What a difference a day makes. Can you believe we finally ended one full day on this show since Liam awakened on Bill's sofa, and Bill returned from his probative jog to the accident site? It's been an action-packed day with Bill executing his cover-up, Hope and Thomas visiting the morgue after Liam skipped out on lunch, Baker questioning Thomas, and a Hope and Liam reunion. All Will got accomplished was a project about the history of money! Humph!
The day was impactful for others, too. Zoe and Paris made up, Quinn offered to talk to Carter for Zoe, and Quinn and Eric revealed just how bland it has been in their bedroom. Something tells me that Zoe will regret sending an ex-swinger to do a committed woman's job, but how could Zoe possibly have known that asking Quinn to talk to Carter was like waving a T-bone steak in the face of a starving woman?
Some think it's about forgiving and forgetting, but that's easier said than done for most. Why is it so hard for Eric, Carter, and Katie to move forward after a betrayal, but for those like Hope, it's as easy as Liam ignoring her for a day? Let's get two scoops deep into how Liam's guilty conscience might have saved his marriage and ponder just how hot things can get for Quinn and Carter if the policies on social distancing really are easing on The Bold and the Beautiful.
As I mentioned earlier, only a day has gone by since Bill and Liam awakened to their new reality after the incident with Vinny. Only a day has gone by since Thomas identified Vinny in the morgue, and only a day has gone by since Liam missed his lunch date with Hope. However, Hope said she hadn't seen Liam in "a while," even though she'd seen him at Forrester after the missed lunch date. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but how can we explain the time warp created in Vinny's death storyline?
Hope wasn't the only one acting like a lot of time has gone by since Vinny's death. On Friday's show, Katie mentioned to Bill that he hadn't been in touch "lately," even though it was only day two after the homicide. In a different episode, Thomas told Hope that visiting the kids had really been helping him since Vinny's death; however, he had just found out about Vinny's death that very day and had not had any time to see Douglas or Beth between that time and making that comment.
Not much time could possibly have passed since Vinny's death because there hasn't been any mention of a funeral or memorial. The police haven't even gotten a crime scene report or an autopsy report back yet, either, but somehow, Bill's one-in-fifty car made it halfway around the world.
Of course, time is relative on soaps, and we have to let them fudge it, but I have to say, it's making some of the characters look bad. For example, Hope told Liam that he hadn't sent her flowers or her favorite foods in a while, and he had stopped trying everything he could to get her back. In reality, he'd just done those things the night before, and all he'd missed was lunch up to that point. So, Hope comes off as rather needy and insecure when she thinks something is wrong because he hasn't paid her any attention in half a day.
If Liam acting weird and ignoring Hope was the key to their reunion, Liam should have moved out and cut communication with her weeks ago. Here's what some of you on our Soap Central message boards think about it:
"Hope To Liam: You Stopped Sending Flowers & My Favorite Foods! He stopped chasing her and focusing on HER. That's how she really knows something is wrong! I think it's all about the chase." --LovelyRita
"Little did Liam know that all it took was just one single kiss . . . .Didn't Hope pretty much tell Liam that doing ALL that was putting pressure on her and to stop?" B-Hold
It sounds like something Hope would say, B-Hold. That makes it even stranger that she'd take the cessation for half a day to mean something was wrong with Liam. I agree with you, the kiss sparked Hope, and she probably felt how lonely her bed was after it happened. And then Liam hardly communicates with her for 24 hours after that? If I hadn't seen Vinny on the side of the road for myself, and if I didn't know it was the cause of Liam's withdrawal, I'd swear Liam manipulated it just this way to get himself back into the cabin. At least Liam's guilt is good for something. It made Hope chase him like the Little Bo Peep she resembled in her outfit, and it might have saved his marriage.
Thomas is full of indignation for his best friend Vinny. Thomas wants vengeance for the poor, unlucky Vinny, who some evil bastard left to die on the side of the road. Thomas' vitriol at this person is palpable, "Isn't that right, Liam?" Thomas wants the perpetrator to pay for leaving Vinny on the road like trash. Thomas is right. No one deserves to die alone on a dark road. No one deserves to be left without even the opportunity of aid.
I just want to know from Thomas: where was all that concern and indignation for Emma Barber?
If anyone thought Thomas had developed a conscience, you were wrong. It was just indigestion. Thomas has not had one flashback of his own barbarous deed of leaving Emma down in a ditch to die without calling EMS to try to save her. Thomas has not had even one sleepless night over the thought that Emma could have been alive and suffering down in that ravine until she finally took her last breaths -- however long it would have taken her to die.
