The Unanswered Questions of Beyond the Gates, Part 2: Who is Leslie's dad?

Beyond the Gates being in reruns (again) this week certainly makes one thing possible: it gives us more time to reflect on what we've seen so far since the sudser's February premiere. The hallmark of a good soap is, that for every answer we get, at least two more questions arise – and this trope is something our Fairmont Crest faves have been quite good at, making us delirious with curiosity about only-hinted-at details. While we're revisiting Leslie's exposure of Ted at his May anniversary party, how about we delve into this second installment exploring the show's unresolved queries – in this case, speaking of Leslie, who on earth is her father?

Former Articulette Barbara had to have articulated with somebody on Beyond the Gates

Until recently, no one ever gave a second thought to any family Leslie might have (besides Eva, of course) – nor was it necessary to. Dana Leslie Thomas breezed into D.C. with her wigs and her personas and her many axes to grind; who had time to consider she might have relatives in between all her deliciously entertaining shenanigans? In fact, it was only in late July, as the much ballyhooed Articulettes reunion concert moved up the calendar, when Leslie finally made a most casual mention about her mother. Apparently, Mama Leslie had all of The Articulettes' records, and Leslie proved to be just as much of a superfan, apparently wearing out the vinyl with her repeated listenings of albums and singles.

But with the sudden influx of letters Leslie believed to be scams in envelopes, announcing that she was entitled to a sizable inheritance, came the first sightings of roots in Leslie's family tree. For one thing, a dying woman named “Peaches” arrived on Leslie's doorstep, swearing that the bequeathment notifications were legit. She should know – she was Leslie's mother!

Except, psyche! – not only was “Peaches” not the woman's given name (it was only a nickname Leslie had applied to her; we still don't know what “Peaches” signs her legal documents with), she wasn't even Leslie's birth mother. No, that honor went to one Barbara Mitchell: only the founding member of The Articulettes! And, because the girl group's lead singer, Anita Dupree – out of her guilt in facilitating Barbara's dismissal from the act before they'd even cut their first record, had tucked away bajillions of dollars for Barbara's family to reflect the royalties that Barbara would have received, the always broke Leslie was now one rich bitch. Let the spending sprees begin!

One major resulting question has already begun to get lost under country club memberships and Leslie's attempt to buy the mansion across the way from the Duprees – though many of you have not allowed that blank to disappear completely. And that is...who on earth is Leslie's father?

All we know about the circumstances of Leslie's conception is that Barbara was extremely depressed at the time about her ejection from The Articulettes, and that Barbara so adamantly didn't want a child that she approached “Peaches” to raise it – under the condition that “Peaches” never get back in touch with her or tell Leslie who her natural mother was. Now, if Barbara's mental state was that bad, the odds that she was either in or pursued a relationship with a man plummet significantly. It seems more like Barbara might have had sex as a coping mechanism to make herself feel better, albeit temporarily. Still, severe depression and sex are not two things that usually go together.

Could it be that Barbara was already pregnant when she was forced out of The Articulettes? And that that condition added to her melancholy? We know that Dante Green was the manager of the group, and that he was the one who called for Barbara's removal – we also know that, for as much as they fuss and fight, remaining Articulettes Anita, Sharon, and Tracy all agree that Dante was the devil incarnate. Could Dante have impregnated Barbara? Maybe even raped her? That would certainly have contributed to Barbara's despair – Dante could have gotten rid of her over her carrying his child, with his claims that her voice wasn't up to par only an excuse – and Leslie had to have gotten her deviousness from somewhere. From what little we've heard about Barbara, it doesn't seem to have come from her!

Lots of you have suggested that Vernon Dupree fathered Leslie. That doesn't seem as likely, at least not from what the former senator has told us. Vernon met Anita after The Articulettes were already big – and, by that point, Barbara was long gone from the group. Also, when Anita told Vernon how she felt her actions had led to Barbara killing herself, Vernon said he had never known Barbara. Sure, it's a soap – Vernon could have lied about all of that.

But...a senator, or even an up-and-coming senator whose family was based in Maryland (don't forget, Vernon's dad founded and built Fairmont Crest) somehow knowing a poverty-stricken girl in the projects of Chicago well enough to get her pregnant? Plus, while we've seen that Vernon is able to coldly get down to business, the otherwise kindly grandfather type doesn't seem capable of that kind of deception. (Yeah, he lied seven ways to Sunday about Martin disfiguring “Kenneth” and killing his brother during their attempted hate crime, but that was to protect his family, not himself specifically.)

From what little info we have, the mostly likely man to be Leslie's father is Dante Green – but, given all the doors left open, the possibilities are endless. Could Bill's more-and-more-mentioned scumbag of a dad also have sired Leslie, making the enemies half-siblings? Who do you think Leslie's father is? Put all your paternity postulations in the comments below!

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Come back tomorrow as Soap Central explores another unanswered question about Beyond the Gates!

Beyond the Gates is currently rerunning episodes from May on CBS, but all episodes are available for streaming on Paramount Plus. New episodes will resume Monday, September 8.

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