Thomas and Finn face-off over Hope on Bold and the Beautiful (Jan. 5 recap)

Move over, Liam, there's a new Hope protector in town and, no, it's not Thomas! Finn has taken it upon himself to drive a wedge between her and Thomas even though that's not at all what she wants. Like Steffy, Hope told Finn today on The Bold and the Beautiful that she doesn't believe Thomas is capable of murder. What happened to Emma was a tragic accident, one that the whole family struggled with, but Thomas was cleared of wrongdoing by the police so that's where she's left that incident, in the past. Finn, however, isn't willing to let this go.

What they both weren't aware of was that Thomas was listening outside the door when Hope was talking to the good doctor. He'd come to have a chat with Finn after his sister, Steffy, told him that Xander disclosed what happened to Emma and accused him of murder. He didn't expect to hear Finn undermining his relationship with Hope, who is apparently an exceptional woman and too good for the likes of him.

After Hope left, and Finn finished up a phone call about a patient, Thomas made his presence known. Finn didn't much appreciate him lurking outside the door even though his brother-in-law was simply being polite instead of barging in. Thomas also calmly explained to him that he loves Hope and is amazed that she found it in her heart not only to forgive him for everything he's done but also be with him. But what he's not going to do is let Finn interfere in their relationship and try to get between them.

Strangely, Finn is of the mind that Thomas is somehow off his rocker even though that couldn't be further from the case. I understand being concerned considering the lengths that Thomas went to be with Hope the first time but the idea that he's in the middle of an obsessive episode now makes no sense. Not to mention Finn was being hypocritical. He just reamed Thomas out for supposedly being out of line with Steffy but it's not okay for Thomas to tell him to back off when it comes to his own lady love?

What really took the cake for me was Finn saying that he was going to make sure Thomas would never, ever be with Hope. First, they're already together and second, Hope is a grown woman with whom he barely has a relationship with. Talk about overstepping your bounds. Perhaps when Liam took his cape off, Finn picked it back up because he's inserting himself into a situation that has nothing to do with him.

Back at the office, Hope asked Steffy to let Thomas know that she's looking for him if she sees him. Before she could leave, Steffy called her back so she could tell her about Xander but Hope had to tell her she already knows. The Co-CEO was surprised to learn that her husband contacted Hope, and she apologized for her being dragged into this. She also made her position clear. Thomas is going to need someone who is all in if these allegations get out, if that's not Hope then she needs to be all the way out.

Hope didn't give her an answer, but she did think on Thomas' proposal and continued to fiddle with her engagement necklace. She told her love "not yet" but her timetable for making a decision could be coming up quicker than she anticipated especially with Finn pushing like this (which Hope didn't seem to appreciate).

The third plot on today's episode didn't really move the needle. Carter, Brooke, and Ridge had just come back to the office from the hospital. Eric is still recovering which has Ridge wondering what kind of life he may have handed his father who may have wanted to pass on peacefully. The topic of discussion moved on to Hope and Thomas' relationship so Carter excused himself. Brooke and Ridge didn't get any farther than they ever get when it comes to their kids. Brooke's still highly concerned and would rather Hope not be with his son, and Ridge doesn't see cause for concern because Thomas is doing well.

I do wonder how Ridge would feel if he knew Finn was saying things like Thomas has them all fooled and he's really no better than he was before. My guess is that he and his son-in-law would be having a very uncomfortable talk. I'd like to see it, to be honest.

See you next week, Bold fans, for more recaps of our soap! Stay tuned to Hidden Remote.