Connect with us

Recaps

14

B&B’s Katherine Kelly Lang & ‘This Is Us’ Mandy Moore Deliver The ‘Power Performances of the Week’

By Michael Fairman

Published

on

Photo: CBS/NBC

The top honors for the most notable performances for the past week, this time go to one actress on daytime and one actress on primetime.  Both gave us compelling, heartfelt, and at-times gut-wrenching work within the confines of their storylines.

On The Bold and the Beautiful, Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), continues to be a standout in one of the most aggravating storylines (Sheila getting away with dismantling Brooke’s life with booze to the point where there is a quickie reunion of Taylor and Ridge) and through it is giving the audience some of the best work of her entire 35-year-run on the CBS soap,

On Friday’s episode, Brooke tells Ridge she is giving him a divorce to make him happy, and with tears flowing she says she will never forgive herself for what happened on New Year’s Eve (getting drunk and then kissing Deacon). She goes on to tell Ridge that she wishes to God that she deserved his love, but she doesn’t. Brooke says she knows she has self-destructive tendencies. Ridge tells Brooke none of this makes him happy, but he does walk out on Brooke, and head to Taylor, leaving a devastated Brooke in a puddle of tears and her life torn to pieces.  Be on the lookout for Lang to be a major contender for a Daytime Emmy nomination for her work in the 2023 Daytime Emmy race.

Meanwhile, NBC’S This Is Us is quite the soap in our minds. The primetime drama, which is in its sixth and final season, is going to wrap up its run in 10 more episodes. However, this past Tuesday saw once again just how the unsung hero of the show, Mandy Moore, can play three different times in the life of Rebecca with such ease and such believability.

Moore out did even herself in the episode entitled “Taboo”.  In the present time, Rebecca, who we know has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, tells her children (Randall, Kevin and Kate), following Thanksgiving dinner, the provisions she wants the family to take when she can no longer understand or make choices for herself, or the end of her life nears.  First, Rebecca makes her children verbally acknowledge and agree that Miguel will be in charge of the decisions and her care.  However, if something happens to Miguel before she dies, she wants Kate to be in charge and the decision-maker of her care.  Then, Moore makes us reach for the hankies telling her kids : “You will not make your life smaller because of me, I am your mother, and I am sick, and I am asking you to be fearless.” She then needs them all to say they will do as she says, and in tears all three kids do just that. Later, Kate asks Rebecca why she chose her to be in charge of her care. Rebecca replies, “You are my daughter and my best friend. It was always you, Kate.”  And if you think that’s all Moore did in the episode … wrong!

Earlier in the episode, as the series goes to a flashback of her younger days after Jack’s death, we see how Miguel and Rebecca try to fight their growing attraction to each other, and how Miguel did not want to betray her ex-husband and his best friend, by following through on his feelings for her.

On the porch, following another Thanksgiving, Miguel tells a stunned Rebecca he’s moving to Houston, where he’s got a new job and will be closer to his kids.  Rebecca’s eyes immediately well-up in tears.  Miguel expresses, in tears too, “I feel like I’ve been staying around because… it’s time Rebecca. Now that you’re back up on your feet, it’s time for me to go.”  Rebecca is gutted and a younger Kate finds her mom crying on her bed and goes to comfort her.

So, what did you think of Katherine Kelly Lang’s work on B&B, and Mandy Moore’s on This Is Us? Share your thoughts on our picks for the Power Performances of the Week via the comment section below.  But first, check out one of the key scenes from This Is Us featuring Moore and Jon Huertas.

14 Comments

14 Comments
oldest
newest

Katherine Kelly Lang has been giving this same performance year in and year out.
Mandy Moore is amazing and has deserved the Emmy for a while now.

Shari
I don’t think you meant that as praise and Iam certainly not a fan of Brooke/K.K.L but after rereading your post, I have to agree that she DOES give the same, expected performance time after time. Are we just sick of her being good? Ha!

Disagree RE: Katherine Kelly Lang. She continues to deliver impassioned work, better each season, a vast improvement from her earlier days as Brooke. Agree with you on Mandy Moore

That is not her fault it’s Brad Bell and nobody gets too upset we have a fake Taylor a fake ridge just so disgusted with him ! Why JW and Wh agreeded to come back he is insulting to his actors ! He has actors nobody is interested in just to prove he is not whatever I’m so sick of him just cancel the show with some dignity!

And who in your opinion is the “real” Taylor and Ridge?

Ronn Moss and Hunter Taylor that’s who

Agreed! Cancellation on it’s way.

I agree, Shari. It must be boring doing the same story line for 30+ years. On the plus side, Mandy has been excellent all year and continues to be underrated.

