The gift of restraint

There's a lot of getting and giving in Los Angeles this holiday season. Unity is on Thomas' Santa list, but Ridge has a lump of vengeful coal with Thomas' name on it. Zende practiced restraint as the Tidy Bowl Man moved in on Nicole, and Ivy unleashed the restraining order of all gifts on Steffy. Find out who gets what they deserve and who gets thrown under the sled this week on the Bold and the Beautiful.

This week, viewers were back in the hospital, but this time, it wasn't about babies. Forrester's employees roamed the tan corridors, waiting to hear the result of Steffy's Australian barbeque and wondering if the kissing cousins might turn Steffy into a serial-killing cousin. As Ivy's doctor figured out whether Ivy was medium-rare or well-done-in by Steffy, rumors and innuendo sizzled on Forrester's rumor grill. The only over-easy thing these days seems to be the breakup issues between couples.

Steffy admitted to pushing Ivy into the electrical panel -- by accident. She didn't mean to hurt Ivy. Sound familiar? It certainly does to Ivy, Wyatt, and Liam, who dragged out the putrefied dead horse of Aly's death and picked up the same old tired tire iron to beat it with.

Just when you thought the matter was settled, it's not settled. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ivy admitted to being wrong about Steffy murdering Aly, Lieutenant Baker closed the case, Wyatt deleted the video, and Ivy and Steffy were moving forward as cousins -- right? Ivy's electrical shock seems to have recharged the suspicion from Aly's death, and though no one cried "murdah" this time, they insinuated that disaster seems to follow Steffy Forrester.

Is Steffy a hex upon anyone near her? Do death, pain, and chaos follow her wherever she goes? Or is it that the impetuous Steffy causes the storms through every fault of her own? Liam certainly doesn't like the chaos and violence, and it caused him to rethink the kind of life he'd have with Steffy.

Looking back, I gotta admit, there's something to this. Who else but Steffy winds up missing off a boat as a child, only for her parents to find her wearing a red wig and in the care of the child-abducting Morgan DeWitt? "Ho Logan" at Hope's first fashion show definitely wasn't an accident. Katie's heart was beating just fine before Bill started rolling around on a bed with Steffy. Hope slipped and fell on fondue chocolate while arguing with Steffy, and something -- or shall I say someone -- drove Hope to popping pills.

And it's not just other people. Steffy somehow manages to do it to herself, too. She fell in the bathtub, fell off an ATV, and fell off a cliff. Who the hell falls off cliffs? Steffy Forrester, that's who. To top it off, birds also manage to poop on her when she stands under an open sky. The saddest thing she might have done to herself was riding the motorcycle and having the accident that killed her baby. Next thing you know, Aly dies in Steffy's presence.

Can we blame people for being a little scared that Steffy is the Omen after Ivy then has a freak accident with an electrical panel? I have to admit, I'm a little freaked out myself, and I don't blame Liam for worrying. After all, he did witness Steffy ripping through his house like a Tasmanian devil when she learned that he'd married Ivy.

If Steffy's cursed, she's cursed with attitude. Maybe it's anger issues, but she's a fighter with no restraint, and when Liam even hinted at ending their engagement, with a conviction stronger than Scarlett O'Hara, Steffy asserted that, as God was her witness, she was never taking off that ring! She'd apparently move out, but she damn sure wasn't taking off the ring. Liam can forget about hocking that.

Liam needed time to think. Apparently, Steffy was causing his life more chaos and confusion than the serial-bride Hope and her sword-wielding ex-mother-in-law ever had. I can't even believe I wrote that with a straight face, but that's how he's acting. He just wants to chill on the couch and watch Bob Hope. Liam isn't interested in deadly tire irons and barbequing folks on electrical panels. He also might be wondering if he could lose another child to Steffy's strong-headed decisions.

"Fine. I'll move out," Steffy declared in yet another hasty decision. There's no doubt she's fruit of Ridge's loins. He made equally rash decisions regarding his relationship with Caroline. Liam wasn't having any of it, though. He declared it was their house, and there was plenty of room for bitching, moaning, and grinding. And grind they did, making it one of the fastest breakups to make-ups ever on the show.

