Six of ten: Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of May 5, 2025

Soccer it to me on Beyond the Gates

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? This week Ted and Eva bore the brunt of the repercussions Leslie set in motion by exposing her affair – and her daughter. Bill also seemed to have fingers in every D.C. pie while defending his defense of Ted and pulling Smitty into the secret he knows about Smitty's hotheaded hubby. But CBS shelving the burgeoning soap for soccer – in the middle of May Sweeps, no less – is a kick in the you-know-where. Move the ball around and let's find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

Check yo self

First off, I never thought I'd have to, but I'm adding a new feature to this here series of Beyond the Gates opinion columns. And that is:

TIDE WATCH: 1

FEBREZE WATCH: 1

That's how many times each of these sponsored products ended up in our fictional capital this week. I still find these brand placements kind of ridiculous, butaslongas we don't ever, ever, ever have characters discussing wash soap or air freshener again, I'm good. Though, couldn't you just see Nicole frantically spraying her beloved Febreze everywhere, considering? “I can still smell that cheating bastard's cologne – thankfully I have 40 wonderful Febreze scents to get rid of it! PSSSSSSHHHHH!”

I'll also say that showing a bottle of Tide in a laundry basket in the living room just before Martin came home and destroyed his library wasn't the best moment for it. And for real – who keeps detergent in the basket with either clean or dirty clothes? That's what shelves next to or above washing machines are for. Hell, I keep my laundry necessities on my dryer! But I digress.

I have so many feelings about GATES being pre-empted, the way it has been, for UEFA soccer the last couple of weeks. I'd long since accepted soaps being booted for two episodes during March Madness, especially since that's only once a year. But that applies to all soaps. Fairmont Crest was the only daytime show to be dumped this time for a soccer ball, and the timing just couldn't be worse.

As I said, it's May Sweeps – never mind what that means for advertisers; for we soap fans, it means storyline payoffs and twists and drama deluxe! And not only did we have to press pause just when the aftermath of Ted's exposure was getting started last week, we experienced another interruption as these shock waves began shocking in earnest. Way to ruin the flow of a story!

I might be more forgiving if soccer had drop kicked any one of the other soaps. The youngest, B&B, has been on for 38 years – these shows aren't starting from scratch. But Beyond the Gates is in its third month and trying to hook viewers. Going off two days a week for the second week in a row can't be good for ratings. I know, it's been said, but...there are sports channels galore. We don't need soccer – which is far more popular in Europe – putting the kibosh on our stories! Knock it off!

Mass appeal

Leslie knows how to piss people off. And she knows just what words to use, too. Calling Martin “Little Brownie Man” got him so riled up, Anita had to keep him from punching his former waitress out, and it was just one more layer adding to Martin's volatility and hot-temperedness. The guy has a problem. Remember when he almost did the same thing to Bill after Dani was arrested? All my soapy senses say that Martin killed someone for sure!

Ms. Thomas also fired a shot at “Little Dani Oakley”, AKA Dani, who tried to give Leslie attitude. Great stuff. Not that the other Duprees didn't get their moments! “Aw, she thinks she has a heart,” Chelsea said of Leslie, right after Naomi followed up Leslie's stated desire to wrap her arms around Eva with this conditional: “Like a boa constrictor?” It must always be cool in Fairmont Crest, 'cuz these guys know where to cast shade.

Once she was through dissing the Duprees for positioning themselves as victims while at the same time victimizing others, Leslie put herself on the cross and compared herself to “(Martin Luther) King, (Walter) Fauntroy, and (Maya) Angelou” for what she had been through! Bold! Anita wasn't having it, though. She went into full matriarch mode and slammed Leslie for weaponizing her own daughter. “Shame on you!” Anita yelled.

I think Dani and Nicole could tell us that when Anita aims a “Shame on you!” at you, you're in some major poop. Anita warned Leslie that, by attacking Nicole, she had attacked all the Duprees, and the Duprees didn't forget. I rather liked Leslie finally mixing it up with these characters she hadn't had scenes with before. After Anita left, she soothed her family with a rendition of “Amazing Grace”, which...I had issues with.

I realize how important the spiritual is to the Black community, and its inclusion here absolutely made sense. But I guess, as a non-religious person – and as a white guy – it felt corny to me. Maybe if it had been a short version instead of the extended remix we got. I will concede that, when Eva cried “Mama!” during the accompanying montage, I felt emotionally manipulated, and I loved it. And we knew Anita could sing, but dang, Tamara Tunie belted the hell outta that! Never knew she had it in her!

