Music? Makes the People? Come Together? Yeah?: Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of July 28, 2025

Beyond the Gates: I know what your husband did last last summer

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? This week, Ashley said no to Andre but also no to Derek! Tyrell tried to own his insecurity, and Doug nearly got owned by Joey. The Hawthornes got an earful about June, who claimed she didn't have no damn kids. Leslie wanted a payoff while Martin hoped his therapeutic efforts would pay off. And then there's that Articulettes concert! Could the stage lights wash out the drama going on in the audience? Let's fill up those Two Scoops and find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

Where have you been

Okay, I'm going to be 100% that nit-picker, because I can. GATES: next time y'all have a table read, can you guys get the cast to agree on how to pronounce “The Articulettes”? Some characters say “Articu-LITS” and others “Articu-LETS”. Even lead singer Anita has vacillated, and it's her group. Oh – while we're at it, can we give Tyrell his due? Great-grandpa Vernon has bounced between both “TIH-rell” and “TY-rell.” This fam's tongues should have muscle memory about these important names!

Just because the differently articulated Articulettes have taken up more stage time as their concert got closer didn't mean Martin's saga had to wait backstage. Dani found out the rest of the story from Naomi – specifically, how “Kenneth” was now guest corpse on Watson. Still stinging from the breakup of her own marriage, Dani worried for the Hawthornes', since they were “the last couple standing.”

Yo, D, don't tell Vernon and Anita that! They're not exactly living in sin in that mansion you grew up in. Meanwhile, Martin made his first attempt to deal with his own sins in a formal-yet-informal sesh with mama shrink Nicole. Ethics or lack thereof aside, Nicole wanted Martin to talk about the feelings he'd kept stuffed down from the evening of the hate crime itself. An excellent place to start.

That the only related thing Martin admitted was, “I took a life that night” (a fact that tends to get lost in all the other resulting brouhaha from the incident) was very telling. He sidestepped the question and wanted Nicole's take on how he could get Smitty back. No, that's something I don't need to see. It isn't that Martin kept secrets that put Smitty and the kids in danger that bothers me. It's that he treated Smitty like crap about other things in addition to it.

Basically telling Smitty he couldn't re-explore his sacrificed career and then doing him out of a job offer behind his back? Planning a presidential run and not sharing that with his husband? Agreeing with Smitty to handle Tyrell's photo fiasco one way and then running to the kid's principal anyway? If that's normalcy for the Richardson-Smiths, then Smitty can do so much better. Hold your ground, Bradley!

I thought it was important for Nicole to impart that Martin had lost his power when Vernon took control of the hate crime aftermath and instituted a cover-up. It also nearly slipped under the radar that Martin is still having nightmares – just different ones. That is quite a seismic shift for his psyche. I hope we get to see these, as we were treated to Martin's initial rounds; in bits and pieces again is fine by me.

At Casa Dani, Kat only found out about her brother's separation because Samantha accidentally finked. Kat's brat summer may last all year round, but I had to agree that it was dog nobody bothered to tell her about her own sibling's marital troubles. Nicole understood Kat's need for more info but replied that Martin would have to be the one to supply it. Which is the same line Vernon fed poor TIH-rell. TY-rell. Whatever.

Kid tells great-grampy he's tired of getting treated like a baby. Great-grampy says, yeah, you're right, you deserve the whole scoop. Only – surprise! Your dads have to dole it out. What kind of reverse psychology double-talk was that? Vernon's legendary diplomacy sounded like a bait and switch, though I'm not sure that's what he intended. If Ty could get his fathers to fess up, he would have already! Oh, you're thirsty? Go to the water fountain you already know doesn't have water in it! I mean.

Never gonna get it

I was seriously about ready to make the trip to Garland Memorial to install a trap door at the nurses' station and push the button the second Ashley stepped on it. But I gotta give it to her – girlfriend saved me said trip, if just barely. Let's backtrack into why. First, I'm surprised Ashley still has a job, the way she kept stink-eyeing and stink-mouthing Shanice...her superior...about Derek.

