A master stroke: Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of June 2, 2025

Detective Kat was on the case on Beyond the Gates

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? This week, Leslie felt the noose tightening around her neck and began to make herself obvious, Dani dared Hayley to pee on the stick in front of her, Sharon showed a diabolical side, it turned out there were four Articulettes, and Ted nearly broke through Nicole's wall of ice. But Kat defying orders got her the goods, and Bill stroking out twice got him in to see Chelsea's new crush! Let's fill up those Two Scoops and find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

The thrill is gone

TIDE WATCH: 1

FEBREZE WATCH: 2

We haven't known Anita Williams Dupree long, but we've been around her enough by now to know that she don't take nothin' from nobody. Which is what made it all the more amazing when the queen of Fairmont Crest looked intimidated as former Articulette Sharon got on Anita's stage. And on her case. Sharon wasted zero time sniffing that Anita was merely acting her way through her niceties and scowling that she didn't need Anita's permission to be pissed over being done dirty.

Sharon also proved herself one of the great girl group divas when Anita attempted to appease Sharon by saying she had a spectacular voice, and Sharon crowed, “I know that.” Yep, Anita may have been deemed the controlling one, but Sharon certainly spent her own decades in training for it. We then learned that “devil himself” Dante Green tried to paint Sharon as a drug/booze addict...and that Sharon thought Anita was in on it!

Anita may have been guilty of many things, but not that, and she was so adamant that Sharon quickly believed her. The women had a moment reminiscing about how Tracy had sat on and cracked the beloved Marvin Gaye record they'd barely been able to afford, but Sharon caught herself and gave Anita another lesson in Dante Green 101: the manager had had her and Tracy sign non-disclosure agreements!

But Anita hadn't known that – only because once she split the group, she never took the other members' calls. Sharon humbled Anita by seething that she was living Anita's nightmare – kicked back down to obscurity and having to give voice lessons in the neighborhood Anita had desperately wanted to get out of. And Sharon capped things by asking Anita if Vernon knew the secret that he – and the public – deserved to know!

I was still convinced, based on Sharon's fury, that Dante Green had raped her. I mean, why the NDAs otherwise? Why the smear campaign? But GATES took a twist I hadn't expected, and in a beautifully unpredictable way at that. Once Sharon bounced, Anita pulled out a letter, and in a voice-over that took up most of Tuesday's episode, we learned that a mystery woman had taken her life – and blamed Anita for it.

We soon found out the woman's name was Barbara – she had started The Articulettes and gotten Anita, Sharon, and Tracy into it. Only thing was, once they obtained a manager – Dante – he thought Barbara sounded too “ghetto” for the sophisticated image he wanted the group to project and cut her off from her own creation. And Anita, in her quest to reach the top and leave Cabrini-Green behind, didn't stand up for Barbara.

So this is the big secret behind the Articulettes drama! Perhaps not as salacious as what I'd predicted, but with devastating results nonetheless. Anita spilled her own tea to Vernon, adding that it had been while the group was on a break, mourning Barbara, that she had struck out on her own. She was big on the pity party, but Vernon wanted her to rescind her invitation. It had all happened so long ago, and Barbara had made her own choice to end her life.

Meanwhile, Sharon turned into a Black Cruella DeVille, if you will – sans dalmatians numbering 101, or even one – as she cackled to Tracy that you know what? She would do the reunion, and just as Anita led them back into the spotlight, she would bail the way Anita had and launch her own solo career. Tracy was appalled, but I was, too, sorta. Not because of Sharon's plan. Because she finked on herself about it!

I would have loved to have seen Sharon keep this quiet – except to us – and then make that move following the assumed success of the comeback concert (or is that tour? More than once it's been hinted there'd be one). But Sharon shot herself in the foot, because Tracy wasn't about it and demanded that Sharon be honest with Anita...who had 86'd the reunion, by the way. “Damn that woman to hell and back!” Sharon shrieked.

I was starting to think that the Mrs. Dupree was letting herself get bulldozed just a little too much. Thankfully, Anita (and the writers) felt the same, because when Sharon came back to take another piece out of her, Anita snatched her bald but good. And Tracy, too! Anita reminded them that they had ridden on her gravy train and she was done taking all the blame when they hadn't supported Barbara, either. They could f*** all the way off!

