I’m a fan of The Bold and the Beautiful. I recently talked about how hard it has been watching Eric’s (John McCook) prolonged death story play out because of the timing and parallels to losing my mother. Now I’m getting frustrated that Eric’s family seems to be throwing in the towel prematurely.
It’s hard to tell how long Eric has been unconscious and how long it has been since the surgery, but there’s no question that several days have passed. We know that Eric briefly “died” during the experimental procedure that Finn (Tanner Novlan) developed that might save his life. And now we know that he isn’t showing any sign of improvement.
Admittedly, it doesn’t look great. But is that reason to give up hope so quickly?
I have to think that the whole reason they had a long build-up with Eric’s condition, followed by a very quick reveal to his family (i.e. when he passed out at his party) and the Hail Mary treatment that could save his life is to, in fact, save his life. They can’t go this whole way and then take his life…can they?
Well, yes, of course they can. But should they? No. Not now.
Finn’s treatment is cutting edge and there’s not a lot of information available, which means there’s no targeted recovery time. Sure, they’d like to see more progress, but has the treatment had time to work? I’m no doctor, but I’m going to say no. With anything, Eric needs time to heal. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) is really struggling with making the decision to have the surgery. Being in charge of someone else’s medical decisions is no easy thing. It truly feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and you’re constantly filled with doubt and plagued by all the second-guessing that comes with making a decision. It’s someone’s life, after all, and usually not just anyone’s life, but someone you love. Did you make the right call? Is this what the loved one wants?
Guiding Ridge’s decision-making are the few words his father uttered before he passed out. He said he was ready to go… but was he? Only a few days prior, Eric was in tears telling Donna (Jennifer Gareis) that he was terrified of dying and didn’t want to die. Had he known that there was a possible treatment, would he have pushed to try it before throwing in the towel?
It feels like the Forresters are giving up hope, and they shouldn’t. After all, this is the holiday season (which, incidentally, you’d never know on the show because they haven’t even mentioned it) and it’s a time of miracles. I’m still hoping Eric pulls through, and the Forresters should be doing the same thing.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.
