Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you suddenly find your name bandied about the marketplace? Did you realize Christmas was the best time for family reunions? Did you return to town looking just a little bit different than you did when you left? These and more situations faced Taylor Hamilton Hayes Forrester Rashid Forrester Marone Jones this week!
Y'all ready for a Taylor-made holiday, Scoopers? It seems to be the theme this year, with Taylor Swift re-recording her early albums, but for us soap folk it means the return of "Doc" to our screens after what many deem far too long! And lo, it's not Hunter Tylo returning in the role! That's right, Krista Allen now steps into Taylor's designer shoes -- novel, because only one other actress has played Taylor besides the Huntress: Sherilyn Wolter, for a few episodes back in 1990.
Taylor is a well-beloved, or much despised, character depending on the viewer, and I suspect either way it's going to be tough to see anyone else playing her. But hey! We said that when Ronn Moss turned in his Speedos in 2012, and we're pretty well used to Thorsten Kaye as he celebrates eight years on the show. (Maybe it's just me because of the crush I continue to nurse on him. Oh, Thorsten.)
I don't know what B&B has in store for Taylor, and I can't give you much to go by only having seen Allen's premiere episode -- but I do know how I'd like to see Taylor fit into the canvas as we approach 2022, because our once sensible shrink took a lot of weird turns during Tylo's final years in the role. So let me bust out some Christmas wishes for Taylor with Taylor Swift providing the soundtrack!
Taylor does hold the record -- on this show, anyway -- for most times back from the grave. In this case, twice: in 1994, after she turned out not to be the passenger wearing Taylor's dress who died in a plane crash, and in 2005, after she showed up alive three years after she supposedly succumbed to Sheila's bullet. Now, post-1994, Taylor was as Taylor as ever. Post-2005...not so much.
I've always had the feeling there had been an agreement between Tylo and the brass that she would only come back if she could start playing Taylor with an edge and if Taylor wasn't such a goody-goody. Mind you, that's just my thought; no proof. But look what happened after 2005. Taylor flirted with Hector, slept with Brooke's father and son, ran down Darla, became a full-fledged alcoholic...no once sensible shrink here.
And, of course, post-2005 Taylor basically shrieked at the mere mention of Brooke's name. Granted, Brooke did make play after play for Ridge during his marriages to Taylor. But Taylor got downright histrionic about it. Let's just say that, when she was high on those psychedelic berries, she seemed mellower. And then...2018 happened.
Our Taylor cold-bloodedly shooting anyone in the back? Just because Bill supposedly violated Steffy? If Bill had actually done that, I could almost excuse the rationale. But Taylor only took Ridge's word for it and wouldn't listen to Steffy's insistence that the Still sex had been consensual. And pow! Taylor's sanity, and her credibility, pretty much gone.
When we last saw Tylo's Taylor in 2019, Doc was still off her rocker and gave $250,000 to a stranger, Reese Buckingham, so Steffy could adopt another baby. And Taylor's final appearance saw her encouraging her son Thomas to go after step-sister Hope. Eww. So I hope you're seeing where I'm going with this. Entertaining as Taylor's fall from grace might have been, we need her normal. This show has enough crazy.
Taylor was always the glue that held this dynasty together, and I hope that, wherever she's been -- Africa, Siberia, Poughkeepsie -- that she finally got the ultra-strength help she needed to bring her back to her senses. Maybe, as I have often pontificated, Taylor suffered brain damage from nearly dying and finally got an operation to correct it. Give us a normal Taylor, or send her back. Imma say that right off.
Now that we've established we need sensible Taylor back, let's see about what she needs to be doing now that she's here. The first scene I better see next week is Taylor going up to Steffy and saying, "Girl, were you still hooked on pain meds when you named my grandbaby after my abusive ex-husband? Yeah, I know I went by 'Taylor Hayes' for years. Didn't make sense, maybe, but it was a different time. Get down to City Hall and rename the kid! 'Hamilton' is okay! My maiden name and a hit show!"
The next thing that has to happen is for Taylor to head down to that hotel that Sheila shouldn't be able to afford (housing is outrageous in L.A., but still way cheaper than hotels!) and have a little confrontation about their last encounter in 2002 that left Taylor "dead." With Sheila taking heat about it recently, it's only natural we get some resolution with that, even with a different Taylor doing the resolving.
