Anniversary Episode: Brooke’s Revisionist History Dream a Nightmare for Longtime Fans
There are three building blocks to making a good soap opera. One is the cast and crew. Attractive actors who are directed by professionals who know the genre are critical. B&B still has this down pat.
Another building block is the setting. Make us believe these are real people in real places doing real things. Bold and Beautiful blows every other show out of the water when it comes to lushly designed sets that make me believe these folks are uber wealthy and living in Los Angeles.
The final block is quality writing. Without compelling stories, iconic characters and engaging scripts that have viewers watching every day, a show will not last for long.
In its heyday, B&B delivered jaw-dropping sexy DRAMA on the regular.
They’ve still has the cast and crew and the setting that made The Bold and the Beautiful a crown jewel of soaps. It’s the quality writing that has been lacking for quite some time.
It often seems like the writers can’t make up their minds and go for the path of least resistance—recycling and rebooting old plots. Where is the DRAMA that B&B was once known for?
We want DRAMA!
I’m going to keep capitalizing that word because I am shouting it! We want DRAMA!
This creative deficiency was glaring in the recent 35th anniversary episode celebrating Brooke Logan and her long and tangled romantic history.
The concept was incredibly hokey from the jump. Brooke drifted off to sleep and had a dream that was familiar to many fans of All My Children.
When that show celebrated the iconic Erica Kane’s life in Pine Valley, Erica had a wild dream in which she was reunited with her six husbands. The episode was funny, it was bittersweet and it was honest — and it wasn’t always pretty. It was a fan’s delight.
In Brooke’s low-budget knock-off that took place entirely in the same living room we’ve seen day after day since New Year’s Eve, Brooke welcomes back four of the most significant men in her life, who rotate in importance depending on what story is currently being told.
This soft-core episode of This Is Your Life welcomed Eric, Thorne, Nick and Bill to share their memories of being with Brooke. All right, here comes the DRAMA!
But no. Every one of the men had a very different recollection of their relationship(s) with Brooke than what we saw happen on screen since 1987.
They all claimed that Brooke is a wonderful, nearly faultless woman and they were just lucky to spend any time with her.
Say what? Why are we not getting to the honest juicy stuff?
Is having beloved characters come back on screen after being swept aside for months to tell this ridiculous “Brooke kissed Deacon” story really the best way to celebrate 35 years of the show?
Anyone in B&B Twitter knows that not every fan loves Brooke and many were upset that the focus was entirely on her.
And Bell confirms what we the viewers knew all along – that Brooke Logan is a certifiable narcissist. What sane, well-balanced individual dreams about a bunch of men she lied to, screwed over and humiliated lining up to tell her how wonderful she is. #BoldandtheBeautiful
— MissP (@MissP66976200) March 25, 2022
I can buy that Brooke’s dream hunks all are still her number one fans, because it’s her fantasy. But it’s not reality. If it had been played tongue-in-cheek with a wink to the audience, it might have worked.
But why all the focus on the happy times and none of the DRAMA that we remember? Let’s take a look back at what really happened in and out of Brooke’s bedroom.
Dream Hunk 1: Eric Forrester
Brooke’s first major love scandal was hooking up with Ridge’s father, who was still married to Stephanie, if in name only. Their relationship was on the rocks long before Brooke, but it was Eric’s love for Brooke that really ended the marriage.
Keep in mind that Eric is not only Ridge’s father but the very recent ex-lover of Brooke’s own mother. It was shocking at the time because B&B hadn’t yet got so incest-adjacent in their love stories. B&B successfully played Eric and Brooke for every dramatic beat.
If there’s one thing I liked about the anniversary dream, it was showing that after all these years, Eric and Brooke still have chemistry to spare.
Donna might get her honey bear up and at attention, but it was Brooke who really planted the Logan flag. Too bad it went right through Stephanie’s heart.
Let’s not forget… Brooke’s father in law is also her ex husband AND father to her two oldest kids. She’s not a heroine nor is she classy in my book 🤮 #BoldandtheBeautiful #Boldandbeautiful
— Kay A. (@kayreneeTX) March 28, 2022
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Dream Hunk 2: Thorne Forrester
Thorne has a well-established complex about being second best to his older brother Ridge. They’ve fought over the family company, over romantic choices and who was the better dressmaker.
So it wasn’t surprising that Thorne took his shot with Brooke and romanced Macy as cover. Gross! Like all scandalous soap love affairs, it fell apart catastrophically — in a car accident in which Brooke lived and Macy died (but didn’t really).
