My View From Beyond the Gates: A Tsunami of Anger

A Tsunami of Anger: A Beyond the Gates commentary by Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll for the week ending November 21, 2025.

There are all sorts of emotions that we, as humans, get to experience. There are the good ones like love and happiness. Someone who read an early draft of my column responded to this section with “And orgasms! Don’t forget orgasms!” Usually my Beyond the Gates columns don’t climax this early, but I suppose it was a valid argument — except for the fact that an orgasm is not an emotion!

Anyway, getting back on my loosely cobbled-together train of thought, there are also a lot of not-so-good emotions. There’s jealousy, fear, and, of course, anger. We got to see a lot of anger on Beyond the Gates over the past five episodes. Maybe too much, but that isn’t to say that some of the anger wasn’t well-placed.

Kat is still lashing out over having to share her life with Eva — or maybe it’s more that she’s angry that Eva is even in her life. Leslie, on the other hand, is angry at pretty much everyone, from Shanice (for daring to act flirty with Ted) to the world (because Peaches is dying). Martin was angry because that’s his schtick. And Samantha is angry because she learned it by watching him!

Will the residents of Fairmont Crest (and areas beyond the gates) be able to overcome their feelings of rage or will they get washed away in a tsunami of anger?

Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a (Made-up) Number

There are a lot of things I question about Martin, but nothing puzzles me more than his age. Exactly how old is this man supposed to be?! Granted, Beyond the Gates, like most soap operas, plays fast and loose with ages. But no one’s age is more of a mystery to me than that of Martin Richardson.

Things got weirder this week when Martin and Vernon were talking politics and landed on a discussion about Hurricane Katrina. Vernon was surprised that Martin had mentioned the hurricane because he thought Martin had been “too young for that to even register” with him. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, which was 20 years ago.

The U.S. Constitution requires that all members of the House of Representatives be at least 25 years of age. If Martin were elected when he was just barely old enough to qualify for the position, that would have put him at around 26 years old in the current day. It would make sense, by the process of subtraction, that a 6-year-old wouldn’t be fully aware of the hurricane’s devastation.

Two plus three carry the one divided by 7…

This is where the math isn’t mathing. Earlier this year, Martin discussed his desire to run for the nation’s highest office – President. That would mean that he would need to be at least 35 in 2028 according to the pesky rules stated in the aforementioned Constitution. So that could make him about 33 – and just about 15 years older than his son, Tyrell.

But using that same math, Martin would have been 13 at the time of Katrina. If, however, Martin is older than 33 right now and closer to the age of his portrayer, 37-year-old Brandon Claybon, then the Katrina timeline is off. I can’t imagine anyone of Dupree lineage allowing a teenager to remain unaware of the devastation that Katrina had caused.

It’s Just Politics

Going back to the storyline at hand, it will be interesting to see if Martin is primaried. I am wondering if Beyond the Gates will really do a realish-to-life election storyline. So many other soaps have featured elections in both local and national races, but there’s rarely been any kind of campaign. There are smatterings of campaign posters and occasionally even a campaign office, but nary a mention or depiction of a debate or constituent outreach. (The one recent notable exception would be General Hospital, which has devoted a decent amount of time to Laura’s mayoral race.)

The mention of the unnamed opponent-in-waiting and the warning that came with it makes it seem like things could get very nasty. Will the infamous night on the dark country road come to light? Will Martin’s angry outbursts make their way to negative ads? Could Martin’s association with Joey Armstrong tank his reelection? There are a lot of ways that things can go left for Congressman Richardson.

Speaking of left, I noticed that the writers avoided explicitly stating which party Martin belongs to. Instead of saying “Democrat” or “Republican,” they referred to his potential rival as “the other side.” I don’t believe there’s a single viewer that thinks Martin is anything other than a Democrat, but it’s still of note that the show decided not to wade into identity politics. (Or at least hasn’t done so yet!)

Some Twisted Goldilocks

If things don’t get better between Martin and his longest-running sister Katherine, I see the potential for someone to find a way to use her to sink his campaign. Maybe Kat makes an off-the-cuff remark that someone videotapes or posts on social media. That would cause even more friction for the family.