As of now, the concert is “as dead as Barbara is,” but we know that it's eventually going to happen. I must say, I've been enjoying Tamara Tunie in her first major GATES storyline; she was rather being relegated to family adviser and shoulder to cry on. Now if Vernon could just follow suit! The way Vernon counsels his fam under the guidance of Clifton Davis makes me wish I had Vernon as a granddad, but he needs his own limelight as well!

Trouble blues

Leslie's like a fish on a hook right now. Well, if a fish looked fierce and kept smiling while wriggling, that is. She's currently on a campaign to paint herself as an innocent victim being accused of crimes she'd never commit – which Kat called her on – but she's sure in there trying to get back into the water. She preened to Kat and Mona about the futility of their allegations and laughed to Nicole that there wasn't a bit of evidence against her. Not a shred.

Which, of course, is why Leslie accompanied Kat to the precinct, which, ya know, totally innocent people do. Claiming curiosity, Leslie lost her cool a bit when Kat brought up the jacket, which had the coffee shop receipt listing a “Cherrie C.” in its pocket. “I don't need an alias on top of an alias to order some damn coffee!” Leslie barked, also correcting, “That's Miss Bitch, bitch” when Kat defined her as the arrogant variety of the epithet.

Unbeknownst to the overconfident Leslie, Jacob had brought in a Detective Walker, who was a “digital forensics” specialist. Simplified, he was able to analyze the hospital security footage and determine that the woman sneaking into Laura's room was the same height as Leslie. Also, the jacket Kat had happened upon was, in fact, the one worn by the motorcyclist who had run Laura off the road. That hasn't been used against Leslie yet, but I'm sure it's coming.

Leslie had been all cocky trying to do up a restraining order against Kat and threatening to sue her, but her resolve was shaken quite a bit when she went to Eva and wondered why her incriminating helmet and gloves were missing. And wasn't Eva a hoot in her own right? “Mamaaaa,” she sing-songingly gushed before she turned serious and let mama know that, for once, Eva had the upper hand. You spent two decades trying to create a monster, Leslie...so now what?

Only you

Tomás may want to reconsider his aim to be a hotshot lawyer and go out for spy instead, because that's pretty much all Bill has him doing. First, Tomás was tasked with picking Kat's brain about Naomi's suit against the firm. Then he had to play mole in the committee formed from the settlement of that suit. And now Bill wants him to monitor his daughters to make sure they're okay. When does Tomás actually get time to practice law?

Well, Navarro may still remember that he passed the bar, because he assured Kat that Leslie couldn't sue her. However, Tomás also notified his not-quite girlfriend that no good attorney would mount a case against Leslie, because there simply wasn't enough hard evidence. Poor guy may never see Kat entrusting her virginity to him, because these days, only “put Leslie and Eva in jail” would serve as an aphrodisiac.

Kat was frustrated because Jacob's case was moving too slowly for her liking, and she kept hitting roadblocks everywhere. Jacob was frustrated because Kat wouldn't stay the hell out of his investigation. Though Jacob was able to procure a search warrant for Leslie's apartment (which the lovably snotty – and consistent – Kat boasted had been because of her), there were no like grounds for the department to likewise search Eva's hotel room.

Jacob's not dumb – he knew the wheels were turning in Kat's head, and he warned her that anything she lifted from Eva would result in Kat getting arrested. But y'all already know Kat didn't listen. She flirted and name-dropped her way into Eva's room and found the box that Leslie had said she wanted back (nice continuity). And soon Eva came back to the hotel...with Tomás in tow!

That Eva bought Tomás's speculation that housekeeping moved the box, with Leslie lurking about everywhere, astounded me, but Kat didn't have time to put it back in her hurry to dash under Eva's bed. Wouldn't you know Eva picked that moment to tell Tomás, whom she was lending a book, that she wanted to lend him her lips as well. I was sure Tomás was going to go for it, because he hasn't he hasn't exactly friend-zoned Eva.

