Paging Dr. Kial Rollins: Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of December 8, 2025

The party's over on Beyond the Gates

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? WinterFest came and went without much winter, while both Tomás and Madison got their move on in their relationships. Samantha was ready to change her name to Deb, while newcomer Kial massaged the facts, and Vanessa was severely dehydrated. Then, Hayley stopped short of getting what she wanted just in time to run into an apparently familiar face! Let's fill up those Two Scoops and find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

Supersonic

Was Paramount Plus product placement? Well, Jacob's quick mention was still better than the Dani/Andre Cascade tutorial over Thanksgiving. Let's cut right to it: WinterFest was sponsored by the letters M, E, and H. Meh. I'll admit I went into it with expectations based on four decades of soap watching; it's just that not even one of them came to pass.

Here were the three biggies I predicted based on storyline trajectory: 1) Vernon would be outed as having an affair, only to sing a song, proving he's been taking voice lessons with Sharon instead of screwing her. (Vernon didn't sing.) 2) Bill would keel over from his constant poisoning while emceeing. (Bill didn't keel.) 3) Leslie would get arrested in front of the entirety of Fairmont Crest. (Leslie walks free.)

Okay, so those were my versions of where I thought the stories should go, and it's fine that they didn't. But no story really seemed to move at all. Traditionally, a big soap event worked up to for weeks culminates with heavy drama and significant moments that propel everything forward, with repercussions felt even a month or more down the road. With WinterFest, people were just kind of...there.

Sure, it was fun that Vanessa was so drunk over Joey “standing her up” that she stuck her tongue out at Leslie when Ted offered to take Van-Van home. I'll grant that the air-clearing conversation between Ashley and Dani needed to happen. And Nicole had her blind date with the premiering Kial; Dr. Rollins even got a starter rivalry set up with Ted. But was any of it earth-shaking? Not really.

What happened to all the hand-wringing about Leslie harassing Laura to the point where Anita hired Marcel to run security? All Leslie did was bitch at Laura about a toy donation box overflowing. Leslie actually behaved, which was mentioned. Vernon had a private convo with Sharon that Leslie overheard, but did Leslie run to Anita? Nope. She just rubbed it in Vernon's face. She already did that at the country club a couple of weeks ago.

That pretty much left Eva meeting Hayley, which was at least interesting (as was Ted noting that Eva could win “a walk-on role on that new soap”; talk about meta!) – and Bill sulking over Dani and Andre's happiness, though he's been doing that for weeks. I'm genuinely surprised that WinterFest didn't end up making more of a splash. I should have been left feeling like I got smacked with a tightly packed snowball, not like a little slush landed on my shoulder from a rooftop.

Then, to add insult to injury, WinterFest was basically over in one episode! A lot of you seemed more concerned that the cast wasn't dressed to the nines, but I would have liked to see more action in a longer arc. I know GATES is new-ish (pretty much eleven months doesn't qualify as brand-spanking anymore), but I know TPTB knows how to craft slam-bang events. So I wonder what happened there. Were y'all good with it, or did you feel as underwhelmed as I did?

Got me workin' workin' day and night

I can't believe how many of you guys thought Kenjah was off the show simply because Madison hadn't been on for a while! Dude! She's a recurring character. She's not going to be on every day. So y'all got your wish for more Madison, but she and Chelsea continued in their anticlimactic tendency to have all their relationship stuff happen off-screen.

What's up with that? First, Chelsea reaches out to Madison's mom out of frame, then she and Madison have a tense Thanksgiving with her, and then, we see the girlfriends rehashing their already-happened fight for Kat and Tomás. When Bill obliquely talked some sense into his daughter's lady this week, Madison and Chelsea finally got together to talk things out...by taking a walk we didn't get to see!

Maybe it's no wonder people think Madison is in the rear view – she popped back up to chat with Chelsea about the chat they already had! It's not like we have to be witness to absolutely every moment on a show – sometimes it's intriguing to skip a step and fill in the blanks later. But it's become a habit with Chelsea and Madison. Has the show lost faith in them? Have they gotten afraid to put them on because some unfortunately backwards viewers are still bitching about a lesbian couple being on TV in 20-freakin'-25?

