Forget it, kid

Hope, Liam, and Thomas all got rejected by Douglas for Valentine's Day. Each in the trio has reasons for fulfilling the boy's wish to live with his Aunt Steffy, but it seems that all the adults have forgotten the biggest reason Douglas shouldn't have been indulged. Shoot the arrows with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did your "get out of jail free" card include not one, not two, but three admirers? Did your dice roll skip over the most important space? Did you witness your free pass turning into a "do not pass go" card? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Walton-Finnegan clan this week!

Happy V-Day, Scoopers! In Sheila's case, that "V" stood for "very lucky I've got two hunks bowing at my nine-toed feet." For everyone else, that "V" stood for "vertigo," because they were all so busy going in circles about Douglas' decision to bunk with Steffy that they forgot the most important reason he shouldn't! And has anyone else noticed that six-months-gone Quinn is still in the credits? Let's Scoop about it!

Sheila paid Deacon a visit for some reason -- this after they'd already had a convo at her new digs in Bel Air about how she'd chosen Bill. Sheacon had also admitted to missing one another, and this seemed to be in play during Sheila's claim that she had left some things at Deacon's place. Wouldn't Deacon have mentioned Sheila's errant items before, and thereby mentioned it to Sheila?

Deacon had already made it plenty obvious that he wanted Sheila to ditch Bill for him, but, because historically Deacon has never taken a woman's "no" for an answer, Deacon made another pitch to Sheila. Unfortunately for him, crazy Sheila hit him with some uncrazy logic. Sheila reminded Deacon how he had spent much of their time as roomies mooning over Brooke and wishing Sheila was gone.

Yet when Deacon kept harping on wanting Sheila back, Sheila got unexpectedly and unreasonably vicious with him. She called him a loser and a screw-up who always wanted what he couldn't have. (Hard to argue that last part.) She raged that she didn't want Deacon anywhere near her and stormed out, leaving Deacon in the dust. But ah, was it all for show?

Sheila stood outside Deacon's door, commanding herself to forget because Deacon would mess everything up for her. That "everything" being the fact that Bill could put her back in jail, a fact she informed Deacon of. So, it would seem Sheila took a hard line with Deacon to protect herself but that she really prefers Deacon over Bill. And that brings up two points I'd like to make here.

One, I was a ride-or-die Sheila fan all throughout the '90s, and I even stuck with her when she started to go cartoonish in the '00s. But by now, she's gotten too extreme and done too much to make me believe that three otherwise sane men could be in love with her at the same time. And yes, three -- let's not forget that Mike Guthrie is cooling it in the cooler, nursing a three-decade crush.

Two, this side trip with Deacon is taking all the steam out of the Bill aspect of Sheila's story. I deemed Bill/Sheila intriguing at the start -- but the longer we go without finding out why Bill is acting the way he is, the less invested I become in finding out. Do y'all feel the same way? I don't believe that Bill is so depressed that he's chosen this radical direction with Sheila...which means Sheila has to be exerting some kind of control over him.

This was not the time to veer away from Bill and establish some unrequited love thing with Deacon and Sheila. Plus, Sheila does not deserve all this affection until she has even somewhat paid for her crimes. It's just an unusual pivot, and I also have trouble believing that Deacon truly has these feelings for Sheila when he knows a good deal of what Sheila has done to his beloved Hope and Hope's extended family.

This was also not the time to venture into a completely out-of-nowhere custody thing with Douglas that pretty much flies in the face of what happens with custody things. Let's start with the fact that Thomas whipped out these papers a mere two soap days after Hope again rejected Thomas' bid to get back in at Forrester. Are you telling me that's a coincidence?

Thomas should also have known that any attempt to wangle full custody of Douglas had a much higher chance of blowing up in his face than not. To begin with, he has no stable home -- he's bunking with Paris. And there was nothing to stop Hope from telling a judge about Thomas calling CPS on himself, Thomas kissing a mannequin, Thomas faking his death to manipulate Hope, Thomas letting Hope believe her daughter was dead...

You see where I'm going with this. Predictably, the soap didn't bring out any of these big guns and instead went for water pistols. Maybe if Thomas had had all his crap dug up in front of a judge and faced actual consequences, it might inspire him to make actual changes. As it is, Thomas still isn't actually sorry about his CPS stunt, he reveled in Hope for the Future's bad review, and now he tried to punish Hope for keeping him out of HFTF by instigating a custody hearing.

