CBS
Despite the widespread publicity from Bold And Beautiful that Sheila Carter was dead, her obvious fate was finally confirmed at the end of today’s episode: She’s alive and not a heap of ashes after all (find out about Sheila’s nine lives here). The tip-off that Sheila could wasn’t really gone happened on April 5 while Deacon watched what was presumably Ms. Carter’s corpse moving into the incinerator at the crematorium. The sheet covering her slipped to reveal not only her bare feet but 10 toes. Since Shelia had previously sliced off a toe to make it appear she was killed in a bear attack so she could avoid arrest, it would be impossible for 10 digits to be intact.
Deacon frantically tried to halt the cremation, but it was too late; the body was fully engulfed in flames. Without it, Deacon couldn’t prove what he saw. While the rest of L.A. rejoiced over the demise of Sheila Carter, Deacon was convinced that his fiancée was still alive but trying to get anyone else to believe that was another story. Although he beseeched Sheila’s son, Finn, and others (Hope, Steffy, Ridge), they all thought he was delusional.
Although this development may have lessened the ultimate impact of the Sheila-is-alive revelation, the build-up to what really happened to her was still a gripping saga. Deacon then came across an ominous text on Sheila’s cell phone where she sent a message to someone named Sugar, warning that person to “stay away.” Long-time fans remember Sugar, but it was Lauren Fenmore, Sheila’s target on both B&B and Y&R, who enlightened Deacon. Lauren happened to be in town and upon hearing of Deacon’s ridiculous claim, she personally visited him to order him to cease with his nonsense. However, when Deacon mentioned Sugar’s name, Lauren went pale.
She then explained that Sugar was the former warden of the prison where Sheila was locked up and promised Sugar a huge payoff if she freed her. Once that was done, Sheila’s plan to kidnap Ridge during his honeymoon in Central America then collect a big fat ransom went south and Sheila and Sugar fled. While on the run, Sheila treated her cohort to cosmetic surgery, but Sugar was aghast to find out that she now looked exactly like Sheila.
Sugar was eventually arrested and locked up as Sheila. With Lauren’s explanation ringing in his ears, Deacon pressed on with his own investigation and discovered that Sugar had been recently released and may have wanted payback for Sheila’s betrayal. Was it Sugar who attacked Steffy as part of a revenge plot, but died when Steffy plunged a knife into her assailant’s chest?
At first, Finn refused to believe Deacon’s account but soon became curious about the possibility. He and Deacon tracked down Sheila’s last whereabouts, at a convenience store in a seedy part of town but an employee didn’t recognize the woman in Deacon’s photo. The men then encountered a homeless man in the alley who claimed he saw a woman enter an abandoned building nearby.
At the end of Friday’s episode, Deacon and Finn wondered if Sheila could be held captive in that building. The scene cut to someone laying in the dark on a filthy mattress.
On today’s show, Deacon and Finn broke into the building and armed with flashlights, searched the darkened premises. The men finally spilt up to cover more ground and it was Finn who found someone lying on a mattress and he called out for Deacon. Since the person’s hair was covering her face, Deacon removed a shoe and sock and they were stunned to find that a toe was missing. Finn brushed back her hair to reveal Sheila’s dirty face and he screamed, “Mom! Mom!”
There’s no doubt that Sheila’s survival will send shockwaves and bitter disappointment to those who know her well.
