The rise of the matriarchs

There are new matriarch contenders for the family dynasties. A quickie Nevada divorce ousted Katie, and an eight karat diamond ensured that Maya's portrait will keep collecting storage dust. As Brooke prepared to take the Spencer crown and block Quinn's ascension to the Forrester throne, Quinn decided it's off with the heads of her detractors. Will Bill's surprise detractor spoil Bill's best-laid wedding plans? Let's scoop on the matriarchs and whether Mini-Ridge will lead Bill to make another helicopter ornament out of Ridge Senior this week on the Bold and the Beautiful.

B&B viewers got a mixture of self-determination, frustration, and unexpected snags in the war on Quinn and Eric. Bill and Wyatt pressed Steffy decide already. Steffy asserted that she was still Mrs. Spencer, but Thomas concluded that she wants to be Mrs. Liam Spencer, not Mrs. Wyatt Spencer. As Quinn gained confidence in her relationship with Eric, Ridge became uncomfortable with Brooke wedding to Bill. R.J. declared that it just wasn't gonna happen, and plans began to crumble when Brooke saw how disappointed her son was in her choices.

In other news, some people don't need to be a matriarch to be happy -- like Maya, who just wants to sing the national anthem in public. Rick vowed to make Maya's dreams come true, and up to this point, he's been hitting home runs. With his gift of performance to his wife this week, he earned a grand slam in the bedroom.

Dodger's player Enrique Hernandez guest-starred this week to help Rick make Maya's dream of singing the national anthem at a baseball game come true. soapcentral.com reported back in June that Karla Mosley performed the Star Spangled banner before a Dodgers game against the Colorado Rockies. Our Bold and Beautiful star knocked it right out of the park, and B&B treated viewers to a mini-storyline about it in which they showcased the beauty of the only onscreen Forrester marriage left standing.

Zende and Nicole accompanied Rick and Maya to Dodger Stadium after Rick surprised his wife with the event, and Julius and Vivienne met the family in time to hear Maya blow-out the stadium in a tear-jerking rendition of the song so close to American hearts.

Guess who no one felt "obligated" to invite to the surprise family occasion -- our sashaying Sasha! Julius must be wrong about the family feeling guilted into inviting his newly revealed daughter to events. How do you feel about Sasha being left out of a moment Maya deemed as unforgettable?

Speaking of unforgettable, Ridge finally got around to remembering that his Logan is Unforgettable, too. Some viewers believe it's about damn time. Others think Ridge might need to forget again. Steffy warned that Ridge's emotional resurgence would ruin everything they'd planned. She doesn't feel that way because she's dead set against Bridge as usual -- though that sentiment could resurge at a later date -- but it's because Ridge's "my Logan this and my Logan that" might jeopardize the plan to oust Quinn from all things Forrester.

Ridge is flashing back on Bridge. I flashed back on it, too. My stroll across memory bridge made me recall that Brooke and Ridge's romantic saga -- plagued by the original mother-in-law from Hell -- kept me tuned in for decades. Bill said that what Ridge once had with Brooke couldn't hold a candle to what Bill had with her, but I say that a simple touch between Ridge and Brooke can be the spark that sets the whole thing ablaze, leaving Bill burned and vengeful in the fire.

Brooke and Ronn Moss's Ridge shared a lifetime of memories in exotic locations from Australia, to Europe, to South America, to Barbados. Ridge made gigantic hearts in the sand and pinned them on the Eiffel Tower for her. He stole motorcycles -- and Thorsten Kaye's Ridge commandeered landboats -- to chase her down to stop her weddings.

Not the sailor, not the Taylor, nor the grim reaper could keep them apart. Viewers believed that a new actor for Ridge was the only thing to make Bridge rest in peace. But to some's joy and some's chagrin, the writers might be building Bridge again, fortified by the teenaged Ridge JR.

R.J. is back and quite "spunky" as Bill put it. Read our article to learn a little bit more about Anthony Turpel, who assumed the role of the determined teenaged R.J.

Fans have wondered where R.J. has been. Cancel the Amber alert. R.J. just likes attending Oaj year-round, waiting for his parents' lives to settle down long enough for them to realize that they owe him a two-parent household. With Caroline and Douglas out of the way, R.J. is home to collect, and he's not about to let his ex-uncle become his step-father.

Bill and Brooke have two things in common: their obsession with wedding planning and their failed weddings. Bill is O-for-two so far in executing Brill weddings. If it's up to R.J., Bill will be O-for-three.

