Why We’re Loving Li and Steffy’s Animosity on The Bold and the Beautiful

Soaps are all about conflict. If characters were sitting around all day telling each other how great they are, viewers might not be as invested in the show’s characters and stories. The Bold and the Beautiful has created conflict between Steffy Finnegan Forrester and her mother-in-law Dr. Li Finnegan, and we are so here for it!

The Bold and the Beautiful

Two women not getting along over a man is a soap opera staple, one that B&B has tapped into quite well over the decades. Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and the late Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery) turned arguments, put-downs, and slapping into an art form. Now, the stage is set for a different kind of animosity between Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Li (Naomi Matsuda).

In any good conflict between two people, we can sympathize with both sides. And we certainly can with Li and Steffy. Even before Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) shot Finn and Steffy, Li had some adjusting to do in terms of her son. She was watching him take the next major step in his life by starting a family of his own. Then, Li learned that Finn’s birth mother, Sheila was present, wanted a relationship with her son, and was a mortal enemy of the Forrester family, courtesy of all the pain she inflicted on them over the years.

Li’s Unlucky Breaks

On top of that, Li learned that her husband, Dr. Jack Finnegan (Ted King), had cheated on her with Sheila and lied about being Finn’s birth dad all these years. That Li decided to close ranks and take care of Finn herself is more understandable when you factor in all these points. Plus, let’s not forget when Li went over to Steffy’s after she’d been released from the hospital, she spied her in an embrace with her ex-husband Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton).

The Bold and the Beautiful Stay Tuned

But at the end of the day, does this justify keeping Steffy in the dark? She was in her darkest hour after learning that Finn had died. She certainly deserved to know, and Li should have told her. The two women had it out at Steffy and Finn’s home. Li said she’d never apologize for protecting her son. Later, Steffy pointed out to her mother, Dr. Taylor Hayes (Krista Allen), that it certainly wasn’t the Forrester family’s fault that Sheila is Finn’s birth mother and that Jack cheated on Li.

Both women are clearly justified in feeling what they feel and taking the actions that they did. Will the two important ladies in Finn’s life find common ground or continue to be at odds? We’d like to see a bit of both.

The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Los Angeles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on B&B spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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