Waffles and staplers

Let go of Hope's Eggos! Hope dumps Thomas for a chance with Liam, leaving some wondering who's the waffler now? Here's why Liam's rationale against a reunion makes too much sense. Hope claimed to want to reunite for Beth's sake, but what about Douglas? Why does the union of his parents no longer matter? Hey, wait a minute. Did Eric just fire Ridge? Plus, hasn't Finn been punished enough? Let's scoop!

What do Eric and a 50-year-old stapler have in common? They both work hard at keeping things together at Forrester!

All bad jokes aside, that stapler could have been an antique worth lots of money, just like the classic Eric Forrester. Ridge shouldn't have just tossed it away, and Ridge should not toss away the chance to work with the master on one last legendary couture line -- but it doesn't look like Ridge will have much of a choice if he was just forced into retirement!

Stop the pickleball match! Did Eric just fire Ridge? How did their argument go from "Where's my stapler?" to "You want me to step down? Fine!" to "I will run the company!"? I'm completely behind Eric. No one puts Eric Forrester in the corner just to drag him out for credibility. Oh, no. And Charlie and Pam need to stop lunching-and-lemon-barring in Eric's office. Eric doesn't need Paris in there pooting after a bad protein shake, either. That is Eric's office, damn it, and he and Donna shouldn't have to drizzle honey all over it to keep everyone from buzzing around in there.

So, give Eric his stapler back, and do not tell him it's unnecessary equipment because of PDFs! However, I do have to wonder what is going on with Eric because there ain't no way the stapler that was on his desk from day one could be 50 years old. Ain't no way Taylor and Ridge were toddlers 50 years ago. Ain't no way. So, is Eric getting dementia, or what else could be going on to make him think Ridge is only 50 or so?

I love the idea that Eric wants to design a final legacy collection, and I think it's poignant that he wants to do it with his son. But is there something more to that? Eric is protesting too much about his abilities, and the last time he did that, we learned he couldn't perform with Quinn. It makes me wonder if Eric can actually still design.

Did Eric just fire Ridge, or did Ridge just resign? I don't know, but it certainly seemed as if Ridge had been dismissed. My guess is Ridge will be there Monday after a weekend on his 1949 Chris-Craft, watching the sun go down. Now that Eric has reclaimed his Pride Rock of an office, what will he do with it? Can he do it without Ridge? Eric will soon see if he can make it without Ridge, but last week, we learned that Finn doesn't want to make it without Steffy.

If anyone had asked me if a pair of hugs could break up a marriage, I would have laughed in that person's face. But here, on the twelfth day of Finn begging, I'm starting to think this could be the beginning of the end for Finn and Steffy. She hopes that they can find their way back to each other, but how in the world can they do that if Steffy declares that she will not go home as long as Sheila is out there in the free world?

I get that Steffy is terrified of Sheila. Wait. Actually, I don't. This is the same woman who clawed down another mother-in-law from hell in the streets of Monaco and shot Sheila. Anyway, my point is that Finn and Steffy need to face the Sheila dilemma as a united front. Steffy moved into Eric's house as if Sheila doesn't know that house like the back of a bee farm. Who's to say Sheila can't find her way inside there more easily than the cliff house? At least the cliff house has a natural defense on one side.

How does Steffy expect Finn to make her safe? Must he stuff Sheila in a cannon and shoot her into space? Chain her to cement and drop her in the ocean? Burn her at the stake on the beach? Finn cannot stop Sheila any more than Steffy's weak-sauce restraining orders. Steffy needs to understand that even if she isn't with Finn, Sheila can come for Hayes. As long as Hayes is Sheila's grandson, Steffy will see no peace.

When accused of hiding from Beth's birthday party, Steffy said, "I don't hide." She has a funny way of proving that. It's time for Steffy to stop sitting on her tuffet, waiting for Sheila to scare her away. Either Steffy will put her faith in Finn, or she needs to take matters into her own hands. I suggest she start with Hayes's paternity test. Did they ever take a second one to prove he was Finn's? Because I'm thinking if Steffy can "somehow" get a test to "prove" that Hayes is not Finn's, most of Steffy's Sheila problems will be over. Steffy might wind up stuck with Liam, but it might be worth it to extinguish the threat of Sheila.

Last week, Liam attempted to rescue Hope from herself and finally thought he'd had a breakthrough when getting her to remember who Thomas really was. The problem occurred when Liam said there was a path back to Hope Logan, and Hope thought that meant there was also a path back to being Hope Spencer. She broke it off with Thomas in hopes of another chance with Liam, but Liam let her know that he wasn't a one-woman man like Thomas. Liam is into triangles, but Hope's involvement with Thomas was turning things into a complicated square.

