Beyond the Gates Recap, July 16, 2025: Dead men told no tales, but Martin sure did

Here's what went down Wednesday, July 16, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Vanessa not only pushed, but mailed her envelope, Anita came home to bad news, and Smitty got his chance to hold Martin's feet to the fire.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, the assembled press at Orphey Gene's murmured amongst themselves about the conference being cancelled due to Martin's “family emergency,” Martin verified with Bill that “Kenneth” was dead. Bill said that the man's demise had come about because of a “robbery gone wrong,” but Martin believed that was just a cover; Vernon remembered Marcel holding “Kenneth” at gunpoint outside the diner. Martin was stunned that he had almost put his career and family in jeopardy by going public with what had happened two years before.

Martin regained his senses and realized that Bill had been sent the photo of the dead “Kenneth” at “the perfect time.” Bill revealed that the police had simply apprehended a criminal and that his death, while sad, meant that Martin no longer needed to live under the constant threat of “Kenneth” exposing him. Martin insisted that his nightmares would continue until he stood in his truth about what had happened, and wanted Bill to explain why “Kenneth” had died just as he was about to reveal that truth. Meanwhile, two reporters discussed the fact that Martin was having a hushed conversation instead of running out as soon as he was told about his “family emergency.”

As Martin began to deduce that “Kenneth's" death had been premeditated, the reporters questioned Martin as to the reasons for the abrupt end to the presser. The congressman smiled that he was dealing with a family matter; his staffer took the cue and excused the press corps. Vernon hushed Martin as he complained how Bill had robbed him of his right to take responsibility for himself. Incensed, Martin departed the diner.

Vernon took Bill to task for not having Joey call off his thugs. The patriarch felt they had dodged a bullet when “Kenneth's" first assassination attempt had been fouled, and accused Bill of playing along when they had agreed to get rid of “Kenneth” with another payment. Bill spat that money hadn't worked in the past and that “Kenneth” would only have kept coming back for more. Vernon fumed that he and his family were now accessories to murder; Bill held that he had covered the tracks and that the next time his dysfunctional family imploded, maybe he wouldn't be there to clean up the mess. Vernon scowled that he was the one who had the power and left Bill to his own devices.

Anita returned home, but Vernon was nowhere to be found. She let a call go to voicemail, deeming it a “mood killer.” Later, Vernon arrived and was overjoyed when Anita revealed herself. She avoided a second call and focused on Vernon, intuiting that something was bothering Vernon when he said that he'd really needed to see her that evening. Vernon tried to pivot, chirping that it must have been good news that brought Anita home, but Anita wasn't having it. Anita went expressionless as Vernon told her how the night from two years prior had resurfaced, and that Martin was drowning because of it.

When Vanessa asked Joey if she had been brought to the presser simply to serve as his alibi, Joey told her she was beautiful. Vanessa noted that Joey hadn't reacted when the sudden press conference had come to an even more sudden end; as the Duprees were her friends, she wanted to know if something was wrong with them. Joey grabbed Vanessa's wrist as she rose to take her questions directly to Martin; the casino owner said that Vanessa should be a lot more worried about what Martin's secrets held. Because Vanessa wouldn't relent, Joey admitted that he had arranged for a bad man to be “disposed of.”

Stopping there, Joey said there were limits to what he would share with Vanessa about his business. He sensed that she acted turned on by the danger, but was really unsettled by it. Vanessa saw Marcel entering and called him over to the booth, grinning about what she'd heard had been a “productive evening.” “Remind me again what you find remotely attractive about this one?” Marcel asked Joey sarcastically. When Vanessa kept prodding Joey about his “disposal business,” Armstrong finally shouted, “Enough!” and threatened Vanessa that, if she didn't stop, her evening would end in a much less pleasant way than with a romp on a poker table. Marcel signaled that things were taken care of, and Joey privately kissed a cowed Vanessa after she agreed she could take direction.

A somber Bill was sitting at the country club bar when Dani sauntered in. She wondered if he was still torqued about her involvement in Hayley's pregnancy emergency and asserted that Hayley should have been able to anticipate the stress of coming over to her house uninvited. Bill balked at the idea that he was supposed to blame Hayley and denied that he wanted to open up to Dani about what was troubling him. Dani joked that watching Bill Hamilton miserable was quality entertainment, but offered to lend Bill an ear anyway. Bill would only say that Dani's daddy had read him the riot act; Dani figured Bill had deserved it, but also recognized that Vernon had seen ambition and intelligence in Bill decades ago, and that was why Vernon had supported Bill's fledgling law career. Bill didn't think Vernon saw him that way anymore.

Samantha and Tyrell were freaking out about Martin and his well-being, given the circumstances, but Smitty reminded them that Martin had decided to leave instead of telling them the truth about the danger they were in. Smitty was adamant that they would talk once Martin returned. Tyrell and Samantha reluctantly went to their rooms when Smitty got a phone call...one informing him about Martin's press conference. Smitty fielded another call from a fellow reporter inquiring into why the presser was cancelled; Smitty wondered aloud what Martin had gotten himself into.

