My View From Beyond the Gates: Cast the First Stone

Cast the First Stone: A Beyond the Gates commentary by Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll for the week ending February 27, 2026.

A wise man once said something about stones. Here’s the thing about stones: they’re for more than just casting. When it comes to the world of Beyond the Gates, those small, rocky objects can be metaphorical and quite literal.

Let’s take the most obvious usage from the last week: Anita Dupree telling Anastasia to load up her pocket with some rocks and take a long walk into a deep ocean. She didn’t really mean that she wanted Anastasia to take a voyage to the bottom of the sea. Okay, she really did, but it was funnier in my head to have you think that I thought Anita was spouting some sort of Zen fortune cookie wisdom.

While not explicitly stated, there was something of a neo-spiritual usage of stones in story. Our dear sweet Katherine is being weighed down by all of her anger and pain. What started off as skipping a family event because she didn’t want to share oxygen with her unwanted half-sister has turned into something that could very well be life threatening.

I’d have to imagine that someone in Fairmont Crest has decorative stones in their garden beds. They’d probably make for great weapons for the plethora of people who’d love to hurl them at Leslie Thomas. Leslie has made so many enemies that it seems like only a matter of time before someone tries to a shot at her.

And speaking of casting stones, I can’t be the only one who has misjudged Joey Armstrong. If you forget the murders, assaults, and other criminal activity, he’s not such a bad guy.

Joey Hood: Prince of Thieves

Joey Armstrong is an enigma wrapped in a mobster riddle. Just when I think I’ve got him figured out, he goes and does something that completely upends my line of thinking.

When Joey arranged for Wesley “Sledge” Hammer to be released from jail, I’m sure I am not the only one who said, “Uh oh.” I was convinced that Joey was going to have Wesley beaten up… or worse. Things didn’t go too well for the last two people who Joey called to special meetings in his secret VIP casino. Doug ended up in a ditch and Lance Salinger got a punch to the gut.

Imagine my surprise when Joey realized that Wesley was set up and offered to help him. I thought it was a set-up. Look at poor Doug. He finally won money playing cards and was promptly murdered.

This isn’t the first time that Joey has done something decidedly un-Joey like. If you remember, Joey also refused to let Izaiah be part of his “enterprise” and instead encouraged him to head to college on the other side of the country.

Know When To Fold ’em

I hate that Wesley was wrongly accused of a violent crime. Let’s be honest. He probably would have been convicted, too. Taking Joey’s offer might get Wesley into even more trouble, but in the short-term it’s a much better option than serving 15 years or more for a crime that he didn’t commit.

What’s in it for Joey? Obviously, his actions are highly illegal – not that that has ever stopped him before. Does he have so-called “white saviorism?” Does Joey have some twisted moral compass that allows him to sin freely while railing against those who are unjustly persecuted?

So much of Joey’s past is still shrouded in mystery. We’ve heard what a terrible person he is and we have seen things with our own eyes to verify those claims. Maybe he’s just a normal person like the rest of us with quirks, paradoxes, and eccentricities.

Tomas Chameleon

If you’ve been reading my column for any length of time, you’ll know that I am not exactly a fan of Tomas Navarro. I think he is borderline slimy and I don’t see anything redeeming about him. In fact, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago when he started questioning Hayley and Lynette’s stories that I kinda, sorta, maybe was rooting for him. But not in a Tyra Banks kind of way.

In another weird, bizarro world moment, this past week I actually found myself agreeing with him. It freaked me out so much that I considered scheduling an appointment with Nicole to work through my feelings.

What caused this turmoil in my life? Tomas rejecting Kat’s suggestion that they start “shacking up.” It was completely sterile, unromantic, and demoralizing for Kat to say that since she had no other suitable option she might as well move in with Tomas. No man (or woman) wants to be made to feel that they are a last resort. There were definitely better ways for Kat to broach the topic of their living arrangements.

Wait… do you hear something? It’s been months since it last sounded, but I am pretty sure it’s the hypocrite alarm! 🚨

So, here’s the funny thing about all of my indignation over Kat’s comments to Tomas. I don’t like them together. I think Kat can do so much better than Tomas. I’d probably even wear a “Free Kat” t-shirt if something like that existed in the real world. I suppose two things can be true. I want Kat to find another lover, but I also want her to realize that her comments weren’t okay.

Rhianna the Pretend Poodle

Will Kat really be getting her own place? Does that mean that we won’t be seeing Dani’s guest house that doubles as ChelseaKat headquarters on the regular? Does that also mean that Madison and Chelsea will be getting their own place, too? I ask only because I think the set designers for Beyond the Gates do such a great job and I kind of want to see even more new sets.

The latest addition, Joey’s house, is wonderfully masculine and mature, but modern. I’d be interested to see what the show would conjure up for a space that was solely Kat’s. In my head, I see her living in a loft space, maybe a repurposed factory of some sort. Big windows, exposed brick walls, and lot of fun pieces of furniture. I’d also like to see how Chelsea and Madison’s styles – which, to me, seem very different — would mesh in a space. Or maybe they’ll both move into Dani’s guest house, but I can’t see them wanting to be that close to Dani.

