Opening the book of Izaiah: Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of October 20, 2025

Beyond the Gates now exists in the same universe as both Genoa City and Los Angeles

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? Ted read way too much into one hug while Vanessa gave up any chance of winning Mother of the Year. Dani frolicked with a Forrester, Kat played too rough with the equipment, and Eva found a new man to vibe with. Finally, Hayley literally made her marriage toxic – and Jacob entered the bro code! Let's fill up those Two Scoops and find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

Disco inferno

Monday's show was a very interesting episode. We had left off the Friday before with Nicole melting into Ted's arms and Leslie pulling the hotel's fire alarm to offset whatever heat might be generated. But instead of seeing what happened from there, we skipped to Mona and Laura (she's back! #JusticeforLaura!) wondering why Nicole had been gifted with the huge “thanks for last night” bouquet.

I was kind of frustrated at first that we had to get clued in to the events through dialogue and flashbacks, but then I realized it was actually kind of brilliant. The move also created quite a bit of suspense, which I liked. Nicole played it close to the vest with her employees, as Ted did with the curious Eva, information dripping out like an in-need-of-repair faucet. Not bad!

When we finally found out what had really happened...well, let's just say that I was wrong with my assessment in the last column that Ted greeting “my beautiful Nicole” was a fantasy. Nic did indeed seek out her freshly-divorced ex, and Leslie did indeed hit the fire alarm. Apparently Nicole would have slept with Ted had the bell not rung, and Ted took that to mean that they could hit Edit>Undo on their divorce.

I mean, Ted was damn near giddy talking about it to Eva! Did he take some IQ reducing pills with his Orphey Gene's coffee? Sure, Nicole sent him some mixed signals – which she shouldn't have – but Ted taking them as a sign of reconciliation made him look really weak. When is this guy gonna man up? Take your punishment for ruining your marriage and move on!

Eva realized from Ted's story that the timing of said fire alarm was just too sus, so she went to her headphone-clad mama and wrenched the truth out of her. “I'd do it again,” Leslie finally spat. There was no way she was going to let Ted slip through her fingers a second time! You get the feeling this is more about completing that mission and less about Leslie actually loving Ted? Because that's how it's looking to me.

Ted was all butt hurt when Nicole answered his summons and gently told him that yes, she loved him, but no, their connecting in the hotel room did not mean they were getting back together. And didn't Ted look sad and what-not! Sorry, no sympathy for this guy. There's been nothing Nicole has done in six months that says she wants Ted back. He needs to stop being a puss! Ain't enough of Nicole's Febreze in the world to cover up the stench of that desperation.

Nicole visited her parents – and just before, Anita seemed suspicious of Vernon, who made a mysterious phone call, then seemed to bask in the obvious attentions some socialite Rosamund was lavishing on her hubs. Now, other men on this show can be scoundrels, but let's not go there with Vernon – please? We need one guy who has it straight in Fairmont Crest.

Anita let Nicole know she had nothing to be sorry for in demanding that Anita stop putting money into Barbara's trust. The only thing was – when did that conversation happen? I don't remember Nicole applying any such pressure, and I watch this shizz every day. Anyway, Anita did pull the plug finally, but I don't think Leslie has anything to worry about...as long as she doesn't blow her entire fortune on mansions and wigs.

Once alone, the Duprees got frisky and were in such a rush to act on it that they took their elevator! I'd forgotten they had that! I don't even know if it's been seen on the actual show; I know it was featured that pre-premiere preview week in February. Anyway, good on them for showing older folks getting it on; meanwhile, Nicole sought out Carlton, who brought the comfort. I know he's Ted's BFF. Unspoken rules and all. But I like him with Nicole!

Wanna be heard

I don't know if it's a reaction to Doug's death, or just that she's always been this awful and now she doesn't have Doug there as a buffer, but Vanessa is turning into one cold bitch but fast. Defending her relationship with Joey again, this time to Dani, Van-Van went straight to the casino owner and announced that she wanted to be his equal. And not by also having her name on the building, either!