Thomas never revealed that he'd been there on the scene the night of Emma's death, that he'd been tailgating her, flashing his brights at her, and honking at her before she'd swerved off the road and into the ravine. He even hid proof of his involvement.
Here's what some of our message board members think of Thomas' righteous indignation about Vinny's death:
"Wasn't that Thomas who chased a young woman until she crashed then left her to die without calling for help? the guy needs to take several seats and shut up." -- B&B blonde
"Thomas is feeling the loss of a lifelong friend who was killed in a hit and run accident. Why shouldn't he be hurt and angry at the person who ran him down? He has no idea if it was an accident, but he's not wrong in making a judgement about someone who knew that he hit Vinny and drove away." --RedheadTeacher
I hear you, RedheadTeacher, but no one accidentally flees the scene. Thomas is right that the person should have gotten Vinny help, but Thomas is a fine one to talk about that when he didn't bother to get Emma any help. Whether Thomas caused Emma to veer off the road or not, it's pretty clear that he left her there to die with no hope of an EMS revival, the same way he complains that this driver left Vinny.
For some viewers, the murder mystery isn't what it was hyped up to be. I agree. Although Don Diamont (Bill) and Scott Clifton (Liam) deliver high-octane performances, there are only so many times I can listen to Bill yelling at the top of his voice for his idiot son to listen. There's only so much sympathy I can fail to muster for Liam, who tries to differentiate himself from Bill while going along with everything Bill says. Viewers know Liam didn't mean to "murder" anyone, and with the low probability that any staple character goes to prison for this death, I have to wonder if we are in a murder mystery or just suffering through murderous misery until the plot ends.
Thank the soap gods Detective Sanchez is now on the case, because maybe we can actually get to the bottom of what happened to Vinny. Chief Baker has a hunch the paternity test results play a big role in Vinny's death; however, I don't know how much stock we can put in what Baker says because he also thinks Vinny put Liam's name on the test results. Additionally, Baker thinks Liam had the most to lose from Vinny altering the results, which makes no sense.
Finn and Steffy were the only people to submit DNA for the test, so Vinny had been tampering with their lives, not Liam's. Liam just happened to be the only other choice for father by default. Liam's marriage was in trouble because he cheated on Hope, and it never got to the point of being destroyed. The most Hope ever asked for was a separation, and that happened after he learned he wasn't the father. So, those facts blow Baker's motive for Liam out of the water, and Sanchez even said he didn't think anyone would kill over this. If anyone would, Finn and Steffy had just as much, if not more, motive than Liam.
Heck, is Steffy even really out of town? Conveniently, she's on "vacation" when this happens. Yes, it's absurd to think Steffy did anything, and it's equally absurd to think Liam did this on purpose over the paternity test results. However, Liam was at the scene. Unless he hit something totally unrelated to Vinny, Liam does have a lot of explaining to do.
Sanchez and Baker haven't gotten far in the investigation, but Sanchez's presence means the story might be about to take off. I'm hopeful because at least Sanchez is focusing on serious angles in the case, like the drugs. Since I believe the case will ultimately turn from Bill and Liam, I see Baker as barking up the wrong hot dog with Liam.
The police apparently don't have an autopsy, toxicology, or official cause of death. They haven't "verified" that Vinny sold drugs, either. They haven't gotten a search warrant for his phone records or to search his car for a GPS system. The crime scene report is due at any moment now, and if it contains what I think it does, Bill is going to have some explaining to do about that car of his.
The writers spent an estimated thirteen episodes on the first day after Vinny's death, and with time dragging this insanely slowly, I'm starting to think that this storyline is really a mental game between Bill and Liam that will last until the cops finally figure out what really happened to Vinny and let Liam and Bill off the hook.
Some viewers believe that Vinny, forced to take drugs, wandered in front of Bill's car. Some theorize that Vinny was pushed in front of the car. Some suspect that Vinny was already lying in the road when Liam hit him. Some even think the dead body belongs to Vinny's twin, and the real Vinny is in hiding.
These are intriguing theories, but they overlook one thing -- the victim was alive when Bill and Liam stopped. Liam and Bill left without calling for life-saving measures for Vinny. So, unless Vinny happened to be lying on the side of the road at the exact spot Liam stopped after hitting something else, Bill and Liam are responsible for the hit-and-run. Plus, they stole Vinny's phone and wallet. What do you think? How can Bill and Liam not be guilty of a crime at this point?