Hit the road, Jack

Ted tried to at least begin the process of making up with Nicole, but she wasn't about it. And frankly, while Daphnée Duplaix served some knockout deliveries of her dialogue, the confrontation itself was a little on the meh side to me. Nicole didn't know who Ted was, Ted was sorry. It just didn't offer much that was different than a thousand such daytime dust-ups we've seen before.

Nicole did get the caustic line, “Did you grieve them while you were in her bed?”, speaking of Ted's reaction to her unfortunate, multiple miscarriages. She also wanted to know if there had been other women still – fair question – and made the very doctoral observation that Ted could have given her an STD from his cheating. I also liked Nicole asking if Ted would have run off with Leslie if Nicole had lost one more baby.

We expected Nicole to kick Ted out, but what was that with the threat that if she even so much as smelled his cologne from him trying to come back in, it would be the last thing he ever did? Whoa! Maybe Nic's got some of Dani's aggressiveness in her that she usually keeps checked. And maybe that's where Martin gets it from. As for Nicole's other child, Kat, she was amazingly restrained in her first post-exposure chat with Eva.

I still think there's a strange bond between Kat and Eva, despite Kat declaring that Eva was dead to her this week. Kat sighed that it was her family's downfall that they were too nice, and she was almost maternal as she told Eva it was Eva trying too hard that had given her away. Still, Kat included some digs, too. I was gleeful when Kat deemed Eva a “curbside delivery daughter with half a brain.” Who writes Kat's putdowns? They're glorious!

I'd begun to wonder if anything was ever going to come of that straw that Eva lifted from Ted a while back so that Leslie could have a DNA sample from her ex-lover. Well, I got my answer as Eva – who was very much hangdog through her whole skirmish with Kat – produced DNA test results proving that Ted was her father. Leslie had shown the Duprees the same results; I like when a story seed is planted way before and gets a chance to sprout, as this one did.

Though Kat still thought of Eva as evil from the self-satisfied way Eva had looked at Kat after Eva had erased Kat's security footage, and Kat's parents had taken Eva's side, Eva did a not evil thing and implored Kat not to let what she did ruin things between Kat and Ted – the love Ted had always had for Kat had been real, Eva wanted Kat to see. Either these two are going to become real sisters or real enemies, and right now they seem much more the former than the latter.

Not waiting for Nicole to fire her, Eva went back to Casa Richardson and collected her belongings...but why did she have to lovingly cradle Nicole's adored bottle of Febreze? Just no! Eva was sure Nicole hated her, but Nicole didn't. Dani did, though, and ran Eva out. I must say, Eva looked like total crap. Her hair was unkempt, and her lipstick was smudged down to her chin; we later learned that she had slept in her car. Terrific attention to detail!

Eva attempted to go home, but Leslie was waiting, sneering that Eva could be adopted by Nicole. Leslie screamed that Eva had chosen her no-good father over her, and Eva took the onslaught until she finally yelled that the only reason Ted had ignored Eva was because Leslie had made him think she had been aborted! Nevertheless, Leslie rolled out a suitcase packed with Eva's things and gave her the heave-ho. Ms. Thomas even chucked her daughter's pic in the garbage. Ooh, girl! You cold!

Keep ya head up

Nicole was the victim in all this, but somehow she came off like a minor player in it, and I'm not sure why. Nevertheless, she got support galore from her parents, and then Dani, who showered her sis with chocolates and bubble bath and her favorite teddy bear. It was so great to hear Dani's intention to stand up for Nicole after Nicole had been at Dani's side through her divorce from Bill.

Conversely, it was such insight for Nicole to tell Ted that she regretted how condescending she had been at times to Dani over the drama of Bill leaving Dani for Hayley. The Dupree sisters dug a little deeper and kept their sides of the street clean. Dani was of the opinion that, Ted's infidelity aside, there was no way he could have faked the love and devotion he had shown Nicole for two decades, which is pretty awesome when you think of how bitter Dani could be about all marriages after her own derailed.

Arriving next on Nicole's support train was Andre, who had just come from seeing Ted. The uncle-nephew combo had commiserated about Ted's secret coming out – a secret Andre had already been privy to – and, while Andre wouldn't relay any direct messages to Nicole from Ted, he had his own idea about how to work on Nicole for him. And Andre went right to Nicole's house and threw himself on his own sword!

I thought Andre had slipped when he let Nicole know that he'd already known about Ted's affair, but the guy did it on purpose! It was his way of conveying to his aunt that Ted was terrified of losing her and really regretted sleeping around on her. This didn't sway Nicole toward Ted in any way, but Nicole did hold Andre blameless and even felt for Andre being put in the middle of Ted and Nicole. Dodged that one, 'Dre!

