Flip open a fresh bottle of honey and drizzle it on Donna because it's Thanksgiving at the Forrester mansion! Most of Eric's family members are sprinkled around the globe, but somehow, Eric always stuffs his table to the wattle with the beloved, the lovelorn, and the tolerated. This holiday, the family let the love boil and the hate simmer for the year's most thank-filled dinner.
On Thanksgiving Day, viewers finally learned R.J.'s location. Apparently, he's visiting Maya and Rick in Paris. You know, Paris -- where they moved without telling us? Brooke said Vivienne, Julius, Zende, and Nicole would all be there, too, making it just enough people to spread Hope's Thanksgiving game around the world.
Back in Los Angeles, everyone behaved at dinner this year except for the hors d'oeuvre saboteur Pam, who scorched Quinn with meatballs of fire. Other than that, Thanksgiving at the mansion was perfect. Maybe not perfect. One person -- the one emotionally wedged between Brooke and Ridge -- was conspicuously missing from the feast. And I'm not referring to Stephanie, who Pam pointed out was wedged between her and Quinn during dinner.
Quinn and Eric compiled a party guest list. Eric checked it twice to ensure that Quinn didn't leave out anyone important -- like the chefs who make it all possible. Nice try, Quinn. Pam and Charlie barely made the final cut; however, even with all the talk of the family getting along for the family's sake, no one bothered to invite the man responsible for giving most of them the freedom or the breath to even be at the dinner: the almighty Dollar Bill Spencer.
Katie and Brooke know very well that, because of Bill's pardon, Thorne and Ridge can concentrate on avoiding lemon bars instead of prison bars. Steffy would have had to take Kelly to visit both of her grandfathers in the clink had it not been for Bill. Thanks to Bill imploding Katie and Wyatt's fling, Sally has a burgeoning career and a man worth a damn. Liam owes the honor of having two baby mamas to none other than the lovesick stallion.
Quinn and Wyatt should be forever grateful that the aforementioned stallion sewed his oats in Quinn's pasture. This holiday, Katie would have been talking to an empty seat to her right had Bill decided to take Will from her. And Bill would have been right to do so after what Ridge pulled with the judge and after the violence Will's stepfather and uncle committed against Bill.
For as many times as Eric mentioned how thankful Thorne and Ridge ought to be that Bill didn't press charges against them for flipping Bill over the balcony like a pancake, why didn't Eric invite Bill to Thanksgiving dinner? Stalker Zoe, the design thief Sally, and the husband-jacking Donna got seats of forgiveness at the Forrester table, so why not Bill?
As we all waddle to the fridge and rifle through the stacks of leftovers for just one more heaping helping of our holiday favorites, let's run down the week and get two scoops deep into what the grateful ingrates at the Forrester table really ought to be thankful for in 2018.
If you were preparing for the holiday and didn't catch the latest drama, click on our The Bold and the Beautiful recaps for a detailed summary of events. In the meantime, here's my take on what went down for Thanksgiving.
This week, Katie again left Thorne out of the loop as she worked overtime to get Bill's custody rights restored. I wonder if Thorne even knows she did it already. She also made sure she and Bill agreed on how to proceed with shared custody. As a bonus, she even threw in carpool duty the following week. She personally delivered the papers to Bill, probably to preempt any last-minute change of heart Bill might have pondered about seeking full custody of Will.
Brooke insisted that everyone be gracious to Bill for letting them off the hook again for their criminal behavior, but for Ridge, being gracious doesn't translate into giving Bill exclusive access to Ridge's wife. Brooke thinks Ridge is overreacting and letting his feelings for Bill cloud his judgment. How can Ridge be overreacting when Bill is indeed asking Brooke to come back to him every single time he sees her?
Brooke needs to realize that her feelings for Bill are what cloud Ridge's judgment -- and her judgment, too, for that matter. She had nerve, telling Ridge that, yes, she'd been with Bill all that time after Ridge left Bill's office. It was daytime when she got to Bill's office and nighttime when she got home. Ridge had been waiting, and he was starving. Meanwhile, she was lollygagging at Spencer, listening to Bill say she is the reason the earth rotates around the sun.
