Wedding fail: "Great Expectations" meet a grim reality

Taylor's groom went MIA, leaving Taylor haunting Eric's mansion like the ghost of Miss Havisham. While Ridge finds himself, and a roll of toilet paper to clean up his crappy decisions, here are five conversations he should have had before retiring to his throne to think. Plus, Steffy blames her family's implosion on Thomas, but "monkey see, monkey do." Shouldn't she share the blame?

The other week ended in a dangling cliffhanger that left most excited to see just who would gamble on Ridge's commitment to Taylor and reveal the truth to Ridge about his deranged son and the CPS call. Taylor stood with a devil on one side and a mischievous angel earning her wings on the other. The devil won out, and Taylor refused to say one word. That left it up to either Douglas or the founder and CEO of the Parent Trap herself to release the father whom her brother had ensnared in the trap.

Was Taylor right in choosing to hold her peace about the CPS call until after the wedding? Taylor claimed she wanted to believe that Ridge hadn't asked her to marry him because of anything Brooke had done. However, as Brooke said, the moment Taylor learned the truth about the call, she knew in her heart that her time with Ridge had all been based upon a lie. I question what woman of integrity would want that for herself. The answer: Taylor.

Taylor asked Ridge if they'd still get married that day but let him walk right out the door without an answer. To make matters more pathetic, she meandered around Eric's living room in her wedding gown, waiting for Ridge. I guess now she knows how it feels to be Brooke, who'd done nothing wrong and had no idea why Ridge had abandoned her.

Oh, but Taylor knew why Ridge left. It was because he'd rediscovered who she really was. Ridge asked her what had happened to the woman he'd thought she was. In truth, Ridge hadn't seen that woman since 2006, when he'd left her for not being the paragon of virtue she'd purported to be, and he left her standing at the altar in 2022 for the same reason.

Ridge left the wedding and left his divided family bickering with each other. He was wrong to not come back, call, text, or at least send up an "I don't" smoke signal from Big Bear; however, I feel that Taylor failed as a mother and as the supposed "North Star" of her family. She was more concerned with getting married than sacrificing herself to keep the peace between her children and so desperate to get the man that she was willing to become complicit with Thomas' schemes. The "world-renowned psychiatrist" chucked her son's mental health issues in the backseat, and she failed to make her grandson's emotions a priority over her becoming Mrs. Ridge Forrester again.

Douglas has had a major role in exposing family scandals. He helped Hope bust Thomas at his last wedding, exposed Brooke for kissing Santa, and revealed to everyone that Baby Beth was alive. It baffles me why, this time, the adults went the "let the adults talk" route with him and sent him to frost cupcakes in the kitchen while they discussed a scam that he had discovered.

It's important to acknowledge that Douglas has been through a lot and probably did need a peaceful break from the stressful scene, but homemade cupcakes? Really? At a Forrester wedding? Eric was under a time crunch, but where were Charlie and Pam to bake a decent cake and drum up better hors d'oeuvres than that sorry, tiered platter of blah-gross that glistened like wax food in the scenes?

Instead of sending Douglas to the kitchen with a virtual stranger to let him mindlessly ice cupcakes for a wedding failure that he contributed to, how about an adult, possibly a therapist, gets her head out of her wilting bouquet and checks on her traumatized grandson instead of worrying about bogus promises?

The kicker for me was that they sent Douglas out of the room to discuss the adult topics, but no one covered Douglas' delicate ears when Carter was at the altar, telling everyone what a great lover Douglas' grandma thought his grandpa was. That had to be the most disturbing part of the day for Douglas. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been in the kitchen, quietly spreading icing with his butter knife, uttering, "It puts the frosting on the cupcake. He's got a knife. Please hurry..."

I can't lie and pretend that I'm not looking forward to the battle of the siblings, but I have to reiterate that it wouldn't even be happening had their mother taken responsibility and outed Thomas' scheme instead of forcing Steffy's hand. As it stands, Steffy outed the secret, and Thomas blames her for ruining their family reunion. Steffy blames Thomas for employing underhanded methods to frame Brooke for something she hadn't done, but Thomas contended that it was coming from the woman who'd actively undermined Brooke and Ridge herself.

The arguments between Steffy and Thomas are entertaining. It's not often that we see someone talk to Steffy the way Thomas has and actually put her in her place. Thomas called her "Queen Steffy" and said she thought she could do whatever she wanted in "Steffy Land." He called her out for intercepting Brooke's calls and digging around in Brooke's surveillance system. Finn warned Thomas not to talk to his sister like that, but Thomas gave Finn a "put your balls back in her purse" stare and continued to bicker with his sister.

