was Bill's building to do with as he pleased. Liam lost his moral ground the moment he refused to let Bill relocate the Spectras from the half-burned-out building at Bill's expense.
To further complicate matters, Liam did all of this because he has a thing for Sally. Liam is in the same cycle he was in when he had to "save" Steffy, who'd been hurt by Bill, and the whole time, Hope couldn't figure out why Liam couldn't just let Steffy, Hope's nemesis, land on her feet on her own. Brooke should recognize this pattern in Liam, but instead, she destroyed her marriage over Liam using justice for Spectra as an excuse to be around Sally.
Bill was right when he said Brooke didn't want to understand that the demolition with people inside was an accident. She didn't want to understand it because she needed it as just another reason to feel good about walking away. Bill wanted to know why he and Brooke couldn't have a second chance, and she claimed that he needed to work on his violent behavior and capacity for cruelty. Bill asked when he'd ever been that way with her, and she said she saw how he treated Liam. Bill quipped that she needed to pay attention to how Liam treats Bill.
Liam is not respectful to his father. Liam is not fair to his father. Liam really isn't that way to anyone who doesn't completely agree with him. The cold, dismissive way he treats Wyatt and Steffy, who disagreed with Liam, is proof of it. Brooke thinks that Bill is supposed to see how compassionate Liam is and emulate Liam, but having successful relationships is not about the people involved mimicking each other.
Being in a successful relationship with another person means being humble, admitting your own mistakes, noticing when you are infringing upon the other person's right to be, and finding compromises. When one person is not willing to compromise, as Liam wasn't, then that person has to accept loss if the other person has more control over the situation. Liam wasn't willing to accept loss or compromise, which makes Liam the problem.
Bill told Brooke that Liam's actions had been inexcusable. Brooke exclaimed that Bill almost killed Liam, but Bill said that Liam almost killed himself, which is the damn truth. Liam had no business playing hokey pokey with a wired building in the first place. His wife begged him not to risk his life over a building, and the rest of the Spectras knew when to get out. If Darlita was smart enough to leave, Sally and Liam have no excuse.
Liam believed he could win over his father because his father wouldn't kill him. Just as Liam signed over Spectra to Sally without knowing how Spencer's acquisitions worked, he recklessly ran back into the building without bothering to think someone might have seen him and Sally outside the building. Liam wasn't even reasonable enough to contact Bill to say whether or not the protesters were still in there. Shirley and Brooke blame Bill for not triple checking, and maybe Bill should have called Liam first; however, Liam is equally to blame for not sticking to the decision the group had made to vacate. Shirley, Saul, and Darlita are to blame for not keeping up with Liam and Sally, and Sally is to blame for not telling Liam to give it up already.
Bill told Brooke that it was an accident, but she decided that too many accidents happened around him. I don't know what Brooke was insinuating, but it sounded like she was implying that Bill had pressed that button, knowing he could be killing Sally and Liam.
Brooke compounded her rebuke by telling Bill that he might get the love he desperately sought if he lived his life with more compassion. She claimed that she'd said vows to him and had been prepared to honor them for the rest of her life. Yeah, right. Brooke knows good and well that she isn't going to honor any vows to any man for the rest of her life unless she gets married on life support and the groom pulls the plug after the ceremony.
Bill seems resigned to the fact that Brooke has written him off, and he still blames Liam for the upheaval of his life. Bill knows the real reason Liam jumped to Sally's defense. It's because Sally has "the hold" on Liam, and Bill warned Wyatt that Liam would become even more intolerable now that Sally is even worse off than before.
Will Liam let this hold Sally has on him doom his marriage, or was kissing Sally and hearing her declare love for him enough to make him realize that he'd hurt her and his wife? Liam claims that Steffy will never lose him, but is it really the beginning of the end for that marriage?
Karma delayed isn't karma denied
Steffy knows exactly what Sally feels for Liam because Steffy kissed Liam after she'd also been on the edge of death. The ride-or-die Steffy has been down for Liam from the moment he saved her from drowning, but unlike Sally, Steffy didn't even pretend she'd respect Hope and Liam's relationship, engagements, or short-lived marriage. Because I was a big fan of Hope's, it's satisfying to see Liam drawn to another woman while Steffy tries to fight for her place in his life.
