Beyond the Gates Recap for December 5, 2025: Fairmont Crest proper – and improper – showed out for WinterFest

Here's what went down Friday, December 5, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Kat found herself in hall of mirrors, Eva went from hairdresser to debutant, and an important moment happened...off-screen.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Ted found Tomás at the Fairmont Crest country club after a game of pickleball. After they discussed Tomás joining Ted for a game sometime, Ted wondered when Tomás would have time between deciding “which of my daughters you're sleeping with.” Tomás was mortified and told Eva and Kat's father that he had never intended to hurt either of them. The lawyer was grateful that Kat had given him another chance and announced to Ted that he had big plans for her. Ted didn't want Tomás making things worse between his feuding girls; Tomás admitted that his peacekeeping efforts had been largely ineffective as of late.

Izaiah and Jacob relaxed at Orphey Gene's, but when Jacob asked his younger brother exactly how he was spending his time aside from working at Banneker, Izaiah took offense and felt like Elon's voice was coming out of Jacob's mouth. After Izaiah pointed out that all of his old street contacts were either dead or doing jail time, Jacob relented and wondered if Izaiah had met anybody; Jacob was not thrilled to learn that Izaiah had been hanging out with Eva.

The younger Hawthorne preferred to trust his own instincts about Eva instead of listening to the Duprees' trash talk of her, prompting Jacob to remind Izaiah that the Duprees were still dealing with the very real fallout of what Eva had done. Still, Jacob invited Izaiah to WinterFest, but Izaiah declined, saying the elite gala wasn't his scene. Izaiah tried not to show his interest when Jacob informed him that Eva would be there.

At the country club, a plainclothes Marcel assured Vernon that he had coordinated with club security and that he would keep an eye on Leslie, as requested. Vernon stressed the importance of Leslie thinking Marcel was simply another guest.

Anita welcomed the visiting Tracy and Sharon into her home. When the matriarch mentioned that Vernon had come up with the name “WinterFest,” Sharon pondered where the “handsome devil” was. Both Tracy and Sharon spoke of how amazing it was that they had quickly gone from living their incognito lives to going on tour, all because of Anita. They reported that their meeting with Genoa City's Devon Winters had gone well; Anita relayed how Devon was special to her because of his father, the departed Neil Winters, who had played a big part in uplifting the jazz scene. Tracy couldn't believe that they would be re-recording a track with Barbara's resurrected vocals on it. Anita showed them the WinterFest program, whose cover boasted Barbara's image, then explained that all proceeds from the event were going toward mental health programs designed for musicians.

Sharon and Tracy were shocked to learn that troublemaker Leslie was Barbara's daughter; Tracy, especially, felt that Barbara would have told them she was pregnant, but Anita relayed that her lawyers had confirmed Leslie's identity. Her fellow Articulettes were glad that Anita at least wasn't putting any more money into the trust fund from which Leslie had benefitted. Anita noticed that Sharon seemed distracted; Tracy said that her friend had been in “never-never land” recently, and that she'd been hard to pin down for rehearsals. Was there a man involved?

Ms. Winger replied that she hadn't been as lucky as Anita in love – she just needed alone time to work with her voice after not actively singing for so long. Going to the foyer to retrieve her phone so she could get a selfie with her bandmates, Sharon ran into the entering Vernon, who asked, “Are we alone?” Anita strolled in with a playful “I caught you!”, then had Vernon get a photo of the trio for posterity.

Leslie arrived at Eva's apartment, finding her daughter flustered because she didn't know what to wear to WinterFest. Eva didn't want to look “ratchet” at her first society event that wasn't a “daddy reveal.” Leslie declared herself Eva's fairy godmother and presented her daughter with an elegant white mini-dress, which Eva loved. Leslie was thrilled that she would get to watch her little girl take her rightful place as half-Richardson, half-Articulettes royalty; she beamed that they would never be on the outside looking in again.

As Leslie fussed over Eva's hem, Eva proposed Samantha's idea to open a free clinic, which would boost Leslie in Fairmont Crest's eyes and help people who were even more unfortunate than they had been at the same time. Leslie grooved on the idea of forming a non-profit foundation as long as her name was presented in “big, big letters.” She thought the move would help them catch up with the Duprees and was full of pride that even that family would have their eyes on Eva that night.

Ted came to pick Eva up and gifted her with a Forrester Creations shawl. Ted offered for Leslie to ride with them; Leslie wanted to go alone, but she kissed Ted on the cheek as thanks for giving Eva the father and status she had missed. Ted called it long overdue; Leslie advised Eva to merely pretend she wasn't at WinterFest. This was Eva's night.

