Beyond the Gates Recap for October 8, 2025: “Kenneth” continued to loom over the Richardson-Smiths and Donnell got a mother of a shock

Here's what went down Wednesday, October 8, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Marcel laid down the rules of engagement, Dani warned Nicole about heart blockage, and Jacob found a puzzle piece.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Drake, the dealer at Lakeview Casino, stood up nervously when Marcel entered the back room. Marcel cracked that he wasn't there to whack Drake, who referred to the detective as “the executioner”; if Marcel wanted Drake dead, Malone added, he wouldn't just walk in. He knew Joey wasn't in residence and had just stopped by for a drink. Drake was unnerved to hear that his boss was at the police station, suggesting that he could make a run for his sister's place in Tallahassee if needs be. “Would you calm your twitchy ass down? Damn,” Marcel interjected.

Marcel reported that Joey was busy performing “slick magic tricks” to cover everyone's tracks in regard to Doug's death – including erasing Marcel from the establishment's security footage. Across town, Vanessa became unsettled as she asked Donnell why they had to keep watching the video over and over; repeated viewings weren't going to change that it documented the minutes before Doug got into his car and died. Donnell had been hoping to see one moment of clarity in his father – that Doug hadn't had one made no sense to the grieving son, since Doug had always used his experience as a surgeon to drill into his kids the dangers of reckless driving.

Vanessa cried that Doug had, by betting his beloved watch from her, he had traded in their marriage for a few chips – and in losing those, he appeared as if he'd had nothing left to live for. Donnell asked Joey if there was footage from the parking lot; Armstrong replied that the camera there had been broken for some time. When Donnell still wanted answers and questioned why the clip had no sound, Vanessa yelled for him to stop. They'd seen enough, and she couldn't handle anymore. Yet Jacob's eyebrow raised, feeling there was something missing.

Jacob saw that the dealer wasn't at the table with Doug and reasoned that he was the last person who had seen Doug alive. Joey lied that Drake wasn't on his payroll anymore but offered to call him down to the station for Donnell to interview. Vanessa didn't think it was a good idea. She was already exhausted from showing a brave face at Doug's memorial and listening to people talk about the Doug they thought they knew. Donnell picked up that his mother had been aware of his father's problems and asked Vanessa if she and Doug had fought about his intention to gamble that night. Vanessa flashed back to their argument about her being with Joey.

“I didn't know it would lead to this,” Vanessa sobbed as Joey approached. Donnell felt bad for upsetting his mom and acknowledged that Doug had made his own choices – but Donnell still required answers. Vanessa needed to get out of the station, with Joey offering to walk her to her car as Donnell stared at his father's watch.

Drake marveled at the favor Joey had done for Marcel. The crooked cop said “selfish bastard” Joey had done the favor for himself, and Drake smirked about Joey cancelling Marcel's retirement. Drake got Joey's summons and worried he was being set up; Marcel advised the dealer to follow instructions and revealed that Joey wanted him present at the precinct as well. And if Drake planned to go rogue, Marcel warned, he would meet Doug's fate.

Marcel arrived to find Jacob and Donnell continuing to study the video; when Marcel gruffly said that watching the clip on repeat wasn't going to bring Donnell peace, the young Mr. McBride retorted that he wasn't interested in a psychological assessment. Donnell just wanted to figure out what Doug's state of mind had been, but Marcel said he had never met Doug. Marcel exchanged a quick glance with the incoming Drake, who told Jacob that Joey had gotten to him before he'd finished packing to leave town.

Jacob found the timing of Drake's departure convenient. Drake responded that not only had he been canned for filching Doug's watch, he had started to feel worn down by the majority of customers who left his table having lost everything. Donnell didn't want to hear a sob story and demanded that Drake tell him about Doug's last moments. When Drake explained how Doug had been vehement about winning despite the cost, Donnell railed that his dad had been too methodical to put himself out on a limb like that – unless someone like Drake was egging him on.

Marcel watched as Drake scoffed at “junior” conducting the interview. Jacob stepped in when Donnell stated he didn't care that Maryland had no laws regarding server liability. Donnell had seen Doug's incapacitation in the clip and fumed that it behooved a bartender to let customers drink as much as they wanted because they'd be more likely to lose. Drake stayed cool as he said he wasn't a babysitter – and though he had arranged an Uber for Doug, Drake said, the man was already gone by the time the rideshare had pulled in.

Jacob wanted to know if Doug had planned on meeting with anyone else that night. Drake conveyed that Doug had only expressed a desire to go home; Donnell stopped short of begging Drake to tell him if Doug had said or done anything that would have indicated his state of mind. “Just that he didn't like losing,” Drake mentioned. Jacob asked Drake to delay his move; Drake agreed. After Drake left, Jacob decided that the unsatisfied Donnell needed to clear his head and escorted him out of the department.

Vanessa and Joey met at Uptown; he comforted her as she bemoaned the fact that she couldn't tell her probing son that his parents had fought viciously not long before Doug had died...especially since the fight had been about Joey. When the realtor berated herself for being in Puerto Rico with Joey, taking off her wedding ring while Doug was driving drunk, Joey was adamant that Vanessa had no reason to feel guilty. Doug had made his own choices, Joey maintained.

Joey invited Vanessa to lean on him and took her into his arms. Vanessa was conflicted and confused and wanted time to stop. Joey urged her to focus on Donnell...who walked in with Jacob and saw Joey holding his mother's hand.