Heck, Brooke is the sun, as far as Bill is concerned. But Ridge is overreacting? Okay, Brooke, either the blonde hair dye is corroding your cranium, or you're really terrible at English. Bill has said in every way possible that he wants her to drop the dressmaker and get with the horse neigher. Bill's advances on Brooke are not all in Ridge's head. It's right there in front of Ridge's face, and Brooke sucks at gaslighting him into believing otherwise.
Speaking of doing things in plain sight, Quinn thought she was damn slick, leaving Pam and Charlie off of the Thanksgiving guest list. Quinn must have forgotten that, unlike Brooke, Eric actually can understand English and recognize proper names, too. Right away, Eric asked why the couple wasn't on the list. He reminded Quinn that Pam and Charlie are the reasons for the turkey, the yams, the honey ham, the homemade cranberry sauce, and the Swedish meatballs.
Quinn said she'd thought Pam needed a break from Quinn and Eric, but like Eric, I was wondering who Quinn thought would cook all that food and serve it to them. Certainly not the meal-scorching Logan sisters or Steffy -- who just started cooking by learning to warm baby bottles. Leave it to Quinn, and there would be nothing to eat but Chinese takeout.
Pam tried to act like she and Charlie were just going to have a quiet evening at home, but Eric said it was nonsense. Uh-huh. It sure was nonsense, because everybody knows Pam and Charlie can't stay out of the kitchen. I just wonder how the morning and afternoon went with Quinn allowing them to commandeer her kitchen. Too bad Mateo isn't still around to give Quinn a well-massaged distraction.
Pam also attempted to convince Eric that Stephanie was trying to communicate that Donna had returned to town for him. Eric didn't believe for a second that Stephanie was hosting The Dating Game from the crypt. He insisted that Pam accept Quinn as his beloved wife, whom he did not marry by accident. Amen and Hallelujah!
Another person trying to cope with the marriage choices of a loved one is Steffy, who isn't at peace with the ending of her last marriage to Liam, as she claims. In fact, the more she compliments Hope and advocates for peace, the deeper my suspicion grows that Steffy is liable to daddy-jack "Brunhilda" any day now.
For now, it's all peace and turkey grease in the Liam and his baby mamas triangle, even if Steffy and Hope are laying that grease on just a little too thick. It kind of makes me a little nervous that something might happen to Hope's baby. The writers wouldn't do it to Hope again, would they?
If Steffy and Hope can get along like mature exes for the sakes of their daughters, why is it again that Bill wasn't invited to the Thanksgiving dinner for Will's sake?
The Forrester clan has much to be thankful for in 2018. Whether they like it or not, some of it has to do with the unorthodox graciousness of Bill Spencer. To be fair to them, it is hard to be thankful to a man who pardons with the wave of one hand while punching with the fist of the other. Victims of the one-two pardon punch can't relax because they know Bill's next blow might be right around the corner.
Even so, Bill's graciousness in saving Forresters from prison warranted an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner, as did his stature in the lives of those at Eric's table. Bill is the father of three of Eric's dinner guests and grandfather to Kelly and "Hope Jr.," a.k.a. Brunhilda. Barring him from the meal sets a bad example for Will, who, surprisingly, didn't even mention wanting his father, the only absent family member of his in town, there. Unless Will thinks the babysitter, Kendra, is a family member. He sure sees her more than his mother.
What does it say about Eric, who forces Quinn to humble herself to the likes of Sheila, Pam, and Donna, that he doesn't impress upon his sons the same lesson about their treatment of Bill? Since the Forresters and their loved ones can't think of reasons to invite Bill to break bread with them on the most thankful day of the year, I've jotted down a few reminders for them.
First, Steffy should take stock of all Bill has done for her. Bill lied on Steffy. That's true. He made it seem like they were carrying on together behind Liam's back when they weren't. Bill also tried to blackmail her into marrying him. That's true, too, but it's a part of the one-two punch.
In the end, Bill not only agreed to let Taylor go free for attempted murder, but he also honored Steffy's request to have his stock in Forrester. Steffy didn't even have to marry him to get it. Furthermore, Bill let her father walk on assault charges. Is there not enough merit in any of these gestures for Steffy to ask Eric to invite her daughter's grandfather to the meal?
Thorne and Sally should be grateful that, because of Bill, their dance cards finally got punched, even if it took threatening Wyatt and Katie out of their relationship for it to happen. Thorne never had a chance with Katie as long as Wyatt was delivering piping hot pizzas to her bedroom right on time every night.