No, Vanessa wanted to go all mobster and be a part of every facet of Joey's business. It's one thing to have a kinky side where doing naughty things gets you off – it's another to want to commit crimes to satisfy that kink. Vanessa is fast crossing the line and even Joey seems to be aware of it. He kept telling her that she didn't know what she was signing up for, but for whatever reason, she didn't seem to care.

Oh, Donnell is gonna ask too many questions? No problem! Wanting her own kid out of the way, Vanessa contacted his dean and reported that Donnell would be returning to Banneker University that night. Like, she didn't even give him a choice. Maybe part of her really was acting as a mother who just wanted her son to get a full education – but Joey knew Vanessa was just trying to get rid of the dude.

Joey really nailed it (not her) when he said she needed to think beyond her own gratification. Wow, you know it's serious when Joey is the one making sense. But she didn't listen; she actually came out and said she wanted what she wanted, period. And they could discuss it at her place! Hell, it's not like Doug was there. Only thing: the McBride boudoir was off limits. So Vanessa has some taste left after all. She is really going to the Dark Side! And all for the sake of her penis fly trap. Cold!

Gamblers' blues

Dani saw Leslie at the country club, and her battle with her impulses was a treat to watch. She wouldn't do it! She wouldn't do it! Yes she would! Dani finally moved to slap the waves out of Leslie's head – alas, she was stopped by a brunch invite from Anita. She and Andre were expected to attend. And the RSVP had better mean Really Soon Very Prompt. Leslie and her waves were safe for another day.

Andre and Dani – predictably to them, and us – found themselves again having to play Twenty Questions about their marriage. More specifically, what was behind the choice to continue it. Vernon grilled Andre while Anita took Dani aside and subjected her to the same peppering. Each newlywed Richardson was asked point blank if they loved the other.

And each gave a version of how the special, non-traditional kind of love they shared was good enough for them. Hey, it really is what works for two people (or more); it's not for anyone outside it to decide. The matriarch and patriarch realized this and toasted the couple with some nice, safe sparkling cider. Can we stop having characters question this marriage already? Let them stand or fall on their own without the editorials at this point.

Dani took one for the team by calling back Ridge Forrester – yes, that one, from B&B! He had crossed over into Fairmont Crest Land (via phone) to propose to Pamela that Dani and Andre model for some Forrester Creations fragrance line. But Andre was so opposed to getting in front of the camera that Dani finally made the decision to tell Ridge it was a no-go. Sucks! I was waiting to see Ridge would notice how much Dani looked like former Face of Forrester Maya Avant! (Karla Mosley played her from 2013 to 2019.)

Yeah, Andre not liking to have his picture taken goes back to the beginning – remember when he was shooting that promo vid for Nicole's tribute and he refused to have the lens turned on himself? Bill's investigator guy Keegan noticed it, too; apparently there were no recent pix of Andre anywhere to be found. Bill was tempted to ditch digging into Andre's past, but Keegan was anxious to press on, and so it was.

Dani had Andre's back in more ways than one. The former-and-about-to-be supermodel ran into Joey at Orphey Gene's, and man did I love watching these two banter! Dani is one of the few people who can go toe-to-toe with the DMV's version of Tony Soprano, and Joey certainly gave as good as he got. He knew Dani only married Andre because Bill had traded her in for a younger model first!

But it got real interesting when Joey bet Dani $10,000 that her marriage wouldn't last a year. Dani confidently took that wager – though when she went home and Andre declared from Dani's Forrester refusal that their marriage was getting stronger, Dani smiled that she wanted to see them make it to their first anniversary. So is it more about winning the bet, now, Dani? Certainly adds another wrinkle, dunnit.

Some kind of lover

Madison made an appearance this week – this after I saw a rumor that Kenjah was no longer on the show. So I'm glad that wasn't true! Even better, we got a little glimpse into Madison's family history, and at least where Mama Montgomery is concerned, it ain't good. Oh, she was okay with her daughter being a lesbian...because her tarot cards said she shoud be! And apparently mums is so into holistic-and-beyond treatments, she considers traditional medicine moot.

