The Bold & the Beautiful: Fantasy Day

B&B really delivered on a very important and moving episode today. The dialogue was crackling, there were plenty of pleasant surprises, and real character growth was in effect!

I'll paraphrase it just a little in case you missed it. At the end of last Friday's episode, Maya dropped her purse in Rick's Office/Boudoir and out spilled her prescription estrogen pills. (When you're taking pills you don't want anyone to know about, the best place to put them is obviously a small clutch purse that doesn't properly close. And you should probably take those pills while you have your back turned to someone else in a room rather than just, you know, taking them in private.) (But then again, there's no such thing as "private" in soaps.)

Rick is familiar with all pharmaceutical variations of estrogen pills, naturally, because why wouldn't he be? So he asked her about them.

Today's episode picked up where that left off and, again, I am occasionally paraphrasing here but the gist is a beautiful thing...

Maya: I have to tell you something, Rick, and I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you but I was scared. I've had to deal with some very painful and hurtful reactions to this in the past and I just wanted someone to be able to fall in love with me, the real me, to be able to see past this label that some people unfortunately see as scandalous somehow.

Rick: You can tell me anything! We all have things in our past that we might keep from someone else for fear of losing them. I act out of fear all the time, you know that, you see the way I treat people. That's not because I believe, deep down, that people should be treated that way. It's because I'm so afraid of being invisible, of being nobody, and I lash out and behave badly out of ego so much because --

Maya: Rick, I'm trans.

Rick: You're -- what? What?

Maya: Transgender. 

Rick: But... that's not possible. 

Maya: I know I should have told you. But I was afraid. I was afraid because I've had to suffer hatred and violence from people in the past when they found out, and I don't want that to be the thing that defines me. I'm just me. I'm Maya. And you know me.

Rick: You're telling me you were born a man?

Maya: No, I'm telling you I was assigned male at birth. I always knew I was a woman, though.

Rick: I see what you're saying. Wow. This'll take some time to digest. I sure am surprised! This is a lot for you to have been dealing with alone, I hope Nicole has been helpful!

Maya: She really hasn't. She's blackmailing me with the information. Also Carter knows. So I guess I'm a big liar and I should probably tell everyone the truth.

Rick: What? Why? I mean you and I are romantic partners so that's definitely a thing you should tell me but why in tarnation would it be anyone else's business at all ever? WHY IN TARNATION??

Maya: What is tarnation?

Rick: Literally no one has ever known the answer to that. 

Maya: What if other people find out anyway?

Rick: Well Maya, I love you, and I know you're all woman so I will stand by you and help you fight any sort of ugliness that comes your way! I guess I'd better find out a little more about transgender people and all their inherent issues! I wonder if there's a support group or something!

Maya: Funny you should mention that, there totally is. There's about a jillion of them. We're in LA!

Rick: THAT IS A GREAT POINT!

Maya: Why are you yelling?

Rick: I'M JUST EXCITED TO LEARN! AND TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE! This really changes my perspective! I think maybe I should start tapping in to a little humility and compassion in all my dealings with other human beings.

Maya: Me too! Remember when I used to be really nice? Wow, this is really not the response I expected from you.

Rick: The expected response would be so boring, wouldn't it?

Maya: That's true. This is a very refreshing and interesting turn of events!

Rick: It works both ways, Maya. I wouldn't have expected you to come clean with me so quickly. That almost never happens around here!

Maya: I know! But wouldn't that be incredibly tedious if this just dragged on and on like so many things do? Wasn't this a nice surprise? 

Rick: I'M SEEING EVERYTHING IN A NEW LIGHT!

Maya: Please stop yelling, that's very stressful, Rick.

Rick: I love you!

Maya: I love you!

It was really quite lovely, you guys.

OKAY FINE NONE OF THAT HAPPENED.

In reality, Maya basically wrote it off to "woman problems, you don't want to know about gross lady biology stuff," while Maya and Carter stood in another room and discussed it while actually finding a few moments of actual empathy.

So on we go.

At least Quinn is freakin' hilarious. I rather enjoyed her chipper tone while assuring Ivy she won't push her off of anything at work. 

Also, haven't we all been through enough. Did we really have to be subject to this piece of "good news" about the show? 

Comments

[C]

HA! I was gonna say, how surprising the show would let JR from AMC find out after like two weeks!

[jbj]

Oh Louise, you totally had me there right up to the "tarnation" bit! I mean, sure, it occurred to me that it was probably a dream sequence. But I firmly believe that any scene where Jacob Young admits that his character is an intolerant douche with a straight face is Emmy-worthy, so I figured that it might have been a gift.

[soapbaby]

How lovely would that have been Louise?!

Still, I enjoyed the performances form Karla Mosley and Jacob Young (and I was not a fan of him on GH or AMC.) Yeah, the "woman problems" thing bothered me but I thought it was a reasonable excuse.

I enjoyed the Maya and Carter scenes and the displays of humanity for Maya.

I am curious how this will play out.

[Louise]

I'm glad I had some folks going for a line or two, if just because we NEEDED to believe!

I actually really liked Rick and Maya when they first got together. Back then they were both underdogs, plus we'd been suffering through the Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle for two years so anything else seemed fresh and exciting.

These days they're so insufferable and smug that I'm not really rooting for them, but on the other hand I think actually having Rick respond to this by standing by her instead of being humiliated could cement this as a power couple to reckon with for years to come.

So... that won't happen.

[Ziyal]

In total agreement with you, Louise! It would be so different if Rick stood by her.

I also liked them at the beginning before they all got personality transplants and started behaving way out of character.

And yes, Quinn is hilarious, and when they give her a shred of humanity (like now) she is even more enjoyable to watch!

Thrilled to have you back visiting B&B :)

[Ziyal]

Just read the "good news" article. I'm all for the character to come back, but I know that that means just another triangle, so it truly is "good" news.

[Louise]

Thanks, Ziyal!

Speaking of the "good" news, I am reminded that since I've been watching the show again, I still have yet to form an opinion on Ivy. For some reason they literally will not let her have a scene without Liam. I'm trying so hard to give her a chance on her own (since her partnership with Liam already means demerits) but they won't let me!

[soapbaby]

The "good news" is bad news for me. Wash, rinse, repeat. Ugh.

[Michael]

The "good news" really would be good news if I didn't KNOW it meant Steffy will be back in the orbit of worthless Liam (because you know they will go that route--why do something different when you can repeat the same thing we're already seen 6,347 times?) and I will AGAIN have to wonder every time I tune in why someone with as much to offer as Steffy can't seem to break away from worthless Liam's orbit. It makes no sense. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Talking about this again, even thinking about this again makes my head want to explode! Scott Clifton can be incredibly appealing; whyohwhyohwhy do they have to make Liam so totally unappealing? It makes no sense. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! OK, I'm going to stop now.