Madison got her better moment with Bill as she went over his blood test results with him. And they found...nothing! So Randy is right that his “guy” delivered undetectable poison, or Bill would have red-flagged all over the place. I did like that Madison, after taking care of business, opened up to Bill, and that he posited that his daughter was probably just trying to be polite to Willow in agreeing with her nonsensical remedies and medical ideas.

Bill was also the catalyst for another couple's dance – this time it was Tomás, whose actions were based on Bill pushing for the junior lawyer to stabilize things with Kat to improve his chances of making partner. Kat surely has been getting on last nerves via her preoccupation with Eva, but I am finding myself fully Team Kat regarding Tomás's request for them to live together.

Kat's right – it is sudden! And yes – they haven't been together that long! This is Kat's first romance, and she and Tomás have already made so many missteps; I don't blame her for wanting to breathe and take the time to get things right. “I don't want to pressure you,” Tomás said, pressuring her while making his case for cohabitation. I might feel better about it if I didn't know he was bucking for career advancement more than actually wanting to share a home with his girl.

Let's not forget that Kat only took Tomás back after he slept with Eva because she didn't want Eva to win! That's love there, ain't it? And I wonder if Kat can sense that Tomás's motives aren't purely personal, and that's why she's hedging. I thought it was cool to put Dani in a convo with her niece and have her hope that Tomás wasn't following in Bill's workaholic footsteps. Since he totally is. Not really grooving on Tomás these days. Lo siento, papi.

As I mentioned in my previous column, the Hawthornes doing couples therapy off-screen has also been a bit of a letdown, though at least they're going; Martin and Smitty were supposed to see a counselor months ago, and they clearly skipped out on it. Jacob and Naomi's sessions at least took root in their scenes this week; it seems their therapist, Trudy, had given them “homework.”

They weren't specific as to what that assignment was, but between their talk of reconnecting and the fact that they hadn't made love since before the whole pregnancy/children conflict sprang up, I think we can guess what they're supposed to be working on at home. I have to agree with Nicole – there's more than a bit of pressure involved in trying to have sex with an estranged partner on a deadline.

But there was still a willingness, so Jacob rented himself a hotel room and sprinkled its bed with rose petals. That's Tomás's move! I think it must have been the same suite and flowers from Tomás and Kat's unsuccessful rendezvous several weeks back. There's not much “just” in “Just let it happen,” so Naomi froze up, and again, though Jacob's set-up was sweet, you can't merely decide to have make-up sex and do it with things unresolved.

Enter Jacob's Paramount Plus password (I see you, GATES) and the seemingly gushy movie he and Naomi ended up watching together that had her teary and rooting for the on-screen couple to overcome their obstacles; no metaphor there, LOL. But it was enough, because Jacob shared her running-parallel-with-fiction opinion, and the two soon found their way into nookie naturally. They haven't yet talked about their main issue of children, though. What happened to Jacob taking Nicole's advice to work with kids to get a feel for parenthood? It's actually a good idea!

This is how we do it

There are also those of you who are convinced that Vernon is cheating on Anita with Sharon. I still don't believe that, but when Vern didn't sing at WinterFest, I had to wonder. At the event, he told Sharon that he couldn't do “it” right then and there, not when it would be so cruel to Anita. The next day, Vernon invited someone over, telling them they could do “it” right there in the living room!

Dani almost ruined her father's plans by showing up at the Dupree manse – making sure to squeeze in that lots of women had thrown themselves at the former senator...even other Articulettes. But once again, psyche! Anita walked into a meal flown in from New Orleans restaurant Dooky Chase (I know, I'm trying not to snicker, too; FYI, it's a real place in the Big Easy and it's been open since 1941!)