I don't know if Ash just has no filter or is just that childish, but she's on the job there and is supposed to rise above it all, including jealousy. If she wants to scrap with Shanice after hours, go for it. Then Andre swung by to see a female friend...and Ashley got jealous of her! I'm no paragon of maturity myself, but Ashley is in no way ready for a relationship. And it's not like she and Andre even have one!

Fortunately for her, Andre looked past that and took a tiny nugget from their conversation about how Ashley had always wanted to go to Paris (little girl Ashley had to settle for dreaming via a coffee table book about the locale because she had been poor – did Fairmont Crest not pay Jan a living wage? Union!)...a nugget he very quickly developed into a Parisian wonderland at his bachelor pad.

Pretty cool! Ashley and the jaunty beret with which she was gifted could barely take it in, and, as Andre poured her du champagne, he encouraged her to stop talking herself out of what she wanted and say oui to her desires. The way 'Dre was looking in those leather pants, we know that wasn't a loaded comment, heh heh. Ash took Andre's words to heart and considered that not knowing what was next in her life wasn't the bad thing she had come to feel it was.

But, when Andre poured on more charm than bubbly, and Ashley had a chance to unwrap that leather-clad desire...she kissed Andre on the cheek and peaced out. For real? Girl! You've been drooling over this guy for five months! Even when you were very much spoken for! Now you're not and you can go for the guy you really want and you freeze up? I know – reality is wayyyy different than fantasy. But it just made Ashley even more seem like a bun that needed to go back in the oven for a while.

Maybe Andre dodged une balle – that's “a bullet” in French – because he was next seen swiping between pics of Ashley and Dani like he was trying to decide what to order on DoorDash. (That Dani's next scene-seguing line was “The choice is clear” was not lost on me. It is!) The shutterbug might want to put Ashley out of his mind, especially after he ran into Vernon, who advised our boy to “make it good” with Dani.

And we know Papa V wasn't talking about sex, because Anni (Dandre?) have already let us know more than once that that's been made good. Dani saw Andre's seriousness after his Vernon encounter, but her mock-solemn “Don't tell me you're here to ask my dad for my hand in marriage” nearly put him in a dead faint. I love her sassiness. And look at Dani, all responsible in admitting she'd been up front about her lingering feelings for Bill, so Andre could talk about whatever feelings he had for Ashley!

He didn't, but someone else did. After being told by Shanice how old it had become that Derek was all-Ashley-all-the-time whenever they hung out, Derek took Ashley to Orphey Gene's and revealed that he had reconciliation on the menu. Here's Ashley's reaction in two words – say what? That was my reaction, too; I like Derek and Ashley as characters, but as a couple, they simply do not work. I was not sitting there hearing we were gonna go for a Round Three.

Soap gods bless Ashley, she did not disappoint! She reminded the firefighter that he was the one who extinguished the flames with her – and besides, if she jumped back on his fire truck, it would be driving backwards. She wanted to go forwards. No lie, I quite literally and loudly applauded twice during this scene. Ash is right! I still think she's not ready for any coupling, but damned if she didn't take a giant step at that diner table...when she very easily could have taken Derek back! Now let's find Derek something to do besides pine over Ashley, shall we?

Someday is tonight

You've heard of afterglow, but for our dear Miss Kat, it was more like after-no. Tomás couldn't stop going on about how beautiful and special and hot and wonderful his virginity-taking trip down (or up) Lady Garden Lane was, but all Kat could eke out about the encounter was that it was “lovely.” Tomás must have lost his instincts on that trip, because he didn't at all pick up on Kat's mehness about it, and he should have.

It's either he's so blinded by getting what he wanted or he's so blinded by being in love; more on the latter later. For Kat's part, cousin Chels saw the condom wrapper on the floor and was like welcome to the club! But Kat's exploration of her true feelings was at once super real and ABC Afterschool Special. To the girls' credit, some of their lines about the experience were instant classics.