The second fastest breakup-make-up issue of the week belonged to Ivy and Wyatt. There's nothing like a defibrillation to reenergize a relationship. Ivy is almost accidentally executed in the showroom, and it short-circuits Wyatt's brain, common sense, and mistrust of her. Maybe Ivy should be thanking Steffy for the inadvertent back-arm push into the panel.

To show Steffy just how grateful Ivy was for the CPR, emergency call, shock to her relationship, and week's vacation in the hospital, Ivy went all out. She showed no restraint when ordering Steffy a restrain-o-gram, delivered by none other than the hot-dog-eating Lieutenant Baker. Ivy might claim she was weak and foolish to fall for Thomas' manipulations, but she was on the ball when it came to protecting herself from any more pushes and falls.

Speaking of pushes and falls, if anyone deserved a legal notice to stay away from Ivy, it was Quinn, who knocked Ivy into the Seine on purpose. Quinn was the only one with sense enough to ask why Ivy hadn't seen the electrical sparks. No one had the good sense to ask why the sparks hadn't been roped off before the accident, though. And did you catch that eye roll when Thomas tried to play Quinn in the meeting about Ivy deserving credit for the jewelry? I did. And there was a double roll when Thomas accused Quinn of trying to set her job on fire, full of all her precious gems, just to fry Lame Liam's hide.

If Quinn and Ivy's relationship survive a little dip in the Seine, maybe there is hope for Steffy and Ivy? For now, the light at the end of the tunnel has been short-circuited by a restraining order that Baker claims bars Steffy from even being at work. With so many things wrong with this scenario, where do I start?

First, it's complete nonsense that Ivy filed the restraining order when she is the one who sought Steffy out for a confrontation. She's the one who grabbed Steffy. She's the one who snatched Steffy's phone out of Steffy's hands and threw it under the panel. She's the one who followed Steffy onto the platform to retrieve the phone, thereby cornering Steffy between the panel and the railing. She's also the one who assaulted Steffy by grabbing Steffy for the second time during the confrontation.

Second, Steffy didn't push Ivy. Steffy knocked Ivy off her, and Ivy hit the panel. It was one hell of a knock, granted, but Steffy's back was to Ivy and the panel. Steffy swung her arm back to fling Ivy off her. Steffy wasn't thinking of where Ivy would land, and it wasn't her responsibility to think of it while she was trying to get Ivy off of her. Maybe there's a videotape somewhere to prove this.

Third, it in no way resembles Aly's roadside murder plot, where Aly cornered Steffy on the roadside with murder on her mind. Ivy wasn't lunging at Steffy with a rock, and Steffy wasn't purposely swinging her arm to save her life. Ivy was grabbing Steffy for a reason unknown to Steffy while Steffy was also in equal danger of making contact with the wires.

What was the same, though, is that Steffy did what she wanted to do without regard to how it would affect someone else. With Aly, Steffy barreled ahead with sexy advertising without regard to Aly's feelings about it. With Ivy, Steffy told Wyatt about Ivy's indiscretions after agreeing to let Ivy do it herself. I can't say Steffy was wrong about the advertising, but she should have at least given Ivy twenty-four hours to confess to Wyatt.

Just like Rick can't go off shooting at people because he's mad, Ivy can't go around tugging on people and trying to force them to let her berate them, whether they deserved the berating or not. Ivy knows what happened. She knows she was throwing phones and grabbing folks, but she's using the incident to get sympathy and repair her relationship with Wyatt.

To save her own frying hide, Ivy shoved Steffy straight under Santa's sled and diverted attention from her cheating ways, and Wyatt easily shifted the blame for everything onto the Tay-Tots' shoulders. My jaw dropped when Wyatt didn't defend Steffy, who he was thankful to just hours prior. At the very least, he could have given her the benefit of the doubt or heard her out. He supported Ivy's so-called fear when he knew Ivy was angry with Steffy and had started a confrontation, and he also knows the Aly accusation is bogus.

