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Hey B&B fans, we are going to see more action soon on this Taylor Hayes death storyline, and I do expect some huge twists along the way. It’s Belinda from Soap Dirt, and we’re going to talk about what’s next and why this plot could be even worse than you imagine, including a little bit of leaked info we were sent.
So we’re going to talk about five wild twists just from the jump. Of course, when I heard Brad Bell was bringing back Taylor Hayes with a new actress in the role, I was highly suspicious. Rebecca Buddig is a great actress, even if she’s not what we’ve come to expect for Taylor. All that said, the actress fitting the role doesn’t matter that much if they plan to put her in a grave.
So let’s dive in.
Twist Number One: I think Stephy’s going to push Ridge to dump Brooke and choose Taylor. Just this first twist that I want to discuss, we’re already seeing the groundwork this week with those interactions between Stephy Forester and Hope Logan. It started on the midweek episode and carries on from there. I’m not even clear why Stephy came into the design office; they didn’t have a meeting, you know, between her and Hope.
Then Stephy tells Hope, “FYI, I’m not going to play matchmaker with my parents.” For whatever reason, Hope decided to clap back about, “Okay, but Ridge chose Brooke anyway.” Just a lot of unnecessary stuff, and then Stephy had to clap back on her, reminding Hope that Ridge is a twom waffler, basically. She also told Hope Ridge will always love Taylor, and Hope wants to know if Stephy wants her mom back with her dad.
Stephy’s actually worse than Will, I think, about wanting parents reunited. This back-and-forth bickering with her and Hope continues the rest of the week. The twisted part is Stephy legitimately—I don’t think—was planning on matchmaking her parents, but when she finds out Taylor’s dying, all bets are going to be off.
I’m quite certain Stephy will badger Ridge about making her mom’s last months happy. I did a video about a deathbed wedding; I still think that could happen. Thomas may also return to be part of the Taylor-Ridge matchmaking scheme because we know he loves pulling Parent Trap stuff.
Speaking of Thomas Forester, he’s the next twist I want to talk about.
Twist Number Two: Thomas returns but also exits again: death, exile. This ties into some leaked info that someone sent me. Now, this is not a leaker that I’ve engaged with before, so I have no idea how legit their info is about Thomas. I will say, though, what they told me aligns with suspicions I already had about this storyline. They told me that the Taylor Hayes dying storyline brings back Thomas, and you know presumably Douglas and Paris with him, but they told me he’s not going to stick around.
This is a short return for Matthew Atkinson, just for Thomas to say goodbye. Now, I mentioned before that if they were recycling former B&B plots, as Brad Bell loves to do, they could sacrifice Thomas so Taylor could have his heart—some, you know, accident, fatal incident, something kind of like the KY storm thing.
In the end, if the leaker is correct, we could wind up losing both Taylor and Thomas. If it is like I’ve suspected for a while, and Brad Bell basically already quietly exited Matt Atkinson, he may have no plans to bring back Thomas permanently. So he may come back just to say goodbye to his dying mother, or he might come back and die himself. I don’t think we’re getting Matt Atkinson back to keep, and I do think it’s a real shame because, you know, love or hate Hope and Thomas as a couple, they pulled ratings.
So, according to the leaker, Thomas won’t stick around, no matter what happens to him.
Now let’s talk about a Brooke Logan twist I expect we’re going to see.
This is the third thing: Brooke befriends Taylor despite Stephy pressing Ridge. So already, Brooke trotted over to the Malibu beach house to see Taylor and play nice. Brooke offered an olive branch of friendship, which Taylor accepted.
The real issue they have between them is Hope kissing Finn, you know, and if they can quell that, they’re going to be fine. There’s no rivalry over Ridge at the moment, but Taylor won’t play nice if Brooke’s daughter keeps targeting Stephy’s husband.
I don’t think that this friendship is going to be like that dumb pact that they had when they agreed neither of them wanted Ridge when we know they both wanted Ridge. We all knew that wasn’t going to last. Fans are still debating over who broke that pact first.
This time, I do think Brooke is sincere in her offer, and I think Taylor is sincere in accepting it, especially given that she’s dying. As Taylor told Ridge, she wants to make the most of the time she has. Ridge just didn’t know that Taylor meant she doesn’t have much time left. So her and Brooke being genuine friends for once is the twist I’m talking about here.
But also, when you look at Brad Bell recycling plots, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was recycling Stephanie dying in Brooke’s arms. That thing would be insane if Taylor died in Brooke’s arms, but at the same time, it seems like something the B&B writers would pull out.
Fourth Twist: T that I anticipate is about Hope, Stephy, and Finn using a distraction to get closer to Stephy’s husband. So once word is out—as it will be—and everybody knows Taylor’s dying, it’s going to change several relationships. One of them is Stephy and Finn’s. I do expect he will find out Taylor’s dying way before Stephy does because of his work at the hospital where Taylor is going to be seeing a cardiologist.
Even if she’s not his patient, finding this out through his job, doctor-patient confidentiality would still apply, so Finn’s hands would be tied. Stephy might be upset initially that he didn’t tell her, but she really can’t hold it against him.
And Taylor having a deteriorating heart condition clearly is going to take up a lot of Stephy’s time, and that could create an opportunity for Hope to worm her way closer to Finn, and I think she would take it.
Fifth and Final Twist: Taylor really does die in the end, unless this happens. So the biggest debate, obviously, among fans is whether Taylor Hayes is actually going to die or not. A huge faction of fans assume this is Brad Bell playing his little games, like he did with that Eric Forrester dying plot. You know, I can see why a lot of people suspect that’s the plot he’s replaying.
But now I do want to share another tidbit that the leaker told me, and again unconfirmed but interesting. They said Brad Bell is planning to kill off Taylor and said it’s about bad blood between him and the OG Taylor, Hunter Tylo. You know, I know Brad Bell probably gets a ton of hits on his social media stuff about “Where’s Hunter Tylo? Why did you fire Krista Allen? When are we going to have Taylor back?”
And I have to say, I legit believe Brad Bell would kill off Taylor just to stop people asking him. He definitely seems to prefer Brooke with Ridge, you know. He fired a very well-liked Taylor actress last winter, a year short of when her contract was supposed to end.
And I have also heard Rebecca Buddig is hired for an arc, not a long-term contract. So whatever happens—Taylor lives or Taylor dies—I don’t expect to see her sticking around on Bold and the Beautiful. If she does get one of those 11th-hour Eric Forrester miracle cures, you know, then I still think they’re going to send Taylor off to do humanitarian work or attend psychiatric conventions outside of LA and just get offscreen mentions.
So just one last thing about Hope—technically about Annika and Noel, who plays her. I have seen a ton of people on soap social media asking if the actress is pregnant. In terms of what she has said herself, there is not a peep about her confirming that she’s pregnant. She has shared in the past that she had a miscarriage—possibly more than one—and it was absolutely life-shattering.
It ruined her engagement; they just couldn’t. If you’ve never lost a child—and I have—it really takes a toll on your relationship, so I get why people are asking. Anna’s face looks a little fuller; so does her bust line. That could be, you know, medication for something.
I took prednisone for years before my lupus went into remission, and it made my face puffy, my body puffy. It could be a lifestyle change; you know, people’s weight fluctuates. Really, nobody knows, but if Annika is expecting, I’m not going to speculate about that.
But I would absolutely wish her a happy, healthy pregnancy, and I hope people are not full-on in her social timeline hassling her about it. She’ll let us know if she is when she wants to.
So, I do see what you guys are seeing, I will say that.
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