A hearing no judge should have even put on the docket. Never mind the dubiousness of allowing any kid to choose their own guardian -- look at how many times Douglas has been moved around! I don't even mean this past year -- before that, the kid parked it at Thomas' apartment and the Logan mansion and New York. I can't imagine a judge adding to the boy's instability by potentially yanking him out of his most consistent home.

Presumably, Thomas thought he was being clever by letting Douglas "chart his own destiny," but it backfired on him big time, and was it ever satisfying. Douglas charted his own destiny by setting a course for Aunt Steffy! A true twist, but a bit of a strange one...especially because Douglas had just told Hope and Liam that he was going to choose to live with them.

Thomas got what he deserved, but Hope and Liam didn't deserve the betrayal. Despite everyone's vow to go along with Douglas' choice, everyone tried to talk him out of it. And even Steffy reminded her nephew that "you already have a home" -- with Lope, was the unspoken part of that sentence. Thomas didn't even have a chance with his own sister. Good!

Now, I'm not one to watch legal dramas, but I find it bizarre that any judge would have sanctioned Steffy as Douglas' legal guardian. Thomas is Douglas' father and Hope his adoptive mother. For guardianship to change to Steffy, there would have to be lawyers and a mountain of paperwork and nothing so instant as Douglas simply packing a bag and moving to Malibu, even if Steffy later said they'd all have to meet with the judge again to straighten things out.

Steffy wanted to talk to Finn first about Douglas staying with them and gently suggested that Douglas go home with his mommy and Liam. Suck it, Thomas! But there's a very important facet to this entire ordeal that not a single character remembered or commented on, and it's something that could put Douglas in some real and disturbing danger.

I'll give it to you in one word: Sheila! While Nanny Nine Toes has forgotten her months-long obsession to get Finn and Hayes back into her life, she could fixate on that again at any time, and Steffy should know that. You'd think Steffy would be worried enough about her own children with Sheila on the loose and that she would be the first person to sweep Douglas out of harm's way!

If nothing else, the vigilant Hope should have brought Sheila up, but she didn't. And so, Douglas is being allowed to move into a home where Sheila could show up at any moment. It's just baffling that this didn't factor into this custody arc. Oh, well. Steffy always pawns Kelly and Hayes off on Amelia, anyway, so maybe Douglas is safer than I'm giving things credit for.

Once Liam, Hope, and Thomas were alone, Liam told Thomas that "letting Douglas choose his own home is a record-setting bad idea." Liam's got that right. Thomas, naturally, revealed that he had allowed Douglas the choice because he assumed the boy would choose his father. But Hope wondered what it all said about their abilities as parents, since Douglas had just rejected all of them.

After Thomas left, Hope couldn't help wondering where she had gone wrong, forcing Liam to do a one-man intervention on her. Like Steffy before him, Liam thought that maybe Douglas staying with Steffy for a while wasn't such a bad deal. Liam also prophesied that Douglas would get tired of having nonstop fun on the beach and be ready to come home in a matter of weeks.

See, that was a part of what went down. Douglas chose Steffy's house because of all the "fun" he has there. Fun is not a legally binding protocol for a change in guardianship. Indeed, when Hope wondered if she and Liam should have fought the judge harder, I found myself thinking they should have. "Does that mean we have to blindly go along with whatever he wants?" Hope asked plaintively.

Hope, you just answered your own question. Now, Liam did have one valid point to offer. He felt that if he and Hope charged in and invalidated Douglas' choice by insisting he stay with them, Douglas would never trust them again. Liam is not known for being a voice of reason. But there's merit in his supposition. Are we ever going to find out if it actually was Liam, and not Taylor, who shot Bill? Asking for a friend.

Like determining from the laceration of Sheila's toe that she had cut it off herself, Finn observed Steffy's silence when she came home from the hearing and deduced that something had been up. Good thing Doc Finn is patient, too, because Steffy took forever to tell Finn that Douglas had chosen her. Why the delay? For the expositional value in letting viewers who don't tune in every day know what happened in court?

Well, Steffy finally picked the option that was not getting off the pot and asked Finn if he'd mind having another mouth to feed. I'm glad she was willing to discuss it with him first, but Finn was not as enthusiastic about the prospect as Steffy probably thought he would be. "He's not our son," Finn pointed out. Maybe not, but Kelly isn't your daughter, either, Finn, and you don't seem to have any problem with that.

