Beyond the Gates Recap, August 22, 2025: Leslie became a resident of Fairmont Crest and Chelsea became a prisoner

Here's what went down on Friday, August 22, 2025, on Beyond the Gates when Madison was unintentionally friend-zoned, Tomás ended up in the financial hot seat, and ChelseaKat looked to launch without its pilot.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Eva asked “What did she do now?” when Ted arrived on her hotel room door. Ted said that Leslie hadn't pulled anything new, but he sensed that Eva had always had to live in anticipation of her mother's antics. Eva corrected that Leslie had actually been her best friend most of her life; she had been imaginative and had made her childhood magical, even when she had to be both mother and father despite the presence of stepfather Alan. It wasn't until Alan died and the money had dried up, Eva relayed, that Leslie had started using her powers for evil.

Ted wasn't hopeful that Leslie would start behaving again now that she had money. He wanted Eva to be able to stop holding her breath and focus on the family she had in him, Martin, and eventually Kat. Eva laughed at the idea of having that bond with Kat and still intended to have Leslie in her life. Ted understood but invited Eva to join him and the family at ChelseaKat's launch that evening. Eva appreciated the gesture yet didn't want for Kat to have to share her father – or for Kat to think she was somehow trying to sabotage her big night.

While Ted was still optimistic that Eva would eventually be welcomed by the entire family, Eva saw the launch as an opportunity for Ted and Nicole to bond as they celebrated their daughter. Leslie arrived to take Eva out, but she assumed from the sight of Ted that Eva already had plans. Eva countered that she was ready to accompany Leslie, who snarked that the only money Ted approved of was the Dupree kind he couldn't get enough of.

Once Ted left, Leslie chirped that she and Eva would be dining at the Fairmont Crest Country Club. When Eva noted that Leslie didn't have a pass, Leslie bragged about how she had just bought a membership. Leslie couldn't wait to sample all the finery, and Eva affected a mock snobby gait, glibly droning that she would try not to embarrass Leslie while dining with her.

Kat thanked a caller for retrieving a shipment that had been delivered to another city. Chelsea worried that more snafus were coming, but Kat didn't think the universe balanced good things by also doling out bad things. Happy to hear Chelsea come around and say that “the wonder cousins” could handle anything, Kat enthusiastically predicted they would only have “champagne problems” from that point on and put her total faith behind Chelsea and her vision. Together, Chelsea and Kat squealed the ChelseaKat name.

As Kat prepared to set up shop at the venue with Tomás and enjoy the upcoming family celebration, Chelsea presented Kat with flowers and thanked her for taking care of all the business aspects – and for encouraging her to tell Dani she wanted to quit modeling. The cousins became emotional and giggled as they opted to ditch Tomás and Madison to simply grow old together at the guest house. After Kat left, a shadow appeared in Chelsea's doorway – it was Bill, who had come to congratulate his daughter.

Chelsea asked about Hayley and was surprised that Bill was going to be at the event instead of home with his recuperating wife. Bill assured Chelsea that Hayley would be fine and recalled how Vernon had come up with the nickname “ChelseaKat,” since the cousins had always been inseparable; Chelsea remarked that they'd chosen that name for the company to honor Vernon. Bill expressed his pride in Chelsea's accomplishment and said he'd be the tall guy in the back shouting her name.

On his way out, Bill ran into Madison, confused as to why his neurologist was making a house call to his daughter. Madison winced as Chelsea told Bill they were “friends” but asked the stroke recoverer if he had been keeping his follow-up appointments. Bill eye-rolled his acknowledgement and left. Chelsea apologized to her girlfriend and elaborated that she hadn't clued Bill in to her sexual identity yet, as the dynamic with her father hadn't merited that kind of familiarity. Madison remembered how long it had taken her to come out to her own family and understood that Chelsea needed more time to tell Bill.

Chelsea didn't want Madison holding back on being publicly affectionate at the event; when Madison determined that such displays would surely mean Bill finding out about them, Chelsea was fine with it happening in that moment. Madison tested her resolve, demonstrating hand holding, then kisses to estimate where the affection line should be drawn. They made out after Chelsea instructed Madison that she'd let her know where the line was. Kat's call was interrupted; she had forgotten the PR bags she was supposed to distribute around the event space. Chelsea got Madison to transport them and assured the neurologist that she'd be right behind her.

Dani and Naomi came to the Dupree mansion ready to “pre-party” in honor of Chelsea's purse kick-off. Anita was somber enough that Dani noticed; when Anita disclosed that Leslie had gotten her hands on Barbara's trust fund, Dani assumed Leslie had seduced a man in Barbara's family. “If she's Barbara's daughter, I'm Serena Williams!” Dani exclaimed when Anita clarified that Barbara was Leslie's mother.

Naomi argued with Dani over the idea of bringing Bill in for help; Vernon tabled the squabble by alerting them that Bill had already deemed the trust irrevocable. Nicole grumbled that all they could do was wait and see how Leslie weaponized her newfound fortune against them. Anita wasn't as certain as the Dupree sisters that Leslie would use her money to fund attacks; the singer reminded her daughters that, while they had never wanted for anything, she had had her own times of poverty, like Leslie. Dani didn't share Anita's opinion that Leslie might spend her wealth on traveling the world instead of bothering them.

