Daytime Performer of the Week: Tanner Novlan’s Finn Learns ‘You ARE the Father!’
Finn (Tanner Novlan) isn’t just Luna’s (Lisa Yamada) cousin on Bold and the Beautiful. He’s also her dad! Yep, after teasing us with a few other father candidates, B&B went there! It turns out that Finn had a romantic romp with his aunt Poppy (Romy Park) when he was a young adult and now, he’s learned that he is Luna’s pop.
The story kept Novlan front and center throughout the week. The actor was tasked with delivering Finn’s emotional reaction to the news and he delivered! Novlan ran a gamut of emotional responses: disbelief, shock, anger, and confusion.
The week began with Finn wondering if Luna could indeed be his daughter based on his conversations with Poppy. The doctor’s likely taken many swabs on his patients over the years without getting emotional, but this time was different. With each swirl around his mouth with the swab, he knew he was taking one step closer to finding out news that would disrupt his life.
“This can’t be right,” Finn said, hoping he could will away the results of the paternity test. He started to take another to confirm his suspicions.
Once he had irrefutable proof, Finn summoned Poppy to his office. Before the fireworks began, Poppy, did her best to do a preemptive block, reminding Finn that there was no biological connection between them and that the moment she shared with him all those years ago was magical.
This only cemented Finn’s realization that he was indeed Luna’s dad. He then presented the results of the paternity test to Poppy.
“I trusted you,” Finn told Poppy. “Luna isn’t my cousin. She’s my daughter. Luna is my daughter. I’m the father.” (Who says big moments only happen on Friday cliffhangers! This bombshell was dropped at the end of a Tuesday episode!)
While someone finding out that they’re a parent at any age can be happy news, Finn wasn’t afforded that luxury given the circumstances. Novlan quietly let a myriad of emotion come out as his scenes with Park continued. Imagine knowing that your first sexual encounter resulted in not only creating a life but also spinning a web of lies.
“You’ve known all along and you kept it from me all this time,” Finn said to Poppy, playing a sense of hurt and betrayal. “You had to have known. Don’t lie to me. Not again.”
Poppy maintained that she couldn’t bring herself to tell Finn the possibility that he could be Luna’s dad as he was going off to medical school. On paper, it made sense. Finn pretended to agree with Poppy that she made the right decision until he let loose with some fury!
“There’s just one thing I have an issue with,” Finn calmly stated before blasting out to his baby mama/aunt, “I had a daughter! All this time! And you robbed me of my daughter!”
Finn fired back that Poppy wasn’t thinking of him when she lied — she was only thinking of herself!
Finn moved on from anger to simply being incredulous over what to do with this newfound life-altering information. He decided to visit his incarcerated daughter, but was surprised to find out that her whereabouts were unknown. (Only Bill, played by Don Diamont, knows that Luna, wearing an ankle monitor, is living at his residence under house-arrest.)
Next, Finn arrived home unsure over whether or not to tell his wife Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) about Luna. He apologized for not remembering his and Steffy’s anniversary. (Finn wasn’t the only one!) Surprisingly, Finn didn’t have to bring up Luna — Steffy did. She said she was thinking about Finn’s “crazy cousin” and how he rescued her when she was Luna’s prisoner. Steffy proclaimed that nothing was ever going to tear them apart. Finn’s troubled look betrayed that he desperately wanted to tell Steffy the truth — but will he?
We are confident in knowing that the show has set the stage for plenty of drama in the future. Sooner or later, the truth will come out. Li (Naomi Matsuda), Poppy’s sister, was furious with Poppy for having an affair with a married doctor at the hospital where she got her a job. Imagine how Li will respond when she finds out that Poppy had intimate relations with her son? And that she’s related to Luna?
Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) will likely revel in calling Bill a hypocrite. He had a problem with Sheila’s wicked ways, but he’s opened his home to Luna? Plus, Sheila might want to bond with her with her new granddaughter. After all, they do have so much in common!
In addition to shocking secrets, soaps are also all about tuning in tomorrow to see what’s going to happen. B&B may have surprised viewers by revealing Luna’s paternity on a Tuesday, but the Friday tag was the perfect follow up. We don’t know what the enigmatic Finn is going to do.
Novlan’s been a hit on day one since joining B&B because he plays Finn as a caring guy, a romantic lead whom most women would love to have in their lives. The good doctor’s tasked now with either coming clean to his wife or lying to her in order to keep her safe. Either decision could be the right or wrong one to make.
Kudos to Novlan for showcasing a range of emotions in what looks to be his most challenging storyline to date!