And if Taylor still has the mama bear streak that had her shooting Bill over sex Steffy agreed to, then let Taylor turn it on Sheila. Ridge is so busy pouting over Deacon because he's afraid Brooke will go all Freaky Deaky again that Ridge has stopped paying attention to the real threat Sheila poses. Let's see a true Taylor vs. Sheila, with the softer side of Taylor helping Finn and Jack through their recent estrangement.
Taylor may not have been thinking clearly when she arranged to have Phoebeth adopted by Steffy, but her heart was in the right place, and Taylor certainly didn't know there was anything criminal afoot. But Taylor surely does now, so I want to see her flame Flo with the power of one of those chemical factory smokestacks. Let it finally come out that Flo took $50,000 of Taylor's money for her efforts, too.
Then, hire Wayne Brady back for a day and have Taylor confront him in jail. Taylor and Reese did have a mini just-barely-a-thing thing when the adoption happened, so Taylor has a bit of an emotional investment to work off. Also, this would give Paris a chance to see Daddy behind bars instead of sitting around Forrester watching all the guys there go gaga over her. Make it happen, Taylor.
So, Taylor used Bill for target practice because Steffy willingly rode the Stallion, but Taylor's been all right about Justin locking her son in a cage in the bowels of Spencer Publications? I can't see Taylor, even a saner Taylor, just letting that slide. Imagine the commiseration Taylor and Thomas could have. After all, like Thomas, Taylor was held captive by Morgan DeWitt once and Prince Omar Rashid twice.
And then, of course, once Taylor has gotten through ripping Justin a new one for making Thomas collateral damage in his attempt to take over Spencer, she can date him! We do know, thanks to Reese, that Taylor likes chocolate, and wouldn't it piss Bill off for his former best friend to find any happiness, anywhere? Besides, Justin's been in the credits for three years and kidnapping Thomas was his only story. Give him some luv.
Let mama shrink Taylor also take Thomas aside and tell him A) to stop going after girls who are extended family and/or belong to extended family, and B) try dating real girls instead of mannequins. Maybe Taylor can nudge Tom-Tom toward one of those models who keep hitting on him (guess Forrester's No Dating the Models policy of the '90s went out the window), or get him to accept that he's at least gender fluid. You know how many guys would go nuts over Thomas' bearded self? Myself included?
The Dollah probably owes restitution going back to his NYC days for all the lives he's ruined. But Taylor still owes a pretty heavy piece of restitution herself -- to Bill. He only didn't press charges after Taylor pumped him full of lead. I think it's doubtful, given Taylor's descent into madness, that she'd be allowed to counsel patients again, but she could head some sort of mental health initiative at Spencer.
Why not? She was only the resident shrink at Forrester in the mid-'90s. It could be a way for Taylor to make up to Bill for what she did to him...and...ya know...maybe Justin's not the only man she could take a tumble with. There was a certain electricity between Taylor and Bill before, and she is Steffy's mom. Where did Bill think Steffy got it? Not to mention, it would piss Ridge off deluxe. Worth the price of admission!
I don't know if Taylor really has a place in the current saga of Hope and Deacon against the rest of the Bridge contingent, but perhaps a rehabilitated Tay-Tay could be a mediating voice in the whole mess. As Hope and others have been anxious to point out, Ridge was with Taylor while Brooke was sleeping with Deacon, but that doesn't mean Taylor wasn't around when all that office orgasming was going on.
Taylor would certainly remember that Brooke gave her illegitimate baby the name Hope as a step toward turning over a less libidinous leaf. And perhaps Hope still being that symbol could be the reminder that Taylor could issue to these feuding Forresters. Of course, instead of, or in addition to, Bill and Justin, maybe different sparks could spark between nuTaylor and Deacon!
Ridge would be happy, because it would keep the Deak from Brooke, but La Logan would be beside herself! Again, worth the price of admission. Side note: wouldn't this be a great time to bring Jennifer Finnegan back as Bridget for a few weeks? No shade to the awesome Ashley Jones, but Jennfinn was the Bridget that Brooke betrayed. Think of the drama and flashback potential. Yaas, bitch, yaas.
One thing latter-day Taylor did that drove me nuts was absolutely refuse to get over Ridge. I mean, seriously -- she tanked her relationship with Rick because of the torch she still held for the Speedo King (not that Taylor/Rick wasn't sick AF anyway), and Taylor blew a perfectly good marriage to the very cute Whip because she couldn't get Ridge out of her system.
