I don't like my Stephanie defeated

On Friday's episode of Bold and the Beautiful, the full scope of Stephanie's firing finally sank in for her. The result was another great performance from Susan Flannery. I was very fortunate to record this episode, despite the CBS bulletin concerning the shooting in Binghamton. I just enjoy watching and listening to Flannery's Stephanie; however, I took exception to some of the things she conceded during her talk with Nick. Such as:

• Her contention that Brooke Logan is a 'force of nature'. Angelina Jolie is a force of nature; Stephanie Forrester is a force of nature; Brooke, on the other hand, is nothing more than a blonde, baby-voiced chemist who knows how to push male buttons.

• Her contention that Eric is strong. Eric is anything but strong. Like Brooke, he is incredibly pliant, especially when it comes to anything involving his bits. If he was so strong, he wouldn't have hooked up with Donna on the private jet and insisted on telling Stephanie about his going back to Donna until after the family Christmas party. Stephanie could've handled being told sooner rather than later; Eric is the one who couldn't handle doing the telling until he had Donna securely back in his bed.

While Stephanie was appropriately reflective about this situation, Eric continues to be oblivious to the scope of his decision. Stephanie will be alright, hell, she survived how many strokes, and recovered brilliantly. But Eric has one heart attack and a bout with Aunt Pam's lemon bars, and the dude is seriously running scared.

A line from Fight Club comes to mind when it comes to Eric and Stephanie's relationship-- she protects him while he sleeps. And since Eric has embraced his inner ostrich by protecting Rick's corporate espionage, accepting Rick's relationship with Steffy, and continues to have Donna 'contribute' to Forrester Creations, his company will continue its slide.

Eric is the understanding parent, maybe even the favorite, but when the Forrester children, including his and Brooke's kids, are in serious crisis, they go to Stephanie. There may be periods of estrangement or animosities, but they turn to her nonetheless. Eric has foolishly underestimated this fact and my prayer is that the writers at B & B will let this estangement stick so that both Eric and Stephanie will recognize her worth.