Jailhouse Rock On!

Katie busted a dance move that got Poppy busted, and Y&R's Danny and Cricket rocked their way into Los Angeles from Genoa City. But Taylor made her own entrance with a new face ­ and Luna jammed by kissing Bill as soon as she found out he wasn't her father! Party on with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you replace your old new face with an even newer face? Did your special mints earn you a jail stint? Did you transform your daddy into a zaddy in two seconds flat? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Finnegan-Nozawa clan this week!

Rock on, Scoopers! The Young and the Restless' Danny Romalotti (and Christine/Cricket!) may have lightened up the Forrester mansion, but the drama was hard at the Spencer mansion, where Katie had Poppy arrested, and Bill decided to run some over-the-counter paternity test on Luna. And just as nunuTaylor showed up to see "all my children," Luna pulled a Ridge and Bridget on her new not-dad! Y'all ready? Let's Scoop about it!

First, a quick moment to tell you about my Michael Damian encounter in 1989. He swept through my part of Florida, where I was living at the time, on his Rock On tour, and a friend of mine got us positions as ushers for his show. Michael saw us dancing among the stiff crowd and pulled us on stage. I'm afraid, high on attention, I made a little bit of an ass out of myself. But it was so much fun. Oh, youth! And that was a Michael Damian Moment. Now, on to columnizing!

Well, whaddaya know! Genoa City's rock star and star lawyer dropped into the Forrester compound to get their party on! My only real question is...why? Having the Y&R legends (Michael Damian started in 1981, Lauralee Bell in 1983) in L.A. was kinda cool, but they really didn't move any plot along, aside from Forrester getting to use Danny's music for the promotion of the Brooke's Bedroom line.

The gala was high on sugar content, as well. Hope gushed over her mom so much that she literally led a Brooke chant, and Donna's superfanning over Danny made me hope Eric would put a leash on her. I did love, however, that Christine mentioned having once been Ridge's lawyer; yes, in 2007, Ridge was blamed for the death of Shane McGrath, who shot himself, and Christine represented Ridge. Talk about a deep dive!

The other mystery guest was, of all people, Pam! She'd been off-screen since Christmas 2022 (her portrayer, Alley Mills, has since moved on to General Hospital). I don't know what Pam was doing there, either, except to grouse with Steffy about "the Logans" like it was 2010. HO for the Future, anyone? I also noticed Pam was wearing stylistically incompatible sandals with her lovely dress. Did shoes not get switched before the cameras started rolling?

Speaking of rolling, there was rock 'n' rolling, as it turned out the only way Danny could scrape Donna off the ceiling was to perform "his" (meaning Michael Damian's) 1989 hit, "Rock On." I would have thought Danny would have other songs in his repertoire after 35 years, but clearly Danny's popular enough that he's touring. He should cut a record with Eric! I always wanted Eric to have a post-retirement music career.

AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The festivities weren't all adulation and music, however. Amid all the Brooke worship, during which Pam implored Steffy to "do something," Steffy did indeed call attention to herself to speak. Considering Steffy had grimaced and side-eyed all night, would she throw shade on Brooke, after all? Nope! Steffy actually recognized Brooke and praised the success of Brooke's Bedroom. How about that!

Steffy admitted to Finn that the nod was more about the bottom line the lingerie had plumped up for the company, but Steffy was still amazingly gracious when Brooke thanked Steffy for publicly commending her work. Steffy even seemed receptive when Brooke asked for an end to the Forrester vs. Logan "wars," assuring Steffy that Brooke and Hope would not cause any problems for Steffy. Was Steffy drunk?

No, but Hope was on her way there, guzzling Champagne throughout the party. Did she learn nothing from Luna sexing the wrong cousin after mainlining Cristal? (Yes, Luna also downed those microdosed mints, but she wouldn't have been so spaced-out had she not downed so much bubbly first.) Yeah, Hope was knockin' 'em back, and eventually, that gave her the courage to plant one on Finn, with other guests nearby!