In fact, it was weird watching Li fawn over Kelly and talk about what a wonderful family Finn had when Kelly is only Finn's stepdaughter. The more substantial argument Finn made was that housing Douglas would mean "putting ourselves in the middle of his parents' drama." Isn't that the truth? Finn already got sucked into Steffy's paternity drama when she thought Liam might have fathered Hayes. No wonder Finn was so hesitant!

But Finn, who has matching bullet scars with Steffy from Sheila's gun, also never thought that putting Douglas in Sheila's line of fire was a bad idea. Can these guys only concentrate on one plot point at a time? Finn being Finn, of course, he co-signed Steffy's plan to move Douglas in with them in less time than he took to object to it. Guess we know who wears the designer slacks in that family!

Hope tried to keep her emotions in check as Douglas emerged from his room, ready to camp at Aunt Steffy's...lugging only a backpack and a tiny carry-on. This kid is moving, and he didn't even bring enough suitcases to hold all his Legos. Douglas had a statement to make -- he didn't want Hope and Liam to be sad. He just needed a change, he had decided.

That's an odd motivation for a child, especially when Steffy had just listed that as Douglas' rationale, one that Taylor sussed out in the following episode. Douglas again foresaw having fun at Steffy's. Having more fun somewhere else is not a good enough reason to allow your kid's guardianship to change. Douglas had "fun" at Eric's, too, which is why he kept begging to stay there longer. Do we not sense a pattern here?

Odder still, there were five out of seven chances that this all was happening during a weekday. So why wasn't Douglas in school? For that matter, none of the adults were at work. Instead, Hope and Liam brought Douglas to Finn and Steffy. Hey, fashion can wait when we're talking about a child's address! Liam and Finn tagging along with Douglas to see his new room left Steffy and Hope alone to talk.

There was something really wonderful between the on-and-off rivals as Hope struggled to keep it together and Steffy remarked that Hope was doing great. It was almost as cool as Brooke and Taylor being friends, only more organic, since Hope and Steffy initially put aside their differences in 2019 to nurture their blended family, only taking a break last year because of Steffy reveling in Bridge's troubles.

Steffy promised Hope that she would do her best to protect Douglas in Hope's stead, even if it meant protecting Douglas from Thomas. Then Hope nervously asked Steffy to make sure Douglas was careful around the cliff behind the house. Hmm, now why would that come up? Just good geographical continuity, or is Douglas going to do some free fallin' like Tom Petty, and like Tom Daddy did, courtesy of Brooke?

Once Hope and Liam left, Douglas got real and told Steffy that the reason he had chosen to live with her was because he was aware of the continual tug of war between his parents, and he thought it was easier all around if he didn't actually have to choose between them. That's fairly mature for a boy who remains more mature than the adults around him, but I'd figured that something else had been driving Douglas.

It would have only made sense for Douglas to bathe Steffy in his spotlight after she was the one who'd taken the truth Douglas told about Thomas' CPS call and revealed it at Tridge's aborted wedding, thereby relieving the pressure Douglas was under to lie about his father's involvement. But that never came up. It should have, because otherwise, Douglas' choice of Steffy seems particularly random.

And Hope could barely stand still in her Douglas-less home, what, with Beth stashed at a friend's! (Why not; Hayes and Kelly were fobbed off on Amelia again.) Hope nervously hoped Douglas would be all right at Steffy's, but Hope didn't worry even a tenth as much when Douglas was at the mansion with Thomas 24/7...and given Thomas' past behavior, Hope would have had plenty of reason to be concerned. Keep it in perspective, Hope!

Inevitably word had to get around about Douglas' latest change of address card. In the case of Katie and Carter, it came via Katie inexplicably leaving her clothes in the CEO office before she left for her workout. So, she shucked her duds in there before leaving for the rooftop gym? Come on, that was just a means to have Carter catch Katie in her skivvies, though it was time for Katie to be put on display instead of Carter.

Even Braylor had to get into the act, dishing Douglas at Il Giardino, though at least Ridge's ex-wives took the moment to swear and avow that the latest push-pull between Steffy and Hope would not spark a renewal to their own rivalry. Chanel prognosticated otherwise in her column last week; I guess she didn't call that one, and frankly, I'm glad.

But you have to admit -- Brooke and Taylor wouldn't have a chance in hell of being friends if Ridge were around. That he seems to be on extended trips out of town sure is making that friendship easier. And the most fun of the week was when Deacon said he'd never seen a Taylor/Brooke catfight but wanted to, since "Daddy like." Braylor brandished their claws and hissed at him in unison! I thought it was hilarious.