Anita contributed to the laying on of thickness by winking that most men weren't as thoughtful as Vernon had been unless they were in the doghouse! Look, it's time to defecate or get off the receptacle, here. Either Vernon is having an affair or he isn't. The innuendos and fake-outs were cute the first couple of weeks, but it's getting tired now. Thankfully, Christmas is almost here, and if Vernon didn't sing at WinterFest, he can at least belt one out for the holiday and wrap this up; see what I did there.

Samantha's grounding is over – yay! I'll admit it was actually pretty cool for the show to keep up with that arc as long as it did; they could have easily set Sam free after one or two episodes. And she's got her phone back – double yay? I know teens are superglued to their devices, but it's a little scary to see for myself just how dependent they are on them.

She's also still looking into getting the free clinic she conceived of started (loss of points for Tyrell for calling books “stone age”)...but her next evident storyline is already not clicking with me. Samantha is apparently about to follow in the footsteps of other Dupree women by having her coming out as a debutante at the Fairmont Crest country club. Plus, because she didn't have access to her phone, she only just now found out that she missed a crucial training session.

And...who cares? I guess this is all a fact of life for a socialite family, but I don't see how anyone in the audience is going to connect with it unless they're also a socialite. I guess it's because I see anything connected to country clubs as pretentious. Maybe it'll be worth it for the fancy dresses and a party where stuff actually happens? I'm, like, much more interested in finding out who Sam's dad is than watching whether or not she fully becomes a deb, like, fer shure!

Then there's Derek, who is nothing if not consistent – the fool came up in the hospital using a hockey stick for a crutch. No wonder PT powerhouse Shanice told him to puck off with that! Of course, he had to try to bust a move and nearly fell on his ass doing it...though it did lead to a nice moment where Ashley helped him into a chair, and the two apologized to each other for their mutual misdirections, able to find forgiveness.

That's where it should have ended. This isn't Dashley's first breakup, and I don't need to see them navigating every step like we did last time. This is where it would be nice to backburner them for a while, and see them in a month or two in separate storylines. We've already proven more than once over the better part of a year that this couple does not work. They're done now; let's leave them that way.

Granted, they have social lives with Naomi and Jacob, and that might be logical to explore. But look at Ashley already making things awkward by mentioning Sheryl having hit on Derek, and Jacob having to tell Derek not to use Sheryl to make Ashley jealous like he did with Shanice! Seriously, GATES, follow your own lead with these characters and take them in new directions...once we've had a break from the not-fan favorites.

Get it, sexyy

All right, I feel ya – we gotta talk about Kial. First of all, who names their kid “Kial”? That out of the way, I'm not sure what to think of him yet (other than he's fine as hell because Greg Vaughan)...and that's as it should be, because he's only been in two episodes. Aside from his entry being anchored to Nicole, we found out that he and Ted met once at a medical conference in Denver. Too bad Kial's last name isn't Carrington; do you Dynasty fans get me?

Other than that...he was just kind of eye candy on Nicole's arm at WinterFest. We did get a little more info on him during his second appearance, when he showed up at Nicole's office with flowers...and immediately went to work massaging her neck, joking that he couldn't keep his hands off her. Too soon? Yeah, maybe a bit. It's not so much that Kial and Nicole have chemistry, but it's that Vaughan's essence, beyond his obvious good looks, lights up the screen.

So here's our dossier on Kial: he's a widower, and his kids were grown by the time they lost their mother. Kial didn't feel like home was home anymore, so he took off and went on some kind of orthopedic surgeon tour. That's all we have so far. Still very curious to see where he takes us, though I'm not gonna lie – I don't want Kial with Nicole. Because she already has Carlton!

What's this, the formerly depressed divorcée gets her groove back by cavorting with two impossibly gorgeous men? Sign me up for that. If I hadn't already seen Carlton in the preview for this coming week, I'd think the show had ditched the months they've spent developing Carlton and Nicole's orbits around each other in favor of the new guy. That's my only gripe with Kial so far.

