I think Liam is being noble but selfish on The Bold and the Beautiful

I know what Liam (Scott Clifton) is trying to do on The Bold and the Beautiful, but his quest to be noble as he navigates his terminal diagnosis is also very selfish.

I have experienced terminal diagnoses with family members before and it’s the most awful situation one can imagine. As a fan, I can sympathize with Liam’s stages of grief and disbelief after hearing that he has an inoperable brain tumor, but I struggle with his plea to keep his condition a secret.

At the moment, the only people who know about Liam’s condition are Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan), and his doctors, Grace (Cassandra Creech) and Bridget (Ashley Jones). Bridget is wildly concerned about her half-sister, Hope (Annika Noelle), but Liam doesn’t want anyone to know what’s going on.

I get that he’s trying to protect his daughters from the trauma of knowing their father is dying. He wants them to stay happy as long as possible and that makes sense, but given his rapidly deteriorating condition it seems like he should be alerting people so that they understand what’s happening. He won’t be able to drive, which means he’ll have to explain why he’s not seeing Beth, something Hope and Deacon (Sean Kanan) will soon notice.

If nothing else, Liam needs to let Hope in on his secret. As Beth’s mother, she needs time to prepare for what’s happening for her daughter’s sake, and that means she needs to be prepared herself. Given that Hope is currently thinking about how much happier she was when she and Liam were married, it’s going to be a huge shock for her to learn that he’s dying.

This would be a major turning point in Hope and Steffy’s relationship, too. Their daughters need to see their mothers coming together in this difficult time, and if Hope finds out that Steffy kept this information from her, regardless of whether Liam requested it or not, it will create an even bigger chasm between them. However, they could work together to support their daughters, potentially mending their relationship in the process.

Liam is trying to protect people from the truth but ultimately he’s going to hurt them more than he can truly comprehend. There are also things at work that he doesn’t know about, like Hope’s desire to possibly reconnect with him and how Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) might be concocting a scheme that he should be aware of.

The bottom line is that by trying to protect people from his diagnosis, he’s actually hurting them. It’s noble and selfish at the same time, because by doing what he thinks is “right” he’s making it harder for everyone around him. Liam needs support right now, and he should absolutely tell everyone what’s going on even though it’s going to be hard for him to see them upset.

The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.