Today, Soaps.com is taking a closer look at Bold & Beautiful, specifically its strengths and weaknesses. Read on and see if you agree with our evaluation of the current state of Young & Restless’ sister show.

These days, few and far between are episodes that aren’t dedicated to the daytime drama’s foremost Luna-tic. Lisa Yamada never fails to go for broke as the villainess, but what are we supposed to make of the character? She’s not a fun, love-to-hate baddie, she’s a remorseless murderer and rapist. And no, whining, “God, I said sorry!” is not a show of remorse.

Pot-stirrers like Amber and the OG Sally, we could get behind. They were misguided and mischievous but not homicidal maniacs. Luna is flat-out sick — and she makes everyone around her look dumb for not getting her some intensive therapy. Li, for instance, kept her alive but did nada to ensure that her granddaughter had her head screwed on straight enough to make anything of her life.

We’re fine with some suspension of disbelief when watching TV. But are we really supposed to buy that no one has flagged Luna’s body as missing from the hospital? And if Bill is powerful enough to get Tom and Hollis’ killer paroled “’cause I want her to be,” wouldn’t he be powerful enough to have her locked back up in some cush prison’s maternity ward? There’s no reason for him to have made her his houseguest again.

We suspect that Bold & Beautiful wants us to care that Sheila’s worried her marriage may be in trouble. But we don’t. If anything, we want Deacon the hell away from the murderess who cackled about Luna’s magical night with rape of Will. For too long, the show has had its cake and eaten it, too, where Sheila’s concerned, writing her as alternately “reformed” and just as awful as she ever was. Maybe she should’ve been left dead when Steffy stabbed her/Sugar.

Will and Electra have been cute from the start, but is there any there there beyond their discussing how wonderful each other is? Crew Morrow and Laneya Grace are capable of way more. If nothing else, the chaos that swirls around Luna may give them a chance to play meatier material and prove that their characters aren’t just pretty people in puppy love.

Bold & Beautiful is using Will’s rape — even though it refuses to use the R word — to bring Katie back into Bill’s orbit. And heaven knows Don Diamont and Heather Tom can sell any story that they are asked to. But sensibly, who would want Katie back with Bill after the way he discarded Poppy, took in Luna and then got her paroled? He was a lousy husband before, and now he’s worse!

The moment Ridge dumped Brooke, we all knew where the story would go. He’d run to Taylor, then turn around and dump her. And he did. And the show was so uninterested in “Bridge” 3,000.0 that it didn’t even bother to dress them up for their zillionth wedding. We did, however, get what seemed like hundreds of flashbacks to their magical moment overseas. Which brings us to another issue…

Bold & Beautiful has fallen into the dreadful habit of overexplaining to us (“But Taylor, you and Ridge have two children together whose names are Thomas and Steffy!”) and filling half-episodes with nothing but recap. What more can we say but go ahead and keep moving? If the story’s exciting, we’ll keep up, and if we fall behind, make it so thrilling that we are inspired to catch up.

Not sure about the reasoning for playing important beats off screen. We heard about Thomas and Paris’ breakup but didn’t see it. We heard that Grace turned herself in but didn’t see it. We know that Remy realized he was gay and started dating Deke, but how? When? We didn’t see any of that. Maybe if Bold & Beautiful didn’t skip beats, it wouldn’t spend so much time rehashing what’s already gone down. Speaking of skipped beats…

We understand that for the sake of continuing drama, some things have to be filed under “bygones.” But take Ridge’s treatment of Hope, for instance. They’re both back at Forrester now and working side by side… without ever having had a conversation about the fact that he called her a slut and escorted her out of the building like a trespasser. Him acknowleging that he said some things he “wasn’t proud of” was a start but by no means a satisfactory new beginning.

The writing is on the wall where Carter and Hope’s engagement is concerned. And while we’re not thrilled that the show is writing off the ways Liam and Hope have hurt one another in the past (and hurt one another and hurt one another), we are hopeful that her split from Carter will unleash the character and let him have some fun. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Date the hell outta Daphne and flaunt it all over town that you’re handsome, wealthy and not related to either of the show’s nut jobs, Sheila and Luna.