Real-life “Eyebrow King” Damone Roberts completed working on Naomi, Nicole, and Kat, who loved their looks. Nicole recalled previous WinterFests where her kids and Dani's kids played games and made snowmen; Naomi remarked that Kat always won and made sure everyone knew she was WinterFest's queen. Kat got real and asked her mother and cousin if she was self-centered. She realized her high standards for herself – and everyone else – made her high-maintenance. It had only been because of another tiff with Eva that she had begun to consider she might be egocentric.

Nicole opined that their sense of family should be strongest – plus there had been nothing connecting Eva to what Leslie had done to Laura. Kat didn't know, since everyone was okay with Eva except her, if she was in the wrong, or if her entire family had been “zombie snatched.” She didn't think blood absolved Eva of her sins, and she couldn't tolerate the idea of her father escorting Eva to WinterFest on his arm. Nicole recalled Kat's début into Fairmont Crest society, with its pomp and circumstance – and all Eva was getting was a stroll around a golf course. When Naomi piped up that it would be better for Kat to accept Eva, Kat decided she wasn't going to go to WinterFest after all.

Nicole objected, reminding her daughter that the very point of WinterFest was their giving back. Kat found it odd that Nicole would say not attending would be letting Eva win; it wasn't supposed to be a competition, she snarkily parroted. Kat called her absence from the affair a peacekeeping gesture, but Nicole remembered how Kat had also bailed on Thanksgiving so she wouldn't have to see Eva and was of the opinion that Kat had answered her own question as to whether or not she was self-centered. Appearing at a party with Eva in the room was just for one night, Nicole insisted. “It's a life sentence,” Kat fumed before walking out.

Mona and Laura saw to final prep for the gala, but Laura was a little skittish. She affirmed Mona's suspicion that Laura was apprehensive about attending the event when Leslie would be there, since Laura was a “walking, talking” reminder of what Leslie had done. Mona recruited herself to be Laura's bodyguard and promised that Leslie would neither be walking nor talking if she hassled Laura.

Tomás found Kat nursing a martini at Uptown. Kat explained how her mother had deemed her a selfish bitch; Tomás was surprised to hear that Kat wasn't going to her own family's fete. Kat hesitated to continue her rant, since she knew Tomás hated it when she “went to her Eva place.” Tomás understood that Kat felt hurt and that she was having trouble adjusting to sharing her father after never having to before. Kat pulled a “your place or mine” on Tomás, but he wanted to talk about how his bed felt empty when she wasn't in it...and suggested that they move in together.

As WinterFest began, Eva felt a little self-conscious, and that people were staring at her. Ted observed all the toys being donated and reflected that he'd missed getting to watch Eva unwrap presents when she was growing up. Asked what she'd liked to play with, Eva said she had mostly been into books but also her Barbies – and a doll head on which she used to do hair, training to do something practical since her dreams were likely to never come true.

Ted marveled that all of Eva's dreams were possible now; Eva agreed that, after the anniversary party fiasco, she had been given a chance to do a reset in everyone's eyes. Ted assured her that she had nothing to prove. After Ted excused himself for a moment, Eva saw the casually dressed Izaiah arriving. She was surprised to see him there; he said he'd known he'd see her there.

Jacob flirted with Naomi, wanting to get hot chocolate for his hot chocolate, and teasing Naomi that he could make Naomi's dreams come true by having her sit on his lap as if he were Santa. Naomi said that she already had her dream in Jacob and commented that going to couples therapy had been the right move for them; she already felt closer to her husband.

Eyeing Marcel, Jacob proceeded toward the detective and inquired what he was doing there. Marcel mocked that he wasn't trying to join the country club – he had been tasked to perform private security. Jacob thought that was a duty relegated to the rookies, but Marcel said he was eager for the extra money so he could afford repairs on his boat...for when he retired, if he was ever able to. Later, Marcel spied Leslie and brought her a drink.

Anita and Vernon escorted Sharon and Tracy into WinterFest. Tracy was in awe, saying it was like being inside a snow globe. After Vernon and Anita kissed, Tracy winked that the couple couldn't be any more in love. Anita joked that she was being proactive in publicly showing affection to her man, since “these women [were] shameless.” Sharon looked away and said, “I know the type.”

As the Duprees continued showing Tracy and Sharon around, Anita saw a fan and took Tracy with her to greet them, while Vernon lagged behind, saying he had to talk to a lobbyist; Sharon went off in search of food. Vernon and Sharon instead met at the bar, sighing over how hard it was to find a moment alone. Tracy returned and caught a glimpse of the two from across the room.

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