Beyond The Gates Recap: Grayson Panics, Dani Thrives, and Nicole Gets a Ted Jump Scare

Last week on Beyond The Gates, Lia got more sinister with her threats, Grayson wanted to run for the hills, and then got dumped. This week was mildly better than the last. Let’s discuss.

Monday

Vernon goes to see the son of his heart, Bill, to talk about Martin. Bill lays out all the reasons Martin shouldn’t run, and somehow Vernon has me agreeing with Bill.

Excuse me while I take a moment to let that sink in.

Naomi visits Anita and becomes uncomfortable when Anita expresses relief that her grandchildren did not inherit the gene. I wish Naomi would fess up already because this is annoying. They talk about Martin, and Naomi is concerned, but she doesn’t name what she is concerned about before she gets a call from Jacob.

As Kat meets with Tomas and learns that Lia was one of Lynette’s victims, Lia is squeezing information from a very juicy lemon named Shanice, who gives her the details about Grayson looking terrible and Ashley seeming worried.

After being belittled by her good-for-nothing boyfriend about approaching Lia, Kat does what Kat does and approaches Lia.

Kat tells Lia she knows what Lynette did, and that she knows a little something about people getting away with things while their victims never receive justice.

Lia, however, cannot seem to care about that. She tells Kat she has nothing for her.

Tomas shoots his load early when he is pleased that Kat is looking into Lia and Lynette’s connection. Bill is not pleased and takes his head off.

It is Nicole and Ted’s not-anniversary, and they have a moment. Later, Shanice asks Nicole for advice on Leslie, of all days, which Kat reminds her. Kat is on Nicole duty, and Martin is on Ted duty, but it seemed like neither parent needed to be babysat.

Leslie is celebrating ruining lives at the country club. Eva joins her and begs her to leave and go to Orphey’s, but Leslie will have none of that. She wants to ruin Nicole’s day.

However, the plan doesn’t work because when Nicole and Kat come in, they pay her dust. When Leslie offers to pay for their meals, they smile and plan to order something expensive. Later, Leslie tells the server not to bill her account, as if the Dupree women couldn’t pay for their own meals.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Preempted for soccer.

Thursday

Grayson warns Lia away from Ashley. He threatens to blow the operation sky high, but Lia doesn’t believe him. Grayson says he wants out, and Lia tells him there is no out. Blood in, blood out, holmes.

That is a reference to the movie Blood In Blood Out, about gang affiliations. The only way out for Grayson is in a body bag. The man is stuck. Grayson shows up at Ashley’s, ready to ship her off with him and his mother. He shows her the picture, and she demands honesty. She is not going anywhere with him. He can’t give her honesty, and when Naomi presses him, he slips up about Jacob.

Naomi is surprised, but dull, stupid Ashley isn’t, which blows Jacob’s cover. This is why Naomi should have kept her mouth shut with that dullard. Smitty learns new information about blood trucks, and I am still bored with this story.

Friday

Friday was easily the best episode of the week because of one thing, and I am saving that thing for last.

The blood nonsense continued. Ted tried to woo Shanice, but she wasn’t having it. Later, Lia and Ted had a moment in the elevator after she noticed things were frosty between him and Shanice. He told her he made a mistake a few months ago, and Lia lamented that people can’t seem to forget mistakes.

I like Lia. She is the villain Leslie should have been, but Leslie is instead a cartoon. That being said, I do not want a redemption story for Lia. GH made the mistake of redeeming all the villains because of the actors who portrayed them, which only bred resentment among fans. Let Lia be bad. Let the villain villain.

Smitty went to the motel to talk to Jacob, and Grayson came over. Smitty hid in the bathroom only to obviously reveal himself. I don't know the direction there. Grayson knew Jacob was a cop, and Jacob stopped denying it. He needed information, and Grayson needed a deal.

They make a deal, and all stupid Jacob gets is a name. Lia. Nicole and Carlton continue their date at Orphey’s, and later, when they are getting hot and heavy, she sees Ted. Record scratch. Huh? Listen, I don’t want Nicole and Ted back together. He has a lot to learn. But if that is the plan, do it already.

And now my favorite part: Dandre.

My faves were cuddled up, as they seem always to be lately. Dani overhears Andre's conversation, and they begin talking while cuddled up. During this conversation, a couple of anvils drop about a secret Andre is carrying.

They each tell a fantasy story, which is shown onscreen taking place at Orphey’s. In the first, they are both spies looking for information. In the second, Dani is a princess working at the diner as a regular girl.

Were they extremely cheesy? Yes.

Were they cute? Also yes. It turns out the secrecy was Andre planning for Dani to accompany him on a work trip, which includes a stop in Tokyo, where he booked front-row seats to the Chelsea Kat show. Andre is intentional, and we are supposed to wonder about Dani and Bill?

Never that.

Final Thoughts

This week was mildly better than the last. I didn’t touch much on Hayley and Bill because it was more of the same, except somehow more ridiculous.

Same thoughts as last week with one addition: something has to shake with Eva. She should have had beef with her mother a long time ago over her lies, but instead, she constantly enables her to the detriment of her own character. It makes her hard to like.

I love Eva, and I used to love Leslie. Now I cannot stand Leslie, and I want to continue loving Eva, but the writing is making it hard.

What did you think?

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• Loved it
• Hated it
• So/So