BABY QUEEN

We'll have to work off the assumption that no one saw Hope macking on Finn the way Thomas did on the Hope mannequin, because, next we knew, it was a new, bright, shiny day in Los Angeles. Though the tranquility was interrupted by the honking of a car horn...somehow, Steffy knew exactly who it was...yep! It was Greenlee from All My Children! Michelle Bauer from Guiding Light?

Not quite -- it was one Taylor Hamilton Hayes Forrester Rashid Forrester Marone Jones, in the form of soap vet Rebecca Budig. Yeah, I dunno, kids. I know a lot of you aren't feeling it because this Taylor seems even younger still, and more of a sister to Steffy than a mother. (Hey, Ridge got de-aged, too, when Thorsten Kaye started playing him.) I'm not sure I'm feeling it, either, but not necessarily for that reason.

The energy is just...different. Well, duh, of course it is; Taylor's been recast. There's nothing that says a new portrayer has to do what Hunter Tylo did for so many years. And remember, most of us came to accept Krista Allen as Taylor eventually. I guess with Budig, I'm still seeing an older version of Greenlee. But we'll see. In the meantime, why was Taylor trailing Bridge in Monte Carlo? I hope Taylor can move on from Ridge finally. We really don't need any more Bridge/Tridge. Thirty years of it was enough.

Once Taylor settled in a little bit, Steffy found herself venting about Hope and apologized. Steffy just didn't trust Hope and admitted that she could see Finn being drawn to her! That's a new one! Steffy just hasn't had that kind of insight before, and to a point, I would say it was accurate. But whatever attraction Finn might have felt for Hope, even unconsciously, has been discarded like used needles at Finn's hospital, thanks to Hope's tonsil hockey.

At Forrester, Hope had her own aha moment, confiding to Brooke that she had been doing some soul-searching. Hope didn't like the example she was setting for Beth. Hmm, didn't Liam just have a revelation like that a few months ago? Maybe it's a good time for a Lope reunion. Anyway, Hope realized that she had been "stuck in a cycle" and feared that she had tanked her friendship with Finn as a result.

Hope ran straight to Finn's office when he texted her, but I don't think he had a reaction any of us expected. "What the hell are you thinking, Hope?" Finn yelled. Hope mea culpa'd all over the place, but when she asked Finn to keep their liplock quiet, Finn really lost it. Finn reiterated how much he had had to work to regain Steffy's trust after all the stuff with Sheila; he wasn't going to start keeping secrets now!

Finn even wondered if Hope's recent behavior had all just been to get under Steffy's skin and continue the Forrester/Logan feud. Despite Hope's worries that Steffy learning about the kiss would inflame things even further, Finn wasn't having any. He was going to tell Steffy the truth. And when he got home, with nunuTaylor upstairs freshening up, Finn got ready to do just that! Tune in this coming week for Steffy's reaction.

SUMMERTIME BLUES

Katie has been on a lot of your nerves lately, and I can't completely disagree with that sentiment. She has rather been like a dog with a bone regarding Poppy's possible culpability in the deaths of Tom and Hollis. Overbearing as Katie has been, she hasn't been completely off, though. Something has definitely been amiss between the murders and Luna's paternity, but I'm beginning to think it's not because of Poppy.

Katie pointed all of her fingers at Poppy, to Luna and Bill's disbelief, but it was enough for Deputy Chief Baker to show up with Tom's backpack, which he had retrieved from Poppy's about-to-be-demolished apartment! And guess what he found in there? Mints. Special mints. Apparently even specialer mints, because these were laced with something lethal. Baker declared it evidence and made ready to cuff Poppy!

