Now that the fashion showdown is over, it’s time to move on to bigger things on The Bold and the Beautiful. Like Eric’s health.
Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) is in total denial over RJ’s (Joshua Hoffman) revelation that Eric (John McCook) is dying. She refuses to believe what RJ is telling her.
Donna (Jennifer Gareis) tells Eric that he needs to sit down. It’s been an “amazing” day, but he needs to conserve his energy after all the stress. Eric doesn’t want to sit down, though. He thinks he’s sold everything in his collection and he thinks he beat Ridge, too. He walks out of the room, leaving Donna to cry alone.
Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) pressures Carter (Lawrence Saint-Vincent) for the results. “It was close, but one designer was victorious,” Carter replies. Ridge is convinced he’s the one to move the company forward and he wants to know the results.
Brooke thinks RJ misunderstood what he heard, but RJ says Eric only has a few months to live and that’s why his grandfather wants to win so badly.
Donna is still in the room when Katie (Heather Tom) brings a group of buyers into the room to finish their bids. Luna (Lisa Yamada) hangs back and praises the show. Donna says they don’t know who won, though.
Ridge wants the numbers, so eventually Carter presents them to him. Ridge won. He beat Eric.
Eric tells Donna that they should have had the results already. Katie and Luna are nearby. Katie asks Luna what her first show was like. Luna praises the whole event and loves the work Katie does. Katie mentions RJ, and Luna lights up. She also guesses that the younger woman knows Eric’s secret.
RJ tells his mother that it has been so hard keeping the secret from his parents and she tells him he did the right thing. And his father won’t be upset, but it’s time for Ridge to win.
Ridge continues to gloat over his victory, which means his vision for the company wins. Carter apologizes for making Ridge squirm. Ridge wants to go tell his father, which makes Carter uneasy, but they’re interrupted when RJ and Brooke walk in. They ask for a moment alone so Carter leaves, but Ridge keeps talking. He tells them he won, and when Brooke tries to keep him quiet, RJ interrupts. Ridge thinks this is about the fashion showdown and asks why RJ isn’t happy for him. RJ puts his foot down and reveals the news to his father. For once, Ridge is left speechless.
Katie knows how hard it must have been for RJ to keep that secret and keep working for his grandfather. Katie tells her that RJ will need Luna’s support, which makes Katie happy. She still can’t believe this is happening, but they’ll all get through it together.
Eric can’t understand why it has been so long to get the results. What if he lost? Eric admits that Ridge is a great designer. “What if he pulls it off?” he asks as he starts coughing.
Ridge wants to understand what RJ means, so RJ explains everything. Ridge starts to get angry as RJ apologizes. But that’s why he wanted the last collection done before anyone knew. Ridge composes himself, but now he’s getting emotional.
Donna pleads with Eric to stay calm. Eric reminds her that this was his finest achievement. If he doesn't win, he’s worried he’ll lose his motivation to keep creating. She shuts down his fatalistic view. He asks Katie if she’s heard anything, then they head to the office.
Ridge can’t process that his father is dying. Brooke agrees. RJ keeps apologizing for not telling Ridge, but Ridge doesn’t seem to be forgiving him. He asks if that’s why RJ was working with Eric. RJ credits Eric with giving him the motivation to design. RJ asks if Ridge understands that this is why the victory is so important. That’s when Eric and Donna walk in. Eric assumes they know who won. Ridge says nothing.
We’ve talked about Ridge’s atrocious behavior the past few weeks. Even Carter was shocked when Ridge wanted to go reveal the results of the fashion show to his father; while Ridge promised not to gloat, you know he was going to gloat.
Ridge barely gave Brooke and RJ a chance to tell him about Eric’s health. He was so caught up with winning that he got impatient with his loved ones when they were trying to deliver life-altering news to him.
So now that we’ve left off with an eager Eric standing face-to-face with Ridge in the office, Ridge has a decision to make: he could reveal the true results, or he could lie.
Knowing that his father has put so much into this final collection might push Ridge to give up the show so that his father has his last hurrah. But it’s a dangerous choice, because that means he’d have to find Carter and tell him he’s swapping the results before Carter mistakenly revealed the truth to Eric. It’s risky because if Eric were to find out the truth, regardless of the good intentions behind the lie, it could destroy him.
Ridge’s behavior over the past few weeks makes this moment even more pivotal. He might only have months left with his father, and how he responds in this moment could set the tone for this crucial time.
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.
