Beyond the Gates Recap, September 29, 2025: Allison tried to sandbag Chelsea's handbags, and Tomás got a new review

Here's what went down Monday, September 29, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Vanessa went fishing in an empty pond, Leslie didn't find the finer things fine, and Randy reupped his crooked contract.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Vanessa arrived at the police station, where she nervously went on to Jacob about how she'd always had to trick Doug into smiling for a picture. Jacob apologized for giving her the news of Doug's demise over the phone; Vanessa described how she'd told her kids, Deanna and Donnell, about the death of their father the day before. Vanessa and her children had questions – and Mrs. McBride wanted to know if there was any chance there had been foul play involved in Doug's crash.

Jacob relayed how Doug's car had caught on fire after ramming into a tree; a flask had been found alongside him, and Jacob felt that the imminent autopsy would prove that Doug had been drunk. Vanessa recalled that Laura had been run off the road as well, but Jacob reported that there hadn't been another vehicle involved in Doug's case. Jacob intuited from Vanessa's line of questioning that she had suspicions about someone. “I know exactly who's responsible,” she said coldly.

Vanessa blamed herself, saying she should have noticed that Doug had been sliding downhill. She'd hoped that there had been another reason for Doug's accident because he'd always made a point of not getting behind the wheel intoxicated. Jacob handed Vanessa a manila envelope filled with personal effects of Doug's found at the crash site – the detective assured the widow that it wasn't the envelope that was Doug's legacy, it was his family and the lives he had saved as a surgeon. Jacob was called away, and Vanessa went through the contents of the envelope, crying “I'm sorry” when she saw Doug's wedding ring.

Joey told Marcel on the phone that he hoped investigative reporter Smitty didn't end up looking into Doug's “accident.” Randy appeared, surprising Joey, who told Randy he must have a death wish for showing up when their deal had been for him to disappear forever. Joey's former employee produced a gun and demanded to know what he had to do to not end up in a ditch like Doug had.

Randy handed Joey $20,000, which was twice as much as he had taken from the casino owner. Joey wasn't convinced he should let Randy off the hook, especially since Randy had approached him with a weapon – and Joey wanted to know why he shouldn't summon his men. Plus, Joey said, he knew that Randy had been plotting with Doug to take him down. When Randy tried to explain that he had been working to talk Doug out of it, Joey interrupted, remembering that Doug and Randy had been friends since childhood – Joey was sure Doug wouldn't want Randy to sacrifice himself on Doug's behalf.

Joey was confused as to why Randy wanted to come back and work for him. Randy admitted he didn't want to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. Joey called Randy's loyalty to Doug misplaced, but when it seemed Randy would once again be loyal to him, Armstrong shook Randy's hand. “I hate it when we fight,” he quipped.

Joey called Marcel and revealed that Randy was back on his payroll. He didn't trust Randy, but he could use him – and if Randy failed him again, Joey posited, Marcel could just arrange another “accident.” At that moment, Vanessa entered the casino's back room, catching Joey on the phone.

Ted knocked on what he thought was still Eva's hotel room door, only to find Leslie answering. “Howdy, neighbor,” Leslie grinned, telling Ted that Eva didn't live there anymore – she did. Leslie waved a bra around and invited Ted to stop by whenever he wanted. Ted saw on his phone that Eva had tried to warn him; Leslie didn't like Ted's negative spin on the accommodation swap and asked him not to discount her giving Eva the apartment they had shared. Ted resented Leslie taking away his chance to get closer to Eva, which had been easier with them living in the same building.

Leslie said that Ted still had Eva at work, and surmised that Eva had been caught between them long enough. Ted refused to pay for Leslie's room; Leslie assured him she had taken care of it herself, thanks to Ted's former mother-in-law. When Ted spat that there was nothing former about his marriage, Leslie reminded him that Nicole was still very angry with him. “Because of you,” Ted frowned.

Once Ted grumbled that Nicole had been softening towards him until Leslie had announced to her rival that they'd had sex, Leslie replied that there had been no need for Ted to confirm it. Leslie found it odd that Ted didn't want to lie to Nicole when he had done nothing but for two decades; she guessed that perhaps he didn't want to save his marriage anymore.

Leslie tried caviar but nearly gagged, finding it disgusting – she offered Ted the whole jar she'd bought. When Leslie invited Ted to dine with her, he declined, but she said that he'd be seeing a lot more of her now that they could run into each other in the lobby or in the elevator. She was also sure that Ted would be thinking about her, but she toned down her seductive attitude and asked him to leave all the anger, guilt, and shame around their relationship behind. Leslie just wanted to be seen.

Ted seemed tempted when Leslie said that this time, they could go to bed sober and with the lights on. However, Ted didn't want to make the same mistake twice and walked out. Leslie appeared affected for a moment once alone, but she rallied, hoisted up her champagne, and grinned, “Never say never.”

