Sometimes all it takes is one scene you can sink your teeth into that is well-written and laced with the deep history of a character seldom spoken of, that comes forth in a dramatic, compelling way and that’s exactly what happened on Friday, October 9 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful.

In it, Delon de Metz (Zende Forrester) stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with heart-wrenching scene opposite Daytime Emmy winners, John McCook (Eric Forrester) and Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester).

Throughout the week, de Metz carried the bulk of the story in which he was featured as Katie (Heather Tom), Hope (Annika Noelle) along with Dylan (Sydney Bullock) tried to convince Zende to jump ship to the waring fashion house Logan, and leave the family company behind where he has been back-burnered and wasted as a designer. Delon played the inner battle of the initial betrayal of Hope defecting to Logan and leaving him behind, but soon realizing his own family doesn’t seem to care enough to give him something to do worthy of his talents.

In the gripping scene on the October 9 episode, Zende was put on the spot by Eric and Ridge. Was he going to their enemy Logan or staying put at Forrester Creations? And that, brought up all the pain Zende has endured since being a very young boy, and how his biological mother and brother all passed away from AIDS.  This also reminded viewers of the backstory of a young Zende who first appeared on the soap in 2001.

Photo: JPI

HOW KRISTEN AND TONY ADOPTED ZENDE

Early in the 2000s, The Bold and the Beautiful was telling the story of Kristen Forrester (Tracy Melchior) and her husband Tony Dominquez (Paolo Benedetti) who recently had learned he was HIV+.

While on their honeymoon, they met a young boy from an orphanage and learned that both his parents had died of AIDS. After that, they could not stop thinking of the little boy. After heading back to Los Angeles, they later returned to Africa and started adopted proceedings and Zende became their son.

Fast-forward to 2026, and now the grown-up Zende unloads the pain, heartbreak, frustration of years of pent up emotion and back-story in this scene; set agains the backdrop of staying true to the family that adopted him, or righting a wrong that is happening in his career. Delon’s full dialog of what Zende said when confronted by Eric and Ridge is below in full.

Photo: CBS

ZENDE’S EMOTIONAL SPEECH

“My life changed because your sister, your daughter, visited my orphanage. She could have honeymooned anywhere in the world. She could have just done the tourist thing. She could have gone on safari and hung out by the pool, but no. She met me. She saved me,” explained Zende.

“We don’t talk about it, but I still remember them. My birth parents, my little brother, their body’s wasting away. I can still see it. AIDS took so many wonderful lives and thank God we could treat it now, but back then, don’t. Don’t you ever insinuate that I don’t know how lucky I am. I was so proud to be adopted, so proud to be a Forrester. I grew up in these halls. This company, this family, they’re a part of me. I should be higher up on the ladder.”

At this point, Eric interrupts Zende, saying “You’re young. You’re a Forrester, you have plenty of time.”  Zende pushed back on that notion asserting, “I’ve been hearing that for too many years now. ‘It takes years’. It didn’t take R.J.(Brayan Nicoletti) years. He wanted Electra (Laneya Grace). So, you gave them a line so he could be with her, so he could work with her. Do you know how much that hurt me? Do you know how disrespected and forgotten I felt?”

Even through that, Zende lets Eric and Ridge know how much he loves, but he needs to leave the company saying, “I love you guys so much. You know, being adopted in this family was the luckiest day of my life. Coming to Los Angeles, learning design, an art, a trade from the master. You gave me opportunities that I could have never imagined. But, more importantly, you gave me family and you gave me love. I’ve never taken that for granted. Never not for one second.”

He added, “I don’t want you to think of me in a bad light. But, you put me on ‘Hope for the Future’ and that’s where I found myself as a designer. That’s where I found my passion, my life. Now, I have the chance to go back to it and do it somewhere else.”

As the scene comes to an end, Zende reveals his decision to Eric and Ridge, “Despite my extreme gratitude, despite your sister being my mom (said to Ridge), I still feel like an outsider, and maybe it’s not right of me, but I do. I don’t want to have any ill will here. I don’t want this to come off as some kind of betrayal or a defection, but I put a lot of thought into this. I mean, this is one of the most important decisions of my life. I’m given my notice. I’m going to work with hope at Logan. They need me and they want me.”

Suddenly, Eric puts on the guilt and asks Zende to please not leave the family and reconsider this move carefully. We are left with the cliffhanger for this week, if Zende will defect to Logan and stand his ground, or fall back in line with the Forresters.

Delon de Metz was able to put a spotlight on Zende’s painful beginnings as a child, and his journey to becoming a member of the Forrester family and never feeling enough. It was also touching to see B&B finally remember their AIDS storyline, which sadly took the lives of many African children and others around the world during the AIDS pandemic.

For all the reasons stated above Delon de Metz is Michael Fairman TV’s pick for the Power Performance of the Week.  In case you missed it, you can watch the moments below.

