Bye bye Brady

We laughed and cried (okay, mostly cried) as we said goodbye to our leather-jacket wearing hero. What will Salem do now that Bo isn't around? What will become of Hope? And how will his death affect the Brady family? Let's all raise a bottle of beer to Bo in this week's Two Scoops.

Well, we made it. It's been a long road. Truthfully, this is the storyline we should have gotten three years ago when Peter Reckell left the show. Thankfully, he got the chance to make good on his promise to come back for a brief stint to close out Bo's story. So last week, through the tears and laughter, we finally got a fitting end to the decades-long Bope love story. (And I say "end" with the caveat that Bo is a soap character, so, you know, "end" is a relative term.)

Tony and I are weeks away from the Alex North Memorial Awards, so there will be a time and place to discuss the infuriating choice to have Bo spend months of screen time away from Salem and give Bope only an episode and a half of happiness. But for now, we need to discuss the beautiful week that was all things Bope -- exciting, lovely, sarcastic, and, in the end, a showcase for the magic that is Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso.

The thing I always found so special about Bope was that Peter and Kristian were able to craft two dynamics for this pair. They were a sexy romantic married couple. But they were also one of my favorite professional duos as well. I enjoyed them just as much as cops as I did as lovers. That's a hard dynamic to pull off. But these two did it with charm to spare.

I'm so glad Bo finally called Chelsea. Even though I would have given half my mint chip ice cream to see Rachel Melvin back on-screen, it was good to see Bo remember his precious Swamp Baby. And I'm going ahead and assuming Chelsea told Max that night over dinner then he immediately picked up the phone to tell Frankie that Bo had been found.

Bo's brief but touching scenes with teen Ciara helped solidify her memory of him as a true hero and gave her a formative view of what love should really look like -- a trait that will suit her well as she navigates the next few years of high school and college.

The supporting MVP of Bo's return has to be Mary Beth Evans. When Kayla breaks down, we all break down. My heart broke for her as she made hail-Mary calls to try to get Bo on some sort of experimental drug. At first I was mad at Bo for not telling everyone about the tumor. But seeing my poor Kayla consumed by utter heartache made me okay with the fact that the rest of the clan got to be happy for as long as possible. And Bo could be happy knowing their joy was pure.

Bo's breakdown battle with God was chilling to watch. Kudos to director Herb Stein for opting to shoot it from the sky. There were a lot of emotions flying around last week, considering it was really just the day after the bicentennial celebration, but this emotion landed hard and right on target. It led up to perhaps the soapiest moment of all. You guys, they killed Bo off mid-kiss with Hope and then the snow started to fall. Kristian, take the wheel for me, girl. I'll be off invoicing Ken Corday personally for my supply of Kleenex this week.

So what kind of Salem did Bo leave behind? Well, he made sure to make Victor promise to look after Caroline. (As if ol' Vic would do anything but!) He told Steve, "In the end, you know what to do," and I'm sure glad Steve does because I have no idea what that meant. And finally, Bo asked Rafe to look after Hope for him after he died. I wasn't ready for the "I know you love her" bomb from Bo, but good on him.

Whether or not Rope make a go of it will depend entirely on Hope. She's never seen Rafe as anything more than a friend, so I'd say the choice is really up to her. But I thought the scene between Rafe and Bo was simply beautiful. These two gents trade primarily in sarcasm, so to see them both so real and understated was a treat.

The only loose end Bo didn't tie up was a follow-up on his DiMera investigation. Though I think that one is in pretty good hands, thanks to his niece. Okay, I'm fairly certain Andre straight-up tattled. Sami wouldn't give him what he wanted to play with, so he went and told her mother. But, this is a new Mar. She's large and in charge and marched her sassy self right over to Stefano and told him to get his kid in line, else she'd start breaking limoncello bottles and opera CDs. I'm paraphrasing here.

Plus, little Sami Gene suffered exactly no fools when it came to Andre. Love. It. I cheered when she retorted, "I'm a DiMera!" Indeed, she's done her part to prove that she can get dirty when protecting those she loves. And she's smarter than Andre gave her credit for. Both Mar and Sami are!

Like mother, like daughter, both realized that Andre was flying solo on this mission. And they know that's a weakness. Stefano may be getting older, but he hasn't forgotten that Andre going rogue was the reason Benjy died. Plus, Stefano is still Stefano.

We pause here for a quick PSA. ... Okay, writers, we should have learned our lesson from Peter Reckell. Let's not waste Alison Sweeney's limited screen time by having her spend her time here in a cell by herself. Throw Chad (his friendship with Marlena is one of the show's secret weapons) into this Sami/Andre/Stefano/Marlena mix, and this storyline is going to be great! Please and thank you.

LOOSE ENDS Did Rafe's evil twin come back? Because that guy who told a panicked Chad to just push aside his instincts when talking about the gal he loves was not the same guy who moved heaven and earth to get Sami's kid back to her. Come on, Rafe. Damsels in distress are your jam! I hope that Brady finds a place for himself to live once he moves Theresa and Tate out of the mansion. Crusty as Victor can be, he is right that he should have a say in who lives in his house. And really, Brady is old enough to sign his own apartment lease at this point. Last time I checked, those rooms above the Brady Pub are empty. Or how about that across-the-hall setup that E.J. and Sami had in E.J.'s old building? Wasn't one of those apartments Theresa's old place, anyway?

