Hope’s not divorced but she has Thomas by the necklace chain on The Bold and the Beautiful (Nov. 8 recap)

Hope’s not divorced on The Bold and the Beautiful but her marriage to Liam is over. This not so grey area has Taylor rightfully concerned because the way she sees it, this makes her son, Thomas, a rebound. To be honest, for as much as Brooke wanted to protest otherwise on today’s episode, that does seem to be the case.

Let’s look closely at the facts that Brooke is ignoring because she doesn’t want to acknowledge her daughter is out here doing wrong by Thomas. For optimum drama, the soap writers have decided that Hope and Liam will, for the time being, live in this limbo where they’re not filing their divorce papers because of their concern for their daughter, Beth, but they’re no longer together.

They mutually agreed that were the media to catch wind of the dissolution of their marriage, Beth would have a hard time navigating the scrutiny because she’s so young and there’s the added downside of her classmates and their parents weighing in. So some point down the line, at an unspecified date, they’ll officially part ways by notifying the appropriate authorities that they’re ending their marriage.

Liam has kissed their romantic bond goodbye. He’s fully Team Steffy now, no take backs. Hope, however, isn’t exactly Team Thomas. Yes, she’ll flirt with him as they both read off the glowing praise Eric and Ridge Forrester received for their fashion showdown. She’ll accept his shower of compliments like she’s the new face of Forrester Creations while playing with his necklace and his hair. Hope will even let him hold her as he repeatedly declares his feelings for her.

But what she won’t do is reciprocate the sentiment behind Thomas’ loving words. Don’t get me wrong. She’s open to being vulnerable with him, and she’s been honest about her fear that she’ll never love a man the way she loved Liam. The issue is that their relationship has been reduced to workplace trysts with iffy success locking the door, and Hope asserting her ability to do as she pleases without considering the consequences.

Taylor is right, what Hope is doing is dangerous

Brooke doesn’t want to hear it and she and Taylor had a low heat disagreement about their position on the Thope situation, but Hope is playing with fire. Episodes ago on The Bold and the Beautiful, Brooke told her daughter the same thing just with the perspective that Thomas is the dangerous one not that the situation itself is untenable.

When Ridge walked in on the two discussing their children in Eric’s newly reclaimed office, he shared his own opinion. Their children are adults and they can’t do much about their romantic choices. Taylor agreed when it comes to any other circumstance but not this one. Thomas was healing and making great strides with his mental health and life before getting tangled up with Hope.

Taylor put it frankly. Hope threw herself at Thomas in Rome and now the two are locked into a relationship that could regress all the progress that’s been made. If Hope decides she doesn’t want to see him anymore, Thomas could go back to that dark place he’d been in. Then it’s anyone’s guess what he might do. He could fall into another obsessive cycle or he could do harm to himself due to feeling unworthy.

When Steffy walked in on the two, in the middle of having yet another office hook-up (this time in the design office), she was caught off guard. She chastised them for carrying on in a shared space to which Thomas had a sarcastic retort as he put his shirt back on. He quickly exited as he was being summoned elsewhere but not before checking with Hope to see if she was okay being left with his sister. Hope assured him she would be and sent him off with a kiss.

As soon as her brother left, Steffy let Hope know that she’d been aware of the situationship that Thope are in. What she can’t understand is why Hope would risk everything like this. As co-parents and co-workers they’d been in a good place. Hope’s answer was that she’s following her heart, a classic line that’s typically associated with her mother, Brooke.

This, of course, led Steffy to wonder if Hope is in love with her brother but, cagey about it as ever, Hope sidestepped the implication that she’s doing something wrong by entertaining Thomas’ advances when she doesn’t feel the same. These are the mixed signals that Taylor was talking about. Thope are very couple-y but Hope won’t acknowledge that.

The only thing she will do is make it clear that she and Thomas aren’t going to stop what they’ve been doing no matter what their parents, Steffy, or anyone else have to say about it. To be honest, I’d respect that more if Hope’s stance came from a place of wanting to explore what she and Thomas could be together but that’s not where she’s coming from. He makes her feel good in her spirit, body, and heart, so she doesn’t want that to end but she won’t engage with how she could hurt him in the long run or how he deserves what he gives her in return.

Brooke’s iconic line about following her heart was always about pursuing love come what may. Hope twisting its meaning simply comes off as a justification for her actions. By taking her mother’s words, she’s doing a disservice to Brooke who has stood in her truth, no matter how scandalous. Hope could learn a thing or two about that.

What else happened on The Bold and the Beautiful today:

• Steffy and Ridge opened the soap with a cute reunion at the Cliff House. She teased her father about losing to Eric and RJ but acknowledged that she was surprised he had. Ridge didn’t tell her about her grandfather’s health condition. Instead he asked her about Sheila which prompted Steffy to smugly share that she’d punched her nemesis in the face. Ridge was amused but also cautioned his daughter to be careful.
• Taylor told Brooke that she’d be sticking around for awhile, giving the impression that the good doctor won’t be going anywhere for now but she’ll still be more transient than she had been when Krista Allen made her Bold and the Beautiful debut.

New episodes for The Bold and the Beautiful on Paramount+. Looking for spoilers, here’s what’s supposed to happen on Thursday and Friday.