Who should they put Kial with? Well, me, obviously, but outside of that, I know it's not gonna be Shanice, because our girl is flying high lately (and not like the birds she hates)...with Ted! She even called Ted out on first saying he wanted Nicole to move on and be happy, only to get all grumbly about Nicole's merry-go-round with Carlton and Kial. Ted admitted he'd only been so magnanimous to impress Shanice...and that's when he lit up!

You can thank June and her still inaccurate order taking – both Ted and Shanice had requested Orphey Gene's catfish platter, and there was only enough left for one. So the plastic surgeon and nurse supervisor/physical therapist split the meal. It was a lot less contrived a meet-cute as their dropped files and elevator entrapment was the week before. In fact, like the diner's cobbler, it was super sweet!

Shanice's curiosity gave us an insight into Ted's lonely life, existing in the hotel and taking all his meals alone. I didn't think Keith-as-Ted had chemistry with Nicole, but he does with Shanice, in spades. And you know you're getting Shanice where she lives when even Ashley can silence her by noticing how into Ted she seems. I am genuinely getting excited to see a Tanice (Shed?) thing form. And to see Shanice wiping the floor with a jealous Leslie!

Dana/Sherry/Lulu might be in jail by then, anyway! After accepting a glass of champagne from Marcel at WinterFest, Leslie showed up at the police station with the requisite donuts, impressed with her audacity in coming around a place where many employed folks wanted to see her “in jewelry.” Yes, cue Leslie offering to play good cop/bad cop with Mr. Malone. These two are not exactly tepid themselves.

But Elon saw the exchange and wondered WTF was going on! And that's when we got it: Marcel isn't actually interested in Leslie after all. He simply “challenge accepted” Jacob when he practically dared Marcel to arrest Leslie, and the about-to-be-retired detective is only trying to get the merry attempted murderess to incriminate herself. Soo-WEE! That's some good stuff.

Leslie's no fool, either, though it took Eva to get her there. After learning from Laura that Marcel had been hired to protect her at WinterFest (and that Laura lost her mom at age six; an important piece of backstory on a character we know little about), Eva ran to Leslie, who was more amused than anything. Ms. Thomas opted to play the long game and work Marcel herself, with the goal of getting a cop “in her back pocket.”

You know, in case she ever gets snagged for trying to off Laura! We have us a good old-fashioned game of cat-and-mouse going on here, Scoopers, and I am here and beyond here for it. Marcel's a crooked cop, and Leslie's just crooked. Who will outfox the other first? Or will they fall in love before the shenanigans come to a head? Because that's not new to soaps. The clock is ticking...and these two contestants don't come to play.

Sing about me

Oh, Vanessa. We've known from the beginning that she has a selfish streak taller than the Washington Monument, the way she gleefully cheated on Doug in their seemingly unspoken open marriage. (Both partners have to agree for one to be legit.) She barely wore black long enough to get a sweat stain after Doug suddenly died, and she was all too happy to ship Donnell back to Banneker so she could get summa dat Joey D at her leisure.

But if there's a 12-Step group for utter self-absorption, Vanessa needs to start attending meetings stat. Her downfall began the week before last, when she stomped her foot because Joey had chosen to protect her by not being seen in public with her, rather than going to WinterFest and risking someone catching on to their romance and illegal schemes. So unreasonable.

Miss Van got drunk twice over it (and into a juicy clash with Fairmont Crest gossipmonger Anastasia; it looked at one point as if Vanessa was ready to clock her, and I wish she had – I miss catfights!). So when Joey strolled into the country club and kissed her in front of anybody and everybody, repercussions be damned...was Vanessa happy with that? Yeah! For about 47 seconds.

Her next trick was trying to sign up as Joey's emergency contact, for lack of a better term. If he got shot or ended up sleeping with the fishes, as mobsters are wont to do, who would let her know? Joey thought it would be too risky to bring Vanessa into an arrangement like that...but instead of understanding, she went total Cling-On. (Star Trek reference! Qa'pla!)

