Beyond the Gates Recap, August 12, 2025: Two letters had the potential to change lives in D.C.

Here's what went down Tuesday, August 12, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Bill and Hayley got a green light, Tomás got to do his job, and Naomi got the feeling she was going to have some 'splainin' to do.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Bill came home, apologizing for having to step out for a meeting. Hayley didn't want Bill ignoring his business demands to take care of her, even after her miscarriage – but she astonished Bill by announcing that she wanted to go to the hospital. Bill worried that Hayley was having another emergency, but Hayley clarified that she wanted to look into whether or not she was even capable of getting pregnant again. She hadn't taken Bill's previous words about eventually having a baby as pressure; she just needed answers before she could move on. Bill told Hayley he was ready to go to Garland.

As the Hamiltons waited to be seen at the hospital, Hayley was amazed over Bill telling her she didn't need to have the exam that day, given she knew he wanted to have a child with her. Both the arriving Dr. Macy and Bill felt it was too soon for Hayley to be thinking about conceiving again so soon, but she was adamant about discovering the possibilities.

After the follow-up, Dr. Macy told Bill and Hayley that Hayley had suffered no lasting physical damage from miscarrying. The newlyweds were told they could safely try again to have a child three months down the line, though Bill wasn't sure yet that was the direction they'd take. Once the doctor excused herself, Hayley was ready with her answer: she absolutely wanted to give it another shot...after waiting the recommended three months.

Leslie went through her mail at her apartment, chucking out bills and keeping a brochure for clothes and jewelry. Eva came in with groceries and kept Leslie from throwing away a letter that referred to an inheritance. Leslie was sure the notification was spam and yawned that she got notices like that several times a week – and it wasn't like anyone in her family had money to will to her. Eva observed that Leslie had already spent the money she'd gotten from Ted – probably on “an infinite supply of wigs.”

Eva felt it was time the unemployed Leslie learned to stand on her own financially instead of trying to bilk others out of cash; she suggested that Leslie only went after things that satisfied her sense of outrage. Leslie denied that she considered herself entitled and went out to pick up some vodka...using the tab she'd convinced the liquor store to grant her. Once Leslie exited, Eva quickly read the bequest letter Leslie had discarded.

When Leslie returned, she saw that Eva was gone; fishing through the wastebasket, she saw her letter was, too. “Really?” Leslie frowned. Meanwhile, Eva met with Tomás, who hoped her summons was a sign that they could resume their friendship following his choosing Kat over her. Eva said she still wanted Tomás as a friend and asked for his advice – though when he seemed to be clockwatching, Eva assumed he was meeting Kat.

Tomás said he had time to help Eva, so she showed him the letter Leslie had received. The junior attorney mostly sided with Leslie about it being a scam, but remarked it wasn't impossible that it was legitimate. Eva wondered what the next step was.

When Eva went back to Leslie's, the elder Ms. Thomas easily sussed out that Eva had gone to Tomás for his opinion of the letter. Hearing there was a chance the notice she'd received was real, Leslie replied, rolling her eyes, that “there is a chance that I could be related to Barack Obama!” Eva likened the letter to being given a lottery ticket – wouldn't Leslie want to check its numbers? She added that Tomás had advised it was safe for Leslie to follow up as long as she didn't give out any sensitive information.

Leslie caught that even Eva was suspicious but unenthusiastically dialed the number on her letter anyway. “Ms. Thomas! I thought I'd never find you!” a woman on the other end of the call yelped (though she only answered with “Law Offices” instead of giving the name of the firm).

An annoyed Smitty couldn't find his phone as Samantha and Tyrell eyed each other knowingly. Suddenly, Martin arrived at the door with pizza, as he'd received a text from Smitty to bring some, but Smitty said he had sent no such message. Smitty realized that Samantha had gotten a hold of his phone, and Martin agreed that she had been wrong to get him to come over under false pretenses. Samantha sheepishly conceded that she'd wanted to do something to bring the family together; Martin thought they should at least eat the pizza, prompting Smitty grudgingly asked the teens to set the table.

