Kelly might be safe, but Steffy isn’t letting Finn get away with it. The tension is high on The Bold and the Beautiful.
“What do you mean Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) saved Kelly’s life?” Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) demands. As Finn (Tanner Novlan) recounts the almost tragedy, Steffy becomes even more distraught.
Meanwhile, Wyatt (Darin Brooks) is equally distraught that Steffy didn’t get upset after seeing the video. Suddenly it’s Liam (Scott Clifton) who’s defending her decision to give Finn space to show he’s still there for the family, but he also says he’s not going to stand by and watch him put their lives in danger.
Deacon (Sean Kanan) serves Sheila some hot tea as she recovers from the ordeal. He knows that these accidents don’t always have happy endings, and he thinks Finn must be grateful that his mother was there to save the day. Sheila thinks it must point to him knowing that she’d do anything to protect him — and his family. “It was pretty selfless,” Deacon tells her, noting that this might be a miracle because it’s a way to get closer to Finn. Sheila says all she could think about was Kelly because she’s part of Finn’s life. She treasures them all — Kelly, Steffy and Hayes — because she’s been given a second chance and this is where she has to become a positive force in Finn’s life.
Wyatt ticks off all of the reasons Sheila can’t be trusted. Liam agrees, but he also says that he has to be careful because his daughter could be at risk.
Speaking of risk, Steffy is reading the riot act to Finn for what happened. When he reminds her that Kelly is safe, Steffy can’t help but think it’s because of Sheila. “Maybe you should cut her some slack,” he says, earning another death gaze from Steffy.
Deacon considers how Finn must be feeling after seeing Kelly in the water. Sheila lights up as she tells Deacon that Finn called her “Mom” when he thanked her. Deacon is reminded of when Hope (Annika Noelle) finally accepted him in her life. Sheila is ready to move on from the past and focus on being a mom, not a monster.
Liam understands why Steffy is defending Finn, but he questions why she makes excuses for him. Liam won’t stop trying to persuade her to see his side, though. Wyatt agrees with everything, but he wants to clarify that Liam’s concern comes from wanting to protect his family from Sheila and not his desire to be with Steffy.
Steffy is struggling with everything. Having to think about Kelly almost drowning and the fact that Sheila was there is almost too much. She reminds Finn that Sheila almost robbed Kelly and Hayes of their parents, but Finn counters and says Sheila is a hero because she saved Kelly and they can still hold her and read a bedtime story to her and that’s all thanks to Sheila.
As the voice of reason, Wyatt plays devil’s advocate. He points out that his brother was friends with Finn before and that he knows Finn loves Kelly. Liam agrees, but he’s not letting his guard down.
Deacon warns Sheila against getting her hopes up. Sheila points out that Steffy must be grateful to her for what she did. She really must, right?
Steffy asks the big questions — what was Sheila doing at the beach anyway? Was she stalking them? Finn sidesteps the question, returning to the bigger point that Kelly is alive. But Steffy isn’t letting go so easily.
Despite saving Kelly’s life, Deacon doesn’t think Steffy is going to forgive Sheila so easily. She was stalking them, after all. He agrees she should do selfless things and focus on improving her life. She can’t believe he’s telling her to walk away. “You’re out of your mind,” she says.
Wyatt knows Liam kissed Steffy twice so Liam needs to be honest with himself. How much of this is his desire to protect his family, and how much is it his desire to get Steffy back?
Steffy reminds Finn of Sheila shooting them. As Finn berates himself for what happened, Steffy looks on tearfully. Kelly is alive because of Sheila. Steffy asks Finn if he thanked Sheila for what she did. He says he did, but when she asks if he hugged her, Finn gets confused. That’s when Steffy brings up what happened at the courthouse. “She embraced you,” Steffy says. “And you embraced her back, didn’t you?” She flies into a rage, wondering how he could allow that “lunatic” into their lives. “How am I supposed to ever trust you again?”
There are some things that can be forgiven but never forgotten, and there are other things that are unforgivable. For Steffy, there’s no way she can forgive Sheila for shooting them. After all, she almost robbed Kelly and Hayes of their parents.
She could defend the hug to Liam because she had no reason to doubt Finn, but everything has changed. Not only did Finn do the one thing a parent should never do, but he has the gall to call Sheila a hero. A hero. Sheila. The one who shot them. And to add insult to injury, he hugged her back after the hearing.
Now Steffy has some tough decisions to make. Finn has given her reason to doubt him. And if she can’t trust him at a time when she’s feeling the most vulnerable, well, that’s not a good sign.
We haven’t even factored Liam into this conversation. Liam has no idea that Kelly almost drowned or that Sheila saved her. He’s going to see red when he finds out what happened and he’ll very likely demand that Steffy and the kids stay with him where he can protect them. While that might have been out of the question pre-beach, in the post-beach world Steffy might take him up on the offer because she’s not feeling safe with Finn.
Is this the end of their marriage? Hard to say. But there’s no question that Steffy needs some space right now and leaving Finn is probably the best answer.
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.
