Won't you be my neighbor? Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of August 18-22, 2025

Beyond the Gates: Baby's first kidnap victim

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? This week, Doug proved how whipped he is, Ashley and Andre both played ping pong, and June decided on the ultimate glow-up to impress Tyrell and Samantha. Meanwhile, the purse launch equation turned out to be “ChelseaKat - Chelsea = ?” and Peaches crossed paths with her almost daughter's almost boo. Then, of course, there was Leslie, who started her week not believing she was entitled to Barbara's money and ended it using her first million to park herself across the street from the Duprees! Let's fill up those Two Scoops and find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

Georgia peach

Leslie was not about Peaches' claim that she was entitled to the cash that had been set aside for deceased Articulette Barbara Mitchell and her family. Ms. Thomas insisted that the paperwork that Peaches produced – which included correspondence, Leslie's birth certificate, and a DNA test proving the mother-daughter connection – could very well be faked. After all, Leslie had faked some documents of her own over the years.

But Peaches wasn't fuzzy on the details (see what I did there) and even forked over a hairbrush that had belonged to her high school friend Barbara – from which Leslie could extract hair follicles and run her own genetic test if she so desired. The only part Peaches didn't know was exactly where Barbara's money had been funneled in from; she did know that Barbara's only other living relative, a sister, was also dead...which left Leslie as the only next of kin.

Leslie texted Eva, who apparently ran three stop signs, rushing over because she thought there was some sort of emergency. Eva wasn't falling for the fanciful financial tale any faster than Leslie had, though soon Leslie asked Eva if she liked her peaches cling or halved – and bam, Eva was face-to-face with her sort-of grandmother, a lady Leslie really hadn't told Eva much about.

Eva took it all in, and Leslie, who usually protects her soft side with even more care than she uses to pack away her wigs, got surprisingly emotional with the woman who had raised her. Leslie cheered Peaches as being a mother to her when no one else would and acknowledged that Peaches had been there for her “when I was out actin' a fool.” Later, Leslie even swore to Eva that she was going to use her windfall to get Peaches the best possible health care, presumably to extend the woman's life!

Of course, we only have Peaches' word that she's actually terminal, but we gotta start somewhere. Leslie and Eva squealed over the mounting money shot, even after a cute moment of mother faking daughter out with a “What's all this we business?” when Eva assumed Leslie's newfound funds would trickle down on her. Sweetly, Leslie made it known that it was never in doubt whether Eva would benefit. She's the devil, for sure, but not one without a heart! It's nice to see it beating once in a while.

The enemy strikes back

Eva had hoped, since Leslie's gripe had always been that she'd barely had enough to support herself and Eva, that coming into cash would mellow her moms out. Nope! And that was lucky for us, because nouveau riche Leslie is already highly entertaining. The first stop on her Moneybags Tour was the doorstep of La Dupree, and Anita was none too happy to see the woman who had torpedoed her older daughter's marriage.

The “reborn” Leslie confused the hell out of the Articulettes' lead singer, going on about Barbara and how Anita's face-saving tribute to Barbara at the concert really hadn't meant much. After all, why would Barbara matter two hoots to Leslie, a mere commoner? Leslie got Anita's dander up by placing the full responsibility for Barbara's ejection from the group and subsequent suicide squarely at Anita's designer-shoed feet.

But Anita's barely-there tolerance for Leslie turned into some seriously raised eyebrows, mostly after Leslie announced that “I won't be as easy to get rid of as my mama.” Anita finally put it together and raged that she would have known if Barbara had had a child. Moreover, there was no way in hell Anita was going to let Leslie get her hands on a kitty that Anita had sunk Dupree money into herself!

Leslie had assumed that the record company had put royalties aside for Barbara, but Anita reminded her nemesis that Dante Green had pushed Barbara out before the group had even made their first record. Finding it increasingly delicious that she was going to be able to take money from Anita, Leslie continued throwing that fact in Anita's face, mentioning that the timing was superb since she had recently been served with an eviction notice.

That was news to me! But let's backtrack on Dante Green for a moment. How much you wanna bet that he's Leslie's father? It would make sense – maybe part of the reason Dante wanted Barbara gone had less to do with her performance and more to do with being a walking scandal once he got her pregnant. I know a lot of y'all are theorizing that Vernon is Dana's dad, but he said he had never even met Barbara; he only met Anita once The Articulettes were on the road without her!