Willow, we learned her name was (I'm going to guess that's an affectation, not her given name), was so into the more radical subsection of alternative treatment believers that she delighted in making Madison – a medical school graduate and doctor – wrong. Ms. Willow even shared “crazy ideas” from her social media groups, then tagged Madison and implied that she approved of them!

Well, no wonder Madison was pissed when her phone showed another notification of her mom's foolishness. And Chelsea now understood why Madison has always winced over how much time her GF spends online. Have to admit, that's good continuity. I also like that Madison's main conflict with her mom is something else besides her sexual orientation. That's not always the case, so it's nice we didn't go the typical route.

When Madison stepped away, she polled her followers and asked if they would step in to help a loved one heal things with their mom. Seventy-three percent of them said “mind your own beeswax!” But Chelsea decided not to listen. So she grabbed her phone and did...something. We don't know what yet. But I have a feeling she's reaching out to Willow...and when she does, it ain't gonna be Willow who's weeping!

Across town...well, Prince had a lyric in his 1989 song “Partyman”: “If it break when it bend/You better not put it in.” Kat apparently didn't listen to that cut, because if she had, she might not have had to help Tomás limp into the hospital and tell Shanice that she broke his penis. Fun fact: a penis actually can be broken! But it's a muscle thing, not a bone thing. Whatever Kat was trying to do, she junked Tomás' junk but good!

Martin deemed her “a little freak” compared to her being a virgin just a few months ago. Kat was mortified, but her bro did encourage her to keep experimenting. The weird part came when Martin smiled that he was going to tell Smitty all about Kat's sexcapade – and did! All in the spirit of not keeping secrets! Yo, Smitty meant not withholding stuff about yourself, not spilling all your family's business. What the hell was that about?

Tomás and his crotch rocket ice pack emerged from emergency, and at least he was able to take the incident in stride. “You break it, you bought it,” he cracked. I still don't think Tomás and Kat have a snowball's chance in hell of making it as a couple, with Tomás still having feelings for Eva and Kat just wanting to best Eva. Which is what's going to make it all the more intriguing when Eva gets attracted to another guy! But more on that in a minute.

It's a family affair

June was rather the unofficial babysitter for biokids Tyrell and Samantha this week. She waited on them more than she did her customers. Well, except one customer – Jessica, who suddenly showed up at the diner. June took her order and reported back that Jess wanted a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato. The audacity! The tomato would ruin “the integrity of the crust!” Heavens! Did June do cooking competitions when she was on the streets?

It seems June was just joshing; she and Samantha felt that Tyrell needed to go to Jessica and patch things up by sharing his feelings. He did, and before long he had scored a date to his school's Halloween dance. Only one thing: Tyrell already poured out his heart to Jessica weeks ago. Why were we acting like this was the first convo they'd had since Tyrell popped off that Jessica was kissing him just to humiliate him?

Samantha, on the other hand, didn't take June's advice from before about avoiding Nathan to her own heart. Nay, she was bummed that Nathan wasn't liking any of her selfies. June made the rather inexplicable decision that Samantha should start posting up like the Dupree she was. She was “a little much” by design, so go with it! I'm on the fence about this tactic. I mean, I'm all about not being ordinary, but it also seems wrong somehow to tell Samantha to exploit her celebrity to get more engagement.

Sam did it, and Nathan clicked on every pic, so she was happy – and she had a “plan” for what to do after he messaged wanting to see her. Alas, miss girl, methinks Nathan only has one thing in mind. You shoulda listened to June when she told you Nathan wasn't all that! Hell, June shoulda listened to June when she told Samantha that Nathan wasn't all that. I don't know why the switch. The smell of onion rings getting to her?