Until now. Kat loved hearing Tomás say that his heart was with her and that he wanted to explore things with her. Yet, Kat loved it even more when she turned her head on the floor with the mattress above her and locked right onto the box containing Leslie's helmet and gloves. What the hell, Eva? You told Mumsy that you'd hidden them somewhere she couldn't find them. What if Leslie had searched your room?

I guess it's a Thomas trait: Leslie was careless in keeping the souvenirs, and Eva was careless in hiding them anywhere but in her suite. How lucky for Kat, who waited for Tomás and Eva to separately leave...and then ran straight to Orphey Gene's with her evidence that anyone could have spotted her with. Kat, for real? Are the brownies that good that you had to have one instead of heading directly to the police station?

Supersonic

What is it about Leslie that brings out the best in this cast? She's basically linked to everyone, and she manages to inspire fire in otherwise meh characters. Case in point: Ashley and Derek. Yes! Ashley and Derek! The duo that (rightly) declared themselves the most boring couple ever (no argument here, guys – though Derek be lookin' fine in his fireman attire) crossed into Leslie's orbit, and suddenly became interesting!

At first, I wondered how the hell Leslie even knew these guys, but then I remembered that, in the show's first week (if not first episode), Leslie was seen with Ashley, and we know that Leslie was friends with Ash's mom. Ashley about turned Leslie to ash when, in response to Leslie asking about Laura, Ms. Morgan snapped, “You think I'd break confidentiality so you can try to kill her for a third time?” Dude! I like this, Ashley!

Ashley did slip when she told Leslie that, since her visit, hospital protocols had been changed – and oh yeah, security footage. It was Derek's turn when Leslie asked far too many questions about the footage and where to find it, then got dark when Ashley suggested that Leslie turn herself in. Derek stood up, hulked out, and told Leslie to leave, warning that he had carried people twice Leslie's size out of burning buildings. Does Orphey Gene's have smelling salts? Because I sure needed some.

I guess Leslie didn't get the part about changed hospital protocols – or they didn't actually change any – because Leslie sauntered in wearing the least-disguisable disguise of her disguised career: a ball cap and dark glasses. But who needs a security team when you've got Nurse Shanice on duty? Leslie and her bad French accent were no match for Shanice, who seemed ready to escort Leslie out physically.

I would have paid to see that! Alas, Shanice followed in Ashley's footsteps and leaked intel that Andre was in possession of the security footage featuring Leslie. So what did Leslie do? Track down Andre toot sweet! Which, ya know, totally innocent people do. Andre resisted showing Leslie the clip but finally gave in to shut her up. Leslie laughed it wasn't her, but Andre, photographer extraordinaire, used his skills.

Making a living capturing people and their moments, both staged and otherwise, he could see beyond Leslie's façade and sense her dishonestly just by the way she carried herself. Andre then whipped out his phone and snapped a quick pic of Leslie that he was going to use his fancy software to compare to the image in his footage. Oh, you quiet now, Leslie!

Speaking of pictures, Jacob got into Leslie's place with his search warrant – but thanks to Eva making off with the proof, Leslie was in the clear. However, she caught images of Hawthorne and his backup officer as they left, telling herself that she would own the department by the time she was done. I wonder what, if anything, is gonna happen with that? Because Leslie doesn't have much time left. She's going to jail soon, I know it.

Irreplaceable

Ted moved up a level in his forgiveness video game when he earned The Martin Trophy. It seemed that Martin, now having a greater appreciation of keeping secrets, realized he hadn't shown his father enough compassion when he learned about Leslie and shoved Ted as hard as he could. Is Martin growing? I doubt it. After all, what Ted was hiding absolutely pales in comparison to what Martin is hiding.

The plastic surgeon – who I don't think has worked since he got his own new face – got his moments with Eva, too. He had thought about things and realized that Eva had probably done Leslie's bidding because Eva was scared of her. Not denying it (and not admitting that she knows Leslie is the one who attacked Laura), Eva also warned Ted to be careful in his dealings with her bewigged mom.

