Beyond The Gates Weekly Recap 05/25–05/29/26

This week on Beyond The Gates, Ashley grieves, Leslie worries, and Vernita gets sexy.

Let’s discuss.

Derek’s Memorial

This storyline dominated the week, with Ashley at the center while Jacob handled his grief quietly and by throwing himself into work. Hmm. I see why he and Naomi hit it off so well.

Ashley is treated like Derek’s widow when she was his biggest opp. She gaslit him, told him he was practically obsessed with her when he warned her about Grayson, and guess what? He was right about Grayson. Yet, the firemen come to her. Derek’s dad comes to her and blames Jacob. Andre and Dani come to comfort her.

I will say the ending of the memorial was sad: Derek’s last call. That part worked. The best part, however, was Ian, Derek’s hot firefighter buddy that we all want to see more of. There are already edits of him and Shanice, and I am officially on team Shian.

The Plasma Aftermath

Garland struggles to clean up Lia’s mess, and the hunt begins for a new chief of staff. Ted suggests Nicole. Later, when he tells Nicole about it, she shuts it down and tells him to forget about it. It is not something she wants.

Kial interrupts, and he and Nicole catch up before ending the evening working together.

Other Happenings

Joey wants to know more about the plasma ring and has Randy doing some digging. He sends a warning, and from the preview, the Impaler wants a meeting with Joey. We can all see where this is going.

Hayley ramps up her Kill Bill plot. Leslie tries to befriend her, but Hayley thinks she is better than Leslie, which is laughable because they are the same. Leslie, though a clown, is not an airhead. Bill is feeling the effects of the meds, and at this point, let’s wrap this up.

Anita and Vernon have a little romantic time and are about to get busy when Kat walks in and is disgusted. Kat leaves, but then Martin interrupts. Anita and Vernon finally go to a hotel.

The grands discuss catching their grandparents, and Chelsea is all for it. Elders need love too.

Spotlight

Deanna and Doug’s scenes were the best of the week. The actress playing Deanna needs a contract, and she needs it now. She is one of the best actresses on the show and the best in the YA set. Pay her and give her a story.

I also have to say I am very disappointed in the writers trolling the viewers. That is not a sign of good writing. It is a sign that the writers are taking their viewers for granted and throwing up a finger to the very people who keep them on air.

Having Donnell say social media says Joey never pays is not some clever way of breaking the fourth wall. It is lazy, and it is cheap. To top it off, they had Doug saying all the things the audience knows are true, but they layered it under mental illness and grief because Doug was a hallucination.

Weekly Wrap

This week proves that the show is still only able to handle one or two exciting events and one strong story at a time. This week was not horrible, but it was slow and too Ashley-centered, which made no sense. She was not Derek’s wife or girlfriend at the time of his death, and treating her like the great love of his life made what could have been a decent week a not-so-good one.

The stories are back to dragging, and the Impaler story’s climax was just an appetizer for a storyline that is still dragging.

The show had some solid moments, especially with Deanna, Doug, and Derek’s memorial ending, but the pacing is wobbling again. After last week’s Cotillion high, this week felt like the show exhaled, looked around, and decided to hand the emotional centerpiece to the wrong person.