Martin came home and saw that Smitty's bags were packed. He begged for a chance to explain, but Smitty was so incensed that his husband had let him go on worrying for months about the nightmares – and had avoided every chance to be honest about them – that the returned Samantha and Tyrell were surprised by his intensity. Smitty felt he'd been pushed aside as if he were nothing and that Martin's state of mind had needlessly made their kids anxious and scared. Martin acknowledged his behavior, but when he only wanted to unburden himself to another adult, Smitty demanded that the kids deserved to know what had been happening as well.

Samantha barely convinced Tyrell that they should let their fathers speak alone. Once they'd gone upstairs, Smitty didn't want Martin's apologies or guilt – he wanted answers. Revealing that he had seen “Kenneth,” the man who had accosted their children, Smitty swore he would leave if Martin lied one more time. Martin went right into his explanation of how, on the night in question, he and Vernon had taken a wrong turn on their way back from a political event and ended up on a dark country road.

In flashback, Martin and Vernon were laughing over a story Martin was telling about a dog who kept interrupting his speech when their car got a flat tire. As Martin grabbed a tire iron from the hatchback and got to work, a truck pulled up and two men exited from it. “What do we got here?” one asked, with the other, the pre-surgery “Kenneth,” sneering that he'd never met “a spook” who had known anything about cars. Predicting trouble, Vernon got out and thanked the men for stopping by, assuring them they had the automotive situation under control. The other man, “Kenneth's" brother, proposed assistance but wanted to know how much cash Martin and Vernon had on them first.

When Vernon suggested that they could call the police for assistance, “Kenneth” reached for Martin, saying, “Let's see what color's your money.” His brother began assaulting Vernon and pulled out a gun. Martin whacked him on the head with the tire iron and knocked him out, then hit “Kenneth” in the face with it. When “Kenneth” went down, Martin kept pummeling him with his fist until he had blood all over his shirt; Vernon had to pull him back. Vernon checked “Kenneth's" brother for a pulse, but he was dead; “Kenneth” was unconscious with his face badly injured. Martin's hands shook – he couldn't believe what he had done.

With labored breaths, Smitty expressed incredulity over the chain of events. “There's more,” Martin whispered hauntingly. He admitted he'd been out of it and didn't remember much of what had happened next. Smitty encouraged Martin not to shut down again; Martin caught himself and divulged that Vernon had known just who to call – Marcel Malone. Police Chief Elon Hawthorne had accompanied Marcel to the scene. Martin went over how Vernon had taken charge and gotten Marcel to take Martin home...which was when Smitty had seen him coming in wearing different clothes – Vernon's.

Martin cried that he had killed a man as if it had meant nothing. He added that memories of what he had done to “Kenneth's" face returned to him in his nightmares. It had all been so awful, Martin had never been able to bring himself to tell Smitty. The reporter reasoned that there had been a body and a witness; Martin confessed that Joey had been brought in, and Smitty realized that this explained Marcel's mysterious cash deposits. “Saving a congressman's career doesn't come cheap,” Martin replied ruefully. He had gone along with everything...because, while it was true he had been defending himself and Vernon, there were other ways those circumstances could be interpreted.

Smitty listened as Martin described the level of rage he had felt over his grandfather being attacked. Martin had wanted to take a stand against the racism that “Kenneth” and his brother had acted on and represented, but Martin had lost control of himself in his fury. The Richardson-Smiths embraced, as Smitty could barely fathom the hell Martin had been living through.

“You want the rest now?” Martin asked Smitty, who would brook no more delays. Martin spelled out how “Kenneth” had been so badly disfigured that Ted had been recruited to reshape his face with plastic surgery – and that “Kenneth” had, without Martin's knowledge, been handsomely paid to move overseas. Smitty put it together that “Kenneth” had returned for more and used their kids to get to Martin – but Martin added that “Kenneth” had been even more calculated in getting hired at the country club weeks earlier; naturally, Martin hadn't recognized him because of the surgery.

Smitty was beside himself that “Kenneth” had been hovering so long and that Martin had kept quiet about the danger the blackmailer posed. He didn't buy Martin's reasoning that Vernon had ordered secrecy – “Vernon isn't in this relationship, Martin!” Smitty chastised. Martin had wanted to keep Smitty in the dark to foster plausible deniability and so that the kids would still have one father if something went wrong, but Smitty couldn't abide Martin leaving their family vulnerable by letting them proceed blind. What if “Kenneth” had wanted retribution instead of money? Smitty asked. His eyes welling over, Smitty reiterated that the man had gotten to Tyrell and Samantha and could have harmed them.

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Martin was shocked to hear that Smitty had found “Kenneth” and confronted him. “I had no reason to think he was dangerous because my husband wouldn't tell me!” Smitty yelled. When Smitty passed on how “Kenneth” had declared Martin the villain in the story, Martin conceded, “Maybe he's right.” Smitty wouldn't let Martin play on his sympathies and berated Martin for not letting him and the kids be forewarned. Martin regretted lying to Smitty, who could accept that – but not that Martin had put loyalty to Vernon over loyalty to their family with the kids. Smitty wanted Martin out as long as he was being targeted by “Kenneth” and wondered if there had been another payoff when Martin promised that the danger was over. Martin assured Smitty that they all were safe...because “Kenneth” was dead. Smitty's eyes widened.

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

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