So don't be besmirchin' my Vernon over here! Though, a soap being a soap...Vernon getting with Barbara before getting with Anita certainly isn't impossible. Anyway, Leslie stepped up her finger pointing, fuming that she hadn't been able to get to know Barbara because of Anita's runaway ambition. Barbara only killed herself because of her! And that statement gave us Anita Dupree's first bitch slap, delivered right to, as Leslie would say later, her “precious cheek.”

Vernon saw this first-level beatdown, and Leslie gleefully used the fact that there had been a witness! She should press charges for assault, just as she had with Nicole! But then, since the Duprees had the cops in their back pocket, and her complaint against Nicole had gone nowhere, she might as well not bother involving the 5-0. Vernon grudgingly thanked her. Leslie smiled that at least Vernon had some class.

But such gossamer truces don't last long. Leslie snarked that, since The Articulettes always referred to themselves as sisters, that made Mrs. Dupree her “Auntie Nita!” And hey, why not do up another concert and let Leslie get on stage to eulogize her moms? Vernon let Leslie know she had pushed her luck and ushered her out, after which Anita ran out of the room, about to be sick. Oh, man, such good stuff. Leslie vs. Anita? More, please! All day!

TLC

I feel really bad for Derek. Let's just get that one out of the way. But let's also get out of the way that we do not need a third go-round with Dashley. They kinda worked until they broke up over living together; okay, so it was mature for them to realize they were better off not cohabitating. However, when Ashley refused Derek's proposal, that really needed to be the end – especially after Derek clued in that Ashley was into Andre, not him.

It's bad enough that Ashley is now the one serving up this soap's waffles. One day, she wants to check things out with Andre, the next, she says that Derek's accident woke her up to her love for him. How do these nurses treat whiplash? I could understand Ashley seeing Andre kissing Dani being the deal breaker for her, but she didn't even bother to tell him that was the reason...at least not at first.

She only got around to it when Andre rushed in, having heard about Derek, and started hugging her all over. Ash was colder than an Orphey Gene's ice cream sundae and kept dodging him until she finally burst and revealed that she had personally witnessed him and Dani slobbering “all...over each other,” which she said in a way that had me thinking she was gonna hurl in that very moment.

Andre was like, oh, that? He gave it his all, guiding Ashley down the winding trail of how he'd summoned Dani to break up with her and only ended up kissing her when she was super bummed about causing Hayley's miscarriage. Yeah, that would settle it for me! Ashley understood that Andre hadn't ended up bedding down with his friend-with-bennies, but she came to the conclusion that she didn't need that drama.

I would have applauded Ashley being a grown-up there, but seconds later, she did that whole letting on about still loving Derek thing. It's true that she's still in rebound territory – as is Andre, because he has major feels for Dani – it's just that I would have been happier watching Ashley care for Derek as a friend/ex rather than have his accident be a catalyst for another reunion, which is one of the oldest soap tricks in the book.

I hope Ashley has enough butter for both her waffles and Andre's, because this dude wasn't in Dani's presence five seconds before he started sending her mixed signals. I loved that Dani apologized for possibly being the one to stop Andre and Ashley before they started, and how about that moment when Dani served Andre club soda and he frowned, “Now you're counting my drinks?”

Such a great nod to Dani's brief flirtation with alcoholism (though she still drinks like a fish), and extra points for Dani's “I just don't want you to turn into me” bit of self-realization. Dani's fun when she's bats**t, but I'm even more endeared to her when she's the adult in the room. And she was here, as Andre did his best Young MC and busted a move, only for Dani to be all nuh-uh not today!

Dani has evolved enough that she didn't need Andre comin' in there acting like he could just start sexing her again as if he hadn't just dissed her for Ashley. She considered him a close friend, but if he wanted to bring himself up to the cash register, he'd better have the cash to pay. In other words, Dani wanted some of the romance Andre had c'est la vie'd all over Ashley. He worried that it could give Dani the wrong idea, but she was willing to chance it. This should be interesting.

Derek is the true odd man out here, and not because he can't walk and everybody else can. His saving grace came in the form of Shanice and Ashley, who pulled their claws in (not that Ashley could compete with Shanice's claws) to help Derek through his crisis. Ashley even wanted Shanice to be Derek's physical therapist, because she was the best!

But when Shanice arrived for his first session (is Bill still doing his post-stroke PT with her?), Derek didn't wanna didn't wanna didn't wanna...because Madison had said he would be going home in a wheelchair in spite of it. Shanice, awesomeness that she is, told Derek it would behoove him to work on his upper body strength so he could do some getting around on his own instead of being completely dependent on others. This woman rocks!