Now let us know, what did you think of Zende bringing up his past, and his love for his family and deciding to go to work at Logan? Do you think he will stay at Forrester after Eric tries to reason with him, or make his exit? What did you think of the performance of Delon de Metz? Let us know via the comment section.

By the end of the Thursday, October 8 episode of General Hospital, we were left scratching our heads at how utterly indefensible Chase’s (Josh Swickard) complete and utter blind eye to his ex-wife, Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) actions and his knight in shining armor antics are so misguided.

Let’s break this down! After Lulu’s (Alexa Havins) piece in The Invader has the whole town of Port Charles talking, Carly (Laura Wright) laughs in Drew’s (Cameron Mathison) face about how he was trapped in a wheelchair with a paralytic drug for months, while Tracy (Jane Elliot) filled Michael (Rory Gibson) and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) in on the article, which to this point they have not seen.

Said article, comes on the heels of Lulu’s little chat with Sidwell (Carlo Rota) in his hospital room. The headline reads: “Motion Denied: Congresswoman Gives Husband Paralytic Drug For Months!”

Michael and Brook Lynn worried that Willow will lash out do something vengeful and blame the Quartermaines for this. They hope that Chase will finally see the light to who Willow truly is.

Courtesy/ABC

WILLOW CAN DO NO WRONG?

Meanwhile, Chase is meeting with his lawyer Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard) to discuss his separation from Brook Lynn, when he suddenly gets a text from Tracy. He opens it up and tells Monet he has to bolt. Something has come up. So, Chase being Chase, shows up in the Quartermaine kitchen and blames Brook Lynn, Michael and Tracy for a hit piece on his ex-wife.

The three deny involvement. But Chase being Chase, doesn’t believe a word they are saying. He then makes a VOW to stop them from trying to destroy Willow’s reputation any further! After he storms out, Brook Lynn is angered and devastated that no matter what, Chase is standing by his ex, and not trying to save his marriage to her.

FRIENDLY SUPPORT INTERUPPTED

Meanwhile at the gatehouse, Willow is opening up to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), who came by to see her to offer her support. Willow admitted the story is true and that Sidwell gave her the paralytic drugs to use on Drew, in return for having her implanted in congress to do his bidding and to take Drew’s seat. Willow’s concerned that the mere existence of this article will cause massive problems with her political career and the custody arrangement over her children she has with Michael.

As Britt tries to help Willow figure a way to save herself, Chase arrives fuming mad. He tells Willow he is absolutely sure that Brook Lynn, Michael and Tracy were behind the article and he knows exactly how they could fight back.

So, does it seem to you that even if Willow admits to Chase to what she did to Drew is true, that Chase will just feel bad for her and not see anything but desire for her? Is Chase going to continue to be the dumbest male character in daytime? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first, check out the scenes between Britt and Willow below from today’s GH.

The Tuesday, October 6 episode of General Hospital kicked-off with Serena Baldwin (Kelly Kruger) literally turned upside down and stuck on the Quartermaine roof in front of Jason (Steve Burton), who came to her rescue.

This marked the first time that Kelly Kruger and Steve Burton shared any substantial screen time together since Kruger debuted on the ABC soap opera back in July.

In story, Serena was trying to save the peregrine falcons’ nest that Tracy (Jane Elliot) wanted exterminated. Jason agreed to help Serena relocate the nest to the nature preserve. Said relocation would be put in the preserve adjacent to the property, think where Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) buried Brennan (Chris McKenna)!

Later, when they returned to the Quartermaine mansion, the two have more banter where Serena told Jason they should both check themselves for ticks. Serena has done a full body check in the bathroom, but then asks Jason to go through her hair and look for any signs of ticks. Clearly, one or both may have ticks prompting suspicion if they wind up at GH with Dr. Isaiah Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) as their doctor who previously treated Ava for the tick stuck in her hair!

Courtesy/ABC

ROMANCE SWITCH-UPS

While initially General Hospital fans suspected that the character of Serena was being brought back to the canvas in the form of Kruger as a love interest for Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson), in recent weeks and in admission by Tanisha Harper, it appears that GH is teasing a Michael and Jordan romance. The two have been spending more time together at Aurora, and Michael helped her get accepted into the burn clinic in Germany to treat her facial scars from the car accident.

Meanwhile, after Steve Burton returned to GH after his extended hiatus this June, it was clear that the writers were heading in the direction of a Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) and Jason break-up.

Eventually, a few weeks ago, the duo called it quits after Anna (Finola Hughes) tried to kill Britt, and Jason would not help Britt press charges against his friend, who was suffering from delusions after being mentally gaslighted by Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) and Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and company.

So, what did you think of the scenes between Jason and Serena on today’s GH? Do you think Kelly and Steve have on-screen chemistry that you would be open to be seeing how it plays out? Weigh-in via the comment section below.