Guess the Boppy honeymoon is over, because Bill stoically told the cop to do what he had to do. Poppy was read her rights and hauled away. Katie looked all sad, but I don't know why -- isn't that what she wanted? Of course, ever since Baker first came on the scene in 1997 to charge Ridge with the shooting of Grant Chambers, Baker has gotten more cases wrong than not, and it seems to me this might be another one of those.

To begin with, Tom was killed because someone poisoned his drink! Even if the spiked mints were Poppy's, it's not like someone plopped one into Tom's beverage. Then there's been all this pearl-clutching about Poppy "using drugs." Those mints have mere milligrams of ingredients derived from hemp plants. Ever since a high Luna slept with Zende mistakenly, everyone's acted like Poppy is on heroin or meth.

And while I did initially think that Poppy had killed Tom, once Hollis beefed it, I became less sure that Poppy had popped these guys. You know that, in Soap 101, the person the most accused is the least likely culprit. Now, with Poppy behind bars, I'm thinking she's been framed. By whom, I can't say with 100% certainty yet. On the one hand, I'm liking all the twists and turns; on the other, I think maybe we better start wrapping this up before it starts to feel too drawn out.

The jury is still out on Crew Morrow as the grown-up Will, as well. Not that he's had a lot to do except catch Bill and Poppy in bed. I'd kind of hoped, when Will was commiserating with Liam, that Liam would nod that he understood Will's grossed-outness because he had once caught Bill and Quinn doing S&M things to each other! Liam didn't, but he did encourage Will to give Poppy and Luna a chance. Will wasn't really on board, however.

If anything, Will was totally Team Katie when his mom told him that Poppy had been arrested. I see already that Will's main conflict is going to be with Bill, and that's okay, just unexpected. One thing Will had better not do is ship his parents like his pre-teen predecessor did. Batie has been dead to me since Bill locked Katie in a tower to keep her from ratting him out to Liam, and that was before Will was even born!

WHICH IS THE WAY THAT'S CLEAR?

I've figured it out -- Li has a thing about visiting people in jail and ragging on them. First it was Sheila, and now it's "Penelope." Li couldn't resist seeing her li'l sis behind bars! You know, when most people have near-death experiences, they mellow. Not Li, who has gotten to be even more of a bitch since Sheila fried Li's SUV! But Li surprised me by doing a one-eighty I would never have expected from her at this point.

Li listened as the shackled Poppy insisted upon her innocence. The carefree Nozawa sister swore up and down that she didn't fix Luna's paternity test, nor did Poppy off Tom and Hollis. Poppy reminded Li that she had never even been able to kill a spider! This got to Li, because she softened while calling Poppy a softie. Poppy needed Li to believe in her...so Li took Poppy's hands and kindly affirmed that she did!

Was that hell that just froze over? That's the nicest I've ever seen Li act toward Poppy. But Poppy wasn't worried for herself, just Luna. Li assured Poppy that Li would take care of her niece. Now, as I said, Poppy being in jail takes the heat off her. Could Li have committed the murders? Or gotten Jack to commit them? What about Justin? Could he have done this all to give Bill a daughter in a sick way of making up for trying to take Spencer Publications from him a few years ago?

Again, it's refreshing that the killer is still not obvious. But we do need to start heading toward the resolution. I've enjoyed having some new and returning characters involved in this and seeing folks besides Ridge, Brooke, Hope, Steffy, and Finn on-screen. However, that's also part of the problem -- I don't know that I care enough about Luna, Poppy, or Li to continue investing in this mystery. Shoulda kept Li with Bill like I said two summers ago!

Well! I learned something today. One can buy home paternity tests. Honestly, when Bill showed up with one, I cried foul, because I thought those tests could only be done in hospitals. I still think a test done by an actual lab would be more accurate, but what do I know. Based on Katie having pushed Bill to check the potential bond between him and Luna again, Bill presented his is-she-or-isn't-she daughter with the box.