Things between Eric and Quinn aren't what they used to be in the bedroom -- or out of it. I'm not surprised that Queric is having sexual problems. Remember, Eric had grown kids when we met him decades ago. However, I was surprised when Eric stood up there and lied to Quinn about a conference call to get himself out of dinner at the Café Russe with her.
The last time I checked, there aren't beds in the Café Russe. There are just tables for dining and conversation. So, why is it that Eric claimed he had no time for dinner with her due to his conference call, but he had all that time to talk to Ridge and Zoe that evening while Quinn was with Carter? If Quinn can't even get Eric to go out to dinner with her, she should have known she surely wasn't getting anywhere with a five-year-old negligee. Am I right?
Quinn can still fit in it. That's something to be proud of, but I'm guessing the thing probably smelled like mothballs when she pulled it out of storage. Or maybe Quinn had it draped over Stephanie's portrait in the garage to remind Stephanie's ghost who the matriarch is now.
Zoe probably should have checked Quinn's credentials before enlisting Quinn's help with Carter. Quinn's ideas of helping a couple out usually involve kidnapping, sword forging, bridge shoving, document scamming, and cliff pushing. Quinn's marriage to Eric has blunted her edges a bit, but Quinn is still Quinn, the same ex-swinger who gave kitchen whisks a whole new purpose in the bedroom. And just as easily as she appropriated Liam for her own devices during the "Adam and Eve" storyline, Quinn is probably about to get biblical with Carter, too.
Quinn and Carter work in an unconventional way I hadn't expected. The writers laid a natural background for it. Quinn is trying to help a friend with something personal, and it causes her own personal issues with her marriage to surface. Sometimes, it is easier to confide in a stranger about sexual problems than to talk to a friend.
Quinn hasn't told Shauna about it -- and for good reason after Shauna lived in the guesthouse while Quinn was in the doghouse with Eric. If I were Quinn, I wouldn't want my BFF taking it upon herself to have martinis and sex talk with my husband, claiming that it was to "help" me out, and you know Shauna would be over there, doing it and acting all innocent about it.
What's unnatural about the storyline is that Eric is more upset with Quinn for tampering with Brooke and Ridge's marriage than Ridge is. I find it odd that Eric can readily forgive Shauna for her role in it, but he's still upset with his own wife to the point of sexual distraction. I'm starting to think he isn't still upset with Quinn about that at all. I think Eric is using his forgiveness dysfunction to cover up for an erectile dysfunction that he's hiding from Quinn.
When we got our first hints that there might be a Quarter story in our future, I liked the idea, but I was kind of disappointed at the same time. The big bed in the middle of the loft at Carter's place has been replaced by a huge, boring desk, and with the COVID social distancing restrictions, I really doubted we'd get the same type of steamy, taboo story we got with Quinn and Liam.
To our surprise and delight on Friday's episode, actors Annika Noelle (Hope) and Scott Clifton (Liam) seemed to actually be touching, hugging, and kissing when Hope asked Liam to move back into the cabin. Could that mean that social distancing restrictions have been eased? Could it mean that Rena Sofer (Quinn) will toss more than clothes at Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter)?
According to recent news, Kiara Barnes is exiting her role as Zoe Buckingham to take on a part in the new Fantasy Island. That makes it almost a foregone conclusion that Quinn will take her marriage lemons from Eric and make Quarter-aide with Carter. Quinn can't help but toxify any relationship she ever gets into. But hey, we all knew the sisterhood of those witches, Zoe and Quinn, would end badly.
It's a little disappointing to see Barnes go just when Zoe was hitting her mean girl stride, especially with Quinn as a mischief-making mentor; however, it's also fitting that Zoe's stay on the show comes full circle with a viper encroaching upon her relationship the same way she arrived in town and encroached upon Emma Barber's relationship with Xander Avant. Can't you just see Zoe leaving in ultimate disgrace, blaming it all on Paris, as usual? Because, of course, Zoe never would have befriended Quinn had it not been for Paris, right?
On our message boards, some wonder if Carter would be the worst man on earth to sleep with Eric's wife when Carter has been treated as part of the family. Others figure that Eric might be glad to unload his Quinn baggage onto Carter. Wouldn't it be an interesting story indeed if Eric had ED and asked Carter to keep his wife satisfied?
Well, on that note, this two scoops meeting is adjourned! Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!
Chanel
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