Protect ya neck

Bill kinda took it from all sides, with Ted, Hayley, and even Dani trying to fix the fixer. Hayley wanted to know why, since Bill knew Ted had cheated on Nicole, he never stepped in when the Richardsons gave them hell about carrying on behind Dani's back. Yeah, Bill! Why? But before Mrs. H could get any kind of real answer, Ted, still wearing his clothes from the party the night before, wanted answers of his own.

Ted angrily asked why Bill had never told him that “Dana” had given birth to his child! Well, hell, Bill hadn't known that. But Hayley popped off with perhaps the best line of the week in relation to the good doctor playing hot beef injection with another woman: “Damn! I didn't think anything could top Dani shooting up our wedding!” I couldn't stop smiling.

Bill assured Ted that he never would actually have tried to kidnap Leslie's baby and sell it on the black market; those had only been words uttered for maximum impact so Leslie would be scared into having her promised abortion. Bill and Ted had never really had scenes before this week, yet they did indeed seem to be two men who had known each other forever and had an undefined respect for each other.

Ted was comforted by Bill's contention that Nicole would ultimately be forgiving, but Hayley had her own axe to grind with Ted in that he had also done nothing to step in between her and Dani. And wouldn't you know, after Ted left, Dani herself came barging in, having another catty exchange with Hayley (“You, adulting?” Hayley sassed. “That's a reach”) in preparation for flaming Bill herself.

Dani was pissed that Bill had sat on Ted's affair with Leslie throughout a large portion of their marriage when he knew how devastated Nicole would be if that info had come to light. Bill wasn't having Dani making Ted's situation about her, and scoffed that the real ringmasters of the Dupree family were Vernon and Anita. (This on the heels of the Duprees talking about entering a “morally gray area” with Bill...over what had to have been Martin. Juicy!)

The former Mrs. Hamilton demanded that Mr. Hamilton stay away from her family, to which he barked, “Wasn't it obvious I wanted out when I left you?” For Dani, the comment was like a punch in the stomach, and she wondered how she could ever have loved someone so soulless. I was afraid, when GATES started, that it was going to be The Dani Show; I'm glad the series pulled back and focused on additional arcs. It makes scenes like this between Dani and Bill that much more powerful.

It's too late to apologize

Ted was surprised when Eva showed up at his hotel. I was surprised Eva hadn't brought Nicole's Febreze with her; both Eva and Ted were still in the duds they'd donned some 24 hours before, so they couldn't have been the most fragrant. Anyway, Eva sucked it up and told her newfound father that she didn't have anywhere else to go. Didn't Eva make bank working for Nicole? She shouldn't have been broke.

But it's just as well, because it gave us Ted taking some responsibility for himself. Ted hadn't been thrilled by how much Eva had lied, but he caught his hypocrisy and realized his marriage wouldn't be on the skids if he hadn't been deceptive as well. Then Ted offered to get a hotel room for Eva and even rent her an apartment if she wanted, saying maybe they could hit reset and see where things went with them!

Awwwww! Ted genuinely wanted to do right by Eva, even if he hadn't known he had another daughter. I really love Eva and Ted's connection. I don't know how it's going to play when Keith D. Robinson takes over as Ted, reportedly this coming week; I admit, I'm going to be holding my breath for a while. I said it last column, but this is not the time for Ted to be recast. Maybe he should instead leave town for a while to think and come back with a new face, which would certainly not be unheard of.

Over at the country club, Kat filled Tomás in about all the haps with her new “sister.” As Kat continuously smack-talked Eva, Tomás wondered why Kat wasn't more mad at her father than at Eva – Señor Navarro felt that Eva was simply an “innocent byproduct” of all the Ted/Leslie mess. Of course, as you imagine, that didn't sit well with Kat-Kat. They got past it and agreed to have lunch later, however.

Moving the party to Uptown, Kat finished a chat with Smitty (more on that in a minute), and had to stand Tomás up momentarily to take care of some supply issue at ChelseaKat. As Tomás waited between all the blues and greens of the establishment, Eva (finally having changed clothes!) came in – Tomás joined her and told his sullen, somewhat friend that he had no idea she could be so malicious.

Eva didn't want to know about that and made ready to leave, but Tomás thought better of his criticism and offered to hear Eva out. Eva felt horrible about everything; she had let things go too far with Leslie, and, in trying to protect Ted, Nicole, and yes, Leslie, Eva had failed all of them. Not wanting to deal with the humiliation of Uptown's clientele seeing her cry, she again got up to bolt.

But Tomás took Eva's hand. (Nice ring he always wears, by the way! And could that shirt of his have been any tighter?) Whether or not the gesture was merely platonic, we don't know, but Kat had her own take. She saw the finger meshing and got the hell outta Dodge. I feel for her: first her nemesis is her half-sister and now her sorta boyfriend is playing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”? I wonder exactly what Tomás' angle is, anyway. He and Kat aren't serious, but there are feelings there...yet does he also want Eva?