Mandy Moore has been underrated for so long wouldn’t it be a great thing for the Emmy awards to finally award her after all of her stellar work on this is us especially on this final season it’s about time the Emmy’s gave a network show the award since it’s well deserved as far as Katherine Kelly lang her work this week was great and she’s also been underrated along with many in daytime congrats to both

KKL has been given the same story for 35 years. She is a delight to watch but Brooke would be more compelling a character with a strong backbone. Brook should be a power player not a weepy ingenue. We have Hope for that. Have her soon realize this recent fall off the wagon is not her fault, that Ridge is not her endgame, and let her live a vibrant exciting life. Weary of all the moping. Tired of the Forrester hypocrisy. No one deserves casting a stone here… Steffy, Thomas, Ridge. I would love to see Brooke launch a company and move forward on her own terms. Maybe with her younger sons RJ or Jack in support, thus giving us some younger people to stir up trouble. It’s just time for Brooke to no longer be considered less-than.

I don’t watch B&B but Mandy Moore this week – oh WoW. I agree that she has been under-rated but she was outstanding this week. I do think this show has gone on too long, but it would certainly be well deserved if she won an Emmy on this last finale.

I’m glad we are getting to see how Rebecca and Miguel got together; the scene where they were playing the game was so telling in how well they knew each other and their history and obvious to everyone in the room.

Mandy Moore is an incredible actor! She moves from one generation to another with such ease and earnest perfection to her defined roles. Congratulations Mandy on your deserved award.!!!!

KKL is a good actress however she has played this scene (Brooke and Ridge breakup) with different variations almost every year for the past 30 years. How many times have they broken up/? I know the show has a small cast but why can’t they come up with a different story line for this talented woman. At this point she should pull an Eileen Fulton with her infamous grandmother clause and make it a part of her contract that she will never break up with Ridge again.

B@B writing is horrific

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ric’s History of Jealousy Where Elizabeth is Concerned Has Come Back Around

Published

on

By

Ric

On General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Heart) is about to fall back into dangerous old patterns by the foreshadowing during the Wednesday, August 19 episode. After first coming to see his brother, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and telling him of his plan to propose to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) his longtime love tonight, Sonny has concerned.

Next, Sonny reminds his brother of what has happened in the past, when things have gone south with Elizabeth and wonders if it’s too soon for him to propose to her. What Ric did not tell Sonny is that he has seen the developing closeness between Sonny’s son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth, which is propelling his urgent need to propose.

Meanwhile, Dante ran into Elizabeth at the park during a break from their mutual team softball games. She needs help with a bookcase after the game at her house. Dante wants to put it together for her. Later, Dante arrived at Elizabeth’s house, limping after injuring his knee during the game. Head nurse Liz wanted to check out the injury as much as Dante protested, which required him to take off his pants.

Courtesy/ABC

RIC BEGINS TO UNRAVEL

Outside Elizabeth’s widow, Ric arrives with a bouquet of roses and the engagement ring. When he leers through the widow he is shocked to see Elizabeth rubbing Dante’s leg while Dante is in his boxer/shorts. He storm troops into the house, demanding to know what is going on here? Both Elizabeth and Dante look surprised by his reaction. In the pick-up of today’s Thursday, August 20 episode (see GH video teaser below), viewers will learn the upshot for all three characters.

A VENGEFUL PAST

As longtime GH fans know, Ric has done some horrible, vengeful things in regards to Elizabeth starting back in 2003 after she lost her baby after Ric’s ex, Faith Rosco pushed her down a flight of stairs. Ric accused Sonny for the accident and to get revenge, Ric kidnapped Carly (who was married to Sonny at the time), and stashed her in a panic room below the house where he was living with Liz.

On top of that, Ric fed his wife Elizabeth birth control pills to keep her from getting pregnant so that they could raise Carly’s baby together after it was born. Eventually, Elizabeth found Carly in the panic room but ended up having a pulmonary embolism. When she woke up in the hospital, Elizabeth was all confused by what happened, and Ric convinced her that her vision of  Carly was just a bad dream. Eventually, Elizabeth learned the horrifying truth and divorced Ric.

Years later, Ric noticed the connection between Elizabeth and “Jake Doe” who eventually turned out to be Drew (Billy Miller) A jealous Ric hired Hayden Barnes to show up and claim to be “Jake’s” wife. Elizabeth stepped aside, and when Ric planned to propose to Elizabeth at the 2015 Nurses Ball, Carly exposed his manipulations, and Elizabeth dumped him yet again. And those are just two examples of the lengths Ric will go to for Elizabeth!

So, we ask you, given the history of Elizabeth and Ric, how do you see this playing out with Dante in the picture? How will Ric derail their growing bond? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

Continue Reading

Recaps

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy and Carter Get Lame Excuses From Their Spouses, and Try to Shake Off Their Night Together

Published

on

By

Steffy and Carter

If you caught the Wednesday, August 19 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, and if you were Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor), and your wife, who literally took off, threw of her wedding ring and abandoned their marriage to head to Paris, shows back up saying she overreacted and wants to be with him, would you bother to even take her back?

As for Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), now that Finn (Tanner Novlan) is giving her the spiel about how he took her for granted, how he is so sorry for not listening to her, and that Sheila will never be in their lives again, would you want to listen to that, either, after so many broken promises?

