Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you make love to your partner like it was the last time? Were you the doctor whom the apple had kept away? Were you number one with a bullet? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Finnegan clan this week!
School's in, Scoopers! I was today years old when I learned that Medea is a Greek tragedy figure who gets revenge on her husband by killing her sons by him. Why so serious? Because after what appeared to be another week of Brooke lamenting her New Year's Eve nip-taking without doing much about it, Sheila went full-on Joker and committed an act even she deemed heinous! Y'all ready? Let's Scoop about it!
Before we get into the current week, I have to backtrack quickly about the previous week's 35th anniversary stand-alone episode. I enjoyed it, and the dream sequence nature of it. But it also served to remind us that Bill is glaringly absent and that Brooke's great "loves" with him, Eric, Nick, and Thorne all ring hollow in retrospect because we know that, for Brooke, it's always been Ridge.
Watching Brooke and Eric, as portrayed by B&B's only two remaining original actors, Katherine Kelly Lang and John McCook, is always a joy. Nothing beats that kind of history. And it was cool to see Thorne and Nick again. For the most part, though, the ensuing flashbacks were more "look how many location shoots we've been on" than anything else. I would have liked to have seen footage of the actual relationships.
Brill was no great love story, either, because it grew out of the fetid soil of Katie's postpartum depression. And, even in the form of a dream, it would have been nice for Nick to mention the fate of Jack, the son Taylor gave birth to after having been implanted with Brooke's egg. But ya know, the whole thing ended with Thorsten Kaye in a tux. I swooned as I danced with him. Oh. That's my dream sequence.
Brooke continued to mope around her manse, seemingly not having gone to work at Forrester the entire three months since her drunken New Year's Eve smooch with Deacon. I guess Brooke wasn't missed at the design house, because no one knows what her job is there these days, anyway. Eric arrived to interrupt Brooke's pity party and provide reassurance and comfort. Loves me some Beric!
Eric was the first of several this week to sing Brooke a Greek chorus of "stop feeling sorry for yourself." I think we're all pretty tired of that. And it seems out of character. Brooke is a woman who went up against Stephanie repeatedly and eventually aped Gangsta Granny's hard lines with the likes of Amber, Taylor, Quinn, etc. For all of Brooke's many failings, she was always spirited.
Where has that attribute been in this story? For the entirety of 2022, Brooke has wondered why she took a drink over and over, but never actively looked into it. She could have retrieved the wrongly labeled champagne bottle on January 1 and seen it had been tampered with. Or at least smelled its remaining drops; I'm pretty sure non-alcoholic bubbly doesn't have the scent or taste of the real thing.
Instead, everyone from Eric to Hope to Liam and even Ridge told Brooke to stop being so hard on herself, and that was just this week. True, the one proactive thing Brooke did these past five episodes was to finally show up at Forrester (is she off the payroll by now?) and do takebacks with Ridge in regard to her divorce offer. Ridge sent mixed messages from hell, looking as constipated as Liam always did during his own waffling.
King Waffler Ridge has really been a butt through this whole thing. But that's no surprise. The big surprise was that, once Brooke was home and Lope took over propping up Brooke's self-esteem, Brooke received a call from BRIDGET! And Budge was apparently going to be in her hometown for a while. Hmm! Now why would we need an expert doctor in the house right about now? Hmm.
Steffy and Finn's "it's been too long" lovemaking was so nice, they did it twice! Liberty bibberty! Too bad Steffy popped the bubble of their afterglow by wondering what Thomas had been doing talking to Sheila. Finn tried to sway his wife's attention with his chest and words of devotion and undying love. They flashed back to Finn's proposal, and Finn said he would sacrifice anything to protect Steffy and the kids.
Uh-oh. When soap characters start talking happiness and sacrifice, it's a total tell. I wish it wasn't; it's just been done so many times. Finn still thought that Thomas and Sheila's alley argument was just some kind of misunderstanding (did he ever tell Steffy he went to see his menacing mother?). But Steffy wasn't convinced, and she somehow tracked down Sheila at her too immaculate hotel room.
