The Unanswered Questions of Beyond the Gates, Part 5: Should this marriage be saved?

You made it! We've reached (another) week of repeats of Beyond the Gates, which means the next time we see the Duprees, extended and otherwise, it will be in new scenes. Bring on Episode 124! Of course, that means we're still processing any number of the show's previous 123 installments on one level or another – and with such a rich, intricate tapestry being woven before our very eyes, there are inevitably questions floating about our soapy brains. So, before we get caught back up on Monday, why don't we pick apart one of these queries and see if we can make it make sense? More specifically, should Smitty be considering more during his separation from Martin than just the congressman's deception over “Kenneth” and the hate crime the now-deceased tormentor perpetrated?

When career paths meet smear paths on Beyond the Gates

In mid-July, investigative reporter Smitty finally got the real scoop about why husband Martin was having all those nightmares: Martin had disfigured a man and killed another trying to protect Vernon during a hate crime. Smitty's immediate response was to kick Martin out of their brownstone. But Mr. Smith wasn't pissed that Mr. Richardson had committed these acts of violence – if anything, Smitty felt horrible for what Martin had gone through, and for what he'd had to do to stop “Kenneth” and his brother – it was that Martin had spent two years lying his face off about it all, and that his ever-compounding fabrications had put adopted kiddos Tyrell and Samantha in danger.

Given how quickly soap couples get over the most egregious infractions and then lather each other in forgiveness – often moving on as if nothing happened – it's been heartening that, as of the end of August, where we left off, Smitty is only just barely feeling the pull toward a reunion. Martin's back at home because of Cecile and Ron...er, Samantha and Tyrell having biomom June returning to their lives, but Smitty's got the dude on the couch. Before Smitty leaves a path of rose petals back up to their bedroom, he might want to take a good, hard look at his marriage and decide if this guy is worth taking back.

Plenty has been discussed and debated about Martin's multiple levels of deceit regarding that awful night on that dark road, and why he kept those events from Smitty, so let's table that very visible elephant in the room. It's Martin's other actions toward Smitty that the journalist should be concerned with. Speaking of that career, Smitty wouldn't have come to enjoy it again after years of being a househusband if Martin had had his way. Smarty Marty not only demanded that Smitty continue staying home, just taking care of the kids like some gay version of being barefoot and pregnant...he actively worked against his husband's ambitions.

Sure, maybe Martin didn't want Smitty to resume being a newshound because he was afraid Smitty would hound himself into the news of Martin rearranging “Kenneth”'s face. But still, the politician was stone cold, the way he learned that Smitty had a job offer and then went to the prospective employer to tell him Smitty wasn't interested! That's not leaving-the-toilet-seat-up stuff. That's you're-never-getting-out-of-the-doghouse stuff.

After Leslie blew up his parents' marriage, Martin wanted to know where Ted had slithered off to – but he couldn't get anything out of Smitty. Later, when Smitty admitted that Vernon had implored him not to give away Ted's location, Martin walked out on him! Then, when Tyrell was being cyberbullied at his school because an embarrassing photo of him had gotten around, Martin went to Tyrell's principal – without Smitty beside him. In fact, Smitty had all but begged Martin to stay away from the educational facility and let Tyrell navigate his way through the dilemma himself! Communication only seems to be important to Martin when it's him delivering stump speeches to his constituents – not when it comes to dealing with everyday marital and family matters.

Do we even need to address Martin deciding to go full-speed into running for president – and not bothering to tell Smitty about it? The lawmaker says Smitty's opinions and feelings matter to him, especially since he's been camping out at his grandparents' pad, but his actions say something completely different.

Finally, Smitty should be very worried about Martin's temper. And again, this is outside of Martin having to defend himself while he and Vernon were being assaulted; Martin didn't mean to kill “Kenneth”'s brother, and one could even write off Martin beating “Kenneth”'s face in as a heat-of-the-moment action. But Martin has been shown to have a short fuse ever since we met him. He had to be physically restrained from attacking both Bill and Leslie on separate occasions, and Martin violently shoved Ted when the truth of his infidelity came out – plus Martin chucked books all over the room, alarming Smitty. And let's not forget Martin curving his hands in an air chokehold while telling Smitty how much he wanted to strangle Bill!

None of this is coming out in the wake of Smitty's estrangement from Martin, and it needs to. Doesn't it seem like Smits would be far better off following in Nicole's footsteps and getting himself a divorce? Sure, there are children involved, but Tyrell will be a legal adult next year, with Samantha only a year behind. They're old enough to handle it – and even Kat said her own brother doesn't deserve Smitty! Run over to the Fairmont Crest Country Club, Bradley! Maybe that hunky personal trainer, Diego, swings both ways!

What do you guys think? Is Martin really not all that bad, or should Smitty only see him in divorce court? Is there a way the soap's only gay marriage can be worked out? Or does it send a much healthier message for Smitty to take care of himself first? File your report 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 airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus. After running encore episodes this past week, the show will be all-new again starting Monday.

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