Finally, Ted may soon be able to hit the motherlode – or is that wifeyload – because when he ran into Nicole at Uptown, she didn't entirely object to his appearance. Sure, she did her best Elsa from Frozen, but she let a smile sneak out while talking about the Hawaiian blooms Ted had sent her. Ted also noted that Nicole wasn't telling him to shut up...too bad Leslie strolled in and ruined the whole thing.

Nicole told Mona that she might be better able to forgive Ted had he dallied with “someone more...appropriate” instead of the loony Leslie. The shrink was none too pleased that Mona seemed to be joining Team Give Ted A Break, and Nicole griped to Martin (after nearly asphyxiating him with Febreze; I kid you not!) that she was getting annoyed about people taking Ted's side. Here's my thing: if Nicole is so done with Ted, why is she hiding out and not filing for divorce? She's not taking much of any action; I feel like a ball is being dropped here somewhere.

Where the hood at?

Well, whaddaya know! Laura Peterson exists outside her hospital room! She's been holed up there since after the first episode, when she was forced off the highway by a then-mystery person. The broken leg, sure, but does it take that long to recover from an infection related to a heart attack? Well, whatever; Laura's back at work, and while she found Nicole's Febreze familiar, she couldn't make heads nor tails out of the changes Eva had made to the computer system.

Laura decided not to take Kat's advice to blame Eva for whatever mistakes she made, instead going to the source herself for her aid. Eva was happy to help, and Laura had already told Nicole and Mona that she didn't think Eva was guilty of anything. I wonder if Laura and Eva are going to end up being friends? Moreover, if Laura is going to help get Eva out of her bind with Leslie casting suspicion on her?

Chelsea very randomly blurted out something to Martin that I'd been thinking about myself – how did he feel about Samantha doing a modeling test run at ChelseaKat? Martin seemed flustered, but then, the show did kinda forget about this the last six weeks or so. Chelsea also visited with Vernon, who instructed the young woman that real relationships are about adapting to one another over time. I need some hang time with Vernon!

If Chelsea had still been upset over Allison changing her mind about pursuing things with her, you wouldn't know, because the former model suddenly had her eye – make that both eyes – on an Uptown patron, Madison. Mads was hard to figure out because she simultaneously seemed to return Chelsea's interest while not giving her the time of day. Plus, Madison bolted the second Chelsea looked down to read a text.

Naomi heard about this encounter and was not a fan of Madison at all. In fact, after Madison showed up and again gave her sister the bum's rush, Naomi, who had only just heard that Chelsea wanted to explore things with women, told Chelsea she could do better. Indeed! And Chelsea was all, “At least she said goodbye this time!” Girl, there's no way you should be this desperate. Plus, you're giving me flashbacks to the way I was in my early 20s. Stop it.

Andre went to see Ashley, somehow not having heard from her that she had reunited with Derek. You'd think the first thing Ash would have done would have been to tell her confidant. Derek seemed jealous of Ashley confiding in Andre for a millisecond, and then Andre arranged a meeting with Dani, who was less than thrilled that Andre hadn't paid every bit of his attention to her. How could he be absent when Hayley was pregnant with Bill's child and probably getting all the fussing from Bill that she did while carrying Bill's kids?

I was so glad when Andre essentially said he'd had enough of Dani obsessing over Bill, especially with him right there. He was the one who gave a damn. Because of his time with Dani, he found himself changing; while he had been all right being a man ho forever, he was finally starting to think about settling down. And Dani didn't miss that Andre would be cool with finally committing to someone, even if that someone wasn't her.

Dani intuited that Andre's heart was pulled by other strings, and he didn't deny it. Dude. Line them up. On this side is Dani, on that side is Ashley. Are you really gonna choose Ashley? At least Dani has a personality, if maybe too much of one. Andre did care about Dani, though, and showed her while a kinky bottle of Tide watched their lovemaking.

Then there was Vanessa, who had her first conversation with Joey about their own lovemaking since it happened. And lo, Joey decided to add to the moment by...bringing in Doug? Where did that come from? Vanessa wasn't the only one who was blindsided when Joey announced that Doug was a gambler into him for “a quarter mil!”

