When Hope kissed Finn in the June 7 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, it kicked off a chain reaction that will no doubt impact many lives. But did she kiss him for love, or did she kiss Finn for revenge?
A year ago, Hope (Annika Noelle) was unhappy in her marriage to Liam (Scott Clifton) because she believed he was dividing his affection between her and Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). Sure, he has daughters with both women and they’d been managing a healthy co-parenting relationship, but Hope knew that Liam still had feelings for Steffy and they were getting in the way of him fully devoting himself to Hope.
So Hope kissed Thomas (Matthew Atkinson). That set off another chain reaction, partly due to Hope and Liam’s past with Thomas and partly because Steffy couldn’t stand the thought of her brother being with Hope if Hope didn’t truly love him. After Thomas proposed twice and she turned him down twice, Steffy persuaded Thomas to leave LA for Paris.
Hope was left reeling when Thomas left. She bonded with Finn (Tanner Novlan) after discovering that their parents were engaged, but when Finn started showing compassion for Hope, things changed. During one of Finn’s massage sessions to relieve her headache, Hope suddenly realized that Finn was more than just a friend and she wanted him. So she kissed him. And after a pause, he went in for a kiss on his own.
Now they’re both in the middle of an affair, sure to heat things up this summer. Once again, Hope seems to be pining away for a man who puts her needs first; while Finn is a married man, he genuinely seems to care for her. However, Finn is still married and unlike Thomas, he doesn’t seem to have any designs on marrying her instead.
So we have to think that what Hope is feeling for Finn isn’t love at all. Is it lust? Sure. Is it passion? I think the shirt-shredding teased in this week’s episodes answers that question. But, is it love? I don’t think so.
I don’t think Hope really knows what she wants, but she’s chasing a feeling at this point. She’s chasing the feeling of being loved and wanted and cherished. For Finn, it makes sense that he’s drawn to Hope even though he’s dedicated to Steffy because Hope has been supportive about his birth mother while Steffy is full of ultimatums.
Whether Hope is seeking revenge on Steffy by entering into an affair with Finn remains to be seen. Right now she’s too caught up with Finn to make it seem like Steffy is factoring in at all, but after Steffy tried to sink Hope’s line, there’s no question that it must feel good for her to know that she’s going to cause Steffy some pain in return for the pain she’s caused her.
Of course, Steffy has said all along that Hope is just like her mother, and here again Hope’s proving Steffy right. Only time will tell how this all plays out.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.