Though Steffy is getting the karma she deserves for disrupting Hope and Liam's relationship, I can't fully savor it because Liam has become a loathsome cheater in the process, just like the last time he ripped Steffy off by marrying Ivy. Instead, I feel sorry for Steffy because Liam manipulated her into believing he had a worthy cause against the evil Bill Spencer when Liam really just needed an excuse for why he keeps gravitating to Sally.
Everyone tried to tell Steffy that something was strange about her husband fighting so hard for something that really had nothing to do with him. The first conclusion Ridge jumped to was that Liam had a thing for Sally. Bill kept trying to tell Steffy that Liam wasn't treating her with the respect a wife deserved, and there had to be more to Liam's involvement with Sally than Liam was letting on. Steffy even sensed it herself, which was why she kept questioning Liam about his involvement with Spectra and kept warning Sally away from her husband.
Liam picked fights with Steffy to keep her off balance about his involvement with Sally. He even told his wife that it wasn't her business. He was unappreciative when Steffy saved him and Sally from the rubble. He didn't come clean to Steffy about what had happened in the building right away. In fact, he let an entire night go by with it lying between them, and when Steffy told him that it was time to let Sally go, what did he do? He went running right over to Sally's house.
A devoted husband wouldn't have needed to go to Sally's house to discuss telling his wife the truth about what had gone on between them. That's what cheaters do. If Liam was so principled as he claims to be, he would have immediately apologized to his wife for not listening to her all along about the sit-in and about being overly involved with Sally. He would have kissed Steffy's dusty feet that had climbed through debris to save him, and he would have begged her to forgive him for leading Sally on and letting Sally kiss him.
But Liam couldn't do that because Liam had kissed Sally back. Steffy was heartbroken that, instead of thinking of her while he was trapped, Liam had only been thinking of Sally. Sally has been all Liam has thought about since the rescue. Has he even asked Bill or Steffy if they were hurt while trying to save him? Is Liam telling the truth that his principles led him to tell Steffy the truth, or is he using coming clean to move further away from Steffy and closer to Sally?
Sally warned Liam that he could lose Steffy because she'd be angry that Sally had been the woman he'd betrayed Steffy with. Tell me if I'm being outlandish to suspect that Liam is banking on that, so it can be Steffy's fault the marriage is failing. He will be the innocent party because he'd been honest about kissing Sally, but it's just sad that it's just too much for Steffy to accept.
I've seen this type of manipulation in action when a boyfriend of mine decided to pick a fight or tell me something to upset me just to free himself up for the evening. Male friends have confided in me that they pick fights with their girlfriends to get out of going to family dinners or buying a Valentine's Day gift.
So for me, it's easy to believe Liam told Steffy about this so he could have a clean conscience about going right back over to Sally's once Steffy demolishes the living room in a maelstrom of anger about his betrayal.
On the other hand, it could very well be that Liam meant well, and Sally latched onto him the same way she latched onto to Thomas, who seemed to be the first guy ever to do anything nice for her. She takes to the very next rich guy to blow into her sails, and listening to her talk about Liam, one would think Thomas never even existed. One has to wonder if Sally has genuine feelings for Liam or if she's the type of woman to fall for any man with a fat wallet.
What is clear to me is that Sally isn't the woman for Liam, and because of what Steffy and Liam are going through due to his decision about Sally, Liam proved that he isn't worthy of Steffy. Sally isn't the woman for Liam because she doesn't have principles. There he was, telling her how important it was to him to be honest with Steffy, and there Sally was, telling him he didn't have to say anything at all. As for Steffy, she fought for Liam and his family, as she always does, but Liam fought against his family for another woman. The spouses have opposing priorities.
I understand Liam felt that Bill had bullied Sally. I get that Bill was wrong to set the fire. What I don't get is why, once Liam found out that he'd made the mistake with transferring the property, he hadn't tried to work on a compromise. He claims that he did, but the suggestions he offered Bill were not to build now and not to build in a year if Spectra succeeded.