Steffy showed the fire that no one else has shown lately; her Gangsta Granny namesake would be proud. Steffy demanded to know why Sheila had been in conference with Steffy's brother, and she would stand no dodging from her mother-in-law from literal hell. Sheila claimed that she hoped Thomas would intervene with Steffy on Sheila's behalf, but Sheila slipped when she crowed that Steffy had no idea what Sheila would do to reunite Tridge.
Steffy wasn't having any of it. She shouted that Sheila might as well make her way back to Genoa City! (Nice! But that again raises the question, does Lauren Fenmore even know Sheila's alive? That's kind of a major plot point to leave unaddressed, considering their decades-long, soap-crossing antagonism.) Sheila cited her not having lashed out against Steffy's tirade as proof she had changed, yet she made the claim with resting psycho face.
After Steffy stormed out, Sheila called Thomas with the intent of warning him that Steffy was onto them, but instead of imparting that information first, Sheila went with coercing Thomas to keep quiet so his parents could be together, since Brooke had taken them away from Thomas and his sister. Excuse me? Sheila was the one who took Taylor away with her 2002 bullet! Brooke only raised Taylor's kids in Taylor's absence.
Thomas went on to tell Sheila what she already knew -- that Sheila had relabeled Brooke's zero-proof champagne and gotten Brooke drunk. One character telling another what they already know as if they're hearing it for the first time is called exposition, and, done incorrectly, it's a contrived writing tool. But if Thomas hadn't relayed all that info to Sheila, Steffy couldn't have overheard the juicy bits of the convo!
Ah, yes, overhearing. I don't think anybody on this show gets information any other way. Thomas called Sheila's act "evil, disgusting, diabolical" without the slightest hint of irony. When Douglas goes into therapy over nightmares of CGI ghosts, let's see who's "evil, disgusting, diabolical," Thomas! I guess Thomas is exhibiting some healing, though; unlike the Phoebeth secret, Thomas is genuinely conflicted over this one.
Okay. You just heard that your parents are only on the verge of getting back together because your father's wife was taken off the playing field by a psychopath. What do you do? If you're Steffy, you run home and tell your husband, whose mother happens to be said psychopath. Why is Steffy going through back channels lately? It was bad enough she slinked out without confronting Thomas and Sheila about their meeting right there in the alley, but, upon receiving this news, the first thing Steffy should have done was go to Brooke.
And this will come back to bite Steffy in a big way. In the meantime, Sheila never got to alert Thomas that his sister was putting things together, because Taylor walked into the office, prompting Thomas to hang up. This was actually a refreshing development. And it was the only thing keeping me from screaming at the TV as Taylor celebrated raising wonderful kids and Thomas commended Taylor for always being there for them!
Whaaaat? Steffy is basically a brat who keeps getting pregnant without knowing who the father is (I know, Brooke is the queen of that trend), and just a couple of years ago Thomas left a young woman to die to keep a secret, tormented his own child, and was so obsessed with his stepsister that he gaslighted her and nearly kidnapped her. And don't get me started about Taylor being gone for years of her own accord.
The other issue I had with Taylor and Thomas' chat was Taylor assuring her son that she had told Sheila "we will stand with Brooke against Sheila any day of the week." When did that happen? Because, given Taylor and Brooke's eternal rivalry over Ridge, that would have been a thrilling thing to hear. B&B, please stop doing important things off-screen, like Steffy and Finn apparently legalizing their marriage after Steffy refused to do so as a result of Finn being in contact with Sheila.
Taylor next spoke with Ridge, with their topic moving from their kids trying to "parent trap" them to Sheila's presence in their lives. As a psychiatrist, Taylor wanted to believe that people could change. Taylor apparently changed, because we've never once heard about her shooting Bill in cold blood since she's been back. Hell, maybe Taylor and Sheila could be BFFs now. They have much more in common than they used to.
Taylor suggested that Sheila's current motivation was guilt over having shot Taylor (which, I remind you, was an accident that happened when Taylor tried to get Sheila's gun away from her -- Sheila was horrified over the shooting; watch it). Ridge didn't even bother offering a penny to buy that explanation. Ridge wanted Taylor to stay away from Sheila. Taylor promised her ex that she was on high alert when it came to Sheila, but she affirmed that she and Sheila did share a (misnamed) grandson.
