Beyond the Gates Recap for December 29, 2025: Anita began her cancer battle and Eva talked parameters with Izaiah

Here's what went down Monday, December 29, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Nicole was free for NYE, Dani and Vanessa tried to Rick roll, and Leslie tried to plumb the depths of the Lakeview.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Leslie went to see Joey, proposing that he help her bankroll the free clinic she wanted to set up. Joey didn't buy Leslie's boast that the facility would give them both the legitimacy they craved; Joey added that Leslie was only interested in the project because she was searching for validation from Fairmont Crest. Leslie scoffed, while Joey said she'd come to him because other doors had been closed to her as a result of “crash[ing] into the Dupree dynasty.”

However, Joey couldn't deny Leslie's assertion that he was curious and agreed to sit down to hear more about the clinic. He wasn't fond of the idea of existing in the shadows while Leslie basked in the credit, but she was certain that he rather thrived in the shadows. She urged him to think about funding the center, as it would give them a chance to know each other better... “Much better,” Leslie crooned.

At Uptown, Dani and Vanessa got caught up on their holidays. Vanessa described how Donnell had given her his blessing to pursue things with Joey, while Dani correctly guessed that the more fragile Deanna wouldn't yet be able to handle the news of her mother's new relationship. Vanessa couldn't believe that Nicole had thought Vernon had been cheating on Anita; Dani marveled at her dad's surprise singing on Christmas Eve. Dani and Vanessa agreed that Ted had been trying to score points with Nicole by going to her about Vernon, chastising his having believed Leslie's claim of infidelity.

Dani drooled over Rick, the bartender, sending Pamela a secret pic of him with an eye toward snagging him for their modeling agency. Vanessa thought Rick would be a better fit for the Heart Attach escort service, so the besties placed a friendly wager between themselves over who could get Rick on whose payroll. However, when the women approached the man and seductively made their cases, Rick begged off the both of them, reporting that he had a fiancée, and that they each had their own goals. Vanessa and Dani shrugged and laughed – then Joey arrived, noticing that the ladies were having a good time. “We were,” Dani snarked.

Joey jokingly branded the model and realtor “Thelma and Louise”; after Dani left, Vanessa told him about the bet she'd had going concerning Rick. Vanessa was surprised when Joey went over Leslie's visit and proposal, but reacted with “I hope you told her yes,” feeling that the attempt at philanthropy would boost Joey's reputation. Joey didn't care what people thought of him; Vanessa suggested that, if he didn't fund the clinic for himself, he could do it for the many people in the DMV who didn't have health insurance.

Eva was at her apartment with Izaiah, telling him that the “last few days” with him had been “unreal.” Izaiah furrowed a brow when Eva assumed they would naturally slow down once his job at Banneker kicked into high gear; he countered that he could have a career and a girlfriend. The label shocked Eva, who had defined their dalliance as no strings. Izaiah wasn't opposed to “a few strings” and told Eva how much he thought about her when they weren't together. He acknowledged how fast they had moved, but that wasn't a problem for him; he suggested that Eva lean into it and stop looking for reasons to slow things down.

Remembering that it hadn't been that long since Yolanda had broken up with Izaiah, Eva wondered if Izaiah's excitement about her had been borne out of a rebound. Izaiah relayed that things had been over with Yolanda long before they had actually split up. Both Eva and Izaiah admitted that they liked each other, though Eva decided that she wanted to be wooed. Izaiah was fine with continuing getting to know Eva, and the two landed in bed...not for the first time since Eva had brought Izaiah to her place.

Emerging from the bedroom, Eva called lovemaking with Izaiah “mindblowing” and accepted his request to join him for New Year's Eve. When Eva opened the door for the departing Izaiah, Leslie was on the other side, looking him over approvingly. Once he was gone, Eva was embarrassed by Leslie's effusiveness about her new relationship and clarified to her mother that she and Izaiah were just friends. Leslie presumed the two were friends “with Grade A benefits,” but Eva wouldn't answer Leslie's questions about how her encounters with Izaiah were.

