Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Deacon Sharpe is not a great guy. His criminal record includes instances of kidnapping, blackmail, fraud and attempted murder, while his moral integrity is littered with affairs and abuses. From his time on The Bold and the Beautiful (B&B) to his extended stint on The Young and the Restless (Y&R), the character (played by Sean Kanan) has done a lot of damage.
Having said that, the judge, jury and executioner on B&B are a forgiving bunch — they’re also the writers of the soap. And there’s plenty of indicators that Deacon’s return to B&B this time will have a different trajectory than previous visits. Some of LA’s finest might even give the lug a second (or a third… or maybe fourth…) chance.
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Firstly, let’s consider the timing of Deacon’s return. If the character’s goal was to get out of prison and cause trouble, B&B writers could’ve saved him for virtually any other storyline. However, by overlapping Deacon’s release from prison with Sheila Carter’s (Kimberlin Brown) return, viewers are being invited to compare and contrast these two villains.
While Deacon and Sheila earned their reputations as notorious B&B bad guys, their on-screen chemistry works hard to reinforce that they have nothing else in common. Even the cosmic coincidence of each ex-con having the same problem — an estranged offspring with a protective spouse — can’t overcome the inherent differences between these two schemers.
Deacon insists that all he wants is to reunite with his daughter, Hope (Annika Noelle), and regularly tells Sheila that her plans are insane. Yet Sheila’s intensity trumps Deacon’s idleness, and keeps him lagging in her orbit.
In short, Mr. Sharpe’s desperation is a lot more relatable than Ms. Carter’s — he’s a screw-up with bad habits. Just look at the parallels between how he got caught up in Sheila’s web, and how he got mixed up with Quinn (Rena Sofer) several years earlier; in both cases, he’s the sad-sack in a bar who ends up sleeping on the couch of an ambitious manipulator. It’s like he’s destined to repeat his mistakes forever. But is he?
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None of these flaws make Deacon redeemable per se, but positioning him beside the raw psychosis of Sheila does wonders for his image. As a result, viewers are seeing him in a more favorable light, and it seems to be working on B&B characters as well.
After months of corresponding with Deacon via prison letters, Hope is increasingly adamant about having him in her life. Spoilers indicate that even Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) might soon come around to accepting Deacon, after her daughter begs her to face her past.
Perhaps we should all take a second look at Deacon’s past. Let’s remember that Deacon backed out on a deal with Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) to break up Liam (Scott Clifton) and Hope, because he didn’t want to hurt his daughter. Let’s also remember that Deacon tried to save amnesiac Liam from his abduction before Quinn pushed him off a cliff. These decent deeds don’t erase the harm he’s caused, but they do give writers something to work with.
B&B spoilers insist that Deacon will make a bold move over the coming days — and it’s something that’ll infuriate Sheila. Will he approach Brooke, hat in hand, and ask her to give him another chance? Will he go straight to Hope and explain that his romance with Sheila is a ploy? Or, will he try to manipulate the situation to his benefit and fall back into his endless cycle of buffoonery?
Want plotline predictions? Check out Bold And The Beautiful Plotline Predictions For November 2021
A circle only has one center, and when it comes to this villainous storyline, it’s clear that Deacon ain’t at the center. So did B&B writers really bring Deacon back just to act as Sheila’s henchman, or do they have other plans for him? Could this storyline instead serve to rehabilitate him?
It’s worth a try, especially when you consider how disappointing Deacon’s last two visits to LA were. Kanan’s popularity amongst fans should indicate that he’s more valuable to the CBS soap than occasional appearances (with diminishing returns) suggest. “I wanted to do things differently this time,” he recently pleaded with Sheila. Are fans wanting the same thing?
Even in a reformed state, Deacon’s presence on the canvas would add some much-needed tension. Who else wants to see him cross paths with Quinn again, or Dollar Bill? Notice how eager Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) is to get rid of Deacon? I think most viewers would enjoy seeing Deacon come between Ridge and Brooke, if only to give the super-couple something to do other than pry into the lives of loved ones.
Does Brooke really have closure on her emotions for Hope’s dad? She recently smiled while acknowledging his “charm and charisma”. And when Hope pressed Brooke to relive her memories with Deacon, it’s telling that B&B writers chose all positive ones. In one memory, Deacon explained how he felt in Brooke’s presence. “I finally made it to the eye of the storm, and now all there is is peace and quiet.”
Will Deacon finally achieve some level of peace? For a character who has zigzagged from LA to Genoa City and back, creating memorable chaos wherever he’s gone, Deacon Sharpe deserves one of two things, at this point: to be accepted into B&B as a somewhat reformed version of himself, or to be the bad guy in his own storyline. Anything less doesn’t make sense.
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Ryan Pratt
Ryan is an avid runner, reader, hiker and music collector. When he isn't writing and editing for Fame10 Soaps, he's relishing in the fine company of his two cats, Penny and Gus.