For wedding three, Bill shelled out the big bucks to get rid of Katie, bull-dozed the six-month divorce waiting period by fudging residency in his Vegas hotel, and with the help of Victoria Newman's former wedding planner, Evelyn, he secured a private island for a honeymoon. Surprisingly, Bill doesn't own an island, but what he does own is an ego the size of Indonesia.

With that ego in tow, Bill maximizes each chance he gets to gloat to Ridge about the twelve and a half percent dowry he's paying Ridge in exchange for "His Logan." Steffy told her dad to stop that "My Logan" crap, but Brooke had already told Ridge that Bill wasn't trying to hear it anymore either. In fact, Bill's got new wedding conditions about Ridge that didn't come up during the engagement negotiation.

According to Bill, Brooke can do whatever she wants with the stock -- but what she can't do is work with Ridge. Bill ain't no fool like Katie. He knows better than to let former lovers and spouses work together day-in and day-out. The last thing he wants is Ridge checking out Brooke's boobs and butt and dreaming of throwing her over a desk while she's trying to work.

That kind of thing messed up Bill's marriage to Katie and Caroline's to Rick. Ridge hooking Brooke to him in an embrace is probably a nonstarter, too. R.J. might to get his daddy killed by spreading to Bill that such an embrace was exactly what R.J. walked in on when he'd seen his parents upon his return. R.J, you're a darling, but stop minding grown folks' business, okay?

I gave you a summary of what Brooke can't do according to Bill. What she can do, though, is stop saving all her sandwiches for Ridge. They belong to Bill now, and he strolled into her kitchen right before Ridge seemed poised to kiss his "old shoe" Logan. Was he really about to kiss her, or was he just leaning on the countertop while licking mayo off his lips?

The smooch that might have been came after talk about who Ridge was dating now that he was single. Is he single or trapped in the six-month-purgatory? I don't know. Maybe Caroline stopped by Bill's Heartbreak Hotel to check in married and check out single before heading to New York.

Either way, Ridge isn't into flings with women young enough to catch him legal case or even with women close to Steffy's age. Brooke acted as if it was natural for Ridge to be with significantly younger women, but she's getting her exes confused. It's Eric who plucks them straight out of college. Ridge told Brooke that he wanted something as a comfortable as an old shoe, like he had with His Logan. "If the shoe fits..." he uttered with a lick of his lips and leaned toward her.

Another strange thing Bridge said in their conversation was that, because of Katie, Brooke's wedding would be low-key to show respect. Here's an idea -- show respect by abiding by the six-month waiting period. Ridge noted that Brooke hadn't married Bill the last time. She responded that it, too, had been because of Katie. According to the ever-looping Abu Dhabi flashbacks, the wedding didn't happen because of Ridge, not Katie.

Brooke might have forgotten that fact, but Bill can't. He told Alison that the dressmaker wouldn't crash the next wedding, and he made sure Brooke knew the dressmaker was not invited to it. Brooke better be smarter than Wyatt and get these marriage conditions in writing before she winds up abandoned on her honeymoon over an unexpected text from Ridge.

Bill's working as fast as he can to make this next wedding a flashback he can enjoy on his honeymoon, but Mini-Ridge ordered Bill to cool his jet. R.J. refused to let his mother marry a conceited version of Deacon Sharpe. "Who are you again?" was Bill's response to R.J.'s arrival. "Run along now, and as a Spencer intern, you better learn that I hate mayo on my sandwiches."

"You want to marry my mother, and you don't even remember her own son?" R.J. asked.

I'm with R.J. Granted, it was a cool line that drew a stark contrast between Brill and Bridge's relationships; however, it's pretty far-fetched to believe that, for as many framed photos sprinkled on every mantel and office shelf space in L.A., Bill never saw a photo of the maturing R.J. at Brooke's house, at Steffy's house, or at his own house, where R.J.'s Aunt Katie resided.

Bill's demeanor changed, and he excitedly greeted R.J. Bill seemed to make a real effort to include R.J. right away by sharing details of the approaching wedding. R.J. laid some details on Bill, too, such as R.J.'s mother needed guidance at times, and R.J. was there to deliver it by the truckload. Instead of Brooke's teenaged son, R.J. sounded more like a father trying to end his daughter's relationship with the school's bad boy.

R.J. told Bill that Bill really didn't want to get in between Bridge. In fact, R.J won't authorize it, so Bill could take back his fugly ring, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the Bridge reunion. Bill nicely told the child that he was valiant, but grown folks don't mind kids. When Brooke arrived to collect her child, Bill updated her on his chat with her son and said they had a plane to catch.