I am hoping, though, that Kat and Martin patch things up long before the mid-terms. The entire confrontation between Kat, Martin and Eva made me very uneasy. I’ve said it before, but in case there are any first-time readers, I am an only child and I don’t really have a firsthand understanding of sibling interaction. I’d like to think that I wouldn’t get into a back-and-forth bickering session with my sister in a very public restaurant.

On the flip side, I also wouldn’t want to hear my brother badmouthing me behind my back to our new, insta-sibling. That said, I know enough people who have siblings to have seen and heard what actually goes down.

She Threatened to Kill Her In Public

Last week I mentioned that I would like to see Kat and Eva find a way to exist in the same space without clawing each other’s eyeballs out. I did hear from a few readers who thought that statement was somewhere between outrageous and offensive.

I really, really like Kat, but I’ve grown a little tired of her not being able to acknowledge that much of Eva’s behavior has to do with the way she was raised. LSD (that’s Leslie/Sherry/Dana for the uninitiated) filled Eva’s head with lies. Even Anita seemed to soften a bit toward Eva this week. During their impromptu chitchat at Orphey Gene’s, Anita ceded that a lot of the young woman’s bad behavior is all due to LSD (the person, not the drug).

On the other side of the coin, Kat is absolutely correct that Eva has gone out of her way to stick it to her. Eva even admitted to Martin that she’d slept with Tomas at least partly because she knew it would upset their sis. I don’t think these last two paragraphs qualify for the hypocrite alarm… but feel free to sound it if I’m wrong.

Kat Unleashed

I was a little shocked when Kat snarled that she wished Eva had never been born, if not quite as morally outraged as Martin and Chelsea. My reaction was more of a “Well, damn.” To me, it was real. It was something that someone who was hurt might say. Just like when Samantha said she wished that Martin hadn’t adopted her. It’s far more realistic than a lot of other soap opera nastiness where people practically call each other “poopoo heads” for fear of using language that might upset viewers. I am sure someone clutched their pearls over Kat telling Martin that Eva was nothing more than “the accidental spill of our dad’s DNA.” I’m imaging that was about as coarse as the language could get in that scene.

Chelsea has never been the best giver of good advice, but I thought her pearls of wisdom for Kat were actually pretty awesome. At the crux of her advice was telling Kat that Eva was her sister whether she liked it or not. She went on to say that it would be more tragic for Kat to skip out on spending time with her loved ones because of Eva’s presence. That seemed to resonate with Kat, but…we’ll see if there are any olive branches extended between now and Winterfest.

It was more than a little funny when during this conversation, Kat asked Chelsea to name one good thing about Eva. Chelsea’s response? “Her hair?” It reminded of the early days of American Idol when Paula Abdul would start her critique of a bad singer with, “You’re so pretty” or “I love your dress!”

She’s Got Her Peaches Down in Georgetown

While it’s unclear if Eva and Kat will find a common ground, it will be interesting to see if Leslie makes any headway with her overture to Carlton that they need to team up to make sure that Nicole and Ted never, ever get back together.

I can’t really envision Carlton entertaining the idea of working with a woman who broke Nicole’s heart. However, had it not been for Leslie’s bombshell and bad behavior, Nicole wouldn’t be free for Carlton to pursue. Does the end justify the means? I’d say no, but I guess that depends on what it’s felt like for Carlton to quietly pine for Nicole for all these years.

Here’s the thing: if Carlton does agree to work with LSD, I can already predict that Nicole will find out about it, kick Carlton to the curb, and then probably head back to Ted.

I don’t see any negative to Carlton rejecting Leslie. Leslie will do her best (worst?) to make sure that Ted and Nicole stay apart with or without Carlton’s help. She could still claim that she and Carlton were in cahoots, I suppose, even if he doesn’t agree to help her.

The Fruit of Her Fortune

Instead of scheming, plotting, and bullying, Leslie needs to focus the bulk of her attention on Peaches. I may be completely heartless for what I’m about to say, but here goes: I don’t think Leslie cares as much about Peaches’ health as she claims. I feel like Leslie is more upset that she will be losing Peaches than she is about Peaches losing her life.