Steffy asserted that Thomas was going to pay this time, but doesn't Steffy deserve some of the heat for what Thomas did to Brooke? I think so. Do you recall back when Steffy intercepted Brooke's phone call? While doing it, Steffy told Thomas that they had to get rid of Brooke. A statement like that was akin to dangling Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother in front of the wolf. Plus, if Steffy hadn't intercepted that call, Brooke wouldn't have gone to see the knife-wielding, apple-peeling Thomas.

What do you think? Do you feel that Steffy is just as much to blame as Thomas, or do you believe Steffy is right in saying there's a line she won't cross when warring with Brooke?

As it stands, Steffy still thinks there is hope for her parents' future, and she still believes Ridge and Taylor would be together had it not been for Brooke. This is something Ridge should have set her straight about before he turned into the runaway groom.

Ridge is as simple as a dog. You tell him to sit, and he sits. You tell him to roll over, and he rolls over. Brooke told him to go somewhere and really think about his life, and Ridge headed straight for the porcelain throne of decision-making without a word to anyone, not even a text to let his father know it was time to break down the wedding. Below are five conversations I think Ridge should have had before he went off to think.

Face your bride and tell her why you are not marrying her that day. After chasing Taylor all over the mountainside, letting her buy a multimillion-dollar beachside boom-boom bungalow, and getting her trussed up for a pop-up wedding, Ridge owes Taylor the truth about why they aren't getting married. It isn't because of the fake CPS call.

Ridge told Taylor he loved her and wanted to put their family back together. He needs to tell her that is why he proposed to her, but he can't marry her because it sends the wrong message to their kids and their grandkids. He can't marry her because she broke her own promise to always be up-front with him, and he can't marry her because he failed to uphold his promises to Brooke.

Face your kids and tell them why your family fell apart. Before Ridge stepped one foot out of that wedding, he should have set Steffy and Thomas straight about the role Brooke played in Ridge and Taylor's last annulment in 2006, and that was no role at all. He needs to remind those kids that Brooke and he raised them while Taylor was "dead," and he wound up leaving Brooke and marrying Taylor when Stephanie faked a heart attack. He should have told them that he didn't appreciate being hoodwinked into marriage then or now, but the reason he'd left Taylor was because she'd cheated on him with James and Hector, not because of Brooke.

Ridge should have told his children that he refused to allow them to run his life the way Stephanie had, and he wouldn't tolerate one more word from them about Brooke or Taylor or any other women he dates. He should have told them that his love life is not their business.

Face your grandchild and apologize for failing him. Before leaving the wedding, Ridge should have gone in the kitchen, taken the frosting away from Douglas, and told him that he had more integrity than a thousand Forresters. Douglas is the moral compass in the family, and Ridge should have apologized for not talking to Douglas about what was really going on inside of him. I'm astounded that Ridge thought the kid was morose about other kids at school, but Ridge didn't bother looking into a potential bullying situation. Ridge should have packed the child up himself and taken him to Brooke's house for the next stop on the apology tour: Hope.

Face Hope and apologize for enabling Thomas. Ridge needs to apologize to Hope for enabling Thomas to bogart Douglas and force Hope to divide her family in order to mother Douglas. Ridge should have done everything within his power to enforce a fair custody arrangement for Douglas' sake. He also should express his regret for allowing Thomas to mentally abuse the boy right under his grandfather's nose.

Face Brooke and beg her forgiveness for shacking up with Taylor. Ridge told Brooke that he was sorry he'd hurt her, but Brooke didn't need a weak-sauce apology. She'd needed him to honor his vows. She'd needed him to defend her and their marriage to his children. She'd needed him to refuse to have family dinners that didn't include her. She'd needed him to denounce Steffy's war on the Logans. She'd needed him to draw boundaries with Taylor. She'd needed him to be a damn husband. You know what? Forget Ridge. Brooke doesn't need him to beg her for anything. She needs to just slam the door in his face.

Buddha Bill is gone. Previews indicate that Bill Spencer will brandish his sword necklace once again and indulge his dark side. Bill's an ornery stallion, and Liam has trouble tempering his father's anger. Spoilers say Bill makes a move from his old playbook. That would be anything from arson to faking medical records to buying off convicts. Buckle in!

Sheila's freedom might be endangered. Spoilers state that Finn receives Sheila's remains and starts to do some digging -- hopefully not in the remains. By week's end, Finn and Steffy develop a theory about Sheila.

Thomas is as nasty as he wants to be when Brooke confronts him, but when he pleads his case to Hope, he tries to spin things to his advantage.

Thanks for getting two scoops deep with me again this week! Let me know how you feel about the wedding fallout in the comments section below. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!Chanel

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