Steffy throws down the gauntlet on The Bold and the Beautiful, and Luna helps Ridge to find something very important.
Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) congratulates his father on his victory and Eric (John McCook) thanks him. Eric says the day was the most amazing of his life and he praises his son’s talent. Ridge humbly says the honor was his. “You are this company. Always will be,” he tells his father.
Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) gets out of the shower and gives Finn (Tanner Novlan) a hug. “You’re the reason I came home,” she tells him. They never want to be separated again. When he mentions letting anyone get in between them, she tells him she knows about Sheila and Deacon.
Speaking of Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) and Deacon (Sean Kanan), Sheila gets done with her shift and complains about the happy hour clients. She wants a foot massage from her “Daddy” even though he wonders what HR would say. While he’s the boss at work, she claims she’s the boss in the bedroom. He admits that her missing toe freaks him out, and she calls it a sign of how devoted she can be to a cause. He makes her promise once again that she’ll leave Finn and Steffy alone, but her response isn’t convincing.
Steffy admits to Finn that the reason she knows about Sheila and Deacon is from a message Liam left her. Finn rolls his eyes.
Eric says he never wanted to do the line to compete with Ridge. Ridge knows this, saying that he’s his father’s son. “You have no idea what this means to me,” Eric says. “I think I do,” Ridge replies.
Ridge returns to the room where the fashion show was held. He looks around as the heaviness of the news hits him. Luna (Lisa Yamada) sees him and asks how he’s doing. He asks her to get the box of his father’s things out of storage so they can go back into the office.
Eric tells Donna (Jennifer Gareis) about the first time he went into the office. His office. There are so many stories from all the years he spent there. “So much beauty came out of this room,” he says. He’s going to close the book the way he wants to. They hug, and Ridge walks in and apologizes for interrupting him in his office. Eric smiles.
Sheila serves Deacon some tea, but she’s being very aggressive. She’s upset that Deacon wants her to forget about her son. Deacon wants to be all she needs. “If you need to double down, then double down on us.”
Finn is furious that Liam left her a voicemail when Finn didn’t have a chance to call her. Steffy says it doesn’t matter because Sheila doesn’t matter anymore. She refuses to let Sheila get in the way anymore.
RJ (Joshua Hoffman) looks at an old photo and tells Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) about how he could see the weight come off of Eric after finding out he won. He loves that his father did that for him. Katie (Heather Tom) comes in asking for Luna and RJ admits he told his mother about Eric.
Ridge asks his father to step out so he can clear his stuff from the office. Once it’s perfect for him, he’ll never have to leave. Eric smiles at the idea.
In the archives, Luna finds a box with Eric’s awards and belongings. It also has Eric’s old stapler in it.
Deacon reminds Sheila of her promise. She plays it all off like it’s a joke, but he doesn’t think it’s funny. He reminds her that no one even knows they’re engaged. She wants to be part of her son’s life but for now she’s going to focus on her life with Deacon.
Steffy can’t believe Sheila and Deacon are together. When Finn says they’re in love, Steffy doesn’t buy it. There’s no way Sheila can have a healthy relationship. She’s not going to sit by and let this happen. Steffy decides she’s going to go see Sheila and tell her to stay away.
RJ admits that he told his mom, and Katie says he did the right thing. She asks if Ridge knows, and Brooke says he does and he’s devastated. Katie doesn’t know how Donna is holding this all together. Brooke tells Katie that Ridge actually won the challenge but Ridge gave the victory to Eric.
Eric and Donna head into the fashion showroom and celebrate. He’s excited to go back to the office and “take back” what’s his. He starts coughing again, and it’s a lot of blood. Donna hugs him, terrified.
Ridge helps Luna when she comes in with a big box. He reminisces about one of the awards and how it was the first time he went to an event with his father. He was just a child but it was a big moment for him. She points out the old stapler at the bottom of the box, and Ridge is overjoyed to have it. He thanks her, and she beams at him.
Deacon and Sheila are kissing on the couch when Finn and Steffy pound on the door. Sheila tries to greet her, but Steffy comes in guns blazing. She tells Sheila she’s not scared anymore and she won’t be scared away from her family again. “I’m not going to run away from anyone,” Steffy says. She shoves Sheila to make her point.
This was a very busy episode with lots of moving parts. We’re happy that Ridge will be able to reunite Eric with his stapler knowing how much it means to him. Humble Ridge is so much more fun to watch.
At the end of the episode, Steffy shoved Sheila to drive home the point that she’s not going to let Sheila intimidate her anymore. It’s a perfectly understandable move, and in Steffy’s defense she has years and years of pent-up aggression toward this woman. But Steffy has no idea how hard Deacon has been working to keep Sheila in line.
Did Steffy just blow it?
With that shove, the gauntlet has been thrown and now Old Sheila is going to creep back in. (Sadly, with Old Sheila coming back, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Liam (Scott Clifton) trying to claim he can protect Steffy better than her husband, too)
We already know that Sheila will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Deacon was giving her a reason to change, and today’s episode revealed just how hard he was trying to keep hold of the reins. Keeping Sheila distracted is a tall task, and now that Steffy is back things are going to get even harder.
Steffy, we’re with you on the shove… but be ready for the fallout.
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.