Brooke was such a pariah that even Ridge conspired to take her down. Was it true love then? Never one to bow out gracefully, Brooke got Thorne to the altar, only to have him overhear her say that Ridge was her true love.
The marriage was annulled and Thorne was reunited with Macy. All’s well that ends well?
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Opinion: Brooke Logan’s karma & the need for a shakeup with couples
Dream Hunk 3: Nick Marone
After he was shipwrecked and came to L.A., Nick took an instant interest in Brooke, who was about to marry Ridge — again. Brooke stayed true-ish to Ridge, but he was presumed dead on their honeymoon.
Brooke’s grief led her to have sex with Nick, as only happens on soaps. And since this is Bold and Beautiful, they were already talking marriage and more children to add to Brooke’s growing child army by the time Ridge re-emerged to reclaim his wife.
#BoldandBeautiful #BoldandtheBeautiful Brooke also bagged her husband Ridge’s brother Nick 5 seconds after she thought Ridge died, death opens the door to get laid for Brooke. https://t.co/L5JU4UlujC
— After Show Debates (@LetsTalkSoaps) February 12, 2022
Nick ended up moving on with Brooke’s daughter and they planned to marry when Bridget found out her mother and fiancé were still sleeping together.
Ultimately, Brooke chose Ridge again after Nick blackmailed the Forresters into selling their company to him. Is this the kind of relationship a man would later wax poetic about?
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Dream Hunk 4: Bill Spencer, Jr.
Dollar Bill $pencer walks into any room oozing sex. He has a bevy of women who want to be with him, but it’s most often one of those Logan sisters he’s after.
Of all the dream hunks, Bill is usually the most self-assured and confident in his opinions. Which made his dialogue in the dream so odd. In what reality would Bill Spencer gush over Ridge and admit defeat?
As fans will remember, Bill and Brooke got kissy-kissy while Bill’s wife and Brooke’s sister Katie was suffering from postpartum depression. When Katie found out, all hell broke loose.
Even then, with his wife gone and child taken from him, Bill was hell bent on having Brooke. Of all her suitors/husbands, Bill was the one who accepted Brooke for who she was, faults and all. But the relationship was also about sticking it to Ridge and to Katie for leaving him.
Brad Bell’s biggest mistake was not keeping Bill and Brooke together. #BoldandtheBeautiful And Ridge and Quinn.
— Nelson Branco (@nelliebranco) March 8, 2022
Ultimately, Katie got her revenge against Brooke by by sleeping with Ridge. Maybe there’s a law in California that every Logan woman has to sleep with one or more of the Forrester men?
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Final Dream Hunk: Ridge Forrester
Did anyone doubt that we’d end up back at the beginning with Ridge, even if he looks a bit different and doesn’t prance around the pool in Speedos anymore?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_U7jEvsnvU
Brooke may have manipulated a coerced a lot of people to get what she wanted, but Ridge is no saint himself. These two have been through it all and they always seem to find their way back together.
You’d think they might have learned something about themselves and each other along the way, but they’re just as naïve and soft-headed as they were thirty five years ago.
No doubt their latest break-up and make-up will not be their last.
I would love Brooke if she kicked Ridge to the curb, be alone, dig herself into work, simply just concentrate on loving herself. She doesn’t need a man to define herself! My MAIN issue on that particular matter. #boldandbeautiful #BoldandtheBeautiful
— sandra (@sleaming31) March 25, 2022
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No one can replace Stephanie in Brooke’s life
None of Brooke’s boy toys has made as much of an impact on her life as Stephanie Douglas Forrester. The hole left by the grande dame’s death has never been filled.
The push and pull relationship between these two women was the foundation of the show. In the decade since Stephanie’s death, Brooke has never had a long-lasting, worthy rival.
OG Stephanie was not a woman to trifle with. In her mind, Brooke had utterly destroyed the Forrester family with her “slut from the Valley” ways. Well, Brooke did sleep with both of Stephanie’s sons and her husband. That’s gotta hurt and there’s no way Brooke is blameless for her own actions.
For those who may not remember, here’s a clip of Stephanie and Brooke arguing after Ridge was unsuccessful in his attempt to take over Forrester Creations. Stephanie vowed that one way or another, she was going to bring Brooke down.
Give Brooke a rival to point out her flaws
If the show still wants to drag Brooke around 35 years later as a blushing romantic heroine, she needs that rival to point out her flaws and mistakes. Someone who isn’t a hypocrite for having made those mistakes herself, like most of the women currently pointing fingers.
Loading ...What do you think? Did the anniversary episode thrill you? Did you find it lacking? Who was your favorite dream hunk? Like and comment below, then follow me on Twitter @mattFarris.