Beyond the Gates Weekly Recap: Hayley Corners Bill as Banneker Homecoming Begins

This week on Beyond the Gates, Hayley has Bill backed into a corner, Chelsea cannot understand her father’s decisions, Eva rolls her eyes and her neck, and Banneker Homecoming begins. Let’s get into it.

Bill and His Black Widow

Hayley has Bill by the cojones. See, the writers have suddenly decided that Hayley was recording conversations, particularly the one about what Martin did to the racist piece of garbage who tried to lynch him and his grandfather on a dark road. I have to say, that entire storyline was stupid. The writers didn’t want to dirty up the Duprees by allowing Martin to have rage issues, so they gave him racist scum to take out. It was self-defense, simple and plain.

Anywho, Hayley wants what she’s owed under the prenup: the house in St. Barts and all charges dropped in exchange for her silence. Bill calls in a favor, and just like that, the charges go away. The news surprises everyone. Bill tells Dani the truth, and she hates it, but she accepts it. She also has all of Hayley’s belongings packed up and shipped to a storage unit.

Hmm. If Hayley was arrested before she could so much as pack a bag, shouldn’t the evidence still be among her belongings?Did anyone bother to look before shipping everything off? It feels like another plot contrivance designed to keep a criminal viable on the canvas, and it’s tiring. Chelsea isn’t having it. She confronts Hayley and throws water in her face. Hayley responds by slapping her. Hard. Chelsea wants to press charges, but Naomi reminds her that she made the first move.

Elon stops by to visit Bill, curious about how the charges were dropped. Since Elon was involved in the cover-up, Bill tells him the truth. Elon says they now have to worry about Joey.

Banneker Homecoming

Anita prepares for the Banneker Homecoming and hosts a tailgate at her home. Ted and Shanice are invited, while Nicole brings Kial, who for some reason thought school spirit meant dressing like a lumberjack. Vernon and Anita learn that the charges against Hayley have been dropped. Dani and Andre come by, and Dani takes her father aside to explain why. Elon also stops by, and he and Vernon have a conversation of their own. They have a situation on their hands, and once again, Joey is the concern. Notice the pattern?

Other Happenings

Heather has Vanessa carjacked for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear. Joey threatens Heather, but his threats seem pretty thin at this point.

Izaiah tries to invite Eva to join the homecoming festivities, but she doesn’t want to be involved and enlists Elon instead. We all see where this is going. Kat will be there, Izaiah will spend time yucking it up with her, and we’ll continue inching toward the quad no one asked for. Andre, meanwhile, continues to be insecure about Bill and Dani while Dani soothes him with promises of sex.

Final Thoughts on the Week

How is it that Heather has a place and an actual set before Ted and Kat? The favoritism on this show is astounding.

And no, I still don’t want to see Kat with Izaiah. Why not bring on someone new for her and get rid of Tomas? Overall, this week was okay. It wasn’t as good as last week, but next week looks promising.

We shall see.