Steffy decided to confront Sheila again and made Sheila wait for her at Il Giardino, where Sheila seemed to be the only patron. How can the bistro afford to pay its hot waiter with no customers? Steffy arrived and surprised Sheila (and us) by sweetly remarking how nice it would be if her husband could truly connect to his roots, and her kids could get to know their grandmother...but psych! Steffy growled that it would never happen.
Faced with the fact that Steffy knew what Sheila had done, Sheila bailed and ran into the never-seen-until-last-week alley behind Il Giardino. Steffy followed and pushed Sheila. It's really amazing. Steffy is the only one who seems to get away with physically assaulting Sheila. First, Steffy shot Sheila in the arm in 2017; in 2021, Steffy slapped Sheila twice. Maybe Sheila can appreciate being spoken to in a language she understands?
Sheila kept insisting she had changed, but Steffy called Sheila out for simply finding new ways to hurt people. (Not quite so new -- Sheila also pushed Macy off the wagon in 1993, but no one ever found out about that.) "You're welcome," Sheila gloated as she finally admitted her deed to Steffy. Now Tridge could make up for the years Brooke had taken away from them.
"Years you took away!" Steffy screamed. Amen, sister! "You think you can spike a few drinks and all is forgiven?" Steffy asked as Sheila claimed she had done it all for Steffy and her family. "It's like you're baiting me," Sheila observed. "Yeah, whatever works," Steffy sneered. Dang! Steffy has more balls than all the males on this show put together. Balls, I tell you!
Sheila was so frustrated with Steffy's stonewalling that she let slip that Steffy might have done the same thing if she had had Brooke in her face, telling her she would never get near her son and grandson! Ooh, doggies! Now Steffy knows that Brooke had actually tried to protect her! But Steffy didn't have time to feel bad about being so obnoxious in attempting to reunite her parents.
Steffy replied to Sheila's desperate assertion that Finn was her only hope, the one child that Sheila could have a future with, by furiously articulating that Sheila would never see Finn again. Sheila went classic, grabbed Steffy, and spat that if either she or Steffy wasn't going to be in Finn's life, it was going to be Steffy. Rut-ro! Sheila caught herself and backed off, begging Steffy to accept and love her, but it was too late.
This is the point where Steffy should have told Sheila what she wanted to hear, run to her car, and made a beeline straight to Brooke, or at least Ridge. Instead, Steffy roared that Finn already knew what Sheila had done to Brooke, and Steffy demanded to know if Thomas had been in on the whole thing. Good question, considering Thomas' not-that-long-ago behavior!
Commenting on Sheila's thought that Steffy should thank her for getting Brooke out of the way, Steffy scoffed that she should thank Brooke for putting her foot down with Sheila! Yay! I am so ready to see Steffy preparing some humble pie for Brooke. But Sheila realized Steffy was going to squeal, so said that she could stop Steffy.
Sheila clutching her purse the way she did through the whole scene was a dead giveaway. A slo-mo sequence began, with Sheila reaching into the telltale purse for a gun. But hold up, Scoopers. Think about it first; what could Sheila possibly gain by killing Steffy? Sure, dead sexy CEOs tell no tales, but Thomas knows Sheila's secret, too. Sheila would have to off Thomas, as well, and how did Sheila think it was going to look to Taylor when Taylor's only two remaining children turned up dead?
Okay -- slo-mo continues. As Sheila whipped out her gun (I guess no one gave her a background check!), Finn, who had been worried by Steffy's cryptic text that only said "Il Giardino," ran into the alley and apparently saw his biomom go for her firearm. Finn rushed past Steffy, but before he could make a grab for the gun, Sheila pulled the trigger. And blew a hole in Finn's side.
I know how this sounds, but I loved that Finn simply fell onto the garbage bags. It was atypical somehow, and quite cinematic. But I actually did yell at my TV, "call the damn ambulance!" Seriously, Sheila just stood there and cried, "What have I done?" while Steffy bawled over Finn's bloody body. Even when Steffy beseeched Sheila to call for help, Sheila did nothing. Weird.
Blood coming out of Finn's mouth, he did something different than a lot of characters on their deathbeds. Usually, fictional folks make breathy but impassioned speeches. Finn could barely put a sentence together, a lot of his words coming out garbled. If that was Tanner Novlan's choice as an actor, it was a brilliant one. Finn did manage to squeak out an "I love you" to Steffy before his body went limp.