Physician, heal thyself! Surely in her hippocratic heyday, Taylor wasn't counseling patients to stay stuck in the past by making an Olympic event out of pining for the one that got away. She was telling people to accept what is and move forward. Now, Taylor didn't do that herself for far too long, but a healed Taylor would follow her own advice and advise some very familiar faces to do the same.
I'd love to see Taylor sit down with Donna and remind the Delicious One how much she has going for her, that she doesn't need to spend another decade buying up honey bears in hopes of squeezing Eric once again. Same with Katie -- though Katie's not full-on longing for Bill, I can envision Taylor telling the youngest Logan sister that it's time to cut that tie with the Dollah once and for all. Fly! Be free!
And Taylor could also dispense some of that advice to Carter, who is realizing on his own that he keeps falling for the wrong women. The problem is, he's not practicing what he preaches. He still gushes when he sees Katie, who, as I said, remains unavailable, and now he's eyeing Paris when he just made up with pal Zende for what happened with Zoe. Taylor, hurry up and work on these people before they lose their mojo altogether!
Along with new jack, grunge rock, and Coke in the "phat new bottle", Bridge vs. Tridge was all the rage in the '90s. So much so that B&B continued their battle and subsequent fan divide into the aughts and toyed with it in the '10s. Now Taylor is coming back just when Ridge and Brooke are at odds about Deacon's place in Hope's life. Hopefully, it's just old habit that I can see what's coming, and not that it's actually coming.
Because really -- what good does it do now to revive Ridge's epic waffling between Brooke and Taylor? I don't even think it would work, with both Ridge and Taylor being played by different actors; it would be harder to mine their history without flashbacks. This was something we ran across when Thorsten Kaye first took over as Ridge trying to win back Brooke and us having to make the connection in our heads.
The other thing is, it's just old. Maybe it worked when these guys were in their 30s, or even 40s, but Ridge, Brooke, and Taylor are all on the working ends of their 50s, and it doesn't service the characters at all to watch them competing with each other like they're fresh out of college. Let's show that they've all learned something finally in these ensuing decades and not go the obvious route with them...please?
Bridge and Tridge will always have their fans and detractors. But, outside of cloning, Ridge can only be with one of his ladies. Bridge, on their eighth marriage, have already been wed since 2018, and Taylor deserves more than sniffing around for Brooke's sloppy seconds. Taylor is entitled to her own man who only wants her. I think at this point we can all agree on that, can't we, Scoopers?
OK! So first impressions of nuTaylor! Performance-wise, I'm buying it. Krista Allen is bringing a real sweetness and sincerity in her opening moments -- and, intentionally or not, she even seems to be channeling Hunter Tylo in spots. I think, as recasts go, this is even a better match than Thorsten Kaye was for Ronn Moss, which, when that happened in 2013, seemed far more jarring.
But I guess the idea of renaming Hayes is out the window, since nuTaylor called the baby "my namesake." Could it just be because Taylor kept Blake's last name for so long, she more identifies it with herself than with her abuser? The other "oh no" I felt was when Taylor admitted she had stayed away because she didn't want to see Brooke and Ridge together.
At least Taylor did admit "I should have let go a long time ago," which goes back to what I was saying about it being unhealthy to stay stuck in the past. Taylor apologized for not attending Steffy's wedding to Finn. That was just as well, because Taylor would have run smack dab into Sheila! And how about Taylor saying Sheila would not cause Steffy any more problems now that she was back? Awww yeah!
I did like what Ridge told Brooke about not knowing how what Sheila did to Taylor (ie., the shooting) "would do to a person." It does kind of lend credence to my diagnosis of brain damage. The one thing I can't tell yet is, is Taylor normal again? So far I'd like to think she is, but I need to see more, and I wouldn't mind it being addressed on screen as well.
But oh boy, when Taylor heard Ridge's voice and grabbed her heart like a teenager getting a phone call from her classmate crush, I did feel my own heart fall a bit. As I said, we do not need Taylor still having all the feels for Ridge after this much time has passed. Taylor should be strong enough to move past the guy, love of her life or not. But then again, B&B likes to keep its women moping around for their men!
So how did you feel about nuTaylor's first episode, Scoopers? And what would you like to see her do now that she's back and in the personage of Krista Allen? Record your thoughts in the Comments section below or the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could be in a future column!
I get the feeling Tay is here to slay, so keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And for soap's sake, get vaccinated! Because protecting yourselves and others from a virus and its variants is always beautiful.
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