Justice Ridge: Ridge throws his family under the bus for Thomas

This week, the bell tolled for justice in Los Angeles. Police closed a death investigation without questioning the only eyewitness, and Flo skated on her charges. Thanks to Ridge, Flo and Thomas' victims can't see them get the retribution they deserve. Justice is off the menu, leaving this scooper with little appetite for the baby-napping fallout on the Bold and the Beautiful.

People in Hell want ice water. With an advocate like Ridge, who's willing to throw his family and lady justice under the bus for his son, hellions just might get frosty bottles of designer aqua. Ridge didn't miscarry justice alone. He had the help of Detective Sanchez, an officer more interested in forged documents rings than baby trafficking, suspicious deaths, and justice for crime victims.

It's a good thing that Steffy took her anger out on Thomas and saw Flo behind bars for at least two seconds before Ridge sold his daughter's anguish for the price of keeping Thomas scandal-free in the tabloids. Steffy, Liam, and Hope want Flo to pay for her crimes, but the Twiddle Dumb detective left the decision about Flo's immunity deal up to Ridge, the father of one of the suspects involved in covering up the crime.

Brooke was livid about Ridge's decision not to contest Flo's immunity deal and finally unleashed the depth of her concerns about Thomas. Ridge's refusal to see the real Thomas makes Brooke ferociously protective over Hope, Beth, and Douglas. Ridge wants to protect his son -- even if it means hurting Steffy, apparently. Ridge is incapable of seeing Thomas the way that everyone else does. Ridge is also incapable of picking Thomas up from the hospital, as he was supposed to do when Dr. Armstrong released Thomas six episodes ago.

We can overlook that because Ridge had one heck of a day over those six episodes. Besides, Thomas is used to Ridge's neglect. Ridge's day began with him hearing that Thomas ran Emma off the road and left her to die. It ended with Ridge drunk, estranged from Brooke, asleep with Shauna in a room over the Bikini Bar. Brooke will do more than shove Shauna when she hears about this.

Flo Fulton floated out of jail like a butterfly and made a beeline to Wyatt's office to tell him that she believed in miracles. To me, the miracle was that Sally didn't snatch the weave out of Flo's head when Flo asked Sally if Wyatt was expecting her visit. It's also a miracle that Sally is playing coy in the intimacy department. Does Sally really want to take it slow, or are the writers making Wally abstain out of deference to Flo and Wyatt's romance?

Let's get two scoops deep into the inane decisions of Ridge Forrester that threaten to wash out Bridge. We'll ponder whether Ridge had the right to make decisions for Flo's victims, if the family can cope in light of Ridge's determination to save Thomas at their expense, and how stupid Shauna is to fall for Ridge. Didn't she learn her lesson with Bill?

Chief of Police Baker wasn't the fastest gun in the holster when it came to investigating crimes. While citizens might wonder if Baker could put clues together in criminal cases, rarely did they worry that the police would open and drop cases on a whim, fail to question key witnesses like Thomas, or succeed in pressuring relatives of victims to agree to immunity deals for crimes less egregious than those against the victims.

Enter Detective Sanchez, who did all of the above. After the strings he pulled to set Thomas and Flo free, I no longer wonder why Bill's shooting was never thoroughly investigated or why Taylor has never even been found out or charged. Sanchez apparently doesn't waste his time with attempted murder investigations or suspicious deaths -- not with all the rampant, vicious document-forging in L.A.!

Some viewers hoped we'd see justice for Emma, Hope, Liam, and Steffy, but we sensed that no one would suffer for their misdeeds in this plot. With B&B, there's always some escape hole in their rat-maze plot that lets criminals off on technicalities. But to just drop the cases altogether? It makes me sadly wonder if watching the show is worth is when there is absolutely no payoff for the good guys and no punishment for the bad guys.

The most unbelievable part of the investigation is that Sanchez didn't even bother calling the victims down to the station to ask them how they felt about the immunity deal. Instead, he called Ridge, the father, stepfather, and former father-in-law of the victims. And get this: Steffy was in the building, blasting Flo at the time. Why wasn't she, the victim of a forged documents scam, contacted, interviewed, or even asked about this immunity deal?

By now, everyone knows how I feel about Emma's death. Thomas should answer for it, but even if he isn't arrested, Sanchez shouldn't have closed the case without even forcing an interview with Thomas as a suspect or even as a witness to the event. At the very least, Thomas should have had to tell his story to the police.

