The Bold And The Beautiful Explainer: Aly's Tragic Death

Soap operas are known and loved for their heightened drama, over-the-top characters, and outlandish storylines. One of the downsides to having so much action happening on screen is the aftermath: the sudden and often inexplicable character deaths. Whether the actor portraying a character has been let go from the show or chooses to leave on their own (or perhaps has passed in real life), there are some character deaths that fans just can't get over. One of the lesser-known and perhaps often-forgotten deaths from "The Bold and the Beautiful" is that of Aly Forrester (Ashlyn Pearce); even die-hard fans may not know what really happened to Thorne's daughter. 

Aly Forrester's character started on the show in 2004 and was played by a slew of different child actors until Pearce took over the role in 2013 when Aly had become a teenager. Even though Pearce only portrayed her character for about two years, her portrayal left a lasting impression on the other characters and the fans.

Unfortunately, much of Aly's time on the show consisted of her rapidly deteriorating mental health due to the death of her mother, Darla Einstein (Schae Harrison), at such a young age. The hallucinations of her deceased mother and her insatiable need for justice led to her untimely demise in 2015.

From the start of Aly's run on "The Bold and the Beautiful," fans could see that she was troubled. Losing her mother in a car accident caused by Taylor Hayes (Krista Allen) was already a tough pill to swallow, but finding out that her father was engaged to Taylor was too much for Aly to take. She attacked Taylor with an ax when her father told her the news; not quite the happy reaction they were expecting. She eventually gave them her blessing for their marriage, but things on soap operas are not always as they seem.

On the outside, Aly seemed to be getting by; on the inside, she was growing increasingly erratic. On top of lying about her forgiveness for Taylor for killing her mother, Aly had been having visual and auditory hallucinations of her mother telling her what to do. Spurred on by her mother, Aly harbored growing hatred for Taylor and her coworkers at Forrester Creations. She was especially hostile toward Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), whom she was jealous of and scared her boyfriend would cheat on her with.

As time wore on, Aly's hallucinations turned deadly. Believing that she was doing the right thing and listening to her mother, Aly vandalized Steffy's tires and followed her one night, determined to catch her when her car wouldn't work. Aly's first attempt on Steffy's life was to run her over with her car in the same place that Darla had been hit. When that didn't work, Steffy tried to talk Aly down, but she wouldn't listen. Aly's second attempt on Steffy's life was with a tire iron, which was eventually turned back on her by Steffy. After being hit by the tire iron, Aly fell and hit her head, leading to her death.

Aly's sudden death was a shock on and off the show. Jacqueline MacInnes Wood talked to TV Insider about the significance of Aly's death, saying, "It was a freak accident – the kind you'd never expect but also the kind that does occur in real life. As crazy as soaps can get, you have to play it real every once in a while to make sure the audience stays invested and keeps believing."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.