Daytime Performers of the Week: ‘B&B’s Jacqueline MacInnes Wood & Naomi Matsuda Explode Over Luna

Michael Maloney March 16, 2025, 8:38 am

Comments

Is there no more morality on soaps? On The Bold and the Beautiful, you better believe there is! Steffy Forrester Finnegan (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Dr. Li Finnegan (Naomi Matsuda) let loose with the wrath of God last week because of crimes that had been committed against their families.

The two women were equally furious for similar reasons – all of which had to do with Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada), who everyone now knows is Steffy’s daughter-in-law and Li’s granddaughter.

Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) jumped through hoops trying to have Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) convicted for past murders she committed, but his plan backfired and Sheila was set free. It seems that the publishing magnate had fewer compulsions about wanting to see Luna locked up for murdering hottie Hollis (Hollis W. Chambers) and nice guy Tom (Clint Howard). He pulled some strings and got Luna free from custody and then, he saw to it that she was pardoned.

This set the stage for both Wood, a three-time Daytime Emmy-winner, and Matsuda, a Daytime Emmy nominee, to play justified anger that exploded off the screen! Some scenes call for subtlety, but these recent moments did not.

First, Steffy, armed with the knowledge that Finn (Tanner Novlan), her husband, is Luna’s dad, charged over to Bill’s home to confront her daughter-in-law. Luna’s tears and pleas for help may have worked on Bill, but Steffy wasn’t interested in hearing anything her one-time captor had to say.

Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Lisa Yamada — 'The Bold and the Beautiful'

Sometimes a character’s past deeds are glossed over, but Steffy’s memory is not a short one. Like her late grandmother/namesake Stephanie (Susan Flannery), Steffy is fiercely loyal to her family. She’ll go up against anyone to protect her husband and her children.

“What the hell were you thinking, Bill? She killed two innocent men and pinned it on her mother!” an exasperated Steffy shouted at Bill. “She left me in a cage to die. She was going to destroy my family – leaving your granddaughter without a mother. And you? You got her out of prison?”

Wood didn’t have Steffy drop her guard for one single iota. She rattled off Luna’s other actions, and she was not interested in hearing Bill’s justifications. Luna got dealt a bad deal in life? Boo-hoo, Steffy felt. “Save the sob story,” the mother of two huffed. “There is no good in you. You have Sheila’s blood running through your veins.”

Every time Luna tried to paint herself as someone who’d had it tough and deserved a second chance, Steffy reminded Luna she was a murderer, telling her she was out of her mind. Steffy vowed to make it her personal mission to put Luna behind bars. “I begged for my life, and I wanted to see my children,” Steffy said. She reminded Luna that she searched for some humanity in her eyes but there was nothing there.

Meanwhile, across town at the hospital, Finn informed his mother Li that when he was 18 years old, he and his non-biological related aunt Poppy (Roma Park) had been sexually intimate and that Luna was his daughter. The good doctor wasn’t as interested in Luna’s crimes as she was over her conception and the betrayal Poppy inflicted upon her. Poppy had had sex with Finn when he was 18 years old. It wasn’t incestuous or predatory except for the fact that, well, it kind of was.

Sure, Finn and Poppy aren’t biologically related and they knew that at the time, but still….ew, ew, and ewwwww. Li summoned the unsuspecting Poppy to her the hospital for a meeting. Poppy was under the impression that she and Li were on good terms.

Matsuda played Li simmering with rage as Poppy played the innocent. We knew that she was just letting Poppy talk long enough to hang herself with her own words. The subject of Luna came up, and Poppy informed Li that she didn’t even know where her daughter was.

Daytime Performer of the Week: Deidre Hall on 'Days of Our Lives'

“I know where she is,” Li responded calmly, getting ready to blast her sister with the knowledge that she knows that Finn is Luna’s father. Like Steffy, Li didn’t mince words when it came to stating the facts. “You got pregnant with your nephew’s child, Penelope,” Li snarled. “His cousin is now his daughter. And you’re telling me he wanted it?”

Poppy preferred to describe her relationship with Finn as “inappropriate.” Li had another word that she felt was more suitable – “disgusting!” Li couldn’t stop herself from going after her sister. She grabbed her by the neck and started choking her. It appeared in the next day’s prologue that Li wasn’t going to let go until Poppy was dead. Just before Poppy was about to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen, Li let go. Her granddaughter might be a killer, but Li is not.

Meanwhile, Steffy had been joined by reinforcements at Bill’s – her parents, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Taylor (Rebecca Budig), and Finn. Having support didn’t lessen her rage. Steffy whipped out her phone and announced she was going to get justice for herself, for Hollis, and for Tom. She called Deputy Chief Baker (Dan Martin) just as he was about to chow down on his favorite lunch, a hot dog. (Kudos to B&B for keeping that running bit going.)

Baker showed up and felt it was in his authority to cuff Luna as Bill’s estate wasn’t equipped to contain her. Just then, a call came in informing the lawman that Luna was free to go. She was not only no longer under house arrest – she was pardoned!

Luna saw a window opening in terms of her relationship with Finn now that she was a free woman. But Steffy warned her not to even go there. Luna’s step-grandmother Taylor told Luna that a rotten childhood wouldn’t absolve her of her crimes. (Kudos to Bill for not pointing out that Taylor once shot him because she was in an emotional state.)

“Stop. Calling him. ‘Dad,’” Steffy ordered Luna as she and Finn walked out.

Bill kicking Luna out of his home (he’s no longer legally responsible for her) seemed like an odd choice as now the double-murderer is out there on the streets with no support system. What is she going to do? Time will tell.

B&B could have cascaded Li and Steffy’s emotional outbursts, spacing them out over two separate weeks. Instead, the show treated its viewers to double the dramatic showdowns within the same episodes. The result was watching two incredibly strong actresses shine in their respective roles as powerful maternal figures. Kudos to MacInnes Wood and Matsuda for playing such potent maternal rage, reminding viewers that good should always triumph over evil.

The Bold and the Beautiful, Weekdays, CBS