“Is this what everybody's obsessed about?” Kat asked. “'Cuz I'm not gettin' it.” Chelsea parried with a “So the preview (Tomás' kisses) was a hit but the main feature was a flop.” “Girl,” Kat came back with. “It was like watching paint dry.” I'm going to give it up for the show here – it was ballsy (ahem) for the show to cast Kat as underwhelmed by losing her virginity when the media usually pairs the milestone with fireworks and glitter!

I guess it's not really anyone's fault that Chelsea's advice sounded like a PSA; maybe it's just the nature of the subject. But she assured Kat, who thought something was physically wrong with her (not an unrealistic supposition for someone inexperienced), that a daydream/actuality disconnect wasn't uncommon. Chelsea added that Kat owed it to herself, and to Tomás, to bring it up with him. Except Kat didn't when she had a chance. Don't tell Dr. Ruth!

No wonder Tomás stayed in his little happiness bubble. It burst on Eva, though, when she and Tomás got together and he said that Kat was cool with them almost getting it on. Not! He meant Kat being cool with Tomás going to Eva's hotel room to borrow a book. Whew! I thought he was gonna lie to Eva so he could have two kitties in his litter, if you know what I mean.

Nay, Señor Navarro copped to being wrong for giving Eva ideas when he was in love with Kat. Eva's hairpins nearly popped out. This was the first time she was hearing that level of devotion from Tomás, and Ms. Thomas tried to play it off, but as soon as Tomás (they shouldn't get married; his name could end up Tomás Thomas) went on his merry way, Eva had a shuddering cry about it. Ambyr Michelle really sold that moment. Good stuff.

m.A.A.d City

Now hold up, Beyond the Gates! You did not give Naomi the address for June's sister, and then come back the next episode with her already having gone to see her! I really wanted to watch Naomi knocking on a door to a real house and sis getting a full-on reveal. Ah, budgets. Anyway, Naomi skipped around that by saying the sister, Regina, had slammed that missing door in her face...but the lawyer had slipped her card under it.

We also got Regina into Orphey Gene's by having her report she had called Naomi's office, only to be told Naomi was lunching at the diner. Okay, a little contrived, but at least the show covered the chess moves. The plot launched into hyperspeed when Naomi showed Regina the photo of a photo she had of those two kids that June carried around...and Regina pulled up the same, but pristine pic on her own phone!

Turns out those kids are named Ron and Cecile – and they're June's. Naomi and Jacob couldn't believe that June had never seriously mentioned having children (outside of that As the World Turns fake-out June had after her heart surgery)! But it was a story June stuck to when she also happened into the diner, walked right past the banana pudding, and saw her long-separated-from sister. Somebody call Montel Williams!

Rather than some Hallmarky reunion, June freaked. The f**k. Out when she discovered that Regina had the same picture as her. June swore she had just found the photo somewhere and that the kids in it were randos. Regina was aghast – “Are you telling me you don't recognize your own children?” Which sister is frontin'? Maybe neither.

Another under-the-radar bit was Regina's revelation that June is/was an addict. Let's assume for a moment that it's true. Even if June isn't using anymore, drugs can mess your brain up. Thinking that soap kids are real and earnestly paying with pretend money could be taken as a sign that June's gray matter isn't working properly. And, sad as it is, drugs and homelessness are too often tied together.

Regina was done. “This is what she does,” she said, throwing up her hands after June took off. She split them just like June had split the kids Regina had been willing to take in...it was just that, before Regina had even been contacted, they had gotten swept up in the foster care system. My intrepid Soap Central co-writer Leigh has a theory...maybe June's kids are Samantha and Tyrell!

It could check out! Regina said that “Ron” is college age; Tyrell is heading into his senior year of high school. And Tyrell himself mentioned this week that he and Sam had been in foster care. Sure, the kids in the photo are Ron and Cecile, but they could have gotten new names. I'm intrigued now, Leigh! As for June, Regina sniffed, “Don't open that can,” when the Hawthornes wanted more on June's addict status. Which tells me one of 'em has a can opener on standby!

