Beyond the Gates Recap, June 20, 2025: Nicole reevaluated her marriage, and players in Martin's cover-up emerged

Here's what went down Friday, June 20, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Doug hated the idea of Vanessa sleeping with the enemy, Anita phoned home and suspected that things were extraterrestrial, and “Kenneth” hinted at the real victim of Martin's lost evening.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Ted was leaving his office when he ran into Nicole, who had been receiving Ted's increasing deliveries of flowers but advised him to stop sending them. Nicole realized that Ted was trying to get closer to her by gifting her with the blooms – however, she had stopped by to, in light of their separation, discuss their living trust on the advice of their lawyer. Mrs. Richardson had other documents that would have them functioning more as individuals than marrieds, but Mr. Richardson wanted to move back in.

Nicole scoffed, though Ted offered to sleep in a different bedroom. He was simply of the opinion that they should be near each other before their marriage completely slipped away, and he owned up to having an affair that he kept secret for decades. Nicole proclaimed that she needed to gain a sense of self, since most of her adult life had been as half of a couple – and their union had been a lie. Ted stood firm that not everything had been a lie, but Nicole needed to make the legal changes, which Ted defined as her paving over all that they'd had together and making like it had never existed.

While Nicole couldn't say that she didn't miss Ted, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him or let him come home. She couldn't reconcile their happy years with the spectre of Leslie hanging over them the entire time without her knowledge. Ted was aware that he had broken Nicole, but she couldn't look at him without seeing Leslie. Letting Ted return, Nicole said, would be like inviting Leslie in with him. Ted wanted to help Nicole move past that sensation and averred that Leslie had no more power over them – there were no more secrets for Leslie to explode. Nicole recognized Ted's attempt to save their marriage, but she needed to save herself; near tears, Nicole walked out.

Vanessa was on the phone with Joey, smirking that he would have complete privacy to vet a property for his purposes. Joey was resentful that Vanessa and Doug had blackmailed him into giving them a 20% commission, but Vanessa blew it off. Doug caught the tail end of the conversation and wasn't happy that Vanessa had devised a way to meet Joey in empty homes to avoid detection. “Remember to leave the bedroom like you found it,” Doug sneered, “unless you restrict that part of your business to card tables.” Vanessa couldn't understand why Doug was suddenly against them working with Joey, figuring Doug was either bothered by Vanessa beating Joey at his own game or by the relationship she had with the casino owner.

Doug didn't want Vanessa breaking the law to release him from his debt and wondered why she found Joey so exciting. Vanessa had no answer, but Doug felt that the danger Joey and the scheme represented turned Vanessa on. Vanessa understood the risk involved in learning everything about Joey and was insulted that Doug was shaming her for sleeping with the man when it had been Doug's gambling that had gotten them into their current predicament. Doug accepted that responsibility, but fretted that they had no way of knowing how their arrangement with Joey would end.

Vanessa was confident she could handle Joey, leaving Doug to say he'd have no choice but to sit back and watch the train wreck, since his complicity meant he couldn't go to the police. But Doug pointed out that after Joey had gotten what he wanted, Doug was done with all of it. Doug abandoned Vanessa to do his rounds, and when Nicole approached her, she exasperatedly asked her friend, “Why do we get married?” The realtor remarked that she and Doug were at a crossroads between the righteous path and the corrupt one, but didn't elaborate beyond that. Vanessa was going to live her life her way, and everyone else could “eat my dust.”

Elon confronted Jacob about pulling strings beyond his duties to track down June's belongings – but instead of being upset, Elon was proud of his son. After Elon left to take a call, Smitty arrived at the station for a meeting with Jacob, asking if they could chat somewhere where they couldn't be overheard by other officers...considering he had sensitive information about one of them. Elon watched out of the corner of his eye as Smitty told Jacob about the $5,000 and $500,000 payments to Marcel. While Smitty convinced Jacob to move their conversation elsewhere, Elon set up a meeting with someone “in the usual spot.”

Marcel found Elon at the casino and complained that his bank account had been hacked into – but that no money had been stolen. Elon reported that he had overheard Smitty telling Jacob about the deposits, with the entering Joey confirming that he had been the one to give Marcel the $5K back in the spring. The three men sat down to a poker game, but Joey snarked that Doug had better skills than his sullen partners. Joey calmly said that they had to play the hand they'd been given two years earlier. “Pure poetry if it made any frickin' sense,” Marcel jeered. Elon told Marcel that he would handle Jacob, and that it was better for Marcel to play nice with Smitty and satisfy his curiosity. Marcel wanted to take a tire iron to Smitty. “Now, now,” Joey mock smiled. “When did violence ever solve anything?”