At the Richardson-Smith brownstone, Smitty called out for the kids; getting no answer, Smitty ordered Martin to sit down. The reporter felt Martin was out of his mind for wanting to turn himself in for disfiguring “Kenneth” and killing his brother; when Martin remarked that he had been about to go public at the Orphey Gene's presser anyway, Smitty reminded him that his back had been against the wall then, and Martin only wanted to do it now as part of a hero complex. Martin was choosing to do it for Smitty, to make right all his secrecy that had blown up their marriage and put their kids at risk. Smitty was horrified by the idea of people being able to dissect their lives once the truth came out.

Martin was convinced that full disclosure was the only way he could win back Smitty's trust. Smitty grabbed their family photo and presented it as the reason why Martin had to keep quiet, but Martin insisted that Samantha and Tyrell deserved the whole story, asking why Smitty was pivoting from his mandate that there be no more secrets. Smitty felt that the kids had suffered enough and held that Vernon, Anita, Ted, and even Bill faced the possibility of jail time if Martin went through with what Smitty called a “selfish” plan.

It also made no sense to Smitty that Martin would put himself on the line knowing Joey was involved in the cover-up – unless Martin had only offered to go public as a way to impress Smitty. Martin was hurt that Smitty thought he was being manipulated. “You've lied to me before,” Smitty spat. After Martin showed Smitty a text exchange with Jacob proving his intentions, Smitty conceded that he might have overreacted. Smitty apologized, but Martin became cold, lamenting how far the two had fallen.

Smitty didn't want Martin falling on his sword for him – especially since it was possible a jury wouldn't believe the reason why Martin had committed the violent acts. Martin didn't know how to fix his life otherwise and wondered how else they could reach a point where Smitty could trust him again. Smitty couldn't offer a timeline, frustrating Martin, who wanted to put in the work to make things right. Mr. Smith said that Mr. Richardson had betrayed him, and that couldn't be repaired overnight. Martin felt that Smitty was tying both of his hands...“and it's absolutely killing me,” the congressman divulged.

Martin wanted to talk more before agreeing to Smitty's request to call off his meeting with Jacob. Smitty swore he would send the message if Jacob didn't, so Martin complied – but pondered how he and Smitty should proceed. Smitty didn't like the back-and-forthing they'd been doing, either, and alighted on something else Martin could do to move the needle for them: couples therapy. While they'd have to be discreet about the secret that had caused their rift, Smitty calculated, it would be a way for him and Martin to air out their feelings. Martin was all for it, but inquired if it would be enough.

“No,” Smitty answered. “That's only half the solution.” He suggested that he and Martin have a date night once a week – something they could build on and have to look forward to. Martin hoped Smitty wouldn't change his mind again, so Smitty committed to having their first date that evening, conscious that he needed to put work in himself. The Richardson-Smiths consented to take that first step together.

Nicole and Dani discussed Smitty and Martin's issues, with Dani pointing out that everyone in the family seemed to be having relationship problems – including Nicole. The psychiatrist said she had made peace with being split from Ted; when Dani asked for alcohol, Nicole said there wasn't any, which her sister didn't believe. Dani said her drinking was nothing Nicole needed to worry about – “unless you've got another fine nephew somewhere,” she winked.

After Nicole relented and got up to get Dani a drink, Dani said she could do without and recognized that Nicole was still squeamish about her marriage to Andre. Nicole still thought the union had more to do with Bill, but she saw that Dani cared about Andre and asked her not to hurt the photographer, since he had been so deeply affected by his parents' deaths. Dani promised not to play with Andre's heart and changed the topic to the beautiful eulogy Nicole had written for Doug.

The Dupree sisters discussed Doug's demons and mutually expressed their concern for Vanessa, wondering how she was going to get through losing her husband. Nicole hesitated but mentioned that Vanessa had been getting “uncomfortably close” to Joey, which shocked Dani. Still, Dani said that Joey's reputation was only a rumor and that they had no right to dictate who anyone else should be with. Nicole realized that Dani was also talking about her and Andre and supposed that she had to let Kat navigate her own love life as well.

Dani laughed at the Dupree women's bad taste in men and let Nicole evade the topic of Ted by instead asking about Carlton. When Nicole was firm that she and Carlton were just friends, Dani begged to differ, noting Carlton's “bedroom eyes” and the kiss he and Nicole had shared earlier. Nicole was wary because Ted and Carlton were business partners, but she also told her sister that she was done with love, period.

Nicole stated she was too old to start over; Dani frowned upon her sis using the “O” word, since they were “too close in age.” After Nicole claimed she was too busy and didn't want to put herself out there again, Dani animately said that Nicole was trying to be logical where logic didn't apply; love was not that, and never would be. Besides, Dani grinned, she was the emotional hurricane in the family who spun out of control...“so stay in your lane and get back into your own.”

Dani got serious and labeled Nicole scared to death. Nicole felt that was to be expected after what she had been through – plus, what she and Ted had once had had been considered the gold standard. Though the rug had been brutally pulled out from her, and publicly at that, Nicole recognized that she had gotten back and up had made herself a vow that she would never fall like that again. To her, putting up a wall was survival.

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After getting a sext from Andre, Dani announced that she had to go – but first she wanted to apologize to Nicole for setting a bad example when her own marriage had imploded. She felt Nicole's heart was too big to close; Carlton didn't have to be “the one,” but Nicole could let him be “the one for right now.” The siblings hugged.

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

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