Brooke looked mighty constipated in that moment, and something tells me that she hasn't packed a single teddy yet. Her mind has been too conflicted by dueling flashbacks of Brill and Bridge, and she's been too busy giggling in response to Ridge saying things like, "Every man wants you" to even think about packing for a wedding.

Meanwhile, the Taytots agree that Brooke had better stop all the damn giggling and start some marriage vowing so they can get this show on the road. For some reason, Steffy, who has never had any confidence in or care for Brooke whatsoever since Prince Omar last resurrected Taylor, has left it up to Brooke to solve the Queric crisis with a marriage to Bill.

This is what I don't get about Steffy, but let me lay the foundation before I say it. This week, Quinn told Wyatt to stop looking for her to act because this was his test, and he'd better tell his wife to put up or shut up. "You don't let your wife run you, son," was gist of what I heard Quinn say. The hen-pecked-mom-pecked Wyatt went to Thomas' and put the question to Steffy: "Is you is or is you ain't my baby?" he asked, and surprisingly, Steffy said she wanted to know the answer, too!

Steffy had no answer because she couldn't even think about it. She's too preoccupied with saving Forrester from Quinn. Okay...then why isn't Steffy worrying Brooke and Bill about getting married? That's what I don't get. Has Steffy even talked about the wedding or the stock to the two key people who can snatch everything back from the jaws of Quinn? Has Steffy wished them well or asked how the wedding plans are going? Why not ask Bill to just vote their way and sell the stocks to Brooke once the wedding happens?

Steffy didn't do any of that even when Bill came to her to get her to take action on her marriage for the sake of both his sons. With Wyatt, Steffy's is better than a politician about convulting the issue and avoiding answering a simple question; however, she sure sucks at focusing on the company when the man who is about to give the family the Quinn cure stands right in front of her, but she doesn't even mention it.

Maybe Steffy is too busy "focusing on the company" to actually focus on the company. Or maybe Steffy's talk about only being able to focus on Forrester is code for "too busy obsessing about Quinn" to think of her own marriage or "too busy avoiding my marriage to address my marriage."

Steffy wasn't focused on the Brill wedding or stock in her conversation with Bill, but she was able to focus on blaming Bill for Wyatt being born. Whether Steffy actually intended to convey that sentiment is unclear, but oddly enough it's the third time in my recollection that Bill has heard it.

Back in the summer of 2014, Hope said to Bill, "Go lay down the law to Quinn. You're the one who unleashed her on all of us." Bill begged to differ and reminded Hope that she'd brought Quinn into their lives. The implication in Hope's statement is that having a child with Quinn caused them all problems. If Bill hadn't had a child with Quinn, there would be no problems -- and no Wyatt, obviously. Bill heard it more clearly from Brooke a couple weeks back.

In August, Brooke told Bill that Quinn was in their lives because of him. "Because of me?" he asked. Brooke elaborated that he shared a child with Quinn. "What does that have to do with anything?" Bill asked, but Brooke just sighed. Fast-forwarding to this week, Steffy told Bill, "You started this whole ugly mess." Once again, Bill didn't get it and asked what it meant. Steffy just changed the subject to more Quinn obsessing.

This Friday, something clicked because Bill finally said to Alison, "I created a child with that psychopath. Quinn is in their lives because of me." Before anyone says that no one is blaming Bill for Wyatt's birth, just imagine if everyone said to Wyatt, "It's because of Bill that your mother is in our lives because he created you with her." How would Wyatt interpret the statement?

It actually isn't because Bill created a child with Quinn that she's in their lives. He might have created Wyatt with her, but he paid her to abort Wyatt. Quinn is the one who took money for the abortion and reneged on it, not Bill. Quinn actually owes Bill a refund.

I don't know what implications it has for Bill for him to realize that he's responsible for the Forresters' Quinn problem because of his child with her; however, a human being's birth isn't a disastrous butterfly effect for everything wrong in Los Angeles. There is a comet trail of "if this or if that" factors that could wrap around the universe twice if everyone chooses to shift the blame all the back way to Wyatt's days as a zygote.

How about we blame Brooke for creating Hope, who found Wyatt and forced Bill to recognize him? If we do, then I guess it becomes fitting that Brill marry each other and fork over the stock, doesn't it? Bill somewhat agrees because he told Alison that conceiving Wyatt was part of the reason he'd indirectly gift his stocks to Ridge and give up the power to torment Ridge with them.

