The Taylor Scene On The Bold And The Beautiful That Went Too Far

Dr. Taylor Hayes (Hunter Tylo) was something of a secular saint during her time as a regular on the CBS soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful."  The oncologist/therapist was usually dedicated to committing good deeds, which made her a contrast to the often selfish ladies who dominated the show's social scene.

Taylor tumbled head over heels for fashion house heir apparent Ridge Forrester (then Ronn Moss; now Thorsten Kaye) in the wake of the death of his first wife, Caroline Spencer Forrester (Joanna Johnson) in 1990. Taylor had been Caroline's oncologist during her fatal cancer battle, which made things between Taylor and Ridge quite complicated for a while. But true love buzzed Taylor and Ridge's bell anyway. Taylor soon married Ridge and eventually had twin daughters and a son with him. 

Yet, as in all soap operas, the course of true love did not flow smoothly for Taylor. In 1994, she was presumed dead and found herself living with amnesia as the wife of a Moroccan prince named Omar Rashid (Kabir Bedi). Taylor ultimately regained her memory, but since Ridge had been in the midst of preparing to marry Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), Taylor's prime rival for his affections, it wasn't a happy return for Taylor at the time. 

Outside of her relationship with Ridge, Taylor suffered many other travails — for example, she was caught in a building collapse during an earthquake and took the virginity of a colleague in the rubble, and found herself carrying Brooke's embryo after a mix-up at a fertility clinic. But even a character as sweet and saintly as Taylor can push the boundaries of what's acceptable for the audience's taste. Amidst all of her do-gooding, she committed a shocking act that eliminated another beloved character from the show's canvas. What was that act?

Darla Einstein Forrester (Schae Harrison) had been a beloved part of the "Bold & the Beautiful" canvas for years. The ditzy secretary for the original Sally Spectra's (Darlene Conley) fashion house, she often found herself wrapped up in Sally's schemes, and never had a love interest of her own. Darla's life changed after a drunken one-night stand with Thorne Forrester (then Winsor Harmon), the husband of her best friend Macy Alexander-Sharpe (Bobbie Eakes) in 2003. Thorne and Macy's relationship fell apart, and in the wake of Macy's later death, Darla and Thorne married.

Thorne and Darla managed to find true love and settled down to raise their daughter, Ally. All of that came to an end in 2006, when Darla drove out to rescue Taylor's daughter Phoebe (MacKenzie Mauzy) after she called for help with a flat tire one rainy night. Taylor — drunk and alarmed by a call of her own from Phoebe — raced out to assist, too. Barreling over slick roads, battling foggy conditions, and oblivious to the fact that her friend had tumbled backward and into the middle of the highway, Taylor struck Darla while her former sister-in-law was changing Phoebe's flat tire. 

It was a shocking death that is still debated by fans of the show on message boards such as World of B&B and the Soaps.com message board. Some fans feel that Taylor's actions were selfish and reckless; others see Darla's death as an accident. RedSteph at World of B&B described Taylor as "weak" due to her actions in this storyline. But other fans have been willing to defend her behavior. "[W]hy is Taylor the only one being harped on, when it applies to everyone involved in an accident where someone ended up dead?" asked Soaps.com message board user Please_listen, exemplifying reactions from many other fans.

Darla's death subsequently provided the show with years of storyline material. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, a guilt-ridden Taylor stepped in to help Thorne with Ally, resulting in the twosome falling in love and getting engaged. Meanwhile, Phoebe struggled with the weight of concealing the truth about Darla's death from the police. Taylor nonetheless kept up her façade but ultimately confessed the truth to her fiancé due to Phoebe's emotional decline. Thorne was understandably enraged and Taylor was arrested for her crime, but was released when Darla's death was ruled an accident.

It was an excuse that ate away at young Ally, who nursed a grudge against her aunt that soon turned into psychosis. As the girl grew up into a young woman (now played by Ashlyn Pearce), she was horrified to learn that her father and Taylor were once again an item in 2014. As Thorne and Taylor became closer and were engaged, Ally began to see visions of her late mother everywhere. "Darla" encouraged Ally to claim revenge against Taylor. After a few close calls, including Ally shredding Taylor's wedding dress, Taylor managed to get through to the girl.

Neither Phoebe nor Ally would live to have families of their own, and both peripheral victims of Taylor's actions would meet ironic deaths. Phoebe would be killed in a car accident in 2008. Ally too would die young — and at the hands of Phoebe's twin, Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) – when she struck her head against a rock after a fall in 2015 while threatening Steffy's life. It's a striking coda to a storyline that definitely muddied the saintly reputation of Taylor and still stands out as a scene that was a bridge too far for her fans.