Nicole posited that Anita wanted the Leslie situation to go away out of a desire to not fight Barbara's daughter – but maintained that she knew Leslie, who wasn't going to stop. “Any more than I will,” Nicole promised. Vanessa then paid a visit and reported to the Duprees how Leslie had put her through her paces, making the realtor show her house after house. “The unmitigated gall!” Vernon exclaimed after Vanessa communicated that Leslie had put in a bid on a property right across the street.

Vernon was ready to buy the house himself to keep Leslie from having it, but the Duprees realized they couldn't scoop up every available home in Fairmont Crest to that end. Anita advised her clan that they needed to be resigned to the fact that Leslie was going to become a neighbor...one way or the other. Privately, Vernon saw Anita's upset and suggested they skip the launch, but Anita refused. Recalling how Bill and Hayley moving into the community had seemed like the end of the world at the time, and how their presence had turned out to be manageable, Vernon reasoned that perhaps Leslie living nearby would also be a non-event. Anita begged to differ.

At the country club, Tomás marveled to Kat about the purses being presented in display cases like they were works of art. Kat saw Leslie and Eva entering and told them they didn't belong at the exclusive spot, causing the Thomas women to smirk. Tomás tried to step between Ted's feuding daughters; after Eva crowed that she and her mother would be in the dining room and nowhere near the ChelseaKat launch, Leslie boasted that she was the club's newest member, which made Kat chortle.

However, Kat was dismayed to learn that Tomás had known about Leslie suddenly coming into money. As the maître d' escorted Leslie and Eva into the banquet room, Tomás sheepishly told Kat she had been too busy with the launch for him to inform her about Leslie's windfall.

Kat toppled the celebratory mood of her family upon her arrival at the mansion, cracking, “Seriously, guys, are we dropping secrets like Drake drops albums?” Anita was sorry about Kat not having been filled in about Leslie's ascent yet stressed that Kat needed to focus on the launch. Kat wasn't sure how she could, but Dani asserted that Leslie couldn't touch ChelseaKat's achievement; Vernon chimed in that Chelsea and Kat were “what made the Dupree name great.” Kat wondered why Chelsea still hadn't arrived, causing Madison to quip that Chelsea was probably changing her shoes for the third time.

As Chelsea indeed swapped out her footwear, a hand grasping a cloth reached out from behind her and covered her mouth. Chelsea screamed.

Bill and Ted watched Leslie and Eva sipping bubbly across the banquet room. “You forgive with the same energy I hold a grudge,” Bill decided after Ted granted that he wouldn't know Eva had Leslie not come back into town. Ted replied that he was doing his best to get past the scandal through which Eva had been introduced to him and make up for missing her childhood. Leslie was adamant about keeping her gaze on Bill, wanting him to see her transformation from “the trembling little coward he chased out of town to the deserving socialite.”

Eva praised her mother's courage in having given birth to her anyway despite Bill's threats. Leslie regretted that Barbara hadn't had her instinct for self-preservation and was saddened that her mother had ended her life after having her dreams stolen from her by Anita. Eva hated that Barbara hadn't gotten to meet either of them, but sensed that Barbara was now taking care of them. Leslie agreed and raised her glass to Barbara; Eva said, “Thanks, Grandma,” while Leslie winked at Ted.

Bill asked Ted where things stood with him and Nicole, and was flabbergasted to discover that Nicole had started to date Carlton, Ted's own business partner. When Ted wanted Bill's help, Bill said he didn't deal in amicable divorces. Ted made clear that his intention was to stop the divorce; Bill didn't think there was much he could do there outside of stretching out the proceedings. After Ted asserted that he would do his part if Bill did his, Eva stopped by to say goodnight to her dad – but Leslie warned Bill that she wasn't the same person he had once trifled with.

Eva tried to lead Leslie away, while Bill sneered that harassing another club member was grounds for expulsion. “You think you can intimidate me, Billy-goat?” Leslie sassed. Ted, Bill, and Eva were all equally shocked when Leslie proclaimed that she had bought the house across the way from the Duprees. Once the Thomases returned to Eva's room, Eva fumed that Leslie had always claimed she couldn't be happy without money and status, but now that she had it, all she could do was step on people's necks.

Leslie denied that buying a mansion on the other side of the Duprees had been a revenge tactic and told Eva she could have a whole wing. Eva retorted that, unlike Leslie, she didn't get off on everyone hating her. “They took my mother, they took my man – they threatened to take you!” Leslie insisted. No amount of money in the world would make them even, Leslie stated; she would just have to be happy with some real estate, which she had exaggerated about. As Leslie confessed that she had only made an offer, she got confirmation that the offer had been accepted. Leslie danced around the room; Eva looked disgusted.

Meanwhile, somewhere, Chelsea stirred, unconscious – she was handcuffed and tethered to a bed.

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