Vanessa walked in on the men, and Joey introduced her to Marcel and Elon, whom Vanessa recognized as the husband of her best friend's niece. Joey covered as the grumpy cops left, but Vanessa had the sense that their discussion hadn't revolved around poker. While Armstrong admitted that he and Vanessa had gotten closer through their varied mutual pursuits, he still felt a need to put boundaries in place. Vanessa claimed she wanted to know everything, but Joey didn't think Vanessa would stick around if he was completely forthcoming about his operation. “Try me,” Vanessa teased. Joey opted to take her offer under advisement.

Smitty and Jacob took a table at Orphey Gene's, where the reporter presented Marcel's connection to Joey and suggested that perhaps Marcel was the reason why Joey had never been indicted for any crimes. Jacob was dubious until Smitty mentioned that Marcel's $5,000 had been deposited on April 2 – Jacob recalled that as being the day he saw Joey giving Marcel a manila envelope. Smitty found the corroboration huge, but Jacob said he had taken his concerns to police chief and father Elon, who had explained that Joey was helping the force with a sting operation. Jacob had had his misgivings about his dad's reasoning but had let it go – however, if Marcel was dirty, it meant that Elon had lied to his face.

Jacob didn't want to believe his father was in collusion with Joey – he was more worried that Marcel might be taking Elon for a ride. Smitty advised Jacob to put the matter of Elon aside and focus on Marcel: could Jacob think of any cases that had seemed strange two years earlier, when Marcel had pocketed the half million dollars in cash? Jacob conceded that he had only been on patrol then, and not been a detective, but opined that he still would have heard if something was off. While Jacob agreed to do some digging, Smitty granted that there may be nothing to any of his concerns – but he was convinced that something stank. Joey griped that he would now have to act normally on the job while keeping an eye on everyone – including his own partner.

Vernon came home and slammed the door, yelling at someone on the phone for losing “him” – the person had been tasked with keeping tabs on the man Vernon had paid off in relation to the incident with Martin. The patriarch promised the caller they would pay the price, then hung up in anger. He did a little piano playing, yelping “What now?” into the phone when it rang. Anita was on the other end, surprised by Vernon's abruptness. Vernon made it sound like he was annoyed with a painter and changed the subject to Anita's progress with the Articulettes.

Anita called the rehearsal process “magical” and noted that she, Sharon, and Tracy were finding creative ways to work with the maturing of their voices. Vernon was pleased that things were going so well and lackadaisically told Anita not to worry about anything at home...yet Anita could sense he was holding back.

“Kenneth” dangled Martin's keys in front of him, smiling. Martin asked, “Are you who I think you are?”, and “Kenneth” replied that he looked a lot different than he did the last time Martin had seen him. The busboy noted that Martin's people had seen to his “care” on that dark road, but he wasn't about to forget what had happened. “Kenneth” called himself an avenging angel who was there to ensure Martin “paid” for his sins.

Martin ascertained that “Kenneth” was talking about financial payment, which the man didn't deny. “Kenneth” warned Martin that he could give a “blow-by-blow” of a particular night, during which Martin was changing a tire. Indeed, he wanted money from Martin...but first he wanted “to have a little fun.” When Martin asked what kind, “Kenneth” replied that Martin would know it when he saw it – “like I did when I saw you.”

After Martin told “Kenneth” to name an amount, the busboy seethed that it might have been better if he'd been left to die on that road instead of losing two years of his life. He barked that “Black royalty” could get away with anything, snubbing their noses at the roadkill they left behind. “Kenneth” hated Martin – and added that his brother would, too, if he were still there. Since he wasn't, “Kenneth” was taking it upon himself to finish what Martin had started. “Wait for it, Congressman,” “Kenneth” hinted. “Like night follows day, it's comin'.”

Martin went to see Vernon, who was distressed that Martin had faced off with “that man.” Vernon shared that he had verified the man's identity, and Martin was hurt that his grandfather had made him doubt himself. After Vernon apologized, an unnerved Martin prophesied that “Kenneth” could destroy the entire family. Vernon derided “Kenneth” for casting himself as an avenging angel when he had started the chain of events of that fateful evening. Martin explained that “Kenneth,” with his not-so-subtle racism, was intent on blackmail. Vernon vowed not to let the hateful busboy harm his loved ones. In fact, Vernon deduced that “Kenneth” had unwittingly given them time to prepare for whatever he had planned.

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Vernon wouldn't comment further and instructed a confused Martin to stay out of things – Vernon would take care of them. All Martin had to do was follow his usual routines, and as soon as “Kenneth” made his move, Martin was to come straight to Vernon. Citing his decades of overcoming obstacles, often ones that were designed to limit their people, Vernon said he had learned not to back down. Martin didn't want to be kept in the dark about anything going forward, and Vernon consented. Once Martin left, Vernon reached for his phone, placed a call, and announced, “He's back.”

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

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