Wyatt's fried brain caused him to make a convoluted accusation against Thomas. He accused the ego-bruised Thomas of leaking the kisses to Steffy because he knew that Steffy would somehow get the information back to Wyatt, and Thomas had banked upon it breaking Wyatt and Ivy up. In Wyatt's mind, Thomas set in motion the chain of events that put Ivy in the hospital.

Ivy needs to learn to "back that thing up" and get out of other people's personal space. As a result of her not respecting proxemics, she wants a hundred yards of it? That's the length of a football field minus the end zones! In my view, Ivy ought to be glad she's not a half-grilled cucumber in a coma, which she would be if Steffy hadn't also disrespected proxemics to do CPR.

It's bizarre of Ivy to fear and file a restraining order against the person that saved her life. Is it not obvious from the CPR that Steffy isn't a danger to Ivy? Maybe Ivy knows it and filed the order to keep herself away from Steffy before Ivy winds up as crazy and murderous as Aly. Lord knows Steffy can drive someone to want to kill her.

Whatever Ivy's true motives, it's totally irrational for Ivy to expect Steffy to work from home. Steffy's job is far more important than Ivy's, and if Ivy cared as much about her uncle Eric and his business -- as much as she groveled to him that she did -- then she'd be the one volunteering to work at home so the president can do her job.

Speaking of Eric, what was all his worry and panic about regarding contacting John about the incident? As Eric shifted through Ivy's papers, worrying about Ivy and feeling guilty because John had left Ivy in Eric's care, all I could think of was Thorne and Aly. We saw Eric promise Thorne to watch out for the unbalanced Aly, but we didn't see Eric show half the care about his duty to Aly as he did about Ivy.

Strangely, as Ivy lay on her hot crossed buns in the hospital, Lieutenant Baker's intuition led him to find Steffy standing two yards away from Ivy and informed her that, per the order, she'd have to get another ninety-eight yards back. How he knew where Steffy would be is beyond me, and given that his job is to serve and enforce the order, I'm puzzled by why he didn't invite Steffy several more yards away before delivering the order.

I would be remiss if I didn't add that Baker had no business touching Steffy, who hadn't moved from the spot that lined up with the corner of the wall behind her. Steffy might not have boundaries when it comes to men, but she appears to know about proexmics, whereas Baker doesn't.

I wonder if Wyatt knew about the restraining order and when Ivy even filed it. I'm guessing the reason Steffy has to be the one out of the building is so the writers can keep Thomas, Wyatt, and Ivy in proximity. Whatever the reason, there will be no mansion wedding this month if Ivy decides to stop by the mansion for a sandwich on Steffy's wedding day.

Wyatt and Ivy seem to have survived the breakup, and the electrical shock might have also saved poor little sheepish Ivy from getting eaten by the big, bad wolf Thomas -- a fate that befell the baby-bump-rubbing Caroline. Thomas seems to have backed off Ivy for the moment, but he's back to pressuring Ridge for forgiveness and acceptance -- even though he can't seem to stop causing personal rumors and scandals with Forrester's female employees.

It's mind-boggling how Steffy and Thomas just have to get their way without listening to what anyone else thinks. For example, Ivy told Steffy to stay away from her before Lt. Baker even arrived. What was Steffy's reaction? She stayed anyway. On the exact same episode, Thomas was standing there when Caroline told him to go. Proxemics, people!

While standing in the same place where an altercation that led to a hospitalized employee, Caroline told Thomas about three times to leave and drop an altercation with Ridge. Thomas refused, insisting upon getting his way -- even though Ridge wasn't ready to give it to him. Maybe Ridge does need to get over it, but Thomas can't make him. Pressing -- as Thomas always does -- causes more problems, just like it did when Ivy pressed to make Steffy listen before the electrical incident.

Thomas' main problem came out of his own mouth. "I don't get what the big deal is. I don't see what I have to change," he told Ridge. To Caroline, he said, "When an opportunity strikes, a man's gotta act." He even smirked when he said it.

Ridge was right. Ivy was alone for one night, and it was disrespectful for Thomas to move in on her. It also was bound to cause a ton of problems at work, but Thomas didn't give a damn about anything but taking advantage of a so-called opportunity, no matter what Ivy or anyone else said about it.