Kat and Chelsea's guest house had been set up for the ChelseaKat online launch, with Samantha working on the sidelines. Samantha felt they should use Andre to line up shots instead of her, but Kat wanted a more “homegrown” feel and remarked that Andre wouldn't be able to model purses. The company's manufacturer, Alexandria, walked in, and Samantha got her mic'd up while Chelsea emerged from the other room, where Madison had been supplying pep talks. Kat let Chelsea know she could still back out, but Chelsea was ready to rise to the moment.

Samantha gave the cousins their cue, and Kat began her introductory statements, thanking Samantha, Alexandria, and Chelsea, who spoke assuredly and presented their first released product – the Dream Bag. Chelsea and Kat took live questions about it and showed off other variations in the line. The next call shocked everyone – it was from Allison, who referred to Chelsea as “wifey.” Samantha struggled to cut Allison off but was unable to, and Kat, seeing that Chelsea had frozen up, called a break to the live stream.

Chelsea wailed that Allison was supposed to be in jail. Samantha checked around the doors and Kat called Jacob, who explained that Allison was still in custody – she had just been talking to a lawyer and had managed to get access to a rookie's phone to join the live. “Nothing keeps me from my wife,” Allison decided determinedly. Jacob said that she and Chelsea weren't married, but Allison believed otherwise. Jacob had her taken away.

Samantha apologized profusely for letting Allison slip in, but Chelsea held her blameless and thanked her and Kat for having her back. Then, Samantha discovered that the purses' pre-orders were through the roof, and the young women hugged. After Samantha excused herself to do homework, Chelsea heaved a sigh of relief and declared victory – Allison hadn't retained any power over her, even with the unexpected call.

Kat admitted she'd envisioned the launch celebration as being bigger – and that she'd be spending it with Tomás. When Kat granted that she should find her estranged boyfriend, Chelsea felt that Kat should find Eva first. Kat balked, but Chelsea turned things around, asking how Kat would like it if Tomás told her who she could and couldn't be friends with. Chelsea presented her cousin with two choices: keep going after Eva, or keep Tomás – she couldn't have both.

Chelsea suggested that Kat make nice with Eva and even gave Kat one of the line's purses to use as an olive branch. Kat had heard through the grapevine that Eva was back at her old apartment and grimaced at the idea of Eva pairing a ChelseaKat bag “with one of those tacky polyester outfits.” “What's the worst that could happen?” Chelsea asked of Kat's potential visit to Eva.

Tomás helped Eva move back into her former residence, with Eva commenting on Tomás' muscles. When Tomás noted that Leslie arranging for Eva to own her first home was sweet, Eva conceded that Leslie could be sweet, though her gifts usually came with ulterior motives – in this case, Leslie taking over Eva's hotel suite in the same building as Ted's. Tomás predicted fireworks and moved the topic to Kat, who continued not to respond to his attempts at contact. After Kat had labeled him bad in bed, his confidence in his ability had been shaken.

Eva recalled that Tomás had been of the opinion that he'd been putting too much pressure on Kat, but, now that Kat was giving him the silent treatment, he confessed that doubts were creeping in. The young Ms. Thomas had Tomás look back on his previous sex life – learning that Tomás had had no complaints, Eva deduced that Kat was the one with the problem. Still wanting to prove that Tomás hadn't lost his touch, Eva kissed him, though she thought better of it afterwards.

Tomás listened as Eva went on about how he hadn't judged her after what she'd done to Nicole and Ted and had become her friend, even pretending to like her favorite books. Eva felt she'd overstepped and had just made an idiot of herself – but Tomás announced that he was re-reading the last tome in their shared trilogy, particularly the part where the fictional lovers finally acted on their attraction. Tomás took Eva's hands and kissed her back.

“What about you and Kat?” Eva asked. Tomás avowed that there was no “me and Kat” – and Kat didn't seem to want to have anything more to do with him, besides. Eva gave in and clothes started coming off; Tomás took Eva to the couch, where they made love. Afterwards, Eva asked Tomás if he was freaked out, and he said he wasn't. He preferred to stay in the moment and not overthink things. Tomás wanted to get a shower – but as he stepped away, Eva gave his performance a “five-star review.”

While Eva was straightening up her living room, Kat arrived on the door and handed her the “peace purse.” “It doesn't have a bomb in it,” Kat eye-rolled. Eva said it wasn't a good time, but Kat insisted on coming in, not wanting to do “this” outside. Kat pronounced that her hate toward Eva hadn't gotten her anywhere and that she didn't want to lose anything else to it – therefore, she was giving Eva a chance to be a sister to her.

Eva wouldn't accept the purse and asked Kat to go, but Kat pointed out that Dani and Nicole, also sisters, were total opposites – like them. Yet, her aunts loved each other, and perhaps one day she and Eva could have a sisterly relationship. As Kat proposed, they could even share things...a towel-clad Tomás lumbered out of the shower.

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