After exercising, Derek and Shanice had a sparky moment where he asked her if she would have stuck it out with him had he become paralyzed while they were in the midst of a relationship. Shanice smiled that she wouldn't have been scared off by the prospect...and that Ashley wouldn't be, either. Are they giving us even the slightest hope for a Shanice/Derek pairing? That is a couple I need to see happen!

It ain't over 'til it's over

Ted was at Uptown, still sluggin' back Jack Daniels instead of doing boo about patching things up with Nicole. Well, wouldn't you know it...sometimes strangers give the best advice: Ted was visited by an older woman, who, after some flirting, told Ted that time was not on his side. He needed to act while he still could! And I guess now we know why he's been so inactive, because when he did approach Nicole, she basically shut him down before he could get a second sentence out.

But who was this barfly Ann Landers of whom we have spoken? It was Peaches! Yep, she bellied up to the bar, and neither she nor Ted had any idea that they were connected through Leslie. Wasn't that tasty! I'm also intrigued by Peaches reiterating that Leslie stole a man from her...for her own good, apparently. Am I the only one curious as to who this guy was? And if this tidbit is gonna factor into the story anywhere?

For a close-knit clan, though, somehow neither Richardson bothered to tell their children about the divorce. Kat only just found out when Nicole finally sat her down, but Martin is still totally in the dark. Hell, Eva knows! But that's only because the first thing Kat did was track Eva down and blame her and Leslie for the official split, climate change, solar flares, hair breakage, and anything else she could think of.

Eva snarled that a couple was either compatible or they weren't – hint hint! Kat wasn't deaf to the idea that Eva was talking about her and Tomás; major ouch. Later, Eva told Ted that she was sorry about Nicole filing for divorce...though she politely declined Ted's invitation to the ChelseaKat purse launch. Ted thought it would be a great way for Eva and the family to acclimate to each other, but Eva didn't want to alienate Kat any more than she already had. The Eva Thomas Redemption Tour continues!

Another woman who's seen a bit of redemption of late is June, and she was champing at the bit to have another visit with Ron and Cecile – er, Tyrell and Samantha. Unfortunately for June, when Naomi tried to arrange said visit, the teens were good with not seeing June again, which sent June into quite the tizzy. She even tore up her beloved picture that had led her back to her kids in the first place!

After June jetted, Naomi blamed herself for ruining June's life. She does that, doesn't she? Mrs. Hawthorne likewise put full responsibility on herself when Bill had his stroke, and she faulted herself for introducing Hayley to everyone. Girl, ease up on yourself! (I love that this trait is consistent, though.) Naomi freaked that June might hurt someone else or herself, which, given June's own consistency, was a reasonable concern.

June had more presence of mind than that, though. Despite having no phone or, I would assume, a physical map of D.C., she managed to find her way to the Richardson-Smith condo, where Smitty and Martin were not particularly happy to see her. Especially since Samantha and Tyrell had just taken another shot at convincing Smitty to let Martin move back in. God love 'im, he's holding his ground. That's my boy!

The dads did their best to form a human shield so June couldn't get to the teens, but she was no dummy. She remembered Samantha's penchant for listening in when she wasn't supposed to – which she always does! – and shouted that she figured Sam was still scared of her, like she used to be when June came home all drugged out. After she said she wouldn't frighten the kids anymore and made ready to leave, they revealed themselves...of course, having listened.

June just wanted to tell them that addiction didn't run on either side of their family (here's a juicy question – who's June's babydaddy?). Plus, she had once been considered pretty enough to be a model, like Samantha wanted to be, and she proudly said that Tyrell had gotten his mad math skills from her. This was enough to prompt Samantha, with permish from the fam, to gift June with an updated photo of her and Tyrell. Awwww!

Later, alone with their fathers, Tyrell and Samantha predicted that they would see June again sometime, when they were ready. But back at the diner, June was ready, all right – to take Jacob up on that shelter (what happened to the hotel room Martin had lined up for her?), and then get herself a job. She knew that the teens were going to want her in their lives, and she wanted to level up her game. You go, June! This also means June is going to be around for a while! You go, GATES!

Murder was the case

Joey didn't appear this week, but his mob-like shadow loomed over the entirety of the DMV. Doug ran into Ted, and though the heart surgeon had gone off on the plastic surgeon, which had led to Doug saying take this job and shove it, McBride was willing to give Richardson some marital advice. He wanted his former colleague to identify what was “blocking his blessing”...and eliminate it!

