Soap Hub Performer of the Week for B&B: Rena Sofer

 

Rena Sofer plays Quinn Fuller Forrester with a great amount of strength but she recently tapped into Quinn’s deep vulnerability on The Bold and the Beautiful. For her role as a woman who closed a door on her marriage and opened her heart to her true love, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week honors for B&B on Quinn’s portrayer, Rena Sofer.

Rena Sofer – Performer of the Week

Quinn hasn’t always gotten along with husband Eric Forrester’s (John McCook) children so, it was nice to see her take stepdaughter Bridget Forrester (Ashley Jones) to lunch at the club. After being tipped off by a waiter as to Eric’s whereabouts, Quinn and Bridget burst into a room only to discover Eric and Donna Logan (Jennifer Gareis) basking in the afterglow of lovemaking.

Sofer especially shined in this episode because it called for Quinn to do a lot of realizing in a short amount of time. It would have been in character for Quinn to have lunged at the two lovebirds attempting to strangle Donna while at the same time using her legs to stomp on Eric. Quinn took off Eric’s smart ring as Bridget explained the jewelry’s purpose — to notify a caring Quinn when Eric’s vitals accelerated. This wasn’t the only ring Quinn would be removing before the day was over.

Make no mistake — Quinn was rightfully hurt upon learning of Eric‘s betrayal. But rather than wallow in that, she kept an open mind as an apologetic Eric kept the focus on a harsh reality — their marriage has been over for some time and Quinn is in love with Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor).

Quinn rightfully questioned Eric’s decision to be with Donna given that she worked so hard to repair her marriage to Eric. Quinn’s husband gently but simply explained that life was easier with Donna prompting Quinn to tearfully ask if this meant her marriage was finished?

“I thought we would be together forever,” Quinn said as she mourned the loss of her union. Sofer shot to anger, blasting Eric for doing the same thing that she did that broke Eric and Quinn apart in the first place!

Eric pointed out to Quinn that she was still in love with Carter not to try to deflect his own guilt over being with Donna but because it’s the truth. Eric said that each of them would have to let go of their respective love stories. “What you feel for Carter is not wrong, either,” Eric told his wife. “We were meant to be together — until we weren’t.”

With Eric’s help, Quinn realized she’s still in love with Carter. Rather than focus over the angst of Eric’s betrayal, she embraced her feelings for Carter with a joyful laugh. Eric and Quinn’s dynamic is not to be minimized in all this. “I’m proud I was your husband,” Eric told his wife.

Realizing she needed to symbolically end her union to Eric before professing her love publicly to Carter, she removed her diamond wedding band and gave it back to Eric. “I think I’m going to keep the big diamond, okay?” Quinn half-joked as she hung onto the engagement rock Eric had given her.” An understanding Eric replied: “And so you should.”

Sofer got to sink her teeth into more dramatic material last week when she bicycled it over to Il Giardino restaurant to share with Carter the news that she loved him. The actress even worked in a bit of humor en route to the ceremony by telling the bike attendant that he could charge the rental to Eric Forrester!

Carter could tell that a disheveled Quinn clearly had something on her mind and as he hadn’t yet completed the marriage ceremony, he let her talk. “This is going to be good,” quipped Bill Spencer (Don Diamont), a wedding guest. He wasn’t wrong. Quinn stated that she had to speak to Carter. “Carter, I love you more than anything in this world and I can’t let you go,” Quinn proclaimed.

To her credit, Quinn apologized for interrupting the ceremony. Then, she held up her wedding ring finger and showed that it was bare. Quinn told an inquisitive Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) that she’d explain everything about his father and Donna later as she shifted her focus to Carter, reaffirming her love for him. Quinn said she was done running and hiding from her feelings. “I love you, I love you, Carter. I don’t care who knows,” she said.

“I’m the best version of myself when I’m with you. You make me feel calm and at peace,” Quinn continued as she said she wanted Carter to be the man she woke up with every morning. Poor Paris Buckingham (Diamond White) wasn’t able to convince her groom to stay with her. Carter and Quinn ran towards each other and passionately kissed; he lifted her up off the ground. Clearly, Quinn touched Carter with his words as she touched B&B viewers with her performance. Bravo to Rena Sofer, who should keep these episodes in mind when she puts together her Daytime Emmy reel for 2023!

Honorable Mention: Yes, we know Lawrence Saint-Victor was Soap Hub’s Performer of the Week just last week but we can’t not give him props for his performances as this storyline has climaxed. Paris desperately wanted Carter to continue with their ceremony after Quinn arrived at Il Giardino. Saint-Victor said it all with his eyes as Carter turned to Paris and gave her a look that let her know which woman truly held the key to his heart.