We’re stoked about Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s imminent return as Steffy for oh, like a dozen reasons. 1. She won’t put up with any of this “But what about the baby?” crap where Luna’s concerned. 2. A “Lope” reunion is bound to give Steffy capital-F Feelings (even if she doesn’t want him back). 3. She might get Thomas to stop sad-sacking around and remember that he’s a Forrester playboy and therefore should be doing some playing. Need we go on?

Ever since Bold & Beautiful let Luna rewrite history to say that she had a terrible upbringing, it hasn’t just been Li who’s treated Poppy like dirt. We’d love to see the town pariah come into her own, stop apologizing and have some damn fun already. We were hoping she’d be paired with Deacon, but it looks like his post-Sheila dance card is already filling up. On that subject…

We are 100 percent into the idea of Deacon and Taylor surprisingly falling for one another. They’ve got the makings of a delightful yin/yang pairing — so long as he doesn’t suddenly start getting a yen for Brooke again. We dunno if we could take watching Taylor’s heart get stomped on twice in one year!

We’re delighted that Bold & Beautiful has finally, finally acknowledged that yes, gay people exist. And it’s promising that Remy and Deke’s relationship has built-in drama (given the former’s past behavior toward Electra). But it would be nice if the show let us in on what drew the couple to each other, what made sparks fly, what prompted them to move in together already.

Most soaps are lucky if they get to occasionally tape in their parking lots. But Bold & Beautiful regularly takes us to exotic locations that are so gorgeous, we feel like we’ve gotten our passports punched along with the Forresters.

Bold & Beautiful has a bad habit of forgetting inconvenient history (like that Taylor carried Nick and Brooke’s son to term or that Eric was twice involved with Taylor). But at least the powers that be are starting to let the shrink have a little spine. We loved Taylor calling out Eric for cheering Ridge on as he dumped her. Saying “destiny” over and over again does not make a couple destiny!

Bold & Beautiful does such a terrific job with its eye-popping establishing shots that we never fail to have a sense of “You are here.” From Forrester Creations to the cliff house, we feel as at-home as if we really were home.

While Steffy has been away, Finn practically has been, too. It seems like a missed opportunity to have had him checking on mom Li during her leave of absence and forever threatening to uncover the truth about his “late” daughter.

Whether what’s called for is a dramatic sting, a suspenseful build-up or strings lush enough to make us swoon, the soap’s sound department nails it. They’re so good, in fact, they can convince us sometimes that stuff is happening even when it isn’t!

Has any character ever gotten the short end of the stick more than Zende? Both Zoe and Paris decided that they preferred Carter, R.J. was anointed “the golden child” over him (no experience needed), Luna’s forgotten the hoops that she jumped through to sleep with him, Deke is obviously being positioned to be Forrester’s Next Big Thing™… And Zende? Poor guy is just… there. Surely, the show can do better by him.

In much the same boat as Zende is Ivy, who has been reduced to a talk-to for Electra. Perhaps the show should consider pairing Zende and Ivy, have them commiserate about their also-ran status and realize that, “OMG! How blind must they all be to have ever considered you a second choice?!?”

Like many a soap, Bold & Beautiful often seems reluctant to let its characters evolve. So it was a lovely surprise that it allowed Steffy and Hope to bury the hatchet when they thought that Liam was dying. What we’re hoping is that, upon Steffy’s return, she and her stepsister manage to maintain their new normal — and perhaps show moms Brooke and Taylor how it’s done.

Bold & Beautiful has some problems (repetitiveness, selective amnesia and a love of the nonsensical). But when it plays a big Moment, no show does it better. When it gears up and lays down a shock, it hits as hard as a Stephanie Forrester slap. And, given how little any of its characters seem to work, it certainly serves up dreamy #JobGoals.