Had Liam really wanted to protect his wife and his family while helping Sally, he would have convinced Sally to let Bill set Spectra up in a new building and pay the first year's rent, as Bill offered to do. Instead, Liam convinced Sally that the building was a part of her family. How is that any less obsessive than the way Bill behaved about "Sky?"
In reality, none of Sally's family has even been back to that building in decades. C.J. and his mother wanted to sell the property before Sally took an interest in rebuilding the brand. Businesses move all the time. It's the brand that means anything. Home is supposed to be where the heart is, and Spectra will be Spectra anywhere that Sally hangs the sign.
Liam claimed he wanted Sally to have her chance to be a success. It isn't mandatory that the success be in that very building, and everyone could have been happy had Liam just advised Sally to take her contractors and sewing machines to a new building at Bill's expense. I'm pretty sure Bill would have even repaid her bank loan, too, to make Liam happy.
The problem is that Liam can't be happy unless he defeats Bill. Liam lost, and he lost badly because he bought the building for Bill. It's the reason that, even though Bill saved Liam's life, Liam berated Bill in the hospital and took cheap shots at him, like saying Bill didn't care to know Saul and Darlita's names because it made it easier for Bill to take their jobs away from them.
Instead of harping on how Bill had supposedly almost killed Liam and Sally, Liam should have realized that he'd gone too far for his own pride and had risked his life, his father's life, his wife's life, and the lives of the Spectra gang because it had to be Liam's way or no way.
Liam said that he'd be upset, too, if Steffy had been trapped in the building, but she readily told him that she wouldn't have been in a situation like that because she wouldn't have involved herself to that degree in other people's troubles. Liam asked if she really didn't think he had a responsibility because he'd erroneously given Sally the building. To his surprise, Steffy didn't.
Steffy has no empathy for users, especially not ones who'd taken advantage of her family. If Liam cared for his wife, he would have considered Steffy's feelings and adhered to her boundaries regarding Sally. But Liam couldn't do that because, as Liam said himself, he is incapable of siding with his family if it goes against what Liam's believes in. That means Liam is loyal to himself, not his family.
Steffy has to ask herself if she wants to continue in a situation where her husband will check out on their marriage and family, even fight against their family, for someone else or some cause. Does Steffy really want a husband who'll die for a cause, even when other viable solutions are available? If Steffy still has a real marriage. Liam might already have one foot out the door.
If I were Steffy, I'd set Liam's bags outside the door and push his other foot over the threshold, because she deserves a husband who will fight for her, not any other woman with a cause. She deserves a man who will make reasonable decisions and find compromises, not one who pitches a fit and dares his father to kill him and fire him when he can't get his way.
People keep saying that Bill can learn compassion from Liam, but Liam needs to learn the art of compromise from Bill. Bill did understand that it was important to Liam, and Bill did offer to relocate Spectra. That was the best compromise, and Liam should have been willing to take it.
Let us know what you think. Was Liam doing the right thing in insisting upon the sit-in, or should he have been willing to compromise for the sakes of everyone involved? Did he confess the kiss to Steffy because it was the right thing to do or because Steffy's anger will give him an excuse to draw nearer to Sally? Is either woman right for Liam, or does Liam need to learn to be committed to something bigger than himself before he continues in any relationship?
Taking a look ahead
According to the spoilers, Liam will plead with Steffy for forgiveness, and Bill continues to tell Steffy what she deserves in a man. Liam does some soul-searching and realizes where he went wrong. After Steffy has an incident of her own, she'll be more understanding of Liam. Steffy better not sleep with Bill and turn around and sleep with Liam, causing a who's the daddy storyline.
In the Forrester camp, Charlie and Pam have a rift in their relationship, and I suspect it has to do with his relationship with Sheila. Quinn and Eric wonder what to do with Sheila's portrait and if they've really seen the last of Sheila.
With Thanksgiving just a couple of weeks away, will the Spencers and Spectras make peace in time to break bread with the Forresters? It's time for some Thanks and forgiveness, but to get these three families to sit down to dinner, Pam's turkey has got to be bold and beautiful, baby!
Have a howling happy Halloween, and until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!
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