Beyond the Gates Recap, September 23, 2025: Smitty kicked ass and took names while the new Richardsons had a hangover honeymoon

Here's what went down Tuesday, September 23, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Derek got tested by the book being thrown at him, June had advice for every month, and Vanessa decided to use her air miles.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Dani and Andre were sleeping off their binge in Las Vegas, where each had dreams about marrying each other with an Anita Williams impersonator as the officiant. A ringing hotel room phone snapped them out of it, the noise being shrill to them. Andre clumsily answered the phone and was told they had missed checkout. “When did we check in?” Dani asked in discomfort. The hungover pair was uncertain of where they were; Dani thought they were on a cruise ship.

Each faulted the other with starting their boozing the previous night – and Dani vaguely recalled a conversation about going someplace. When Andre checked his phone and announced that they were in Vegas, Dani became flustered and was sure they had lost a ton of money gambling. The two had glimmers of being with “Anita,” prompting Dani to ask, “Was that a bottle in front of me or a full frontal lobotomy?”

However, when Andre and Dani both realized they were sporting wedding bands, they put their heads together regarding their fragmented memories and hypothesized they'd been married by an Anita double, though there seemed to be no physical proof. But then Dani spied the marriage certificate, and their legal union became all too real. Neither newlywed could find pictorial evidence of their supposed nuptials, leading Dani to quip, “There is no one I would rather not remember marrying than you.”

When Andre wondered what Dani would tell her daughters about suddenly being married, Dani cracked that she'd say their father had made her do it. They knew there'd be music to face at home; Andre was sure Nicole would come for him once she learned that her nephew was now also her brother-in-law. Though Andre said they could make the marriage go away, Dani countered that no one had to know they were husband and wife. The couple seemed to accept that they were legally bound.

At the Lakeview Casino, Marcel confirmed to Joey that he knew their plan. Joey wished he had more people like Malone on his payroll.

Derek rolled himself into Ashley's apartment in his wheelchair, thrilled that she hadn't gotten rid of his favorite recliner after he'd moved out. Naomi and Derek surprised their friend, emerging from the bathroom having made it more accessible for him – but Ashley sensed his unease and sent the Hawthornes on an errand. Ashley said the shower bars were now a permanent fixture, like Derek, but he lamented the bathroom being turned into “an outpatient outhouse.”

While Derek was grateful for the help, Ashley realized he was feeling overwhelmed. She let him know that she was not her patient nor her problem, and promised they could take baby steps. When Jacob and Naomi returned, and there was talk of dining out, Derek admitted he wasn't yet ready for a “field trip” and suggested working on the kitchen cabinets with Jacob while the ladies went to retrieve takeout. Alone with Derek, Jacob produced the engagement ring that Derek had asked him to bring from his apartment.

Derek's proposal to Ashley now felt like a lifetime ago to him. Jacob affirmed that Ashley and Derek's love for each other hadn't changed; Derek decided to hide the ring box behind books that he couldn't quite reach. When the volumes came tumbling down on Derek's legs and he winced, Jacob asked, wide-eyed, “You felt that?”

Jacob was ready to celebrate, but Derek had his friend dial it back, adamant that he only felt twinges on and off – which he wasn't ready to jinx or share with Ashley. Derek thought it would be cruel to give his fiancée false hope, while Jacob predicted that trained nurse Ashley would pick up on the change. Feeling that the withholding or conveying of the news was one of the last things he had control over anymore, Derek demanded Jacob's silence.

While waiting for takeout at Uptown, Naomi questioned Ashley about wanting to marry Derek when she had already turned the man down months earlier. Ashley pshawed that things were different now. “Yeah – he had a life-altering accident,” Naomi replied knowingly. Naomi wanted to be sure that Ashley wasn't with Derek out of pity and requested clarification about what had happened with Andre. Ashley simply said that she and Andre had realized they belonged with different people; she and Derek were destined.

At another table, Vanessa met a soused Doug at his behest; he told her he was drinking to remember who she used to be. The unemployed doctor slurred that he was accepting an invitation to a high-stakes poker game; “Like hell you are,” Vanessa replied. Doug complained about being Vanessa's side piece and barked that it was too much for her to be decent and respectable – she had to be flirty and dirty. Vanessa was tired of having the same old argument; Derek snarked that their “verbal fisticuffs” were the only things that inspired any passion in Vanessa where he was concerned.

Vanessa tried to shush the ever-increasing volume of Doug, who was ready for his high-stakes game – unless Vanessa was willing to give up their vices together. When Vanessa remained silent, Doug was ready to win big. “With your luck, I wouldn't count on it,” Vanessa countered, not sarcastically. Doug got up and left her at the table. Ashley and Naomi saw the McBrides' bitter quarreling and swore not to let that happen in their own relationships.

Joey answered Vanessa's summons and could tell from the extra glass that Doug had been drinking at her table. When Vanessa shrugged that one addiction led to another with her husband, Joey suggested a change of scenery and offered to take Vanessa away to paradise to be adored and catered to. Vanessa conceded that she'd always been tempted to go to Puerto Rico...and Joey encouraged her to give in to that temptation. “Let's do it,” Vanessa finally consented after some hesitation.