There have been numerous television programs and movies based on stories of a richer-than-rich person who ultimately goes berserk upon learning that there is something that their money can’t buy. Leslie’s behavior in the hospital has been abhorrent. She’s lashed out at Dr. Wilkes and Shanice, but again I don’t think it was because of grief. It was because Leslie is upset that she can’t get what she wants. Yes, that’s a stage of grief – but in normal people.

Give and Take

I was glad that Shanice and Wilkes gave as good as they got. Shanice noted that she was “not the one or the two” to take Leslie’s crap. Wilkes was more diplomatic and reminded Leslie that the hospital “isn’t a shopping mall” where she can buy her way into trials and purchase body parts.

The medical trial that Ted found was a little eye-rolly for me. Of course Ted is set up to be further entangled with his crazy ex-jumpoff. Or she may have been more of a sidepiece sampler. But that makes her sound like something at a chicken restaurant. It’s the Beyond the Gates “collab” no one knew we needed: KFC x LSD.

I’ve gotten off-topic, which isn’t really much of a surprise if you read these columns regularly. Leslie is convinced that the trial will be a miracle cure for Peaches. I don’t think she’s considered the possibility that it won’t work or, worse, that it could make Peaches’ remaining days even more painful. If things don’t go well, will Leslie snap and lose any and all interest in Ted? Will she try to kill someone that Ted cares about (or even Ted) as retribution?

Hayley’s C’mon

While I speculate about whether or not LSD will go homicidal, there is one person who is without a doubt trying to kill someone. I’m looking at you Bill’s niece, er, wife.

I know that we are supposed to root for Hayley’s eventual downfall, but that doesn’t mean that we have to tolerate her getting sloppy. Hayley’s plot to swindle Bill out of his fortune was a secret for months. Now that we know what she’s up to, it seems like the writers have made Hayley messy – and not in a good way.

I suppose that I can leave some room for the possibility that Hayley’s ambition is her undoing, not the writers. Hayley has seemingly moved up the timeline and she’s called an audible and decided to kill Bill instead of just fleecing him of his money.

Hayley’s getting caught talking about large sums of money, her lies (which usually involve an unwitting Caroline) are being easily exposed left and right, and her mug-swatting is downright out of hand. On top of that, she’s openly being a floozy around Izaiah.

Tell me if this is just a me thing. If I were Bill, I would be super suspicious of anyone repeatedly telling me that I really, really, really need to eat or drink something. I know Hayley is Bill’s wife, but her level of anger when Bill doesn’t want to eat her special cupcakes or swig her special tea is a flashing red light. Bill, however, is too busy thinking about a gold-plated office key that his ex-wife gave him.

The question of the moment seems to be whether Bill will leave Hayley before she has a chance to kill him!

Love.

Bill can leave Hayley all her wants, but if Dani doesn’t want to take him back there’s nothing much than he can do about that.

The Andre and Dani honeymoon was, by Sweeps standards, pretty much a nothing burger. At least on the surface. There were no remote shoots in Los Angeles. No fun musical montage of shopping on Rodeo Drive or frolicking in the waters of the Pacific.

There was one thing that stood out to me that made the hotel room only honeymoon scenes worth it. Dani and Andre each admitting that they were in love. There was also that cute mention by Dani that she and Andre did everything backwards – getting married first and falling in love later.

Andre had one of the most profound lines in all of daytime this year. “I thought I knew what love was. I’ve taken pictures of it,” he remarked. I’m sure we’ve all had our own ideas of what love was supposed to be or what it looked like before we found it. While Andre was talking about romantic love, I think it also applies to love of all varieties – love of life, love of a friend, love of a child.

I’d like to think that Andre and Dani’s unconventional relationship will be the thing that makes it last, but I suddenly find myself worrying that they are too happy — that is usually the kiss of death on a soap opera.

Beyond the Gates Speed Round

Here are some of the other things on Beyond the Gates that have me thinking.

Samantha B!+@#

I cannot believe that Smitty and Martin are tolerating Samantha’s even snottier behavior. She was bad before she was grounded, but now she is just downright mean. Maybe they are trying the “if we ignore it…” parenting technique, but I can’t ignore it.

