‘Say What Now?!?’ Bold & Beautiful Unveils Its New Stephanie — and We Shoulda Seen It Coming
We’ve been saying for years that The Bold and the Beautiful needs a Stephanie 2.0. Not a replacement for Susan Flannery, of course, because that would be impossible. But a character to fill the massive void that was left behind when the Emmy winner retired and her on-screen alter ego was killed off. Now it appears we actually are getting a new Stephanie.
In fact, we already have one!
Who Is the New Stephanie?
We should’ve seen it coming but didn’t: Eric is the new Stephanie. A very different flavor but still.
He may not dish out bitch slaps and insults the way the queen bee did, but especially lately, he is proving to be every bit as pushy as his late wife was. Could he be any more in-your-face about the fact that he thinks son Ridge is former spouse Brooke’s destiny?
Yeah, there’s a bit of an ick factor to Eric’s overinvestment in his ex’s love life. But that was always true of Stephanie, too.
The way she fawned over Ridge — and to hell with her other kids — it often felt like she was one step away from being a character in a V.C. Andrews novel.
There’s Storyline Gold to Be Mined
Bold & Beautiful hasn’t had the best track record lately with regard to playing all of the story beats that it should. (When did Sheila become a saint? Why did Li soften toward Luna?
Did marriage-minded Thomas ever tie the knot with Paris or nah?) But if it sharpens its focus and takes Eric from pushing Ridge to be with Brooke to shoving him, we could be in for a juicy story.
How ticked would Taylor be that her old flame Eric had thrown cold water on her engagement to Ridge?
And how apoplectic would Steffy be that her grandfather sabotaged the match she tried to make between her parents for years? If Eric successfully reunites “Bridge,” it could bring a couple together even as it tears apart the Forrester family.
Get a sneak peek at what the Thursday, July 31, episode holds in store in the below preview photo gallery.