We knew from Doug's tone that he was really talking about his own plan to eliminate Joey. And when Jacob strolled into Uptown, Doug pounced. Jacob's alarm immediately went off when Doug brought up Marcel, but Doug was vague enough about his “friend” and some purported wrongdoing that Jacob did his share of hemming and hawing.

It was only when Doug came out and said his “friend” had been ordered by Joey to commit a murder that Jacob woke up. Timing sucked, though – at that moment, Vanessa came in, having heard enough of the convo to put together what Doug was doing. Once Jacob bounced, Doug did his best tough guy, but his voice immediately pitched up two octaves from Vanessa, cleanly removing his balls.

The tables had turned now that Vanessa had income and Doug didn't. So, if Doug expected to maintain his costly lifestyle, he was going to have to do what Vanessa said, or else it's bye-bye-bye like N'Sync! And Doug. Looked. So. Whipped! Man, this guy is such a wuss. He tries to be so fly, but he always ends up caving in. No wonder Randy wanted to run point on their Let's Get Joey caper. Where is Randy, anyway?

While we're on the subject of crime, the GATES folks must have read my column last week (even though they film four months in advance, LOL), because in that screed I'd fussed about Leslie gettin' all da Benjamins while she was still the main suspect in trying to put Laura underground – twice! Didn't we need to deal with that first? Via a convo between the persistent Kat and the matter-of-fact Jacob, we touched on it.

Kat naturally wanted to know what the hell the hold-up was. Jacob was bummed to report that there wasn't the kind of evidence against Leslie that could warrant a conviction. I kinda beg to differ, but what little I know about the law, I've seen on TV. Maybe a district attorney really would find the two videos, Leslie's scratched helmet, and the DNA match insufficient to have charges pressed against her!

I feel like the writing is allowing Leslie to get away with her crimes, and, given the, shall we say, political climate we find ourselves in, isn't that a dubious message to put out there? You'd think the department would have enough on Leslie by now to at least arrest her. This is a real-life and reel-life slippery slope; we don't want to be establishing a new soap where any character is above the law.

Jacob and Kat – cousins by marriage – then hydroplaned into the subject of...sex? Kat addressed being underwhelmed by Tomás and his Latin luvin', and she wanted a guy's perspective on things. Jacob was surprised that Kat didn't go to her psychiatrist mom, which actually would have been a good idea! But Kat wasn't about it! Since Kat had only ever slept with one guy, Jacob suggested (kiddingly?) that she try another dude out to determine if Tomás was the problem, or she was.

That could have been a fascinating exploration! Shelving that possibility, Kat listened as Jacob guided her toward having a chat with Tomás himself. Gee, didn't Chelsea already tell her to do that? Brat Kat better hurry, because Tomás was getting an earful about Eva's long-lost relatives crisis and borrowing the next book in the series the two were reading – wondering if the star-crossed lovers in it were going to get together! Metaphor much?

The aforementioned Chelsea had her own troubles. Nervous about the imminent ChelseaKat launch, Kat assured her they were the “wonder cousins” (I seriously love these two together; the warmth is real). If Chelsea didn't feel better then, she had to have, at least deep down, when Bill swung by and congratulated his daughter, proclaiming he would be the guy in the back shouting her name.

Chelsea even asked about Hayley! Bill knowingly said his contested wife was going to be fine (one week down, eleven weeks to go until she can try conceiving again!) and was on his way out when he bumped into Madison at the door. What was his neurologist doing hanging out with his kid? Alas, we went back to the 20th century as Chelsea mumbled that Madison was her “friend.”

Ooh, been there, done that! Chelsea was all kinds of sorry after her dad left, explaining that she just wasn't feeling close enough to him to open up about her sexual identity. Madison remembered being there on her own journey. It's so awesome that Chelsea is being written like any other character and her relationship like anyone else's. That's some 21st-century vibes, y'all.

Madison went on ahead to the pre-launch fam jam, letting everyone know that Chels was right behind her. When Chelsea got close to tardy, Mads quipped that her GF was probably just changing shoes – again. But don't you know that “Chelsea” and “chloroform” start with the same two letters! Chels got a whiff as a mysterious hand reached around from behind her; Chelsea screamed, but that was about all she could get out.

When we next saw her, she was unconscious, and her wrist bore a handcuff that was attached to a chain that was attached to a bed. Rut-ro! Beyond the Gates' first kidnap victim! Hey, it had to happen sooner or later. Looks like Allison strikes again! But...what if we're just being led to believe that cray-cray Ally took the next step? That competitor who had sued ChelseaKat sure got mentioned again! Or what if Craig wants the object of Allison's obsession – er, affection – out of the way? The mind reels!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

It ain't Halloween yet (despite what the stores are telling you!), but, to the melody of a familiar spooky song...”If there's somethin' wrong...with the Dupree fam...who you gonna call? Bill Hamilton!” All right, Bill's name has too many syllables to fit into “Ghostbusters,” but work with me here. Yeah, with Leslie about to put Barbara's bajillions in the bank, Anita and Vernon agreed to bring Bill in once more.