How come neither Bill nor Luna, especially, has gone to visit Poppy in jail? You'd think Luna would be there 24/7; instead, Luna has kept company solely with Bill. From what I'm seeing, you still have to send your cheek swabs into a lab, but hey, it's a soap. Luna and Bill just waited for a timer to go off. This wasn't a COVID test, guys! Anyway, not particularly surprisingly, Bill was declared not the father of Luna.

And that set off a most peculiar chain of events. Hot off the heels of her mother being jailed, Luna lamented her unstable childhood -- what, with Luna being left with babysitters and having to change schools while freewheeling Poppy freewheeled herself into whatever was next. And now Poppy had lied about the identity of Luna's father yet again.

Everything had been so messed up, and still was, but Luna declared Bill the one constant in her life. He had been so good and kind to her. No, Bill wasn't her father...but he was a man. And after Luna pulled back from the hug that she gave Bill, she hauled off and kissed him! Kissed him! While the DNA test declaring him not her father was still warm or however that works!

Hello! Shades of Ridge and Bridget in 2003! For y'all not watching then, Bridget had spent part of childhood believing Ridge was her father; then, it turned out Eric was her father. But then it also turned out Eric wasn't Ridge's father, which rendered Ridge and Bridget unrelated. And when they found themselves strangely attracted, they kissed! Of course, they waited longer than a few minutes after finding out they weren't family, but that's how we rolled 20 years ago.

I mean, eww and double eww! What if this store-bought test wasn't accurate? At least Ridge had dead-to-rights medical proof that he wasn't Eric's son. And what was B&B thinking? The Ridge/Bridget kiss is when they really started with this pseudo-incestuous stuff, and I don't get why they dig on it so much. Now we've got Luna kissing Bill...did you catch that little smirk of hers right after she did it?

Could Luna be masterminding this whole thing? Because that look of satisfaction wasn't just because she got to lay one on that muscular, bearded stud. Now I'm even more confused. Who the hell killed Tom and Hollis? If Bill isn't Luna's father, who really is, then? And what is up with this Lolita twist of Luna's? I'll stay on the ride, but I gotta tell ya...this better be worth it!

Whew! That was a week, Scoopers. What did you think of it? Do you have a theory about who offed Hollis and Tom, or who Luna's father is? Did Luna kissing Bill shock you? What do you think of Rebecca Budig as Taylor so far? Do you think the tentative truce between Brooke and Steffy will last, especially after Steffy finds out that Hope kissed Finn? Was Finn right to hold the line with Hope? And did you enjoy Danny and Christine's visit from Genoa City, or did it not rock enough for you? Get on stage in the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback!

We all know that on soaps, we sometimes find ourselves watching long-running, beloved actors in their final scenes as their characters make a "storyline-dictated exit." It's always a little weird watching that show once that actor has left -- their character may be recast, but the one who originated the part never really leaves us.

Except I'm not talking about fiction this time -- I'm talking about the departure of our intrepid leader, Dan J Kroll, who has made Soap Central what it is for the last 30 years. (And you know, factoring in SORAS, that's more like 45.) He felt, after over a quarter of a century, that he needed to make his own storyline-dictated exit (watch his video explaining why), and who could blame him; that's a long damn time to run a soap site.

I have been with Dan and SOC half that time (15 years as of November), and though I've only ever actually met Dan once (in 2014 during a quick sweep through Philly), I've always felt valued and part of a family under the SOC umbrella. The creative freedom Dan has given me the past decade and a half has been enormous, and a joy. He's encouraged my quirky, subversive style and offered support when I lost friends, family, and my beloved kitty girl, Shadow.

It's hard to think of Dan and Soap Central as separate entities, even as I've been writing this column. But even the longest-running shows come to an end, and Dan deserves to explore new avenues and spend time rediscovering himself and loved ones. He's made all this happen for us; now the least we can do is salute him and wish him the very absolute best with whatever storyline he finds himself in next. May the plot twists be plentiful but pleasurable, my friend.

And all I can follow that with is, keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

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