Over at the country club, Leslie brought Peaches into the banquet room and ordered a side of sass for Nicole. Now that Nicole's divorce from Ted was final, it would be no time at all before Leslie was the new Mrs. Richardson. Nicole didn't give a crap and courteously acknowledged Peaches, who was aghast that the girl she raised would be tryna run a sistah down.

Money didn't buy class, Peaches reminded the nouveau riche Leslie, so she needed to learn when to keep her trap shut. Leslie didn't like the dressing down and went on the attack as per usual, but in the middle of her tirade, Peaches had a coughing fit so bad, she could barely talk! Leslie wanted to take Peaches to a doctor; Peaches refused, just wanting to get back to her apartment.

Eva ran right to her mom as soon as she got her text and flamed Leslie for picking a fight with the ailing Peaches. Leslie, by this time, was actually cowed and owned starting things up; Peaches had been weak enough lying down in the back seat of her car that Leslie began to understand her foster mom's mortality. Eva could see that Leslie was actually sincere and said they'd face losing Peaches together.

Nice stuff, especially considering that, just before this bit of daughter-to-mother counseling, Eva had met a new dude at Uptown. His name was Izaiah, and he apparently shared Eva's preference for using fountain pens. She lent him hers after his crapped out, learning he was a counselor who helped other people earn advanced degrees. He had returned from the Pacific Northwest to attempt a job at Banneker.

The vibe was vibing between these two – despite the quick dip in energy when Iz said he had a father who would rather crush his dreams than support them. Keep that detail tucked under your hat for the moment. Eva had to run (this was when she got Leslie's text), but she said she would get her pen back from Izaiah “next time.” Tomás who? Señor Navarro better get with it before Eva officially moves on!

That girl is poison

Hayley made a show of talking to “Sammy” at Uptown, all the while being handed off a tiny paper bag that contained an even tinier bottle of clear liquid. That wasn't no new kind of Febreze pot pourri she shoved in her purse. Randy noted that they were being watched by Vanessa and Dani, but Hayley didn't care. She thought it clever to reinforce their “connection” by being seen together.

Maybe she should have cared, because at that moment Dani and Vanessa were disagreeing over whether or not Hayley's conversation companion was “Sammy” or Randy. Like that mismatch isn't going to set off light bulbs over Dani's head. As for Hayley, she bopped home ready to sing to Bell Biv Devoe's “Poison,” but Bill wondered why Hayley bore no shopping bags, since she'd said she'd been at the salon.

Hayley lied her way out of that one, then plop plop fizz fizz! Oh, what a dead man it is! Well, not yet; Hayley just gave him his first dose of whatever toxic toxicity Randy had procured for her. The next day, Bill seemed to be feverish, but it was Hayley who took the stumble lying that Caroline was looking for some file or other, only for Bill to end up talking to Caroline, who knew nothing about such file.

Like, Hayley actually grabbed Bill's phone out of his hand! How come he's not smelling a maze full of rats by now? Bill decided he needed to go to the office and skipped out on the tea Hayley had just made for him, offering, “You drink it” when he left. Har har. Little did he know she had been trying to serve him green tea – the kind that has you turning green before you die!

But Hayley was on a new mission – she needed to see Bill's life insurance policy for herself, since he had only ever told her he'd taken one out. She managed to get into Bill's office, and, with Randy's help, located the document on Bill's laptop...but in came the ever helpful Caroline...with tea! Is Lipton getting royalties? What a trip watching Hayley privately diss the assistant we'd always seen her being friendly with.

Learning the $10 million amount was legit, and tiring of Caroline buzzing around like a bee over summer sunflowers, Hayley, against Randy's wishes, decided it was time to speed the plan up. She took her dropper and drugged the very tea Caroline had brought in. Unfortunately for Hayley, it was cold (you couldn't nuke it first?), so Bill didn't get past the first sip.