And Bill was not above letting his former in-laws know that he was again being tasked with cleaning up one of their messes. It's true; there's definitely a pattern here. Only this time, Bill demanded only one price: the Duprees' respect. He'd never felt he'd had that from Vernon, and he'd certainly never gotten any from his piece of crap father. There he is, getting brought up again! I'm tellin' ya, Bill's daddy will be visiting soon! Oh, no, I just now thought – what if he's Dante Green?

With a single nod from Anita, Vernon shook Bill's hand, and The Fixer got to work. From what he could see, there actually weren't any loopholes in the trust that Anita had established for Barbara's family. There wasn't much the Duprees could do except be wary and find ways to protect themselves against anything Leslie might do with her wealth to attack them. Still sound advice.

Anita wondered if Leslie would have turned out to be less of a demon if she hadn't helped push Barbara out of the group; I feel the implication was that Barbara might not have given Leslie away if she'd been allowed to record with them and share in their success while alive. La Dupree also could relate to Leslie coming from poverty, since she had herself.

Nicole thought it unfair that Leslie was being rewarded for her two attempts to off Laura (preach, girl). For her part, Anita tried to look through Leslie's lens and wondered if, with all the wealth now before her, Leslie might end up travelling the world and leaving the family alone. But Anita was alone in that thought. And rightly so, since Leslie most definitely had more local activities in mind.

Hitting houses

I guess all the “i”s were dotted and the “t”s crossed, because a quite cute lawyer tracked Leslie down, had her show him her ID, and handed over a check for a cool million. Leslie cashed it faster than you could say “six zeroes,” but her next stop was the hotel room of one Ted Richardson. Alternately running him down and coming on to him, she produced a thick-ass envelope with the $50K she had extorted out of him months earlier.

Hey, she didn't have to pay him back! I thought that was rather magnanimous. But Ted didn't, and essentially told her what she could do with the bills. She did something else – she crumpled some up and chucked them at her ex-lover. Now that's some style. For Leslie's next trick, she bought herself a membership – no, not at Costco...at Fairmont Crest Country Club.

I don't know what Kat was more pissed about – finding out that Leslie now belonged to her club or finding out that Tomás knew Leslie was coming into this money and didn't say anything. Personally, I think that relationship is over, and they just haven't acted on it yet! Eva promised Kat that she and Leslie would be tucked away in the banquet room and not anywhere near the event space where ChelseaKat was having its launch.

At a table, Ted was complaining to Bill about Nicole dating Carlton. Even Bill thought it was kinda low for Ted's business partner to be moving in on his about-to-be-ex-wife, but I'm for it. As Leslie and Eva dined on gourmet dishes and guzzled champagne, Leslie kept shooting daggers at the two men. Eva wanted her mom to chill, since it was clear that Barbara was looking out for them from beyond.

But Leslie had a few words for “Billy-goat” (she comes up with the best nicknames!). She had let him intimidate her before when she was young and afraid, but that wasn't her anymore. As for Teddy-boo, he'd better not trip, because she was buying a house. And not just any house. A house in Fairmont Crest...right across the street from the Duprees! Eva, Bill, and Ted all experienced dropped jaws over this excellent adventure.

Back in her hotel room, Eva wasn't happy with her mom at all. Couldn't she just enjoy her money and not already be using it to F with people? Leslie was of a different opinion. “They took my mother, they took my man – they threatened to take you!” (Well, Leslie, when you put it that way...) But the house was mostly Leslie just frontin', Leslie admitted, because she had only made an offer on the home. Until it was accepted. Look out, Duprees! It's a Leslie neighborhood now, and you're all just living in it!

You get the feeling this was the plan all along? Whew, what a November sweeps week. In August! We have now hit the six-month mark of Beyond the Gates – congratulations to cast, crew, and everyone involved! What a tapestry they've weaved in that short time; it's almost like they've always been with us. And, they just Friday finished taping their 200th episode! It's Milestone City! (Friday was our #118; we'll be getting #200 in late December, by my calculations.)

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. Get neighborly in the comments below about your opinions and predictions regarding this soap. And, if you want us to do up more Beyond the Gates content, say the word! 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.)