The news then reached Eric, via Thomas of all people. Why did Thomas bother to come visit his grandpa? He had to have known Eric wasn't going to campaign to Ridge and Steffy on Thomas' behalf. Indeed, Eric was all too quick to remind Thomas that Thomas was still on the family s**t list. So, why was Thomas even there? All Thomas did was play town crier by relating what had happened with Douglas.

Oh, and totally reveal his true objectives to the one person he shouldn't have blabbed to. Though Thomas had been hurt by Douglas' decision to ditch him, Thomas had thought about it and come to the conclusion that it wasn't such a terrible setup. After all, with Thomas' sister now parenting Douglas, Thomas would have full access to the boy!

Thomas, that's as dumb as nine-toed Sheila wearing open-toed shoes while on the lam. What was to stop Eric from calling Steffy as soon as Thomas left and warning her that Thomas was going to take advantage of the situation? Nothing, but Eric only advised Thomas not to manipulate Douglas. And we wonder how the Gen X level of Forresters turned out so screwy.

Going back to the fact that absolutely no one was worried about putting Douglas in Sheila's path, Thomas strolled through Steffy's unlocked door like he owned the place. Why not just hand Kelly, Hayes, and Douglas over to Sheila already like she's some sort of Michigan-born Rumpelstiltskin? Thomas announced that he was at Steffy's to see Douglas. Thomas knew Douglas had just moved in and more than implied that he was about to take up residence, as well!

Ooh, that wasn't good. Surely Steffy would cave to her brother, right? Wrong! Steffy told Thomas to slow his roll! Like one mile per hour slow! Thomas couldn't just show up and see Douglas, much less without calling and on the day the boy was settling into his new living situation. Steffy was setting boundaries! There had to be consequences for Thomas' actions. She had Douglas' welfare to look out for...plus, she had promised Hope.

"What does Hope have to do with this?" Thomas barked. Well, see, there's more of Thomas' true colors coming out, and not like Cyndi Lauper. Hope is only Douglas' freakin' adoptive mother, and Thomas was only fresh from trying to pull Hope's custody of the boy out from under her. I hate that B&B has made Matthew Atkinson's Thomas such a d**k. Pierson Fod's Thomas was full of himself but not a total scumbag!

Thomas was not about his sister laying down the law where Douglas was concerned and was quite mouthy about making that position clear. Along padded Finn down the stairs to let Thomas know that he tried it! "You don't get to barge into our house and give orders," Finn growled. Yeah, you don't wanna mess with Finn, Thomas. Dude only played chicken with Sheila and won!

Thomas tried to edge Finn out of the conversation, but Finn held his ground and told Thomas to leave, prompting Thomas to declare he was not going to let either Finn or Steffy keep Thomas away from his son! Is it game on? Are the usually tight Taytots going to war over Douglas? And will Sheila come spirit all the kids away while everyone is arguing?

You know how to defuse this whole situation? Have it come out that Ridge is actually Douglas' father! Yes, I remember that Ridge was shooting blanks around the time that Douglas was conceived, but what does that mean on this show? I don't remember there being a DNA test when Douglas was born. Ridge could easily be the Doug-dad! And honestly, Ridge will never win Father of the Year, but getting Douglas out of Thomas' clutches could be the best thing to happen to him!

What do your candy Valentine hearts say, Scoopers? Has the Bill/Sheila saga lost some serious momentum with these other stories going on? Should the court have allowed Douglas to change homes again, given how much he's moved around? Will Douglas end up meeting that suddenly mentioned cliff in a highly impactful way? And will everyone deserve what they get for forgetting Douglas just made himself a target for Sheila? Profess your feelings in the Comments section below or the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could end up in a future column! Like these!

"Please explain how a convicted felon (Deacon) can own a restaurant. He wouldn't even be able to get a liquor license." -- Barbara

"The pesky thing about blackmail is that it potentially never ends, especially if it's effective the first time. What stops Sheila from now saying 'Let me spend time with Hayes or Bill will press charges?' I think Taylor should take her chances. The crime is 'all those years ago', and is there any physical evidence whatsoever? Liam has a much bigger motive, the defense attorney would have such an easy case of reasonable doubt." -- "DrTina"

Well, we all know Law and Order B&B ain't! What B&B is, if I've calculated this correctly, is coming up on its 9,000th episode before this next week is out. I haven't heard that the show has anything special planned, but with all this talk of Douglas and cliffs and Sheila, you never know what might happen. And the only way to find out is to keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold! See you in two weeks, my Scoopnesses!AMJ

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