Even though it's my opinion that Bill's logic about being responsible for Quinn being there is flawed, at least he's capable of accepting responsibility and trying to rectify things. Steffy, however, hasn't come full circle like that within herself. Right now, she is using Quinn as an excuse to be afraid to be close to her husband. Wyatt called her on it, saying that she'd known about Quinn before they'd gotten married. Steffy asserted that it wasn't true, and she didn't know the destruction Quinn could cause until Liam's abduction.

I call BS on that because it's impossible for Steffy and Liam to be the couple she claims they are if she never believed him when he told her that Quinn has attempted to kill him at least twice with the steam room and with a sword. She's abducted him about three times if we count the steam room, the elevator, and the forced cabin hiatus. Each time was to keep him from a woman that Wyatt was interested in.

How can Steffy say she doesn't know when no one made a secret of the fact that Quinn knocked Ivy off a bridge, and for the longest time, the Forresters held Quinn responsible for igniting events that caused Steffy's father to fall out of a helicopter? Either Steffy doesn't listen to people, doesn't believe people, or the family communication sucks.

When Liam made accusation to Steffy about Quinn, Steffy, as Forrester president, should have done due diligence and performed a background check -- at least surveyed employees to get a consensus about Quinn. Or she could have simply believed the love of her life's assessment of Quinn.

The world doesn't need to swim in a nuclear holocaust to know how dangerous nuclear weapons are. Why would Steffy have to first-hand experience Quinn's destruction before knowing how destructive Quinn can be in the name of Wyatt? And if that's the case, then Steffy ought to know already that she can't convince Eric of it until he experiences it, too, for himself.

In case you missed it, the histrionics were at an all-time high when Steffy dialed it up about twenty notches upon learning that Quinn hadn't walked out on Eric as Steffy had commanded for the one-hundred-eleventh dozen time. Instead, Quinn accepted Eric's marriage proposal. Steffy spontaneously combusted into tears and yelled at Eric to take it back.

Eric didn't entertain Steffy's threats that night, nor did he even blink when the family firing squad met him in his office the next morning. "Have a seat," Ridge said, wanting to discuss the engagement. "I have a seat. You're in it," Eric responded.

The family has legitimate points. Eric is roping them into a legal relationship with Quinn. I just wish they had the same intervention with Steffy before she married Wyatt so that there would be no doubt that she knew Wyatt and Quinn well enough to know what she was pledging herself to. The intervention was to no avail, and Eric again reassured Quinn that it was the family who needed to change, not him and Quinn.

Quinn shed her insecurity about losing Eric and became confident enough to tell Ivy, Quinn's Deacon replacement, that if Steffy kept up the histrionics, she will be the one out of the company, not Quinn. So far, Eric has backed Quinn at every turn, and Quinn believed that Eric would choose her over his granddaughter.

I'll bet Ivy wishes Liam was like that and would choose Ivy over Steffy, too. So far, Ivy wasn't seeing that much of him, even after the kiss. She was beginning to believe that her goals were impossible. Quinn encouraged Ivy to hang in there but said Eric would be committed to Quinn regardless of how it turned out with Ivy and Liam.

Steffy isn't wired like that and a resurgence of Livy won't deter Steffy if she decides to leave Wyatt. Steffy didn't let Ivy stand in her way when she wanted Liam before, either. When the stock had been at issue to overthrow Rick in 2015, Steffy demanded that Liam leave Ivy and run the company with Steffy if he wanted Steffy's stock.

When Liam wouldn't leave Ivy for the stock, putting their takeover plan in limbo, Ivy told him, "I just wish Steffy could rise above her feelings for you and do what's best for this company, do what's best for everyone. I mean, is it too late to think that she might still do that?"

Only if Steffy could, Ivy. Only if she could. It would solve a lot of problems around there if Steffy would put her own feelings aside and make her marriage a priority as she told Wyatt that he was supposed to do and if she'd calm down and let the plans in place play out instead of having daily hissy fits. Steffy needs to get it together instead of telling Wyatt that she doesn't know if she can handle their marriage, but she's still Mrs. Spencer. What does that even mean?

Wyatt needs to strap up his pants and tell Steffy that if she's still Mrs. Spencer, then she needs to be at home acting like it and work with him to solve the problems together. Otherwise, he needs to have her pack her bags and make sure he gets a picture for her fans of her walking out the door --if she even still has fans and followers after all the social media silence.

As it stands, we have two women poised to become matriarchs of L.A.'s most prestigious families. Will they each take their thorns or be thrown for a loop by dissenting family members? Can Steffy separate Quinn from Wyatt to save her marriage, or should Wyatt just pull the plug? Let us know what you think, and keep it bold and beautiful, baby!

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