Speaking of Tyrell, he came upon Jessica during his own trip to Orphey Gene's – Jessica, the girl he dissed after she kissed him. Seems she still wasn't about how he had responded to her lips by accusing her of setting him up for another embarrassing photo op. Tyrell maturely saw the problems his parents were having because of their lack of communication and decided to do some communicating himself.

In addition to apologizing for being a butt, Tyrell peeled all the layers back and confessed that he just hadn't been able to believe that a girl like Jessica – the most popular girl in school, by the by – could actually like him. Geeky, chess-loving him. Jessica saw Tyrell's sincerity, but she was still too hurt to actively forgive him. Yet. Hey, it was nice to see this arc come up again. I thought Jessica was done and dusted!

Then there's the McBrides. It's time they joined the done and dusted brigade themselves and got in line behind Nicole and Smitty at the divorce lawyer's. This week, Doug was not only back gambling, but he had added heavy drinking to his repertoire. This was somehow news to Vanessa (are she and Doug not living together anymore?), but Miss Girl has problems of her own.

Did y'all see how absolutely terrified she was in her interactions with Joey? I guess that happens when your lover/money launderer/real estate partner basically threatens to kill you if you don't stop asking him questions about his actionable activities. The bloom is off that rose. Vanessa sat there like she was in a hostage video as Joey discussed outbid properties and wanting to double the money he funneled through her real estate business.

Doug came upon the scene, liquored up and ready to put his money where the poker table's mouth was. Not that he thought he'd actually rake in any cash there, hinting at Joey having fixed the game on him months earlier. Oh, the thingsDoug could tell the po-po, he slurred. Joey withstood all that but drew the line at Doug cracking that he had about as much chance of winning as he did getting to see what was under Vanessa's dress.

Joey charged at Doug and threw him against the wall, and Doug's petulance was over. Dr. McBride looked like he needed to take a Depends out of the hospital stash. Vanessa jumped in and declared that Doug was so blitzed, he didn't know what he was saying, ha ha ha. Doug inserted a few more zingers about being pals with Detective Jacob, so Vanessa got him the hell out of there before Joey could fit him for concrete shoes. How deep is the Potomac, anyway?

Doug was in deep the next day when Vanessa flamed him for poking the bear that was Joey. I'll add in the subtext that Vanessa had to be afraid for her own life as she demanded Doug stop acting up and making the situation he created worse. The doc calmed down and promised to behave – except for going to the Articulettes concert and pretending everything was all right. He said no thank you and handed his ticket to Shanice! (We briefly got to see Ms. Johnson all glammed out in her fiyah lime green dress!)

Mo money mo problems

Leslie was in a bind...and no, not that custom-made handcuffs were being made for her. Are we sure Jacob is the crack detective we're told he is? Because this case has gone colder than Orphey Gene's stoves after closing. I know other stories have the higher spots on the Ferris wheel right now, but I'm gonna keep saying it – it's time to move this along. Maybe have Nicole get the goods on Leslie for maximum effect!

Anyway, Leslie's out of work, it turns out. When was she in it? All we knew was that she snuck into the Fairmont Crest country club a few times to not actually work. But alas, she had been canned for her didn't-know-she-had-it-'til-now bartending job – because the joint wanted a younger look. Sounds to me like Leslie could sue these fools for ageism! But I guess that takes too long.

Instead, she went to Ted, making noise about how she, through Eva, was one of his “own” and therefore entitled to some sweet sweet checkie-poos. Ted was all I don't think so where the hell did my 50,000 bucks go! Indeed! D.C. ain't cheap, but surely she hadn't blown through her whole extortion fee in a few months, especially if she had a mystery job to supplement it.

Of course, those gowns she bought herself and Eva for the Richardsons' anniversary massacre probably each carried four-digit price tags. Ted was very much not about providing “Dana” with any more cash, even if she did pay it back. “I won't forget this,” she menaced, and I hope she doesn't. Evil Leslie is a fun Leslie! But we weren't done with this investigation-halting story point just yet.