Steffy and Sheila were both in shock, but Steffy finally had enough presence of mind to realize that Finn had taken a bullet for Steffy. "You were gonna kill me!" Steffy shrieked. Steffy managed to take out her phone and started to call 9-1-1 when the scene took a truly unexpected turn. Sheila trained her still-smoking gun on Steffy! Getting blood on her smartphone, Steffy dialed the 9 and the first 1, sobbing as Sheila readied to send Steffy to the grave, as well!
Holy s**t! This must be the shock twist B&B has been talking about the last couple of months. And Sheila targeting Steffy again, anyway, even after Finn's shooting, was an unexpected but appropriate Friday cliffhanger because of the news preemptions. There were two; so, this would have originally been a Wednesday cliffhanger? Makes ya wonder what's gonna happen in two episodes that would have been the intended Friday finale!
I have so many thoughts about this twist, but I'll attempt some uncharacteristic brevity. Is Finn really dead? It would seem so, given that he blurted out some last words and appeared to die on his bed of trash bags, but he was shot in the side, not in the heart, the lungs, the head, the neck, or other locations that would most assuredly cause instant death. I think it's very possible that Finn will ultimately live.
Another hint? Bridget. Suddenly, there's an acclaimed doctor back in town, just when someone is going to need intricate surgery. How much do you want to bet that Bridget saves Finn? After all, we're told that Bridget is going to stick around a while. I don't think that's just so Brooke has a second daughter to commiserate with.
Either way, Tridge is done, because once Ridge finds out Brooke was set up to drink, he will surely rebuild his Bridge once again. It's probably good that Taylor has been a little more circumspect about any future with Ridge instead of investing in it whole hog. I really like Krista Allen as Taylor (despite the whitewashing of Taylor's mental instability), and I'd like to think that Taylor being in Ridge's orbit lately was a red herring.
Wouldn't we expect Taylor to get back with Ridge upon her return? So, we got what was expected. The next logical step is for Taylor to find a man of her own. Maybe she and Deacon can grow love out of their jilted hearts, or maybe Li has divorced Jack by now, and Mr. Finnegan is available. Ooh, Jack and Li are going to have to find out their son was mortally wounded. We'd better see them return in the fallout.
As for Sheila, after 32 years of on-and-off appearances, there is really nowhere else for her to go. Whether Finn lives or dies, Sheila shot her own son. Given that she initially went crazy on Y&R because she miscarried Scott Grainger's baby, this is likely to truly push Sheila over the permanent edge. Unless this shooting proves that Finn isn't Sheila's son, because we never got more than Jack and Sheila's word for it that Finn was.
In any case, Sheila is going back to jail. Unless... Look, Sheila is in a corner even she's never been in before. She shot, almost certainly killed, her probable son. She'd deemed Finn her only hope. It's not entirely impossible that the next step in this shock twist is Sheila turning the gun on herself. I just hope she doesn't end up killing herself to save Finn somehow, because we already got that with Storm killing himself to save Katie; even though that was in 2008, it's already been done.
One final note: had Steffy reacted differently, this all could have been avoided. I'm not blaming Steffy, mind you. But Steffy poured gasoline on this fire by confronting Sheila instead of going straight to Brooke with the revelation that Brooke had been sabotaged. If Steffy had taken that tack, Sheila could have gone on boasting to herself and imploring Thomas to keep quiet while Steffy, Brooke, Ridge, and Taylor could have worked together to entrap Sheila.
Wouldn't it have been awesome to see longtime foes Taylor and Brooke working together for a common good? That was just one possibility if Steffy had gone to her elders. But she went to Sheila, and here we are. Still, their clash was epic; it had a movie quality to it, and it's hands down the most exciting thing we've witnessed all year. And look at it this way -- Brooke's never-ending New Year's story is finally ending!
What do you think, Scoopers? Did you see this bloodshed coming? Do you think Finn is dead? What do you think Sheila will do to Steffy -- or herself? And how do you see the aftermath of the tragedy brought on by Sheila playing out? Get to typing in the Comments section below or the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could be in a future column!
I'm just floored by Sheila going Medea on us! So, all I can say is, now more than ever, keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And, no matter where in the world you are, democracy and freedom are always beautiful.
AMJ
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