A Non-Affair to Remember

We all agree that Vernon and Sharon are not having an affair, right? In my last column I mentioned that the writers were trying to gaslight us by making us believe the two were having an affair. This week, though, even the acting decisions and dialogue were heavy-handed and trying to convince viewers that something underhanded was going on. I think there are ways to do that without having Vernon make all these lusting purrs over the phone to his wife’s bandmate.

Burn It Up or Burn It Down

I like Kat and Izaiah as a couple. I like that they both have a wild side. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they are both fun to look at. These two can be the next hot young soapercouple – or the next Bonnie and Clyde. I’m fine with either, if I am being honest.

A Different World

I don’t want Tyrell to follow Jessica to California because I enjoy Jaden Lucas Miller’s work as Tyrell, so I’d miss seeing him on-screen. I suppose he could be off-screen for a bit and return home brokenhearted. That’d be a good next story. The other option, I suppose, is to have him go to Banneker and have his next storyline involve all the things that come with freshman year in college. I don’t want Martin and Smitty’s kids to end up like the McBride kids – where we know there are two but only ever see one.

Slap! Her! Now!

Last week I said I wanted to see Laura snap and beat the hell out of Leslie. We didn’t quite get there this week, but Laura did stand up to her would-be killer. It’s a start.

Special Programming Note

Because of the holiday next week, I am going to continue a tradition that I started way back in the early 2000s on Soap Central. Instead of a typical column, I am going to write a special column that focuses on all the Beyond the Gates things that I am thankful for. That always allowed my writers to spend time with their loved ones and family members. This year, I will benefit from my own rule — though I do expect that I will stray slightly from that plan because, well, this is my site and I can do what I want. Since I am talking holidays, another tradition that will be observed is that the end of the year will feature a Best of Beyond the Gates 2025 column over Christmas week, and a Worst of Beyond the Gates 2025 over the New Year holiday.

The same will also be true for my longtime writing partners, Liz Masters and Tamilu. They are already at work on their year-end columns for General Hospital!

Lines of the Week

The Beyond the Gates writing team seems to be having a little too much fun. Here are some of the lines of dialogue that tickled my funny bone or that I found memorable over the past week (and haven’t already mentioned in this column).

“And usually where there’s smoke, there’s Leslie.” – Eva

“I thought I knew what love was. I’ve taken pictures of.” – Andre, while professing his love to Dani

“Stay in your lane before I push you into traffic.’’ — Kat issuing a warning to Eva.

“Give Leslie and inch and she tries to redecorate the entire mile.” — Anita

“And suddenly my once-in-a-while man is my forever.” – Dani, reflecting on how she came to love Andre.

“All about Eva wants to be my ratchet understudy.” – Kat

“Dad’s worried that you two will be sharing more than cranberry sauce.” – Samantha to Tyrell.

“Growing up, the fam made it sound like it was Wakanda, just with homework.” – Tyrell, referring to Banneker.

“That’s like trying to water a plastic plant.” — Kat

“Burned, blocked, and buried.” – Kat

“Men always look for a way to fill the crack, so to speak.” — Hayley

“How does a family-stealing homewrecker’s mind work?” — Kat, asking Hayley for advice on how to handle Eva.

Follow my Random Acts of Dan

That’s all I have for this week’s My View From Beyond the Gates column. Thank you for reading and, as always, please feel free to share your thoughts on my column or Beyond the Gates in the Comments section below.

If you’ve enjoyed my column this week and want to see what I have written about Beyond the Gates in previous weeks, you can check those out in the My View From Beyond the Gates archive.

Have a penchant for gardening, interior design, or fixing up old houses? Check out my Manor Makeover series where I write about all of the things I’ve been up to here at Kroll Manor in Allentown, PA, over the past decade.

To keep up with all of the shenanigans I engage in on social media, please consider giving my a follow on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and TwitterX.

Life outside the gates

Two of my former Two Scoops columnists from Soap Central, Liz Masters and Tamilu, have joined me here on my personal web site — and they are still writing about General Hospital. Tamilu is on deck with week with a new column called, Bang! Bang! Sidwell’s Silver Bullet.

To read more thoughts, opinions, rants, and raves about daytime television, be sure to check out our Editorial section.

dan