Bold and the Beautiful recounts what happened to Emma back in 2019 (Jan. 9 recap)

Finally, The Bold and the Beautiful is telling the story behind what happened to Emma Barber on Mulhollan Drive. Well...at least according to what Xander has been able to put together from the facts he gathered, but what he tells Finn is essentially what happened in 2019.

Upon learning the truth, Emma was disgusted that Thomas would keep Hope from her baby and hurt his sister by letting her fall deeper in love with a child that wasn't hers. He got in her face and threatened her, but it didn't stop Emma from trying to get to Hope. She took off in her car and Xander knows that Thomas went after her because he saw the footage on Forrester Creations' security cameras.

It's his belief that Thomas tried to intimidate Emma on the road. The flashbacks we were shown today certainly paint that picture. Emma only sped up because Thomas was riding her bumper. Distressed and terrified, she wasn't in proper control of her vehicle as she was distracted. She took a turn too sharply and that's how she ran off the road. Xander had been able to put Thomas at the scene of the accident thanks to his car's navigation system but by the time the investigation was launched, it had been wiped (he doesn't know Ridge is responsible for that deletion).

Xander keeps referring to the incident as murder and how he can't believe someone like Hope could have a relationship with Thomas. To be honest, the latter point still has me a little confused because he got his information off the internet so does the press know Thope are together? I need the soap to get its story together when it comes to these two because it seems to keep changing from episode to episode.

Anyway, now that Finn knows the story behind Emma's death, I am interested to know whether or not he agrees with Xander that Thomas did kill her. It's certain to be a topic of conversation for the doc and Steffy since her brother wants her to get Finn to back off. She insisted that Finn had only interacted with Xander the once and that it wouldn't happen again, but it's clear she still isn't in the loop regarding who her husband is having conversations with about this incident.

I was intrigued by Steffy calling Xander's allegations dangerous which led me to a far-fetched theory that perhaps Thomas doesn't quite remember that night and how it actually went down, and that she's aware there are holes in his memory. It'd be dangerous because learning the truth could cause Thomas to snap or hurt himself if he were to find out or have to reckon with being responsible for taking someone's life. It's doubtful this will play out but you never know.

Luna gently rejects Zende's advances

In the Forrester salon, Luna entertained Zende's flirting and even did some flirting herself but ultimately stood by her man and reminded his cousin that she's very much in a relationship with RJ. I'd keep an eye on these two though because Luna was flattered by Zende's attention. While she did turn her cheek when he went into kiss her, the fact that she even let him kiss her cheek in the first place is a red flag.

Luna made Zende aware, in no uncertain terms, that she's in love with RJ. But I couldn't help but feel that the door was left open for the possibility of them in the future. Not because of any one line of dialogue but because of the dynamic between the two, and because they share similar interests which the soap likes to highlight. Today it was a love of chess.

Meanwhile, unaware that his girlfriend nearly got wined and dined by his cousin, RJ was spending quality time with Eric. It was good to see John McCook onscreen again and to get an understanding of where the Forrester patriarch is in his recovery. He's able to talk and hold a conversation, but he's clearly weak and has a long way to go before he's his usual jovial self. That, however, doesn't mean that he doesn't still have his sense of humor. Eric teased his grandson, getting him to smile and laugh. He also asked him about Luna, prompting RJ to gush about how wonderful she is.

Remember when Liam warned RJ that he didn't know anything about heartbreak or how hard that is to navigate in a relationship because he'd never been in love before, and RJ brushed that aside because love conquers all? Well, that might come back to bite the heir apparent down the line.

See you tomorrow, Bold fans, for Wednesday's recap. Stay beautiful! New episodes of our soap stream on Paramount+.