Source: CBS Screenshot (4)

Taylor’s Brave and beautiful My return left me with a lot of questions, including “why?” In the meantime, the Logan women were kind of out of control, Steffy was doing her best to make everyone’s mood miserable, and Brooke was breaking the internet. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s dive in…

Caller ID

When Brave and beautiful When “The 40th Anniversary” showed a mysterious woman watching Brooke and Ridge from afar, we jokingly suggested it might be Taylor. Little did we know, we’d be proven right the next day. What followed was perhaps the most ridiculous reunion scene in history. I had a feeling we were in for a rough time when Steffy’s phone rang and the caller ID read “Dr. Taylor Hayes (Mom).”

What followed was a competition to see who could say the word “mommy” more often. But the winning line by far went to newbie Rebecca Budig, who, as Taylor, got to say, “I love you, my daughter. I love you, Steffy. Mommy is coming home.”

The episode should have come with a disclaimer that read, “No actor was injured by the falling anvils.” I’m assuming that when the scripts were being written, the show hadn’t yet decided whether or not to go all the way “the role of Taylor Hayes is now played by” – which of course they ended up doing, which made the following scenes even more hilarious.

here we go again

For months it seems as if Brave and beautiful had absolutely no idea what to do with Brooke and Ridge. They reunited in Italy, declared their eternal love and then… nada. I guess they’ve married about 436 times and are in no hurry to get married again. It turns out the writers really not I don’t know what to do with this couple unless it involves Taylor.

I bet Brooke and Ridge will announce their marriage plans any day now. Because while there was no reason for them to rush to the altar before, Taylor’s presence on screen will change that. Personally, I’d love to see the show throw Taylor into a new romance. Let’s give Budig a chemistry test on screen before throwing her back into the triangle from hell. But I think we all know that’s not going to happen.

Logans out of control

When it comes to the Brave and beautiful Audience, most viewers seem to fall into one of two camps: They’re either #TeamLogan or #TeamForrester. Neither side cares much for the other, and both love to gossip about the other. Both the on-screen feuding and the off-screen fan wars can get tiring, but that’s what soap operas thrive on. People are so invested in their favorite characters that they’re happy to label anyone who doesn’t see things their way as “biased.”

More: Look who’s returning to B&B!

Since I “ship” storylines and not couples, I’ve been accused of bias from both sides, which is kind of ironic when you think about it. Still, last week I kind of understood why some viewers hate the Logan sisters. I mean, Katie runs around telling anyone who will listen that Bill is dating a murderer, Forrester Creations seems to rely entirely on Brooke to sell underwear, and Hope spent the week either declaring her mother to be everyone’s savior or fantasizing about Steffy’s husband.

I mean, it was a lot.

To be honest, Steffy wasn’t exactly a treat. She scowled and took every opportunity to downplay Brooke’s not insignificant role in Forrester’s success. (She was right, though, when she said that when everyone was talking about the launch, it didn’t mean anything until the sales numbers backed up the excitement, which they soon did.)

While Steffy and Hope were arguing, I wished they would break out into a spirited rendition of the song “What Is This Feeling?” from the Broadway show (and upcoming movie). Evil. (Listen to the lyrics in the version below, performed by a charming group of girls, and you’ll understand why!)

The business of pleasure

Let’s talk about that big launch of Brooke’s Bedroom, shall we? I thought it was weird that they gathered all these reporters together but didn’t have a big screen to watch the video on. Instead, they all had to pull out their phones to watch the – say it with me now – “social media drop.” And yet, Brooke and Ridge were later seen in a beautiful tent… with a big screen behind them playing the commercial on a loop.

More: What’s next for the newly returned Taylor?

Even stranger was that Brooke gave her little speech and then walked off with Ridge to smooch and congratulate each other, completely ignoring the assembled media. Until later, when suddenly everyone present had cameras and questions.

Let’s just say continuity is not Brave and beautiful‘s strength.

Dear Poppy…

The other big story this week revolved around the letters that mysteriously appeared in Luna and Poppy’s apartment. We were told that mother and daughter were always very close, but Luna was quick to accuse Poppy of murder! Maybe Luna should have called the police instead of calling RJ?

Meanwhile, the show has a bit of an Il Giardino problem. If everyone thinks Sheila (or someone else) is killing people at the restaurant, why do they keep going there? Just moments after Brooke literally asked, “What’s up with the deaths at Il Giardino?”, she and Ridge sent RJ there to get a pizza, as if there were no other places in town to get a pizza. At least they could have had it delivered!

Random Thoughts

• I wish they had relaunched Brooke’s Bedroom with the tagline “Forever Brooke,” which would not only have been a great advertising campaign, but would have reflected the fact that the line is a few decades old. I also wish they had made Brooke the face of the line in the spirit of female empowerment, but surrounded her with women of all colors, shapes, and ages. That would have been a missed opportunity!

• When Katie told the crowd she had something “personal” to discuss, I thought maybe she was going to tell everyone that she and Carter had broken up. But no. It’s odd that a show that loves to repeat things over and over again would only briefly and casually reference the end of this relationship.

Check out the gallery below, a collection of major stars who have made guest appearances on soap operas, from Phyllis Diller to Colonel Sanders. Yes, The Colonel Sanders.