Just when I had this week’s Bold & Beautiful Soapbox column all mapped out, along came Friday’s episode to shake things up in the best way possible. Last week’s firing

of Hope was the talk of the town this week, with scenes bouncing between intense confrontations (like that of Carter/Steffy and later Carter/Ridge) and boring,

repetitive dialogue. But out of the blue, two new twists were added, and I can honestly say I’m excited to see where we’re headed. 

Last Things First

We’ll get to Hope’s firing and the fallout shortly, but let’s kick things off by discussing the return of Luna and the tease about Electra’s past. When Poppy swung by the jail to visit her murderous offspring, it felt somewhat odd. After all, Luna’s barely been mentioned since she relocated from Bill’s mansion to the big house.

Things got even stranger when Luna seemed entirely contrite, tearfully apologizing to Poppy for what she’d done, claiming it was as if a switch had flipped. This was definitely not the same Luna we saw unrepentantly holding Steffy hostage while bragging about having killed Tom and Hollis. Just when I was wondering if the writers were trying to somehow completely redeem RJ’s ex, we saw her grin like the proverbial Cheshire cat upon learning Bill and Poppy had broken up. It looks as if maybe we’re not as done with Luna as I’d thought…

Here Comes Trouble

We cut from Luna’s grin to the previews for next week, which ended with another incredibly creepy moment: As Electra talked about her blooming romance with Will, she told Ivy it was “better than what I left behind.” We then saw a new character, sitting in a darkened room, the walls of which featured photographs of Electra. Do I even need to mention that he had a seemingly maniacal grin on his face?

It seems a bit early in the Will/Electra romance to be throwing in a potentially obsessed ex. Then again, if Remy — the young man we’ll meet next week — really is obsessed, it’s not like he’d wait a year or two to track her down, right? Color me intrigued, especially since I’m finding Will and Electra to be one of the best young romances to hit soaps in a while. Would you agree? (Read more about Remy and his portrayer here.)

Love or Something Like It

Speaking of crazy, a while back, I speculated that Hope might be going off the rails. Instead, she has officially become the most confusing character on the canvas. On the one hand, her relationship with Thomas came to an end because she didn’t want to rush into another marriage. And yet this week, she and Carter leveled up their relationship to the point where they were declaring their love despite having been involved with one another for approximately 3.2 minutes.

More: Who will Steffy fire next? 

As usual, Bold & Beautiful spent days cutting from Hope and Carter talking about the fact she’d been fired to Ridge and Steffy talking about the fact Hope had been fired, and then to Ridge and Brooke talking about the fact that Hope had been fired. I do not understand why this show insists on treating the audience as if it can’t remember what happened five seconds ago, let alone yesterday. They are literally saying, “You don’t have to watch every day, because we’re going to be having this same conversation for the next two weeks.”

Just Walk Away

Frankly, Hope’s firing should have resulted in all of the Logan women handing in their resignations. If I believed that my loved one was fired without cause, I sure as heck wouldn’t keep showing up for work… especially if I had plenty of bucks in the bank, as the Logan women clearly do.

More: Lawrence Saint-Victor shuts down a ridiculous rumor

Oh, and to be clear, Steffy has at least one leg to stand on where Hope’s firing was concerned. It wasn’t all that long ago that Carter saw the logic in cutting Hope For the Future as opposed to continuing to pour money into a failing line. Not that any decisions made at Forrester Creations makes sense lately. They poured money into Brooke’s Bedroom based on little more than Ridge suddenly wanting to boost his would-be wife’s ego. That turned out to be a smart business move… and yet Steffy and Ridge refuse to use the same logic — you’ve got to spend money to make money — where Hope’s line is concerned.

Friends Till the End

I really loved the confrontation between Ridge and Carter which ended the week. Sure, Carter’s defending his secret girlfriend, but he was also right to call out Ridge. I’ve long thought that the supposed friendship of these men was one-sided, and Ridge proved my point by walking away rather than showing his supposed BFF enough respect to hear his arguments out.

I fully expected the week to end with Carter singing a chorus or two of “Take This Job and Shove It.” But there’s always next week, right?

Random Thoughts

• Anybody else find it odd that they’ve got bat-guano crazy Luna, Electra’s seemingly unstable ex… and yet Sheila has been totally neutralized. #MakeItMakeSense

• I was glad to see Eric involved in the business. Part of me wanted him to say, “Ridge, Steffy… enough of this nonsense. You’re out, I’m back in charge. Get my damn stapler!”

• Taylor seems to be sitting around waiting for an opening with Ridge. Is that why they brought the character back? Rebecca Budig is way too talented to be wasted in a storyline which makes Taylor look like a sad sack happy to settle for Brooke’s leftovers yet again. (Need we remind the character of all the times Ridge has proven that he’s just not that into her?)