Soap Hub Performer of the Week for B&B: Naomi Matsuda

 

Meddling mothers are a soap opera staple. But Dr. Li Finnegan took that type of character to new levels by lying about her son, Dr. John ‘Finn’ Finnegan, being alive. For her performance as a determined mother, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week for B&B honors upon Naomi Matsuda, who plays Li.

Naomi Matsuda – Performer of the Week

Li used emotion and reason to try to get Steffy Forrester Finnegan (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) to understand why she kept quiet about Finn (Tanner Novlan) being alive. As Finn’s mother, she wanted to keep her son safe — just as Steffy would do everything she could for Kelly and Hayes. She was quite frank when she said she had no interest in watching her son get sucked into a family that’s always in the tabloids. A stunned Steffy asked Li if she were being truthful when she supported her and Finn’s marriage. Li denied not supporting Finn’s marriage, acknowledging that Finn adores her.

However, Li hastened to add that had Finn and Steffy never married Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) might never have come back into Finn’s life and shot him. Li added that involving Steffy in Finn’s recovery wasn’t something she could handle. In fact, Li felt that if she had told Steffy that Finn was alive, the bride would have insisted her husband be brought back to the hospital — and that was something Li couldn’t risk.

It appeared as if on some level Steffy could see Li’s point of view — but was it fair to keep her in the dark? Li, quite frankly, doesn’t care. “If you’re looking for an apology, you won’t get it,” proclaimed Li as Naomi Matsuda upped her character’s intensity level. She said she was sorry for Steffy’s pain but she’d never apologize for doing what she had to do to keep her son safe.

Kudos must go to Jacqueline MacInnes Wood for her performances as Steffy in these scenes. On some level, Steffy can see Li’s position but she can’t let go of the pain she and her children suffered thinking Finn was dead. Frankly, she shouldn’t.

Sheila Carter is presumed dead so, for now, that’s one threat that Steffy doesn’t have to worry about. However, as we’ve seen in Matsuda’s performance as a grim and determined Li, Steffy might end up having to be on guard around her mother-in-law just as Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) was for decades around Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery) Brava to Naomi Matsuda for turning in yet another series of powerful performances!