Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (4)

Well, I’ll say this for The Bold and the Beautiful: They know how to get our attention. Only hours before Friday’s episode was set to air, supervising producer Casey Kasprzyk hit social media to warn that people should not miss the final 10 seconds. Needless to say, we pretty much all assumed that the week’s cliffhanger would feature Sheila popping out of her premature grave in one fashion or another. But let’s talk a bit about how we got from here to there, shall we? 

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Famous Last Words

“The saga is finally over,” said Lauren to Eric and Donna. I was happy to have Genoa City’s fashionista swing by. The fact that the Young & Restless diva who played such a huge role in the early years of the Sheila story has virtually been persona non grata ever since the she-devil returned on Finn and Steffy’s wedding day has been a real burr in my butt. I mean, honestly, a lot of how Bold & Beautiful has played Sheila this go-round has annoyed the crap out of me. From ruining the shock of her return by promoting it in advance to reducing the GOAT villainess to a waitress, it’s been one misstep after another.

There were some brilliant moments along the way, to be sure. Sheila shooting Finn and Steffy was a shock, even if more to us than Finn, who maintained (and endlessly babbled about) his “connection” to his “biological mother” against all reason. And having Bill hook up with Sheila in an effort to bring her to justice was a fun idea that ultimately made no sense (the FBI didn’t know this was entrapment?) and went nowhere.

I don’t think most viewers really believed that Sheila was dead. And honesty, I’d like to think that if and when they finally do off the baddie, it’s with the kind of epic, show-spanning, suspect-revealing storyline I’ve been wanting for years. (I mean, look at all the characters it could involve!)

However, I will say that even as it became obvious that the final seconds would involve Deacon making the toe-related discovery, I kinda got chills as it played out on screen. I can’t help wondering if it would have been even more impactful if the show hadn’t tipped their hand in advance.

More: Wait… who did Steffy really kill? 

“I’m Not Dead Yet!”

Even before Kasprzyk teased social media about Friday’s cliffhanger, it seemed kinda obvious to me — and based on the social media response, most of you — where things were headed. I mean, the more often Steffy told Liam that she and Finn were “determined to not let anything come between us… certainly not Sheila!”, the clearer it became that that was exactly what would happen.

I do, however, think the way that Sheila will come between them might wind up being a bit unexpected. Clearly, they’re positioning Hope to be a spoiler in the Finn/Steffy romance. Yes, he urged her to consider getting back together with Liam, but that seems about as likely as me not booking a cruise or going to Disney World next year.

Finn’s suggestion that she give Liam another chance seemed rather odd, especially coming on the heels of the doctor saying she might never be able to fully trust Thomas because of the Beth incident. I get what he meant, but here’s the thing: Thomas has shown growth since that time, whereas Liam — who spent years breaking Hope’s trust by ping-ponging between her and Steffy — seems to have changed not one iota. Heck, just this past week he spent time comforting both of the ladies, as if he could easily fall back into either one’s arms.

Misty Water-Colored Memories

“Sheila was a menace,” Lauren reminded Eric and Donna. “She was dangerous. You never knew what she was going to do next.” Coupled with the awesome flashbacks, it was a reminder of what made Sheila such a fantastic and unpredictable villain… and how watered-down the version we’ve had in recent months was. I can’t help hoping that it was also an indication that someone behind the scenes is ready to give us that version back.

I also loved that they showed flashbacks to Eric and Sheila’s romance. Because one of the things that has always been crucial to the character is that Sheila wants nothing more than to be loved. Even in this latest iteration, Sheila was driven by that desire. It is her main motivation. As Kimberlin Brown joked to me a while back, “If people would stop trying to stand between Sheila and the people she loves, bad things would stop happening!”

Honestly, that’s a great story. In the past, we’ve gotten to see glimpses of a happy Sheila, and we wonder, “How long can this last? Where will things go wrong?” And in most cases, it’s someone trying to derail her dream of finally having what comes so easily to everyone else. Frankly, that’s almost relatable. Take away the psychotic episodes, and it’s basically the same story as that of All My Children‘s Erica Kane or Days of Our Lives‘ Stefano.

In the words of André Linoge, the terrifying villain in ABC’s 1999 adaptation of Stephen King’s Storm of the Century (pictured above), “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.”  Sheila would totally understand him… especially given that his ultimate goal was to steal a child from the townfolk he was terrifying in much the same way that her ascent into the Evil League of Evil began by stealing Lauren’s baby. (By the way, anybody else find it odd that when listing Sheila’s various sins against her, Lauren didn’t even mention that one?)

Random Thoughts

• Did Deacon put Sheila’s coffin on top of the bar at Il Giardino? That’s pretty much the only way what we saw on screen makes sense! And it seemed weird to me that he bought a coffin for Sheila only to then have her cremated. Is that a thing people do? Cleary, I have not spent enough time thinking about estate planning!

• I loved that as Deacon was eulogizing Sheila, Hope couldn’t look him in the eye. Heck, she was pulling more faces than an overly-passionate So You Think You Can Dance contestant. If awards were handed out for eye-rolling, Hope would definitely be a front-runner.