We're just throwing that out there? No build-up at all? Doug was supposed to have paid Joey back weeks ago on threat of bodily harm; I was kind of looking forward to Doug being worked over in an alley. But Joey took no action, which rather made him all talk. Well, until Joey outed Doug and suddenly told Vanessa he wanted to use her real estate biz to launder money. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think we definitely zoomed to Point C from Point A without even glancing at Point B.

It was anti-climactic, considering how many months we've been working up to Vanessa finding out about her husband's activities. But what can you do – Vanessa knows now, and she was not happy. She was actually more outraged that Joey could have done this to her when she'd caught feelings for him! His face caught her outstretched palm, and she stalked off. Oh, Van-Van. Please. She always acts so indignant when her sexual escapades make Andre look like a choir boy.

I need a doctor

Fresh off of Dani insisting that Hayley was faking her pregnancy, the new Mrs. Hamilton flounced into Dani's crib, shoving some Clear Blue Easy in her face. What on earth was that supposed to accomplish? There was nothing definitive linking that result to Hayley, which Dani immediately pronounced Hayley could have gotten from anywhere. Not one of Hayley's brighter moves.

So then Dani challenges Hayley to take a new test right in front of her. Wouldn't that have been hilarious? When Hayley balked, Dani scoffed that they'd "shared a man, so now Hayley could spread her legs for her instead." Dani (and Kat! and Leslie!) get the best lines! Hayley still refused and also wouldn't submit to a blood test in Dani's presence, since Dani personally being given the results was unethical. Dani would just have to wait! As we all will. Do you think Hayley is really pregnant? I'm on the fence.

Like all soap babies, they cause the most trouble before they're born (only to be shuffled off to daycares and kindergartens and boarding schools until they can come back as 18-year-olds within a few years) – and baby Hamilton, assuming there is one, is no exception. Naomi found out she was going to have a half-sib a whole generation younger than her and flipped out. Would she be required to throw her “step-monster” a babymoon?

Bill's expression could have been interpreted as him not knowing whether to referee or sell tickets, but it was neither, as he was abruptly unable to form words, and he stood there, powerless to move. Well, guess what happened next? Naomi and Hayley worked together on Bill's behalf! They each noted that they had witnessed Bill's hand going numb yet waving off the sensation as if his paw had simply fallen asleep – then they put aside their ish and got Bill to the hospital with no delay.

Doug, a heart surgeon who I suppose was the only doc on call, told Bill and his worried daughter and wife that it was likely Bill had suffered a TIA – a transient ischemic attack, which was a sort of mini-stroke. Those often happened without lasting effects, but they could also serve as a warning ahead of a much bigger incident. Bill ignored it all and refused to stay overnight in the hospital. Then Dani showed up.

Assuring Hayley that she hadn't come to start trouble (who'da thunk it!), Dani just wanted to know if Bill was all right and shared his fear of hospitals with everyone. If Bill wasn't going to hang out for observation, he should at least take care of himself. The exes had a laugh over Dani saying that if she wanted Bill dead, he would be already – and of course Hayley (who, we learned, is three years older than Chelsea, making her 26!) got all uncomfortable.

Bill gave Hayley her latest dose of assurances, and the next soap day, he came home early from work, barely able to hide the fact that he couldn't catch his breath. Of course, by now, Bill has learned that the best way to pivot from Hayley's concerns is to administer some sweet, sweet lovin', but when he busted a move, he went limp in more ways than one. Back to the hospital for you, Mr. Bill! Oh, no! Mr. Bill!

When Ashley and Derek watched Bill being wheeled in, his blood pressure was 200/105, which is reaching Scanners-your-head-is-about-to-pop off dimensions (look it up). This time, Doug was out having Joey lay all his cards on the table, so Bill, who remained in his garbled word state, needed to be seen by another practitioner. And it was Madison! Well! Looks like she's not a bit player after all! And won't Chelsea be surprised.

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. I very much want to know what you think of this past week's doings, so unburden yourself in the comments below. And, until next we meet, Scoopers, live your life beyond!

(Purchase Adam-Michael James' "Bewitched" books on Amazon.)

(Listen to isletunes, AMJ's podcast featuring nothing but music from the artists of Prince Edward Island, Canada.)