Eric, Ridge and RJ are preparing for the big fashion showdown on The Bold and the Beautiful, but we’re starting to wonder if it’s actually going to happen.
Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) is busy picking out the finishing touches for his collection. Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) asks if he’s ok. He’s not sure. She knows he would rather not compete with his father, and he’s worried that when he wins, it will leave his father reeling.
Donna (Jennifer Gareis) thanks Dr. Colby (Justiin Davis) for making a house call despite Eric’s (John McCook) insistence that he’s fine. She wants to know what’s wrong with him. The doctor’s face reveals that he’s concerned.
Luna (Lisa Yamada) brings RJ (Joshua Hoffman) a smoothie to thank him for his help while Finn (Tanner Novlan) presses his mother for information about his aunt and why they have this feud going on. Li (Naomi Matsuda) reveals that Penelope “ruined” her life several years ago. This is news to Finn. Finn wants to know the whole story, but Li wants him to focus on his family. He shoots her down, insisting that he wants to know everything.
RJ tells Luna how much it means to him that he has her to talk to about Eric’s condition. He doesn’t have anyone else to talk to, so having her support means the world.
Brooke can’t believe their son is working in design. Ridge wishes RJ was working with him, and he’s concerned about competing against his son at this early stage of RJ’s career.
Eric boasts that he feels better than ever. Dr. Colby doesn’t know what the diagnosis is, so he takes a look at him while Donna watches. He says he’s been coughing up blood for a few weeks, and the doctor tells him that this is very serious.
Finn keeps his mother from stalling. Li says her sister disrespected her and almost ruined her career. She got her sister a job at the hospital gift shop and ended up sleeping with the Chief Surgeon, and it almost ended her career. She won’t allow Penelope to ruin her life again.
Ridge recalls watching his father working while he was a kid. He had so much respect for him, and now he’s the one in charge. He doesn’t understand why his father asked him to take over and now wants to come back and take it over again. Ridge says Eric needs to go “live his life.”
Dr. Colby says Eric needs to take it easy but Eric says he has to finish this fashion line. Donna explains what’s happening with the fashion showdown and that Eric is determined to show that he’s still at the top. Donna pleads with her “Honeybear” to listen to the doctor and stop stressing himself needlessly. But he insists that he needs to do this line. He draws the comparison of a symphony without the final movement. “This is my life’s work, the culmination of my life’s work,” he says. “My grand finale. I have to finish!”
Finn processes that Penelope and the Chief of Surgery had an affair and Li was punished for it. That’s why she had to take the job at another hospital. She’d been the only female surgeon in her class and it was all gone. That’s why she won’t allow Luna and her sister into her life again.
RJ discovers a problem with a shipment and leaves Luna in the office alone. She thinks back to the kisse they shared with a smile.
Brooke will be glad when the fashion challenge is over. There’s too much stress on everyone. Ridge points out that it’s a succession issue, and that his father can’t just take it all back. She reminds him how much he loves his father. But he’s concerned that this move isn’t right for the company.
Dr. Colby admires Eric’s determination, but right now Eric should be resting. Eric says this is the biggest challenge of his life, and once he wins he’ll be back in the office and nothing — nothing — will stop him.
Li is upset that no one knows what Penelope did to her. And yet here she is, living her life without care while Li suffered. She says it wasn’t fair then and it’s not fair now
RJ gets back after fixing the shipment issue. He wishes he could talk to his dad about his grandfather’s help. Luna says she’s there for him and gives him a hug.
Ridge points to the budget and says this is why it’s not responsible for him to be doing this line. Ridge knows his father all too well and predicts that he’ll have another line in a few years, because his father “isn’t going anywhere.”
Dr. Colby says he’s made his recommendations. He’s hoping they’re close to a diagnosis. Donna says it’s not right that they don’t have any answers, and Dr. Colby assures them that he will put together a game plan to figure things out. He urges Eric to take it easy, if not for himself then for his family. Once the doctor is gone, Eric brings up the old stapler and how it was there from the beginning. It clipped together their first receipts. He knows Donna wants him to step back and relax and travel the world, but the passion to design is still burning and he needs to do the line. He’s going to live his life the way he wants. She hugs him and says she’s with him “til the end.”
At this point we have no answers about Eric’s health issues and why he’s coughing up blood, but he sure seems to be getting worse by the day. RJ is extremely concerned about him while Ridge remains oddly oblivious to his father’s deteriorating health.
We have to wonder whether they’ll actually have the fashion showdown at this point. (Of course, in soaps land, it’s highly likely that Eric will suffer some kind of medical crisis in the middle of the fashion showdown…)
The whole point of this fashion showdown, in Eric’s mind, is to complete his crowning achievement and take back control of the company. For Ridge, it’s a chance to cement his place (his rightful place, in his mind) as Forrester Creations’ CEO. But what good will the fashion showdown be if the Forrester patriarch’s health declines as a result of the added stress?
The reality is that if Ridge finds out about Eric’s health before the fashion showdown, he’ll finally have the key piece of information that’s been eluding him this whole time. He'll understand why the stapler mattered so much, and why Eric keeps referring to this line as his grand finale. We’re willing to bet that if Ridge learns the truth about his father’s help, he’ll put a stop to the competition and proudly roll out Eric’s collection as the only line of the season.
Only time will tell, but at this point it really feels like we need to brace for the fashion showdown to come to a standstill very soon.
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.
