I’m a fan of Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) on The Bold and the Beautiful, but thinking back to her most recent decisions I have to admit that I think she might have made some missteps with her plan to keep Hope (Annika Noelle) away from Finn (Tanner Novlan)..
In the September 16 episode, Steffy stunned Hope and the rest of the Forrester Creations executive team (and their spectators, Finn and Rebecca Budig’s Taylor) when she saved Hope’s fashion line. She said the line has potential with younger clients and is an integral part of moving the company forward. However, upon meeting with Hope privately later, it was revealed that saving Hope for the Future comes with a hefty price.
Steffy decided to link Hope for the Future’s future to Hope being able to stay away from Finn, thus preventing her from turning into her mother. Hope was stunned at the thinly veiled threat, but keeping her line was important and she agreed to the terms.
In theory, it’s a good idea. Steffy wants Hope to stay away from Finn and now she has a massive carrot to dangle in front of her — or take away from her — to ensure that Hope does what Steffy wants her to do.
However, there are lots of issues with this plan. First and foremost, it’s a human resources nightmare. This is retaliation, hidden under the guise of being an olive branch to keep Hope for the Future alive.
It’s also incredibly unrealistic. Hope and Steffy work in the same company and they share more family members than is possible to count. Their kids are linked through sharing Liam (Scott Clifton) as their father. And they also live in the same city, which means they’ll run into each other whether or not it was intentional. (Il Giardino, anyone?)
I know Steffy thinks she’s solved the issue of Hope pursuing her husband. Honestly, it might even work for a while. But there are holes in this plan and I think she’s putting far too much weight in thinking that it’s going to solve the issue entirely. It won’t.
Steffy needs to take a step back and realize that restricting Hope by using her fashion line as an incentive is a short term solution to a bigger problem. If she really wanted to be helpful, she’d help find Hope a new man so that she can stop fixating on Finn.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.