Nope. Leslie tainted her still-on-shaky-ground reunion with Eva by trying to embroil her in a new scheme! Leopards and spots, as they say. Eva surprisingly gave in to Leslie's plan to have her borrow funds from Ted and hand 'em over, but Eva put a new twist on her obedience by being stone-cold honest with her dad about what the money was for. That makes Eva a co-signer, of sorts, but I was still amazed Ted gave Eva money he knew Leslie would end up with.

Would he have parted with his Benjamins had he known Leslie had all kinds of finery saved up on her Amazon wish list? Likely not. Eva saw the potential clicks and let her glamor-grabbing mom know that the payout she scored was a one-time deal. Leslie might be wise to invest her unspecified windfall in stocks, and not in trying to outdo “all the bougie Black folk.”

Kat's gonna be in trouble, though. After finding out Leslie had blabbed to Ted about her half-sis' sabotage, Eva attempted damage control – and Ted confronted Kat...who blatantly lied to his face about doing the deed. Leslie might be right: she ratted to help position Eva as Ted's “number one daughter”...and Kat is making it easy for Leslie to do so by being so blind in her vengeance against Eva. Pull in the claws, kitty Kat!

The glamorous life

The day of the reunion concert, the ordinarily confident Anita let her pre-show anxiety show through. It's consistent: she froze up when first approached with the idea of the gig, and even before that over doing a simple karaoke night with the fam jam. But Jim Price, the talent agent who had revived The Articulettes, brought his enterprising self back for another suggestion. Anita should do a solo!

I don't know what higher-up in the entertainment industry would ask a performer to upend their set list mere hours before the curtain went up, but there we were. We, and Anita, knew there was gonna be more grumbling in girl group paradise. La Dupree brought up the subject for a vote, ready to forget the whole thing because she saw the irony of playing up her jazz career when that had cancelled the trio to begin with.

Wouldn't you know, Sharon wasn't having any! Might have been a nice change of pace for Tracy to have the problem, but again, consistency. When Anita unboxed a previously hidden desire to have her brood see her on stage doing the jazz thing – since she'd already given that up when even Dani and Nicole were little – Sharon came up with a compromise. Anita could have her solo, why not? But how about she and Tracy get one, too?

Now, that was actually a really good idea! Sure, we wouldn't have had time on a soap to watch recurring characters get their moment in the spotlight, but it was super fair. Even Anita was on board! But then Tracy mucked it up, talking some schmaltz about how Anita should get to fulfill that dream we never knew she had. And Sharon was ready to cheer Anita on from the wings. Anita showed growth, but it would have stuck more if she had insisted that each diva get her own private time to shine.

Then Sharon, who we now know to be even more outspoken than Anita, was the one to get stage fright! Oh, she just couldn't go on. I'll grant that she was an unexpected candidate for the butterflies; I would certainly have pinned that on Tracy, or even Anita, first. Sharon overcame her panic attack rather quickly, but it was one too many obstacles for these ladies. Get them on stage before one quits over a run in her L'eggs!

Other opening act drama competed for the limelight, too...mostly surrounding those who had to be talked into going to the show. The first purveyor of doom was Nicole, and she was still too torqued off with her family's penchant for secrecy to sit her butt in a cushy seat for her mama's sake. Maybe it was Dani's powers of persuasion – maybe it was her bringing Nicole a swanky dress to wear – but Nicole got over herself and agreed to party up.

Martin, however, was a tougher nut to crack. Now, Dani understood, given she had interrupted his unethical therapizing and his trauma being on the surface, and his being separated from the love of his life, whom he doesn't treat like one. (Team Smitty all the way!) But once Marty delivered a hard no, Dani devised a divide-and-conquer strategy and tasked Nicole with carrying half of it out. Dang, I love seeing these sisters on the same side.