A conversation about a bill Martin was working on quickly devolved into sniping when Tyrell was rude during dinner. Martin told a scolding Smitty that Tyrell was his son, too; Smitty spat, “You couldn't tell from the way you've been acting the last two years.” “Facts,” Tyrell snarked in agreement. Samantha tried to get everyone to calm down, but the crosstable arguments soon became more heated than the pizza, and even Samantha sniffed that Smitty hadn't done anything about his separation from Martin except act “salty.”

Tyrell was finally the one to speak up over the din, realizing that everything sucked but that they should still be able to get through one meal together. Everyone slowly agreed to play spades like they always did when they had pizza, and they eventually got to laughing over Samantha and Smitty's secret signals to each other. “You guys get to pick and choose which rules you follow,” Tyrell slipped in cryptically. Yet, the family toasted to their game night; Samantha eyed her loved ones approvingly.

At Orphey Gene's, Naomi anxiously escorted Regina to her table. Regina had only consented to meet so Naomi would stop pestering her, and asked the Hawthornes how they'd meet Regina's sister, June. Jacob explained how he'd had to arrest June for assaulting a social worker and how he'd brought Naomi in to represent her. Regina declared June a lost cause, but Naomi was sure Regina would want to reconnect with June's children; Regina waved that off, reminding the couple that there had been a closed adoption, which meant they had no access to info about the kids' location.

Regina was ready to leave when Naomi presented her with a manila envelope – which contained Ron and Cecile's birth certificates and details about the foster home in which they'd been placed. Feeling the documents still wouldn't lead them to the children, Regina relayed her assumption that it had been a neighbor who had called Child Protective Services on June, which was why the little ones had been taken away before Regina had had a chance to move for guardianship.

Despite Jacob and Regina's doubts, Naomi was determined to track down the kids and give them a chance to know their biological mother and their aunt. Regina confessed she was only being hard about the situation because of how painful it was for her; she had to let it go for the sake of her sanity. After she presented the Hawthornes with a small metal box of items that had belonged to June, Naomi noticed a handwritten note inside.

Regina recognized it as a letter June had once written her, but she had never read past the first paragraph out of a lack of being able to make sense out of it. Naomi became animated after a cursory glance and told Regina she should be the one to give June her things back. As the Hawthornes readied to fetch June, Regina wouldn't promise she'd be there when they returned.

On their way out of the diner, Jacob confessed that he was having a hard time concentrating on June and her kids because of learning that Elon was tied to Joey. When Jacob asked if Naomi had talked to Anita and Vernon about Martin's situation, Naomi sheepishly told her husband that she had been retained as a lawyer for the fee of one dollar. “You Duprees,” Jacob groused upon hearing that anything Naomi had learned from her grandparents was now privileged information. Naomi wanted to focus on June; Jacob agreed but insisted that they had matters to “unpack” later on.

When Naomi led June to Regina, June owned that she had a fuzzy memory – but she distinctly recalled walking out on her sister the last time they'd seen each other. June was ready to split again, causing Regina to sass that all June was good at was leaving – especially her kids; Naomi begged June to stay long enough to find out what Regina had brought for her. Regina gave June the box, which June accused her sibling of stealing from her. After Naomi showed June the letter, June didn't remember writing one. The homeless woman took umbrage in being made to read it...until she saw what she had written. Upon Naomi's urging, June told Regina that the letter was about the kids...her kids!

June was speechless; Regina read the rest of the note and realized that Naomi had wanted June to see it so that June would remember that she actually had had children. It turned out that June had called CPS on herself because she knew she couldn't care for her boy and girl properly – Naomi hailed the choice a sacrifice. Regina broke down and asked June why she hadn't come to her instead. June cited their antagonistic relationship; Regina came to see that June hadn't abandoned Ron and Cecile, but had done what was best for them.

When June cried about not knowing if the kids were all right, Naomi promised to find them so they could ask into their welfare. June gave Naomi the permission she needed legally, and the equally tearful Regina invited June to come home with her. June smiled and agreed.

Later, Jacob came back to the diner, having been unable to get anything from the staff of the circumspect facility which had taken June's children in. Naomi understood, owing to the problem of child exploitation, but, Jacob, as a cop, had been able to speak to the director and establish who had adopted Ron and Cecile. The children had undergone name changes...they were really Tyrell and Samantha.

Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.