Smooth operator

Kat had me damn near rising up and cheering on Friday – that is, if I could be bothered to get off my couch. See, Martin had found out from Smitty that Vernon hadn't wanted Martin to know where Ted was staying. And Smitty had gone along with it. Martin had a conniption fit about being seen as some savage beast who couldn't control himself. And when Smitty found Martin's tone proof of that impression, Marty stomped off.

This is where Kat comes in. She saw her bro doing his usual huffing and puffing, so she told Smitty, who wondered if he should keep his nose out of Dupree doings, that she was disappointed he didn't know how to “swerve” when Martin “got all extra.” Then she decided that Smitty was a better husband than Martin deserved! Yaaaas kween! I have been totally thinking that myself!

Just from seeing the Richardson-Smiths' interaction from the past 10 weeks or so, I don't know how Smitty has put up with Martin for over 10 years. Martin has stood in the way of Smitty resuming his own career and disagreed on how to handle situations with both Tyrell and Samantha. Plus, we know Martin is violent – Smitty, run! And when you're ready, I'm right here.

Learning where Ted was holed up, Martin went to see his father, and the way Smarty Marty was smarting off, I was sure he was going to shove Ted again, or worse. Throw him out the hotel window, maybe. But as Ted went back on his apology tour, Martin got real, rueing how he had praised his pop in high school when the other kids were dissing their dads. And he recoiled when Ted apparently moved to hug him.

It was subtle, but Martin balled up his fists as Ted pledged to get Nicole back and repair his relationships with his kids. It was like he wanted to punch Ted out, yet stopped himself, barely. Martin made himself leave; the scene just seemed like even more confirmation that Martin gets physical enough in his anger that someone could have died because of it. And I think we're gonna find out for sure soon!

That's because Smitty, the investigative reporter, is now unwittingly on the case. Of all people, he was summoned by Bill (love how we can still get characters talking who have never had scenes together before!) – Bill, subsequent to trying to get Martin on his side a while back, wanted Smitty to help achieve that very aim. When Smitty asked why, Bill's only response was, “Martin will understand.”

And now Smitty understands that Bill and Martin have something to do with each other! You really think Smitty is going to let this go? I've said from the beginning that it should be Smitty who uncovers Martin's secret. Plus, dang, Bill knows what line of work Smitty is in. How much y'all wanna bet that Bill dropped that nugget on purpose so Smitty would find Martin out? Can't wait to see this bomb explode.

Back to the hotel

In the one non-Richardson blow-up story this week, we once again saw June, the spitfire homeless woman who got booked for smacking around a social worker she caught going through her stuff. While the last time we saw her, Naomi wasn't sure she wanted to take June's case, Naomi apparently has since then, because she was now working to find June a room in a shelter.

It's nice to see Naomi in another story now that her arc with Bill over Mike's sexual harassment accusers has wrapped up – and this is the first storyline to kick off that didn't spring from GATES' debut in February. When doors slammed for Naomi everywhere, Jacob suggested his wife throw around some Dupree-Hamilton name to get June squared away. Naomi didn't like playing that card, but when she did...results!

Thanks to Martin (who took a break from raging this week to use his superpowers for good), Naomi got June a room at a hotel that also made accommodations available to the homeless. But get this – it was the same hotel where Ted was hanging his hat. I was sure we were going to intertwine their stories somehow! Like when Ted answered the knock at his door, I thought it was going to be June waiting at it, not Martin!

So maybe that coincidental hotel was just that. I wonder if June does, in fact, tie into the canvas in a more significant way? Maybe she's another woman Ted had an affair with who Ted doesn't recognize. But June may indeed just be a passing visitor. After she split the hotel off-screen, and Jacob and Derek retrieved her, off-screen, June resolutely said she preferred living under her overpass. And that that was what she was going to do!

June intrigues me, what I can say. While we're on the Hawthornes, whatever happened to Jacob's skank-ass partner Marcel and his dirty doings with GATES tough guy Joey? Elon (ugh) lied to Jacob about Joey being an informant something like a month ago. Hey! Maybe June's saga and Marcel's will mesh, since they're both in Jacob's orbit. Jacob, along with Derek and Ashley, is one of the few characters on the show to really not have much of a story yet!

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. Are you feeling GATES so far? Do you think the soccer interruptions are hurting the show, or is it something you're okay with? Did Eva deserve to get kicked out by her mother? Does Tomás want Kat, or Eva? Or both? And what do you suspect Martin's secret is? Place your comments in their entirety in the comments below. And, until next we meet, Scoopers, live your life beyond!

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

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