Promising some good good luvin' if he would just “shut up and drink it,” Bill dutifully downed the cold brew, but does this stuff only work in liquids? Hayley can't bring Bill his lunch and squirt the stuff in his Orphey Gene's mashed potatoes or something? Not that I'm instructing Hayley how to kill Bill! Quentin Tarantino may have a problem with that anyway. Let's see how long Hayley can go before she gives herself away.

It kills me

Naomi got her pregnancy test results online, but before she could log in and find out what they said, Jacob came home from work early, having actually asked for time off so he could talk things through with his wife. Though she assumed he thought her the unreasonable one in not wanting a child, Jacob freely said that Naomi had a right to her feelings. This thaw in the cold war led to some sweet, sweet nookie.

But before you could say, “Where's Naomi hiding the Tide these days?”, Jacob decided he needed to transfer a police report file and grabbed Naomi's laptop so he could get into the cloud. But lo! Jacob found Naomi's results instead – and they were negative. Wait. Naomi was still at the log-in stage the last second her screen was up. How did we get to the results?

She can't have lied that she wasn't pregnant, because Jacob clearly saw something on that screen, so we're going to have to go with that. Jacob wasn't happy that Naomi had gotten a test done and received the results without so much as telling him. Naomi had just been averse to having more “tough conversations” and had no idea where it left things now that he was clearly eyeing parenthood and she wasn't.

The Hawthornes almost went at it again, but Naomi pulled back, saying sex wouldn't fix everything. She was certain that Jacob resented her for being happy she wasn't expecting, and that Jacob was feeling like she was taking something away from him. His answer to both was “no.” Have you ever seen a more understanding husband? He was more cheesed when Naomi got on him for arresting Dani the show's first month!

Across town...well, I don't know how Derek passed fireman school or whatever, because the dear boy is so dumb. Drop dead hot in a tux, but dumb. We found out about the tux part when he fantasized about standing up from his wheelchair as Ashley was about to get into her wedding dress. (He said he'd been hiding “something big,” womp womp.) Oh, she would love him forever!

Aside from the fact he doesn't think she'll be mad for keeping such a huge development from her, he still thinks he's going to be able to sit in his chair for months and pull off being paralyzed. The one thing I will give him is that I can understand how he must be going stir crazy rolling around Ash's tiny-ass apartment. When she's not out throwing shade on Andre's marriage, that is.

Good thing for Derek, Naomi was stir crazy in her own right, wanting to get back to some sort of normalcy with her husband and her friends, so she invited Ashley and Derek to join her and Jacob out at Uptown. The mood was celebratory! At least until Naomi and Ashley's wedding talk had Derek's eyes rolling back in his head. Jacob noticed and requested a subject change. Naomi slammed him for harshing her mellow.

Ashley followed Naomi to the bar and found out that her friend wasn't pregnant. The nurse had remembered that Jacob had been cool about not having kids, but Naomi sighed that the pregnancy scare had changed Jacob's mind. Back at the table, Derek gave Jacob crap for wanting him to be truthful with Ashley about his legs when Jacob being truthful with Naomi about wanting a baby had gotten him into a shipload of trouble. All the while, Izaiah watched from across the bar.

Next thing we knew, Naomi was drunk enough that she was toasting to Ashley and Derek and telling them that if they ended up having some soul-crushing, deal-breaker of an argument – too bad! They would be stuck! And she said this pointing to her wedding ring. Ouch. Even Ashley knew Naomi needed a time out. So Naomi stumbled her way toward the ladies room and looked about ready to take a header...

Until Izaiah caught her! “You!” Naomi yelped. Jacob didn't like some strange man putting hands on his wife, but when he caught up to them, he recognized the guy. It was his little brother! Ah ha, so now we know who Izaiah is connected to! And the father who minimized Izaiah's ambitions; we'd heard Jacob expressing similar complaints about Elon. Now let's hope GATES doesn't pull a B&B and try to put Izaiah with Naomi. Just because y'all talked to Ridge Forrester doesn't mean you gotta act like him!

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. Write your own book about your likes and dislikes concerning this soap the comments below – and 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.)