Point of clarification -- I get slightly eye-roll-y each time someone throws the whole "she tried to kill your father" thing at Brady. There was no premeditation to Theresa's attack on John. It was kind of like when Brady snapped and stuffed Vivian in that sarcophagus. Now, harping on about how her temper can be dangerous is totally fair. But the whole homicidal mastermind stuff is a wee bit inaccurate.

Aside from the fact that I'm pretty sure John flicked Steve in the eye patch as part of the celebration, I'm behind them starting a P.I. firm! It's a great progression for their characters. However, to avoid playing the exact same action storylines they did thirty years ago, why not bring Paul into the mix? Not only is he fit to handle some of the heavy action stuff, but the dude is pretty darn convincing when trying to hide an identity. Just ask Theresa and Anne!

I'm all in on the teen scene! I adored the care that both Joey and Ciara extend to Theo. In general, I'm loving this new, kinder Ciara. She's still sassy but has a heart. As for Chase, I appreciated him saying he still loved the person he thought his father was. I like the loyalty and honesty in this kid. Something tells me Claire might as well.

Kayla and Steve seem to be making progress! She's at the "I don't want you to drink poison" point, which is a step up for Steve. I'd take that win, Patchman!

Jesus H. Brady, did the cops really leave Hope's bloody wedding gown there?! First, gross. Second, ugh. Third, that's evidence! For Hope's sake, I hope that they investigate Aiden a bit and realize that he wasn't a psychopath but that Andre had threatened to kill Chase if he didn't kill Hope. It would do her good to understand that there was a better reason than "well, he's crazy!" behind his actions.

HOT:

There's a way to do flashbacks right. This week was it. I started to list them all -- the cruise, helicopter rescue, carnival, motorcycle (and again with Hope in her Larry Welch wedding dress), and more. I loved that characters got to recall these with Bo. It's like Bo got the chance to attend his own wake, which was calming, considering what we knew was coming all too soon for our Bo.

But it was the flashback to the wedding, as the current Bo and Hope recited their same vows from memory, that made me forget about the Aidens and the Carlys and the Billies that were footnotes in the Bope Epic. For this pair was truly a pair for the ages. And now that they got their proper goodbye, that's how we'll always remember them. Bo may have lived as an anti-hero. But he died a true hero. And that's the best gift our guy could get.

NOT: Dear writers, I swear, if you ruin Christmas, I will never forgive you. It's already going to be sad when we see Bo's and Will's ornaments. (Side note: will Chase get an ornament this year?) We spent Halloween watching Steve and Bo in a plane crash. We'll spend Thanksgiving mourning Bo. You haven't been able to swing an hourglass around Salem without hitting a funeral procession since September. The Horton Christmas better come with a full-on Christmas miracle that makes Hallmark movies look like Greek tragedies. There's some ground to be made up here. That's all I'm saying.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Bo (to Hope): "Well, I've been looking for you my whole life." Have your heart examined if you didn't smile when Bo said that.

Exchange of the Week: Andre: "I have a problem that I know you can help me with." Marlena (without missing a beat): "A therapist is what you need, no doubt. I'll recommend someone." Smarmy Marlena cracks me right up!

Honorable mentions: Joey (about Stephanie): "It's like air and trees and TV...she's just there."

Victor (to Bo): "All right, Odysseus, tell us about your travels. You run into any cyclops?" Steve: "Yeah, me."

RANDOM THOUGHTS I secretly adore that Ciara sounds like Joey's agent from Friends.

John and Steve are total day drinkers. It's never too early for a beer with these two!

I still get slightly nervous every time Hope puts on lipstick.

Maybe to make up for the time they spend not catching people, the Salem PD is solving the same case multiple times. They're on their second Necktie Killer, and they're still not right!

Ciara got that picture of them from the party printed and framed super-fast!

Kristian Alfonso actually was a figure skater, so I love the flashbacks of Hope skating!

It makes me happy when Thaao Penghlis says "arrow-planes."

Hey, Ben, there's a blanket on that bed behind you. Actually, pretty much every bed comes with these devices.

Gabi's looking for a job. Caroline needs help running the pub. Joey legally can't be behind that bar. Gabi used to work there. Do I really need to map this out for them?

Lani won me over with the suggestion to go see an acapella competition of all show tunes. You jump at that offer, Rafe!

I kind of love that the clothes Ciara picked out included a purse. Atta girl. Accessories are a must!

Speaking of all this, since Christmas is coming up and this is the Internet where things live forever, I'll just put it out there that I've always wanted a piece of jewelry from Kristian Alfonso's Hope Faith Miracles collection.

Chase, buddy, if you want people to stop thinking you're creepy, maybe don't sneak up on them and then remind them of how your dad strangled Hope...right here...in this room. Mmkay?

I'm having a vision! I see Caroline going back to the plucky, chowder-slinging grandma we all know and love. No more of this oracle nonsense. Leave that to Celeste, dahling!

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.