This Christmas, maybe Ridge needs to give Thomas a permanent restraining order to force him to stay away from Forrester female employees. Ridge is right. Thomas has not grown or matured. Instead, Thomas has turned the halls of Forrester into Sweet Valley High, and he thinks that "I like Ivy" is enough of a reason to disrupt the workplace and other people's relationships. Ring or no ring, Thomas, Ivy told you where you stood, which was nowhere. Stop it, Thomas. Bug-a-boo is not the new sexy! And neither are those pencil pants!

Ridge should let go of his animosity, but he can't when he sees Thomas doing the same thing over and over. Ridge tells Thomas "no" when Thomas presses for Ridge to change his mind. Thomas won't take that for an answer, and Ridge roars, "Tell me you understand what 'no' means, Thomas!"

Well, Ridge. Thomas doesn't understand. To him, it means pressuring and persisting until a person gives in or laying in wait for an opportunity to take advantage. It was an utter insult to Caroline for Thomas to tell her that a man had to act when an opportunity struck. It hadn't been easy for her to convince Ridge that Thomas hadn't known he was taking advantage of her, but with that ass-hat statement, Thomas blew that right out of the water, didn't he?

I can't be objective about Thomas. I've hated him from the womb and suspect that he's a sociopath. So, below are your thoughts coming straight from the Soap Central message boards:

Ridge is a hypocrite, but he also believes Thomas took advantage of his wife while she was messed up on pills and booze. Thomas acts like he doesn't have any regard for anyone else's feelings...just seems to be pretty pleased with himself. -- Ferretlove

Hypocrite or not, I think Ridge was right to call out Thomas. He's a self entitled little creep who took advantage of Caroline and now his actions have caused trouble for Wivy. His "no rings" platitude is getting old, and his other excuse about getting Wyatt to up his game is beyond ridiculous. Ridge is right about Thomas. He's not a man, just a little man wannabee who goes after anything that can wear a skirt. Maybe he feels he needs to prove something. -- WoodsyLadyM

I think all the Forrester -- Ridge, Eric, Thorne -- men have shared and shared alike. However I don't ever remember Ridge ever lurking around and seducing every married female in sight. All the females in Ridge's bed were lurking around him and were anxious to pull Ridge into their bed, even the models he was attracted to. Thomas acts more like a sex offender than a lover. Maybe if he didn't act so creepy I wouldn't be so against him. Too, young Ron Moss was beautiful ... he was hard to resist. Thomas doesn't have the same appeal. -- ndavlin

Thomas keeps harping on the fact that Ridge doesn't accept his apology.....maybe that's because Thomas continues practicing the behavior that offended Ridge in the first place. What good is an apology if he doesn't change his actions? Hypocrite or not, I don't think that Ridge's behavior was ever as nasty as Thomas is acting. I'd really like to see one of the women give him a good slap. --RedheadTeacher

While Wyatt fights to keep Thomas at bay, Zende is battling the Tidy Bowl Man for Nicole's time and attention. What Zende doesn't get is that, whether it's Mr. Clean, the Tidy Bowl Man, or those scrubbing bubbles, someone's gotta be there to help Nicole clean up the pieces. Trust me, Zende, this is one affair you want Nicole to have. Kissing the toilet is better than kissing Thomas, isn't it?

Maya watches from a distance, ready to give the young adults advice on how to get through the tough period -- and still with no help from the pregnant Caroline. Caroline's pregnant. Maya/Nicole's pregnant. Never do the three bond.

Nicole and Maya are bonding, and so far, the pregnancy seems to be working for them -- just not for Zende. Thankfully, Zende has a big brother in Carter whom Zende can express and work through his feelings with, because Zende seems as if he is about a football field away in understanding pregnancy and morning sickness.

Morning sickness might be the least of Nicole and Zende's troubles. Sasha's on the way to town, and while Zende saw Nicole kissing the Tidy Bowl Man underneath the porcelain bowl last night, who will Zende be kissing beneath the mistletoe?

Tell us what you think of all the unrestrained craziness of the week, and until Steffy gets arrested for being in the vicinity of another accident, stay bold and beautiful, baby!

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