RJ (Joshua Hoffman) has been loyal to Eric (John McCook) this whole time, but is Eric putting his grandson in an unfair position on The Bold and the Beautiful after revealing his diagnosis to him?
On the October 26 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, the finishing touches were being made ahead of the fashion showdown, which kicks off on Friday, October 27.
The Young and the Restless' Lauren (Kate Linder) and Esther (Tracy Bregman) were still visiting the offices, with Lauren observing (perhaps too closely, after picking up on Eric's comment about his "grand finale") while Esther fangirled about the fashion and meeting Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye). Esther was also quite smitten with Forrester Creations' security guard.
RJ was getting used to playing the gracious host. This wasn't his first time at one of his family’s launches, but it was the first time he was there as a designer. Everything seemed perfect… until Eric's exuberance gave way to a big coughing fit.
At Donna's (Jennifer Gareis) insistence, Eric revealed he was dying and RJ couldn't believe what he was hearing. After he got through his first wave of denial over the news that Eric has months to live, RJ told his grandfather he has to let people know what's going on — especially Ridge, as he deserves to know what's going on with his father's health.
Eric, though, remained steadfast and refused to tell anyone about his diagnosis, choosing instead to focus on being alive. That means focusing on the fashion showdown.
This was horribly unfair to RJ. It was hard enough for Donna, but she knew about Eric coughing up blood while RJ was only aware of the tremors. RJ has been loyal to his grandfather even when Ridge pressured him about the fashion showdown and why it means so much to Eric.
Dropping this bombshell on RJ on the eve of the fashion showdown, and then swearing him to secrecy, crosses a line. RJ has been very loyal to Eric, even when it puts him directly between his grandfather and his father. Asking him to keep this information a secret while having to put on a brave face at the fashion show is a step too far. We're likely going to see RJ crack under the weight of this immense pressure at some point.
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.
