The Bold and the Beautiful recap (Oct. 18): Brooke and Liam have a secret

I’m not going to lie, today’s episode of The Bold and the Beautiful was pretty boring. Every time it seems like this soap is going to take a new turn, the writers steer it right down predictable lane. Yesterday’s big moment was the kiss between Hope and Thomas. We were waiting with bated breath to find out whether it was the real deal or yet another fantasy.

I have to say, I was holding out hope that if the kiss wasn’t real that at least it would be a fantasy that Hope conjured up. She’s been the one circling Thomas, not the other way around. He’s been too busy stepping up as a father to their son and manipulating events so he can reunite his own parents. Thomas really hasn’t had time nor seemingly the desire to relapse into his obsessive behavior.

But, much to many fans’ disappointment, he did turn out to be the one who dreamed up the kiss. He quickly pushed the thought from his mind as he was passing a keen eye over some of his designs for Hope’s line. Meanwhile, she was folding linens with a bit of an attitude that went unexplained.

Sure, we could chalk it up to worry over her mother, but that didn’t seem to be what had Hope folding snappishly. In any case, the choice to go the obvious route again with Thomas has me thinking everything the writers built up with the custody struggle, CPS call, and the Brooke/Ridge/Taylor triangle was a waste.

Here’s what happened today on the soap and why I’m unimpressed.

The Bold and the Beautiful recap (Oct. 18)

The episode opened with an upbeat instrumental that dropped us into Thomas’ point of view the morning after his late night work session with Hope. It was here that it was revealed he’d fantasized about their kiss.

Had the episode aired on Friday, Oct. 14 like it was supposed to, we would have been worked up into a tizzy all weekend waiting see what happened next. But, since it didn’t, we found out rather quickly that this was the same old, same old and the story moved on.

Thomas spent the episode talking with Steffy about their parents’ reunion. If you were of the mind that she was in on the CPS manipulation with her brother, their scenes today proved she wasn’t. Steffy believes that her mom’s goodness and patience won out in the end, and Thomas looked guilty every time she made a statement about that belief.

It looks like the ramifications of his play to cut Brooke out of their lives are starting to settle in. Thomas may think things are great now, but there’s no way this Jenga tower of nonsense he’s built is going to stay upright for long. It’s all going to come tumbling down on him at some point, it always does.

Honestly, what’s keeping this whole situation from blowing up in his face is Brooke, Liam, and Hope’s inability to put two-and-two together when it comes to Ridge’s reason for leaving his wife. As distraught as Brooke is, you’d think that she’d land on the CPS call.

Sure, she told Ridge that she didn’t place the complaint with the authorities but considering that’s the only thing that’s upset him recently, she should be all over that singular disruption in their lives but no. Instead she’s crying up a storm and struggling with her sobriety.

Brooke did thank Liam for stopping her from drinking the previous night and for not telling Hope which means that she and her son-in-law now share a secret. Given Brooke’s history, that’s definitely not a good thing, and I’m beginning to think the writers may actually put her in a compromising position of some kind with Liam.

I’m hoping that won’t be the case, but it doesn’t seem like it’s out of the realm of possibility since they’ve been spending a lot of time together sans Hope and she even caught them whispering about the sobriety secret right before they led her to believe that she didn’t walk in on something important.

Meanwhile, back at Forrester Creations, Katie and Carter flirted. They spent the whole episode talking about what Carter deserves, how great of a man he is, and how there’s a woman out there who could be it for him. Obviously, Katie was talking about herself. She wasn’t subtle at all.

Their scenes also walked back what Carter said in the previous episode. He’d been confused on why Quinn left him because she didn’t give him a reason. But today he said she left because she said she couldn’t give him what he deserves even though he told her all he wants is her.

The conversation circled back to marriage and kids with Carter also lamenting the fact that it never seems to work out for him. Katie said it’s because he hasn’t found the right woman, but I think it’s because Carter never stays single long enough to figure out what’s missing from his relationships. He’s always just on to the next romance, saying sweet nothings, and lavishing the new apple of his eye with praise as if he wasn’t supposedly heartbroken literal minutes prior.

But who knows? Maybe this rekindled flirtation with Katie will go somewhere this time. We’ll have to wait and see. Until next time, Bold fans, stay beautiful!

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more The Bold and the Beautiful news and coverage! New episodes air Monday-Friday on CBS. Evening viewing is available on Paramount+.