That’s the situation hungover Steffy and Carter found themselves, while still reeling from the seeming fact that they had sex the night before while drunk in the Forrester Creations CEO office.

Courtesy/CBS

STEFFY AND CARTER GETS EARFULS

Daphne (Murielle Hilare) doesn’t understand why Carter is being so distant, and he says, “You said I wasn’t family.” She wants to put all of what she said and did behind them and now explore other ways to have a child. Carter seems hurt and annoyed.

Back at the cliff house, Steffy is so upset between sleeping with Carter and getting drunk, and Finn and his mother, Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) in Monaco. She tells Finn, “I need you to stand up for me. I can’t live like this. I won’t.”  Finn begs her not to let “one terrible mistake” (get it!?) tear us apart.

Finn promised Steffy he will get a restraining order on Sheila if it calls for it. He understands why Steffy is so scared of Sheila after she shot her … and him. In the closing moments of the episode, Finn pronounces how lucky he is to have the “perfect wife.” To which a rattled Steffy in tears goes, “Oh, I’m not perfect.”

Photo: JPI

STEFFY’S GUILT

Steffy is losing her grip at this moment as Finn says he wants to step up and be the husband he deserves. Along with Daphne, I kind of want to kick Finn to the curb, too. Then Finn lays it on real thick and adds, “You’re pure, you’re honest, you’re loyal.”  Steffy interrupts, “Not quite.”

Suddenly a guilt-ridden Steffy says to Finn, “There’s something I need to tell you.” Can she actually get the words out about getting drunk and having sex with Carter …or,  will she keep it under wraps so we can have months of the line “one terrible mistake?”

Take a look at some of the scenes between Steffy and Finn from today’s episode below.

Now let us know: would you bother to take back Daphne or Finn, if you were Carter and Steffy? Would you like to see Steffy just blurt out she had sex with Carter to her husband? Weigh-in via the comment section.

Continue Reading

Recaps

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Carter and Steffy Have Drunken Sex … Or Did They?

Published

on

By

Carter and Steffy

On the Tuesday, August 18 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, viewers were tuned-in to see if Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor), who were were both on benders, wound up having sex in the Forrester Creations CEO office.

As the Monday, August 17 episode concluded, Carter and Steffy shared a close moment where it looked like they would kiss. Now in the pick up which starts the morning after, Steffy awakens from the couch in the office, and realizes she has no clothes on and is mortified to see Carter on the end of the couch also naked and under blankets.

In that moment, Steffy realizes they had sex, and begins to unravel to Carter as she scrambles to get dressed: “We shouldn’t have done this. Oh my God, I shouldn’t have done this!”

Photo: JPI

STEFFY RACES TO GET HOME

Steffy’s panic of the situation escalates when she finds her phone, and sees multiple text messages from her husband, Finn (Tanner Novlan), desperately trying to reach her. He told Steffy he was on his way home from Monaco.

Suddenly, a hungover Carter speaks up and agrees. He says to Steffy they made a terrible mistake and wanted to talk about it, but Steffy kiboshed any discussion, not dealing with Carter, and racing home to be with her kids and Finn. As a disheveled Steffy ran out of Forrester, Carter stayed behind to straighten up the office and get rid of any remnants of their drunken binge.

Just then, Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) showed up as Carter is shocked. She apologized for running out on him, and details how when she got to the airport to board the plane to Paris, she realized she couldn’t leave him. She loved him too much, and asks him to please forgive her and her, “terrible mistake.” Daphne hugs Carter and he looks like a man who has no idea what to do or make of this entire situation in the moment.

Finn and Steffy

Photo: JPI

WHAT WILL BE THE REPERCUSSIONS OF CARTER AND STEFFY’S DRUNKEN NIGHT TOGETHER?

Cut to: Steffy comes home and runs into her mother, Taylor (Rebecca Budig). She explains what happened with Finn and Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) in Monaco. Next, Steffy details how she took off her wedding ring after Taylor noticed it was no longer on her finger. Just then, Finn arrives. Taylor leaves the two to talk. Finn begs for Steffy’s forgiveness and the episode comes to an end with Steffy facing away from Finn and towards the camera, trying to figure out what to do next. Take him back?

Now the real story begins: it would appear that the intent was to have Carter and Steffy face long-lasting consequences of their drunken night together. So that, Steffy would become pregnant with Carter’s child, which would cause the ripple effect in Carter’s marriage to Daphne, who is unable to carry a child.

One other theory, unless, Carter and Steffy believe they had sex, but they passed out in compromising positions but nothing ever happened? Perhaps one of them, or both will have flashbacks of them carrying on together on the couch? Were they set up? Stay tuned.

So, we ask you. What happens from here? Steffy gets pregnant with Carter’s child? Does Steffy goes back to Finn? Carter goes back with Daphne? They really never had drunken sex? Weigh-in via the comment section. But first, take a look below, and a bit of what went down when Steffy and Carter realize what happened between them.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful

Airdate: 7-24-2026

Popular

14
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x