Bill's displeasure with his son dating his other son's mother was the bucket of ice water Katie needed to have dumped on her head to make her see that a relationship with a boring older man who's in bed by 9:00 p.m. is more her speed. It opened the door for Sally to finally have a chance at a man who wouldn't dump her the second his baby mama comes calling.
Hooking up with Wyatt elevated Sally's career, too. As for Wyatt, acquiescing to his father's demands about Katie led him to the woman he said brought an energy to his life different from any he's ever had. "Now that I've experienced it, I can't imagine my life without it," he told Sally.
Next up is Katie, who should be grateful that Bill didn't throw "thread" in jail for following his needle-headed brother to the Spencer mansion to start messing with Bill to begin with. Bill could have fought dirty during the custody battle, but he didn't. As he reminded Katie this week, he could have taken full custody from her after the stunt with the judge, but he didn't do that, either.
Will said his holiday wish was to spend more time with his father. So where is the disconnect that Katie didn't advocate for Bill to have a seat at the Thanksgiving table? I wonder if she plans to hog Will for Christmas, too. She'll probably hand him over to Kendra again, and Bill will have to take matters into his own hands, much to Thorne's chagrin.
Thorne can't get his wife to respect him when it comes to Bill, and Ridge fares no better with Brooke. Katie does it behind Thorne's back, but Brooke disrespects Ridge right to his face. While Brooke is right about Ridge needing to ease up on Bill, she needs to ease up on spending time with Bill. Like I said, it's hard for Ridge to be grateful for anything Bill did if Ridge's wife keeps letting Bill sniff around her, despite her husband's concerns.
That's why I give Brooke and Ridge some slack for not promoting Bill's Thanksgiving attendance. Ridge has been cuckolded enough by Bill to last well into the new year. Besides, Ridge had to sit with Brooke between him and Bill at last year's dinner. Pam joked that Quinn's foot can't go through Stephanie's smaller portrait on the wall, but what about Bill's head if Ridge had to watch Bill circle Brooke all evening?
I need you guys to let me know what you think. Should the Forresters have extended a Thanksgiving dinner invitation to Bill? Or was it best to let hungry stallions graze in other pastures this year? I'm biased toward Dollar Bill and liable to swear a pretzel is straight in his defense. That means I might not be the best person to judge the Spencer and Forrester clans for leaving out the one family member who helped bring into existence at least three guests there and kept another three out of prison.
The Forrester family does indeed owe a debt of gratitude to Bill, but maybe Quinn's logic about Pam and Charlie's invitation applies here, too. Quinn said Pam needed a break from Quinn and Eric. Maybe Bill needs a break from the Forresters -- and his emotionally demanding sons, too.
I imagine that Bill spent the holiday enjoying some scotch and cigars with his pal Justin and taking in Emma's homemade dance routine during halftime in the football game. After all, it's back in the carpool lane on Monday.
Wait. I take that back. Ain't no way Bill will sit through any dance routine. I can hear him rasping now, "If I wanted to see a dance, I would have gone to the ballet!"
It looks like one of Bill's pardons this year might be revoked! According to next week's previews and spoilers, Taylor is back to buzzing around the cuckoo's nest, and Bill will quickly lose patience with her. As usual, Taylor is her own worst enemy, but will the new and improved Bill Spencer give her a second pass as he did for Ridge? Maybe if Bill had been invited to Thanksgiving dinner, he'd have more stamina to put up with Taylor. You think?
Bill isn't the only person Taylor will aggravate. Look for her to target Brooke and Hope. With Taylor in the mix, my "scoopy" senses tell me that Hope might be headed for another trip down a long flight of stairs, and Kelly might not get the new sister they've been promising.
In other news, Zoe's father, played by Wayne Brady, pays Zoe an unwelcome visit. Donna attempts to reason with Pam about her fixation with replacing Quinn with Donna. Liam starts blabbing to Hope about who shot Bill. Bill's lack of concern for catching his attempted murderer disconcerts the police.
We have a lot to look forward to next week, but in the meantime, I hope each of you had a spectacular Thanksgiving weekend. Until we scoop again, just remember: offering a little turkey to your enemy might go a long way toward keeping your parents out of the slammer. And if Pam and Charlie make your turkey, then it's got to be bold and beautiful, baby!
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