Instead, Sanchez simply decided that texting was the culprit, regardless of whether Thomas was on the road nearby. It would satisfy me if Sanchez at least interviewed Thomas, heard his story, and then dropped the case. Dropping it without following every lead is negligent. So is advising Ridge to take a deal that Ridge has no right to agree to just so Thomas can bury his involvement in the crime. I'm beginning to wonder if Sanchez is corrupt.

"He's saving his psychopathic son; his daughter and wife be damned. Ridge has always been about Ridge. When he hid the power of attorney from Quinn...Ridge was about Ridge. When he bribed the judge so Bill would lose custody, Ridge was about Ridge." -- Nicoleorion143

"The whole thing was about protecting Thomas. Sanchez obviously suspects that Thomas had more to do with Emma's death, which is true. Pretty disgusting that he is working to keep it quiet to make this other deal. I hope Justin finds this out." -- karot

"I don't quite understand how Ridge was able to make this deal anyway. He isn't Hope, Liam or Steffy... What's Ridge got to do with it? Shouldn't Hope and Liam and even Steffy have the final say in a deal?" -- Littleman16

Posters are perplexed about how the immunity deal keeps the baby secret out of the press, especially when Hope and Steffy have such huge social media followings. To the women's fans, it will be obvious that Hope has Steffy's baby and is with Liam instead of Thomas. Any reporter worth his paycheck is going to pursue this story -- unless Bill orders them not to.

Some posters are concerned about how Ridge's decision will affect the father-daughter bond between him and Steffy. I'm concerned, too. Ridge witnessed Steffy's spine get ripped out of her when Beth left, but then he let the fake mother go free. How can he justify that to Steffy?

A few posters think that Thomas learned he can get away with anything, and it will make him more dangerous as time goes on. During his confrontation with Steffy, Thomas made excuses, still called Beth "Phoebe," and insisted that he'd done what was right for the family. It doesn't sound like he has learned anything. He still thinks he's right, which makes him a future problem.

Thomas wouldn't justify himself to Steffy if he had any true remorse. I'm glad she's going to protect herself from Thomas because Ridge sure isn't. I just wished she'd slapped Thomas harder on his broken ribs before she walked out on him.

Once again, a character is drunk and in the sex danger zone. Even though the writers haven't learned from the liquory disasters of Liam, Steffy, Thomas, and Caroline, Ridge should have at least learned better than to hang out with women while drinking. It didn't go as planned for him when he tried it on Quinn. It isn't going to go well for him now that Shauna finds him as "irresistible" as he once bet Liam that Quinn would.

Maybe Shauna is karma for Ridge, who set Quinn up for a tequila tumble. Will he wake up and realize that he had sex with another woman again (Taylor) while under the influence, or will an innocent night of sleep beside Ridge make Shauna determined to take him from Brooke? I bet the latter.

Before we scoop about the possible new triangle, I have to ask -- why didn't Danny or Carter call Brooke to let her know that Ridge was getting drunk at Bikini? Carter was very concerned about his friend and should have called Brooke. Even if Carter wanted to respect Ridge's confidence, Danny works for Forrester as a model. He should have called someone to pick Ridge up before Bikini wound up with a lawsuit for overserving Ridge.

Next, let me say that, for a woman so self-righteous about Flo's conception, Shauna sure has her shark's fin jetting through every watering hole that a rich man might drink in. When she entered the bars at Il Giardino and Bikini and found Bill and Ridge on their respective drinking thrones, we could almost hear the Jaws theme in the background.

Before Shauna sinks her teeth into Ridge, she might want to talk to Quinn. Ridge ain't the knight in a shiny martini shaker that she thinks he is. Quinn will tell Shauna that Ridge's disdain for women who cross him runs deep, and if he does do something nice, it's best to believe him if he says he didn't do it for you or your child.

Shauna is still that same gullible woman from Vegas, who falls into lust anytime a man pays her an ounce of attention. It's why she didn't get a call back from Bill. It's why Storm disappeared and why she won't get anywhere with Ridge. Why hasn't Shauna learned anything about throwing herself at rich men who are obviously not into her? It's time to change your perfume, Shauna. "L'eau de Desperate Skank" is a repellent, not an attractant.

