User:DaniloDaysOfOurLives/Li

Li Finnegan is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, played by Naomi Matsuda.

Casting
Matsuda made her first appearance on August 2, 2021. She is introduced as the adoptive mother of John "Finn" Finnegan (Tanner Novlan), and arrives for his wedding to Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), alongside her husband, Jack (Ted King). The news of King's and Matsuda's casting was announced in June 2021, with it being teased that their arrival would reveal Finn's "very dramatic backstory." They had begun filming on June 9 of that year. Matsuda was reported to have made a "fiery exit" when Li was seemingly killed off on June 22, 2022, however it was later revealed that the character was alive when Matsuda began reappearing at the end of the episode that aired on July 21 of the same year.

https://www.soapcentral.com/bold-and-beautiful/news/2022/0505-naomi-matsuda-reacts-to-her-emmy-nomination-interview-the-bold-and-the-beautiful.php

https://michaelfairmantv.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-adds-new-cast-photos-to-opening-title-sequence/2023/10/14/

Development
https://www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/interview-tanner-novlan-of-the-bold-and-the-beautiful-finds-gratification-in-the-acting-world/article

https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/recaps/615193/bold-beautiful-jack-tells-li-affair-sheila-produced-finn/

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2021/11/18/bold-and-beautiful-recap-jack-and-li-argue-about-finn

https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/recaps/615370/bold-beautiful-finn-learn-jack-li-know-birth-father/

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/the-bold-the-beautiful/li-finnegan-naomi-matsuda

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2022/06/15/naomi-matsuda-explains-lis-reaction-to-liam-and-steffy-on-the-bold-and-the-beautiful

https://michaelfairmantv.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-bill-stumbles-upon-an-alive-li/2022/07/22/

https://www.thelist.com/938785/how-naomi-matsuda-dropped-hints-that-li-was-indeed-still-alive-on-the-bold-and-the-beautiful/

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2022/07/26/bold-and-beautiful-recap-li-tells-bill-and-liam-that-finn-is-alive

https://soaphub.com/bold-beautiful/spoilers-bold/bb-spoilers-li-reconsiders-her-priorities/

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2023/03/31/bold-and-beautiful-spoilers-li-wants-to-let-sheila-die

https://soaphub.com/bold-beautiful/spoilers-bold/bb-spoilers-li-warns-her-son-to-get-rid-of-sheila/

https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/news/692206/preview-will-li-finn-kill-sheila/

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2023/09/15/bold-and-beautiful-spoilers-li-pushes-finn-to-ditch-sheila

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/exclusive-bold-and-beautiful-preview-lis-big-reveal/

https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/recaps/694698/li-orders-luna-resign/

https://www.whattowatch.com/news/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-spoilers-battle-of-the-moms

https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/recaps/698055/liam-asks-steffy-dump-finn-reunite/

https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-spoilers-will-li-confront-poppy-at-forrester-creations-1257655

Storylines
Li arrives with Jack for Finn's wedding to Steffy, who she takes a liking to, and to meet her new grandson, Hayes Finnegan. At the wedding, Finn's biological mother, Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown), who has terrorised Steffy's family for years, arrives to meet Finn, shocking everyone. Jack later confesses to Li that he is Finn's biological father as he had an affair with Sheila whilst married to Li. A heartbroken Li is devastated by the lies and encourages Jack to tell Finn the truth. Finn comforts his mother after the revelation, and she returns home.

Li returns the following year after Finn and Steffy are shot by Sheila, with Finn supposedly having died. She checks on Steffy, who is in critical condition, and refuses to allow Sheila to see Finn one last time. Li then finds out that Sheila shot him. Li refuses Steffy and her family's help in organising the memorial service. It is then revealed that Finn is still alive but in a coma, with Li nursing him at home and making everyone believe he is dead, having signed his death certificate. Li is overjoyed when he begins to wake up but the pair are discovered by Sheila, who Li had been trying desperately to keep Finn away from. Li tries outsmart Sheila and calls the police, leading to Sheila attacking her. Li escapes and a car chase follows, leading to Sheila hitting Li's car, which starts burning and falls into the water. Li is presumed dead and Sheila takes over looking after Finn.

Weeks later, just as Sheila tells an awake Finn about Li's death, Li is revealed to be alive and she is discovered by Bill Spencer Jr. (Don Diamont) near a trash can. She is badly traumatised and amnesiac, but Bill's son Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) recognises Li and tells Bill who she is. Li is able to regain her memory and ability to speak and tells Bill and Liam that Finn is alive. Finn and Li reunite and fall into each others' arms. Finn is grateful to his mother for keeping him alive and whilst Steffy is also grateful, she is angry by Li not telling her that he was alive. Li explains her reasons and refuses to apologise, saying that Finn had a normal life before meeting Steffy. Li meets up with Bill, who she is grateful for saving her life, and explains that she and Jack are no longer together due to his deception. Sheila fakes her death and lurks at Li and Finn when they are at a restaurant together. When Sheila is discovered, Li visits her in prison and tells her off. When Sheila has a heart attack and Li is assigned to be her doctor, she refuses to help Sheila and wants to see her die, but Finn saves her. Li later tells Finn off when he calls Sheila a hero due to her saving Steffy's stepdaughter from drowning.

Reception
For her portrayal of Li, Matsuda was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series at the 2022 ceremony, but lost out to King's portrayal of Jack.

Referring to the character's presumed death, Richard Simms and Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows said that Li had the "Best Swan Song" of 2022, saying that she "got one hell of a send-off, going up in flames — literally! — while being pursued by Finn's other mother, lunatic about town Sheila." They also referred to Li as "fiery" and referred to the revelation that she "had fooled everyone into thinking he [Fin] was dead even as she worked to bring him back from the brink" as the "Best May Sweeps Reveal" which made fans "over the moon".

https://soaphub.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/polls-bold/should-jack-fight-for-lis-love-on-the-bold-and-the-beautiful/

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-spoilers-li-still-alive-naomi-matsuda-rumored-return.html/

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-fans-believe-li-going-crazy.html/

https://soaphub.com/bold-beautiful/commentary-bold-beautiful/soap-hub-performer-of-the-week-for-bb-naomi-matsuda-6/

https://soaphub.com/bold-beautiful/commentary-bold-beautiful/soap-hub-performer-of-the-week-for-bb-naomi-matsuda-7/

https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/642401/daytime-soaps-new-couples-summer-2022/