At Orphey Gene's, June poured Martin and Samantha water at their table, only to overflow a glass. Samantha said she was always spilling things and sensed that June was nervous. Martin acknowledged Samantha's thanks for not telling Smitty about her meeting with June and then left; June assured Samantha that her boss was cool with her talking to her daughter while on the clock, but was surprised that Samantha wanted her advice after “everything.” Samantha granted that June had done the right thing for both her and her brother in giving them up.

June remarked that being indoors with people was different for her – but she was still floored that she had met the classy “Anita Williams herself.” With so many wonderful women around Samantha, June reasoned, why did the teen want to see her? Samantha explained the situation with Nathan; June wanted to know if the boy was a good kid who had been raised right, like her. Nice, June said, was in the things people did – but good came from the heart. And Samantha didn't have to like Nathan back, she added.

The entry-level waitress emphasized Samantha's value and told her that boys could wait – she had plenty of time to do grown-up things, and youth was already so short. When June concluded that her daughter shouldn't do things she'd regret, Samantha asked how June dealt with that emotion. “That's a question too deep for break time,” June qualified. June became confounded when she counseled Samantha to be herself around Nathan, only for Samantha to say she didn't know who she was yet and briefly stepped away to regroup.

June returned and more confidently said that any boy would be lucky to have Samantha on his arm – but restated that the teen didn't need to be worrying about boys already. When Samantha relayed that Nathan seemed so sure of what he wanted, June scoffed that the kid “was frontin',” since he was as new to romance as Samantha was. “When we like somebody,” June expounded, “it gets easy to lean too hard into what they want.” And that, the server noted, was when people stopped listening to their inner voices. “Protect that,” June implored. “That's how you know you're still you.”

Martin found Smitty at home working on an article about the impact of biological parents re-entering their children's lives after adoption. The congressman commented that the new piece was quite the departure from the article Smitty had done about Marcel, but wondered if Smitty was too close to the subject. The estranged marrieds discussed setting boundaries for kids, with Smitty saying minors couldn't just do whatever they wanted. Smitty wanted to know where their adoptees were; Martin replied that Tyrell was at the movies...and that Samantha was with June.

Smitty became angry that he hadn't been consulted and confirmed that he would indeed have tried to stop Samantha from seeing June unsupervised had Martin discussed the matter with him. When Martin insisted that their daughter would be safe with June in a public place like the diner, Smitty reiterated how June had been on drugs for years – and how, once again, Martin was keeping secrets from him. Martin maintained that the situation was different because Samantha had taken him into her confidence. At least he had told Smitty the truth, he reckoned. “After the fact!” Smitty shouted. “Like you do every single time!”

Martin resented Smitty accusing him of having a pattern of lying. Smitty put his foot down that Samantha would have one of them present with her and June going forward, and that Martin wasn't to make any more unilateral decisions.

Smitty arrived at the diner to retrieve Samantha and was confronted by Marcel, who told the “pesky reporter” that he had read Smitty's heavily-edited article about him, and that he was glad Smitty had taken the high road. Smith smirked that Malone didn't spend much time in that space; Marcel retorted that “the air is too rarefied up there for my taste.” Smitty let Marcel know that the unredacted piece was on a hard drive in a safe deposit box – which Smitty would publish if Marcel ever did anything to hurt his family.

Marcel jeered that the Duprees had far more to lose than he did if the exposé went public and pressured Smitty to delete the story. “Won't make the truth about you disappear,” Smitty spat right before Marcel left.

Samantha hoped that she could come to June in the future if she was in search of more guidance. June was willing, but emphasized that Samantha needed to talk to her fathers first. Mother and daughter deemed each other amazing, and June cautioned Samantha to focus more on learning and listening to her parents than on boys. When June moved to take care of a table, Smitty confronted Samantha and ordered the resistant girl to wait in the car for him.

Smitty found June, who was surprised to hear that Samantha hadn't asked permission to see her – and that Smitty wouldn't have allowed it had he known the conversation was going to happen. He pointed out that Samantha and Tyrell were thriving and that he didn't want anything to disrupt that. June objected, but Smitty held that the kids were underage and that he could easily put a stop to any visits.

When June wondered what she'd done wrong, Smitty relented somewhat and said the kids could see her – but made sure she knew that he remembered how she had let them down in the past. “If you hurt them,” Smitty warned a stunned June, “it is the last time either of us make that mistake.”

Tyrell came home from his movie, talking to Martin monosyllabically and wanting to go to his room. Martin expressed that he missed spending time with Tyrell, though he recognized how disappointed the boy was in him. “All I know about is today,” Tyrell answered when Martin hoped that he would one day understand why he'd done what he had. Martin asked his son if they could make a new start from where they were in that moment, and prepared himself when Tyrell asked if Martin was ready to handle the truth.

Trending

The teenager voiced that he had appreciated Martin not micromanaging him and Samantha when June had shown up, praising his adopted dad for trusting them to make their own decisions about her. Also...Tyrell had been letting Martin beat him at chess for years. Martin laughed and challenged Tyrell to a game of mancala, agreeing to tell him all about the bill he was co-authoring as they played.

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