Dani went to work on Martin, calling him “a selfish son-of-a-bitch” to the point even he couldn't say she was wrong, and Nicole popped in on Smitty, who had already been pressured to go to the show by both Vernon and Tyrell. Nicole had the magic touch, though, since she shared Smit's feelings of betrayal over the extended Dupree deception, plus neither Nicole nor Smitty trusted their husbands at the moment.

Smitty couldn't deny that The Articulettes reunion concert was a singular event (until they decide to go on tour, anyway!) and consented to attend...but only if he talked to Martin first so they wouldn't have an initial meeting in public that would be awkward. Good call. Martin was glad for the summons, yet Smitty kept showing him ice like he was Elsa in Frozen. Another good call!

Let it whip

Leslie felt like she was the only one in D.C. who wasn't going to the big reunion. And who knew – her own mama had owned tons of Articulettes 7-inch singles, which young Leslie had “played into the ground.” She really wanted to go, but she couldn't afford it, and the house was sold out besides. Eva suggested they throw those 45s on and have their own private Soul Train, but Leslie called the substitute “puny.”

When Eva visited the washroom, Leslie proceeded to commit two crimes in broad daylight. Not only did she filch cash out of Eva's purse to pay for their Orphey Gene's awesomeness, she found the concert ticket that Eva hadn't mentioned possessing and stole it! Wow, robbing your own kid – twice. Not doing much to slim down that rap sheet, are we, Dana/Sherry/Anna/Lulu!

Discovering the theft, Eva immediately warned Ted, who gave her his own ticket so she could make sure Leslie didn't run amok – and he wouldn't be wanted at the hall by the Duprees, anyway. Dr. Richardson called that one on both counts. As soon as Leslie got there, she announced to all within earshot how good she looked and accused Eva of making a scene when she refused to tone down. Still, she promised Vernon to “choose silence” (his admonition of her during the anniversary fiasco), and she actually did mind her Ps and Qs.

Dani, Nicole, and Kat would have us believe that Leslie conducted herself well because big, burly Carlton was sitting next to her. Amazingly sexist for 2025, wasn't it! Talking of Carlton, he brought his melty self up to Martin and, in not so many words, laid a claim on Nicole. I hope he follows through! Nicole and Ted are done, and Carlton's right that she needs some fun in her life. Git 'im, Nic!

On a more serious note, Naomi's chat with Smitty led him to realize that she knew everything about Martin's ordeal, including the fact that “Kenneth” had been killed because of him. Smitty also put together that Jacob was in the dark, and Naomi made a plea for continued secrecy to protect the family – exactly what Martin had been commanded to do. Either Smitty will call hypocrisy, or he will see why Martin did what he did.

Finally, the really big shooooow (thank you, Billy Crystal; look it up, young'uns) started, and...well, it's a soap. We only got one Articulettes number, and truncated at that. But it is what it is. I don't know why there was so much fuss about solos and all – both Tracy and Sharon got to bust out an entire verse each! So much for merely being backup singers! And Anita's jazz number...equally short, but a different vibe. Nice vocals all around.

Hey! We ended up getting last names for Sharon and Tracy! (They're Winger and Tyler, respectively.) Anita broke into the set to express some thanks and announce that the show couldn't continue until she acknowledged something very important – something that Andre had ready to go on his tablet. What could it be? Dang it, we got cliffhanged – but I'm sure hoping it's a tribute to Barbara! Did these ladies not say that they were going to do their founding member right in their press? Where's that new single I said they should record? Let's get after it, Articu-LITS! LETS!

Ooh – keep your soapy eyes peeled, because it looks like GATES is soon gonna do its first crossover...with Devon Winters from The Young and the Restless. Saw a promo for it on Tamara Tunie's Instagram! Genoa City and the DMV together again! For the first time.

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. Let's hear the music of your comments in, appropriately, the comments below. And, if you want us to do up more Beyond the Gates content, sing about that, too! Until next we meet, Scoopers, live your life beyond!

(Purchase Adam-Michael James' ”Bewitched” books on Amazon.)

(Listen to isletunes, AMJ's podcast featuring nothing but music from the artists of Prince Edward Island, Canada.)