Instead, Eva changed the subject to Leslie's day, and Leslie bragged about having sought out a potential partner for “my” clinic – a qualifier that had Eva squaring her eyes. Leslie declined to tell Eva who the benefactor was for fear of jinxing things, but she did emphasize that the person's pockets “[ran] deep.”

Fresh from a workout at the country club, Carlton saw Nicole in the banquet room and remarked how she was uncharacteristically sitting with no books or case files to study. Nicole said she was trying something new and thanked Carlton for the text he had sent her over Christmas; he communicated how he had FaceTimed with his family (his mother was “still healing”) and how he had taken on holiday shifts at the hospital so his co-workers could have the time off. Nicole told the story of how she had been told Vernon was being unfaithful to Anita, only for him to surprise the family with the results of his singing lessons.

Carlton confessed that he'd had a dream that depicted him as a bullfighter, with Nicole seated à la Eva Peron on the ring's balcony. The surgeon kissed the psychiatrist's hand and intimated that the imagery meant Nicole was worth fighting for. When Carlton asked if Nicole had any plans for New Year's Eve, she thoughtfully reflected that she hadn't actually had to make plans in decades, as she'd always spent the changeover with Ted and/or their kids. Nicole agreed to ring in the new year with Carlton, giving him a sultry kiss before he left.

Nicole eagerly started a video chat with Dani, earning the approval of her sister, who delighted in seeing Nicole in the company of both Carlton and Kial. After Dani assured Nicole that it wasn't too much for her to have options, Nicole shared that she was enjoying her newfound freedom – but she didn't have a thing to wear for New Year's. Nicole giggled when Dani promised they'd go shopping and find something that Nicole could easily take off should the occasion call for it. The Dupree siblings were proud of their progress, considering the year they'd had, and felt that things looked bright for them.

At Garland Memorial, Vernon watched as Anita's vital signs were deemed normal. Then, in private, Anita told Vernon that she kept finding herself hoping that her breast cancer diagnosis was a mistake. Vernon understood, as it was a way for Anita to protect herself from that reality. Anita resented cancer taking over her life when she had always charted her own destiny, but Vernon affirmed that “nothing rules Anita Dupree.” They had defied every other odd to be together, and this would be no different.

When Vernon said there was nowhere else he would want to be than by his wife's side, Anita cracked that he could instead be on tour with Tracy and Sharon with “those vocal cords” of his. Vernon smiled that his Christmas performance had been “one-night only” – but as talk of Anita's upcoming cancer fight resumed, she expressed uncertainty over how she was supposed to fight her own body. Vernon said that she had the weapons of science, prayer, and love, and that she could rely on him every minute.

The Duprees met the arriving Dr. Bower, the oncologist assigned to Anita. He had come to present a myriad of options but exhorted Anita to make a speedy choice, as the triple negative type of cancer she had tended to metastasize more quickly. Bower couldn't give his patient exact survival odds, but he did feel that her chances of recovery would be higher because they had caught the tumor early.

Bower explained how they would work to shrink the tumor ahead of attempting to remove it, which would require chemotherapy; Anita winced at the idea of having to have a medicinal port installed in her chest. The doctor said Anita would come to appreciate the device as a tool and confirmed that next steps would include either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.

After Bower excused himself to schedule the installment of the port, Vernon saw Anita trying to keep a stiff upper lip and urged her to lean on him, which she did literally. Anita stated that she'd always had a strong sense of self and decried who she might become because of the cancer; Vernon declared that she would always be Anita Dupree, the woman he loved. “I am not gonna let death part us,” he growled, referring to their marriage vows.

Anita wanted to know how Vernon was coping. The patriarch conceded that, like Anita, he was struggling to grasp this turn in their lives. Anita replied that she needed Vernon to keep her voice alive with their family, even if her time came – and she needed him to hold himself together, should he find himself without her, for the sake of their loved ones. Vernon got Anita to promise to fight...just as Dr. Bower returned and informed Anita that the port could already be put in later that week.

Trending

Though Anita grappled with that fact that her cancer fight was beginning that soon, Vernon gently advised her, “It's time – we have to tell the kids.” Anita concurred in silence.

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

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

Quick Links

More from SoapCentral