That saying quickly became famous in my house growing up and it came rushing back to my mind watching Brooke and Taylor pass those real estate brochures back and forth as if playing their own game of 'hot potato'. Seems that BOTH ladies are making huge assumptions about what should happen now that the Dead have risen and want to pick up where she left off. I see nothing but trouble ahead, don't you?
It's also become obvious that if I say I think Taylor should stay at her house with her kids, I am tearing away at the very fabric of the blended family in America and giving Saint Taylor an undeserved 'pass' for her transgressions (as if her dying was HER fault). If I say that Brooke should stay since she is the current wife and her own blended brood feel like that's their home, then I am a heartless monster that wants to rip a mother away from her children for the sake of the Forrester go-to-girl. So either way, one camp or the other will journey to my door in the middle of the night with torches lit. So I have nothing to lose by weighing in with my opinion, right? After this week, I have formed a very specific point of view on all this 'who-stays-who-goes' nonsense.
I have always felt that people coming back from the dead is part of the glory that are soaps. Come on, folks...it's make believe. If it's not a resurrection due to 'never finding a body', then it's amnesia. Or maybe time travel? It's always something or the unreal world of soaps would not be worth watching, right? Having said that, I do think it was a stretch to have Taylor come back like this. After all, this is the second time around and let's not forget that she ALMOST died giving birth to the Twins (she had TB I think). So the fact is that her character has had TOO many calamities befall her and I don't blame those that have emailed saying 'Enough is enough'. I'm right there with you! However, she's back and I will not be ashamed at all to admit I missed her acting and how she portrayed Taylor. I liked her. So what? She's smart and she's a shrink (even though I can't remember her actually counseling anyone). She certainly had a better affect on Ridge than Brooke does. She's a good Mom and totally focused on them. So what exactly is there NOT to like? Why all the Taylor-hating I read in my inbox and all over the Boards? If the WORST she ever did was sleep with a 40 year old virgin when they thought they were at death's door, then I think everyone should re-evaluate what is really considered 'bad behavior' on this show.
As far as Brooke and what she expects in all this...well, I have to say I do feel for her. She has always come in second to Taylor and judging by Ridge's gooey behavior all week, it would seems that it's shaping up to be that way again. She finally got her man and now her worst nightmare has come to pass. She does have a son with him (for the moment) and she has poor confused Hopeless running around calling him Daddy. She married him and moved in to create a happy, blended family. Taylor, on the other hand, didn't exactly ASK to be nearly killed and whisked away to Omar's tent in the desert. Some make it sound like she is SO evil that she could have planned all this. Whatever. Get over it already! She's back and she wants Ridge and the kids back. Does anyone actually blame her? Wouldn't we all do the very same thing, at least initially? So I see the point of both women to their feelings this week. Here is what I would write if it were up to me...
Taylor stays in the house with her kids and assuming that Ridge stays with Brooke, she can at least have this part of her life back without feeling guilty. Her kids belong with her, not to act as the glue to keep Brooke's family together. That's not fair. Brooke tells Ridge that she has had enough of his waffling back and forth about his 'conflicted feelings' and finally grows the backbone to tell him to get out. She declares her new house a 'codependency-free zone' and tells him she is stronger without him. She's tired of being second fiddle and spending all her time crying over him and his nonsense. Take your bad haircut, your overacting and GET OUT!! Her life will focus on her career, her children, and finding that perfect love that lifts her UP instead of tearing her DOWN 24/7. Now THAT'S a Brooke I can get behind!
That's what would happen in my perfect little soap world. But last week...GEEZ! You leave...no, YOU leave! I was cheering for Taylor all this time...right up until she decided to make the hard push for Ridge at the end of the week. Oh no. Queen Stephanie crawled inside her head and even though she made the comment that she knows Ridge has to make the decision on his own, she sure did try to influence him, huh? Cheap, especially for her. Oh well. All's fair in love and war, right? All the understanding and dignified posturing went right out the window as she might as well have stripped right there in front of him in the living room. But she didn't...maybe she knew that Brooke would have that covered upstairs just a few moments later? So all the good-natured and fair-minded dialogue from Brooke became a distant memory as she ended the week doing the standard striptease seduction routine that has become as exciting as watching paint dry. Honestly, how demeaning for her character to constantly have to resort to sex to keep her man and solidify her marriage? Why? She's smart, she's come a long way in the character department and she has been a good wife to him...so why reduce yourself to this? For that matter, why would either woman stoop to this tactic? AND FOR HIM? YUCK! Brooke could have (and has) any man she wants and yet she keeps throwing her self-esteem in the toilet over and over again for a philandering and egocentric pig that should live out the rest of his days alone on a mountaintop somewhere. It just makes me sick to watch it sometimes. It used to be laughable...now it's just plain sad. Bottom line: both are fighting over a man that neither of them should be with.
There is a fly in the ointment, though...Nick Payne. As much as I have unabashedly wished that he and Brooke could have a real relationship, I still don't want it to come about like this. Then he becomes the 'second fiddle' and will be vilified for breaking Bridget's heart in the process. The writers are not sympathetic to Nick's character at all and I think bad things would come of any Brooke-Nick union now. He obviously still has a thing for her and I believe she harbors more than a passing fancy for him, but if it's meant to be, it should not be as a fresh rebound. Both deserve better and so do the viewers.
By the way, what was up with the shoulder-mounted camera work onboard the Shady Marlin on Friday? It certainly had a 'Cops' quality to it...I was waiting for Bridget to jump down into the cabin with her face fuzzed out like some criminal! Was that for some dramatic effect? Ok, well...it didn't work and became a little annoying after a minute or two.
One more rant...I'll be happy for the rest of my life if I NEVER see another tearful Taylor reunion again! UGH!!!! Enough already! Pass the Puffs, say 'Welcome Back' and move on!! I thought the acting of Susan Flannery was outstanding, though, and was my favorite tearful reunion of the week. Eric just stood there and blubbered and Thorne did not know what to say. But I did like what Taylor said to Darla about how her family has gotten bigger and gave her the sister-hug. I did think that was nice.
Last week's question drew a very interesting variety of responses. It seems that there are a group of Brooke-fans that feel that she has spent enough time alone and should be with someone, not alone as I proposed. I see that she has spent plenty of time with different men, so I thought that a little time alone to refocus on a non-Forrester life could open her up to the possibility of a healthy romance. But as with most things these days, the responses were heated and distinct. About 50/50 whether she should be spend some time on her own. Funny...most of the emails, though, were still addressing whether Brooke had any right to claim the house and kids as her own (and vice versa for Taylor). Proves my earlier point...this story has started the soap worlds version of the Cold War!
Ok, now for a new feature I wanted to try here on the Scoop. I will be starting a discussion thread with this week's question to help stimulate some open dialogue to help myself and others get the 'pulse' of the Scoops readers. The question will center around what exactly has Taylor done throughout the years to either make us love her or hate her?
To share your thoughts, please click here to visit a very special discussion thread on the Soap Central Message Board.
Who's on the Soapbox?
Abby writes... '...Hey I love Nick and Bridget...no going back to tired old Bricky...I hope that Bold doesn't screw up the best love story they have had in years!'
Arlecia writes... ...I think Brooke has a lot of nerve to expect Taylor to have visitation rights with her own children...Ridge needs to make a decision and tell Brooke that if Taylor wants to live with their children it's ok...I am sure the kids would want to be with their natural mother.'
Until next week, stay in touch with your thoughts...it's the best part of my week when I hear from everybody!