Liam probably made the most sense of anyone in this game of shapes when he tried to get Hope to see that his history with Steffy, and Hope's with Thomas weren't things that they could work through, as Hope suggested. Liam said that if he had been devoted with years of no incidences, but Hope still felt Steffy's presence, then Hope ought to understand how Liam would always feel Thomas' presence in the marriage.

Steffy told Liam that she knew how forgiving he was, and I instantly flashed back to him dragging Steffy by his leg as he walked out on her after her affair with Bill. Steffy doesn't know Liam very well, it seems, because he remained consistent in his inability to forgive Hope. That's very decisive of him. Who's the waffler now, Hope?

It looks like Hope played Divorce Chicken with Liam, and she lost. I just have to wonder, why wasn't Hope as willing to make a go of it with Thomas for the sake of Douglas as she was willing to resume a number two position with Liam for Beth's sake?

Douglas wanted his parents together even before Hope adopted him. It was the final thing he said to his parents when viewers last saw him on the show. Yes, Hope has been under a lot of pressure from her family to reunite with Liam, but if she truly wanted Thomas, why didn't she tell everyone that Douglas deserves to have his parents together just as much as Beth does?

I'm not here to start a war between the children, but we do have a triangle or square of sorts here, as well. Is Beth's stability more important than Douglas', so she should have her parents together while Douglas doesn't? What about Kelly and Hayes? Hope claims not to want Beth to go through what Hope did without a father, but Hope's heart hasn't been bleeding for Kelly. However, if we look at Kelly's life, we see that she's fine with a loving stepfather, just the same way Hope was fine with her loving stepfather. Wasn't Hope even calling Ridge "Dad" when she first reappeared as a teenager?

So, Hope should stop dragging the kids into this. The idea that Hope desired to give it a chance with Liam for Beth is just an excuse. If Hope wanted to try with Liam for Beth, she could have easily decided to try with Thomas for Douglas. I wonder what she'll tell Douglas when he asks his single mother why she's not with his single father. Not that she'll tell Douglas this, but it's probably because she doesn't really love Thomas and can no more forgive him for the past than she can forgive Liam. It's the one thing the men have in common: Hope's perpetual disdain for their actions.

Truth be told. Hope told Liam that she wanted to put all the cards on the table -- just not the sex cards she and Thomas have been playing with off-screen for weeks now. That's fine with Thomas, who is more than willing to keep it a secret. You know, like when he kept the secret about Beth, the secret about Emma, the secret about Sheila and Brooke's Champagne, and the secret about the CPS call. Yeah, sounds like a changed man to me. Yikes!

He's a cold-hearted snake. Sure, Liam looks like a cold-hearted bastard snake who refuses to forgive, but at least he's not waffling. The more I look at his past, the more I'm beginning to wonder if he isn't more of a boomeranger than a waffler. Liam has no problem deciding what he wants. His problem is boomeranging back to Steffy when he's hurt. I love that he told Hope that he wasn't a one-woman man, probably hoping to deter her from a reunion. It was the "It's not you; it's me" comment I needed for the week, but obliviously, Hope asked if he was sure it wasn't something they could work out. No, Hope, it's simple counting. Steffy equals one. Hope equals two.

Too soon to go back into the water? Kudos to the props department for pulling off a beautiful mermaid birthday party. Perfect colors, perfect outfits, and perfect party favors. But isn't it just a little too soon for Kelly to be splashing around, having fun in the water? I know it's the pool, but she did almost die in the water, nonetheless. Just saying...

I know I said all the birthday outfits were cute, but Hope was the saddest Little Mermaid all week long, getting her land legs only to learn that her prince can't forgive her for kissing the Swamp Thing. I'd love to see her shed those clothes for a new dawn and a new day, a new life and a new way. Hey, even Liam went ahead and put on a suit by Friday.

Spoilers indicate that Thomas will march into Liam's office to plead Hope's case to Liam. Yeah, because the cheating spouse's lover is always more persuasive than the actual cheating spouse. When Liam remains steady and unwaffling in his decision to boot Hope, Thomas runs to her side, ready to induct himself into the Number Two Hall of Fame, where his mother resides with high honors. Will Hope be a hypocrite and let Thomas take the position she didn't want for herself? Probably.

When Eric's real problem is revealed, R.J. and his technology give Eric hope for his design future. Yeah, finally, R.J. gets a storyline. Looks like Eric will still be inspiring the younger generations, after all, as Ridge suggested that Eric do.

Thanks for scooping with me this week. Please, as always, put your comments about the week's developments in the comments section below. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!Chanel

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