The Unanswered Questions of Beyond the Gates, Part 3: Is Dani an alcoholic?

We know, Beyond the Gates fans! The intertwining sagas of the Duprees, Hamiltons, Richardsons, Hawthornes, and others being on hiatus totally blows! There's nothing we can do about that – but we can spend these next few days until new episodes kick in on Monday (did Chelsea get sliced like her wedding cake? Did Jacob, Kat, and Madison end up as roadkill?) thinking about the 123 episodes that have aired since our newest soap tore out of the gate. See what I did there? One of its biggest ponderables so far revolves around Dupree diva Dani and her rebounds with Smirnoff and Jack Daniels. You thought she was only dallying with Andre? Dani was headed straight for being lush Fairmont Crest's resident lush. Until she wasn't. Which begs the question – was/is Dani an alcoholic?

Beyond the Gates' Dani was headed for a 90-proof cliff

Pretty much from the first episode, ex-wife with an axe to grind, Dani was seen sluggin' 'em back in an attempt to deal with her feelings of sadness, bitterness, and rejection regarding Bill leaving her for Hayley. Though we didn't see Dani boozing it up before Hayley readied to say her vows to Bill, Dani being three sheets to the wind certainly would explain why she whipped out a gun during the ceremony and attempted to use the bride and groom for target practice! One almost has to be drunk to have one's inhibitions lowered that far.

There was no mistaking Dani's affair with alcohol in subsequent episodes, though. While the new Hamiltons were on their honeymoon, Dani sweet-talked her way into Bill's freshly-purchased digs and downed so much of his liquor, she passed out on his couch. Then, in her own home, Dani nursed a vodka bottle like an infant nurses formula – to the point Andre found Dani unconscious in her kitchen. After she woke up, she had a bit of a wake-up and call and let her liquid courage flow down the drain...only to re-up her supply and drunkenly cry over her old modeling photos.

Dani even went so far as to make a breakfast screwdriver at the country club by generously pouring vodka into her morning OJ – and, while the beverage was briefly left behind, Vernon could smell the proof in the pulp. Later, Dani had to force herself not to pop bottles, though Andre did come across her drunk one more time; it was only after ride-or-die Pamela got Dani going on “Operation Gemstone,” a plan to help her rise above bumming over Bill and get her groove back, that Dani seemed to loosen her Krazy Glue grip on the sauce.

That was in mid-April; we are now in September. And though we've watched Dani partaking several times since then, it's always been in a more usual, less dependent way. Vernon never brought his concerns to Anita – or Dani herself – and both Pamela and Andre have seen Dani drink with nary a worry that she might be stepping closer to Twelve-Step. So...what happened there?

Though all signs were leaning toward Dani entering an alcoholism storyline, it could very well be that she was merely taking a few weeks to work out her ugly feelings about Bill divorcing her for someone 20-plus years younger – in a fermented fashion. There doesn't have to be any addiction in play for that to happen.

But, given how often we saw Dani sloshed or in the process of reaching that goal (hail her drunken sashay down the catwalk of her kitchen!), it felt like there was more there there. Girlfriend was two gulps away from hiding bottles in the tanks of her toilets. That being the case, how was Dani suddenly able to stop the excessiveness cold turkey? And, if she indeed had the “ism” that makes one susceptible to alcoholism (remember, it is a disease), should she even be drinking at all now, whether at parties, family gatherings, powwowing with Pamela, or on her own?

It feels like our group of GATES writers simply forgot that Dani was charging into a drinking problem like the proverbial bull in a liquor shop – which is unusual, because this show has been very good about following up on its storyline hints and not leaving much in the way of loose ends once an arc does wrap up. Consider the saga of the three women Mike Davis sexually harassed, being settled in cour,t and The Articulettes finally having their concert after months of their claws being out.

Doesn't it also rather send a bad message that one can struggle with alcoholism and then suddenly just cure themselves? Alcohol Use Disorder is a legitimate ailment with physiological factors; it can rewire the brain and do damage to the brain after that. Not to mention, there's a genetic component to it that increases risk. Typically, recovery isn't just a matter of putting a drink down – support groups and/or therapy have been helpful for millions, and there are also medications now that can aid in making chemical changes in the brain to combat the dependency. For Dani to be a literal fall-down drunk one day and walking around the next as if she wasn't...well, in Alcoholics Anonymous circles, she would be called a “functional alcoholic” or a “dry drunk.” The firewater might not be as prevalent...but the physical and psychological facets of the disease (depression over Bill was just a trigger) haven't gone anywhere.

What do you think? Is this all reading too much into a few weeks of story, or you do you think Dani has a problem that hasn't been dealt with? Would you like to see this addressed directly, or are you fine with it not coming up again? Pour all your thoughts into the comments section 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 8th.

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