The Bold and the Beautiful recap (Oct. 20): The real reason Quinn left

We finally got an answer for why Quinn left Carter on The Bold and the Beautiful, but today’s episode didn’t really shed much more light on the subject. Carter’s been singing the same refrain about how Quinn told him she couldn’t give him what he wants (re: marriage and a family) and so she ended their relationship.

Shauna’s arrival at Forrester Creations, at Carter’s request was basically a rehash of those same talking points with the added weight of Shauna’s own history with Quinn as her best friend. It’s clear, however, that the talk gave Carter the closer he’s been searching for so this will likely be one of the last times his love affair with Quinn is spoken about now that he’s going to be moving on with Katie.

The two have been shamelessly flirting with one another despite Carter being “heartbroken” over the supposed love of his life leaving him. This is classic Carter behavior so it’s not a surprise that he’s onto the next woman who’s paid him any attention, but it is a trait that’s grown tiresome over the years.

Romantic relationships, and their messiness, were at the forefront of the soap’s focus today. Here’s what happened.

The Bold and the Beautiful recap (Oct. 20)

I didn’t expect to be returned to Steffy and Hope’s conversation about the Brooke/Ridge/Taylor triangle. Yesterday’s ending for them felt pretty final, but I guess the writers weren’t done having the two women go back and forth about who Ridge should be with. They didn’t cover new ground and, as usual, they were at an impasse because they don’t agree.

Steffy, however, did make Hope confront the fact that Ridge made this decision. The Logans keep wanting to pass this off as Taylor and Steffy meddling and Ridge is somehow a helpless victim of their scheming which makes no sense since he’s a grown man who made a choice.

But Hope is right that he and Brooke have something special. Steffy wanted to make their connection out as being in the past, but her dad is still married to Brooke and no matter how committed he is to Taylor, he’s not over his wife, that’s obvious.

The lines are clearly drawn in this stand-off and, while Steffy did acknowledge that she feels bad for Brooke, she’s prioritizing her family and her parents’ happiness. Honestly, that’s more than Hope has ever said about Taylor, so Steffy was being gracious. I’m not sure what Hope wants from her because if she’s waiting on Steffy to support Brooke’s marriage to Ridge then she’ll be waiting for eternity because it’s never going to happen.

Meanwhile, back at Logan Manor, Brooke and Liam were once again paired. It’s getting weird now, Bold fans. It’s not that Liam hasn’t been vocal about being Team Bridge but, at this point, he’s had more scenes with Brooke than her own daughter. There’s being a supportive son-in-law and then there’s doing whatever these writers are doing with these two.

Nothing untoward happened in their scenes. Liam was simply trying to help Brooke figure out why Ridge left her, but it’s odd especially if you factor in his savior complex. This is a man who’s caused problems in his relationships due to his desire to help a woman in need. Steffy once told him it’s because he wasn’t able to save his mom who died of cancer and now he can’t help but put his cape on whenever there’s a woman in despair.

He could just be being supportive, but the writers could also be sending Liam and Brooke down a path that will most definitely cause trouble. We’ll have to keep an eye out for any red flags but, for right now, I simply have my eyebrow raised.

Brooke’s mind is steadfastly on Ridge and though she can’t reach the simple conclusion that Ridge is upset about the CPS call, she is determined to get down to the bottom of why he left her. She’ll be waiting a bit longer for answers, but Carter at least received some of his own today thanks to Shauna.

The writing on The Bold and the Beautiful has been all over the place when it comes to why Quinn left. At first Carter said he didn’t know why she broke up with him. Then he said she told him that she couldn’t give him what he deserved but somehow that wasn’t a good enough answer because he’s been confused about why she left for the past few episodes.

Shauna was able to confirm for Carter that Quinn did leave for all the reasons she said. Though he told his former love that he didn’t need marriage or kids as long as he had her, Shauna told him that Quinn is good at reading people and knew that no matter what he says, she knows those two life goals are very important to him.

Personally, despite Shauna putting it as pretty as she could for Carter, it seemed like Quinn was finished with the relationship. Of course, we have to take Rena Sofer’s exit into account, but Quarter didn’t get too far past the bedroom anyway. For all the love declarations they made, their relationship never grew past lust.

There was no depth to it and it was obvious, to me at least, that Quinn wasn’t serious about Carter the way she had been about Eric or even Deacon back in the day. If Sofer ever returns, or the role is recast, Quinn will likely end up back with the Forrester patriarch who she’s still not divorced from and may never be depending how the writers play this.

Shauna reassured Carter that he’d find someone and she apologized more than once on Quinn’s behalf because he didn’t deserve to be left in the manner that he was. She also pointed out that when Quinn’s done with a relationship, she’s done which was his cue to move on to Katie, obviously, even though he should be taking time for himself and not jumping into yet another love affair but that’s Carter for you.

Elsewhere, Deacon was contending with his own romantic entanglements. Understandably frustrated by Bill’s visit in yesterday’s episode, he vented to Sheila about the interaction and the potential end of Brooke’s marriage.

The two even flirted about it with Deacon teasing Sheila with the qualities she and Brooke share and those they don’t. So imagine my surprise when Deacon really put himself out there as a contender for Brooke’s heart in front of a woman he knows flies off the handle when she feels like she’s been threatened.

He’s playing with fire. Sheila’s jealousy may be cute now, but it’s not going to be so cute when she decides to pull a Bill and mark her territory in some fashion. Then they’ll both be in a world of trouble and Brooke’s life could possibly end up on the line.

For now though Sheila only seems to be frustrated at the idea that Deacon’s still hung up on Brooke. But perhaps that’s because she knows he likes her and is starting to develop more than friendly feelings for her. After all, he’s concerned about Sheila’s safety and their flirtation has started bordering on the side of fond and caring.

Right now, they’re my favorite romance on the soap, so I’m intrigued to see the direction their relationship takes in light of Brooke’s marriage falling apart. 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+.