If she really mattered to him, he'd do it! Wasn't that the argument Vanessa just made when she couldn't get him to come out of the shadows with her? This was the next day after Joey capitulated to her. It was no surprise that he walked out on her thirsty ass, scoffing that he didn't need a wife because he'd already had one. For real. Maybe that's why Vanessa was drinking so much -- because she's so thirsty!

The Vanessa I liked was the one who got called over by Leslie. Vanessa did not know where to look when Leslie requested her “services,” wanting “something big” for her daughter! That was priceless, I gotta admit. Of course, Vanessa would think that Leslie knows about her connection to Heart Attach and was trying to buy Eva some company. “Oh! This is about real estate!” Vanessa chirped far too brightly. Oh, yeah!

It was even awesome for Vanessa to hear Eva out about the clinic and suggest she nail down its legalities before shopping for location, location, location. Its potential sustainability needed to be explored, too. I get it now. Vanessa is sensible most of the time, but when it comes to Joey...well, she's more addicted to him than Doug was to gambling! Can you believe I'm actually Team Joey over here? She's a pest!

Hate me now

I don't think Hayley has her winter tires on yet, because lawd, is she swerving. It wasn't that yet another person tried to drink her poisoned tea (this time Caroline) – it was that she dripped the toxin into the brew like she was squeezing orange juice into a glass...and then acted surprised when Bill, for all she knew, dropped dead on the floor. She didn't even want to touch him to check for a pulse when Randy smartly suggested she do so! Eww! Corpse!

This is what Hayley had been working toward for weeks. Mission accomplished! Except not! Suddenly, she decided no – Bill beefing it at work was a no-go! So...why the hell did she spend weeks poisoning him at work? And even if she had only tainted what he consumed at home, there would have been no way to control where and when he collapsed. I found it to be a rather nonsensical pivot.

Her new rationale is that she needed Bill to die out of the eyelines of co-workers and doctors. But I guess she needed him not to die first. Given he was already unconscious on the floor, that would be quite the trick. So after banging on his chest for a while, she managed to revive him with a (very staged) smack to the face. And he rebounded! He thought he'd fainted from having fasted ahead of his blood work.

Logical – but not. In what universe would he come back from being poisoned to death and then acting like nothing had happened? That's B&B territory. But what I really want to know is, who is “Disguise Bootique”? That's who Hayley was texting when she lied that she was calling 911. What was she going to do, Instacart a costume and then walk out of the building in disguise so no one would connect her to Bill's dead body?

I'm hoping Bill's no dummy here. Mr. Legal Briefs went over his blackout and realized that the only thing he had even consumed that day was...Hayley's tea. And the camera focusing on the cup seemed very much a sign that Bill had caught on. If he had, though, he didn't show it the next day, when he nixed Hayley's sudden inspiration to jet to St. Bart's that very day instead of going over the holidays as they'd already planned.

Next, Bill met a new client, one Lynette Wise. Though she claimed innocence for having embezzled a small fortune from a bank, she looked guilty as hell to me. The last time Bill offered to, erm, get a lady client off, Hayley walked in and got all jealous. This time, she came upon Bill with Lynette and scowled – but methinks not out of jealousy! It was recognition! Hayley and Lynette know each other somehow...and their last interaction couldn't have been friendly!

Far be it from me to oppose claws coming out, but...doesn't Hayley have enough going on trying to off Bill? She was almost there and changed tacks at the last second...and now, being thisclose to carting Bill off for Christmas and wrapping him in a coffin, she gets a new/old adversary? Will this Lynette help or hinder Hayley? I'm just not certain yet that Lynette is a wrinkle this storyline needs. But I guess we'll see. Like we'll see if anything is wrong with Anita, who needs tests – forgot to mention that!

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. I want your opinions about this show, stat – so enter them in the comments below. Column alert: just two weeks until the very first ever Beyond the Gates Best & Worst edition! It's not gonna be naughty or nice – it's gonna be nicety, like Michel'le. 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.)

Catch all-new episodes of Beyond the Gates weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.