For someone who wants forgiveness and to have her daughter earn forgiveness from the Logans, Shauna has a funny way of going about it. Antagonizing Brooke and kissing Brooke's husband aren't exactly the proper ways for Shauna to help Flo redeem herself with her family. I doubt Shauna can get between Bridge. Ridge defended his "beautiful wife" to Shauna even as he struggled to sit up straight at the bar. However, Shauna might be able to swoop in and mop up the pieces of the drunken Ridge's fermented heart if the matter about Thomas breaks the couple.

As Ridge said to Shauna, Brooke has every right to be upset with Flo -- and with Thomas. Brooke is justified in not wanting Thomas at the house, around the family, or at the office. Because of the way Thomas pursued Hope at the cliff house before his fall, I recommend that Brooke talk Hope into getting a matching restraining order with that pending annulment.

I love the way Brooke wants to look out for Douglas. It's one court case short of Brooke becoming Stephanie, who sued for custody of Rick and Bridget and later tried to take R.J. and Hope from Brooke, too. Like Stephanie, Brooke wants to protect the children; however, Brooke can't unilaterally take Douglas from Thomas. It would require Ridge's involvement for the grandparents to sue for custody.

Hope could possibly have a say about Douglas if she stays married to Thomas. Ironically, Hope married Thomas for Douglas' sake, but she won't remain married to him for Douglas' sake.

Ridge has valid points about standing behind his son, protecting his son, and getting his son back on track. It's just woefully naive of Ridge to think that can happen instantly or that everyone can live under one roof in harmony. He doesn't even know if Thomas wants to live in a place where so many hate him, where he has to watch Liam with Hope, and where the woman who pushed him lives, even if it was an unintentional push.

Maybe it's time for Taylor to return -- in her right mind for once -- to help her children cope. Or at least help her son with broken ribs get discharged from the hospital.

This week, Wyatt was ready to lock his office door and play corporate merger with Sally, but Sally wasn't ready to give up her assets. Wyatt wanted to make up for lost time between him and Sally, apparently oblivious to the fact that he spent that so-called "lost time" on a failed merger with Flo. For Sally, it's a matter of trust. She's still shaken because Wyatt left her and ran right back to his high school sweetheart.

Sally wants to take it slow to make sure it lasts, but Flo is a freight train, chugging on the forgiveness track back to Wyatt's heart. Will taking it slow cost Sally her chance with Wyatt? Should she go ahead and sleep with him to solidify their reunion? Or is her hesitance warranted just in case Wyatt is still vulnerable to a Flo takeover?

On one hand, Wyatt claims to understand Sally's need to test things, and he believes that waiting for her is worth it. On the other hand, he wants her to move back in and wondered what they were waiting for. "Me!" Sally told him. Wyatt's giving me whiplash, so I can imagine how much stress Sally feels. She wants to go forward with him, but how can she forget that he moved Flo into that very house and into his very bed?

Wyatt needs to slow his roll now that his time for testing is already upon him. We will soon see if his recommitment to Sally is real or if she was just his second option because Flo was supposed to be in jail.

Next week is all about heartbreakers, risk takers, and homewreckers, according to the preview video Taking Risks. It looks like Sally might press the gas pedal with Wyatt at a time when Flo might be making inroads with him. Shauna tells Flo about her night with Ridge. Already set to keep another secret, Flo tells her mother that it had better not get out. Ridge gives Brooke the "about last night" preface when he finally drags himself through his front door.

In other spoiler news, Katie could be headed toward a medical crisis. Let me guess -- Katie will need a lung from Storm's daughter. Where's the bone saw? I'm ready to cut Flo into pieces for Katie. There is no love lost between me and Katie, so my readiness to cut a chick ought to tell you how I feel about Flo.

In all seriousness, I'm gonna guess that the Logans welcome Flo back into the fold once she solves some medical issue for Katie, kind of like when Amber gave Rick a kidney.

Ridge is off to a bad start in teaching Thomas about keeping secrets. After waking up from his night with Shauna, Ridge makes a pact with her. In his effort to make up with Brooke, he neglects to tell her about his time with Shauna.

There isn't any word about Ridge picking Thomas up from the hospital yet. I wonder what Ridge will say when Thomas asks why Ridge forgot him. Ridge had better tread carefully. Lord knows that man-child of his has abandonment issues.

Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and thank you for scooping with us this week. Until next time, stay bold and beautiful, baby!

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