RIP LSD

The Thursday, February 26, episode of Beyond the Gates was a little confusing to me. It opened with the entirety of Fairmont Crest watching Anita’s interview with Gayle King. We saw how many of our favorite characters reacted to the news. Plus, we got to see Anita deliver the ultimate shutdown of Anastasia. Spoiler alert: You can read the entire statement in this week’s Lines of the Week section a bit further down the page.

Then, inexplicably, we had Leslie Thomas flittering about town trying to pool together resources so she could hold a press conference to announce that things were moving full-speed ahead with the free clinic. For the first part of the show, I mistakenly assumed that LSD (that’s my nickname for the character known as Leslie/Sherry/Dana) didn’t know about Anita’s cancer diagnosis. So, I extended her some grace.

It quickly became clear when LSD showed up at the country club that she knew all about Anita’s diagnosis. She once again showed up uninvited at the Duprees’ table. Then, instead of offering any kind of sympathy or good will, she made a random reference to Peaches being ill, and then moved on like it was no big deal.

This was the moment that I knew I could no longer like Leslie Dana Thomas.

ALSD (After Leslie, Sherry and Dana)

We’ve seen Leslie attempt a murder, break up a marriage, harass people, and threaten people. Still, somewhere in there, I believed that she had some semblance of human decency. She doesn’t. In spite of knowing that Leslie was…. let’s call her a rule breaker… there was always an element of her wackiness that I’ve been able to laugh at.

Leslie showed up here and there, all around the square, demanding that people help her make the news cycle. Her obsession to upstage a woman talking about a cancer diagnosis. She even likened Anita appearing on CBS Mornings to Dani’s return to modeling press conference.

I cannot tell if the writers are trying to make sure that the last of us holdouts no longer like Leslie. It’s either that, or they are oblivious to how wholly unlikeable they’ve made LSD. Joey Armstrong, a man who hasn’t just tried to commit murder, he’s done it, is lightyears more likeable than Leslie.

So, again, I ask, “What’s the point?”

The only thing that would make sense at this point is if the show is itching to do a whodunnit mystery with LSD being the “whogotit.” That’s not really a word, but it came to me in a vision and I felt that I needed to use it.

Seemingly everyone has a reason to want Leslie silenced. Not necessarily dead, but silenced. The show even trotted out Laura to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the attempt on her life. Laura clearly cannot be the whodiditter (yes, that word also appeared to me in a vision) because that would be too obvious. It would be totally justifiable, but still too obvious. Or maybe that’s the point.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

On a completely different note, I hope that Anita’s storyline does offer women information to help take control of their health. Everything in this world seems so tenuous lately. Being armed with information and resources can be so helpful in feeling that we have control over something.

Beyond the Gates has partnered with Know Your Lemons. Their web site has a ton of useful information. You can access it at www.knowyourlemons.org.

Jelly Just Walked In

I remember back in the late-90s and early-2000s when soaps always saved their “teen stories” for the summertime when kids/younger people were out of school. Those days are long gone and, it would also seem, that “teens” on soaps are also gone.

Maybe that’s why I am so into the budding Francesca “Only my Glam-ma calls me Chessie” Belleclaire versus Samantha Richardson-Smith rivalry. It has all the makings of good soap. Rich girl versus girl from “the other side of the tracks.” The Belleclaires have already spewed venom regarding June’s past and Samantha not being a “real” Dupree. If the show really wanted to go there, I am sure Anastasia wouldn’t think twice about mocking Samantha for having two dads.

Watching Francesca lob insults at Samantha got me thinking. It almost seemed half-hearted, as if Francesca wasn’t into the whole deb thing. Or maybe she’s just low-energy like a lot of the Gen-Z/Gen-Alpha kids.

I loved seeing Francesca’s face crack when Donnell walked in and confirmed that he would be Samantha’s escort to the cotillion. Francesca really thought she was doing something by having Nathan be her escort.

I am going to assume that there are other Belleclaires out there somewhere. I would not be opposed to seeing more of them on-screen.

Barreling Toward Katastrophe

I feel really bad for Kat. She probably feels like she has no control over anything in her life. She has a sister that she never wanted, her parents split up, her grandmother is in the fight of her life against a rare and aggressive form of cancer, and her bestie/cousin has found the (supposed) love of her life. On top of that, her plans for cohabitation with Tomas were flatly rejected.

I’ve been writing for months about how Kat needs to find a way to let go of all the anger she is feeling. I don’t know if that means talking to a therapist or going to one of those rage rooms where she can smash the hell out of everything. She is allowing all of these other things to deviate her from path of self. Her happiness is gone. She’s doing things and saying things that she’d have otherwise never said. In many ways, her anger has become a cancer.

Is It Too Late To Change Course?

Watching Kat and Chelsea get into a fight at Uptown kind of broke my heart. The entire conversation went left really, really fast. Kat is now planning to move to a condo of her own and she is going to be alone on her own little island. I’ll admit that I often like to be just left alone to garden, write, or decompress. I don’t think the alone time is going to be good for Kat. My fear is that being along will only cause the negative thoughts and energy to grow.

That makes me worry that Kat could be barreling toward something really bad. I still think that Kat might somehow end up in the crossfire of Jacob’s undercover investigation, but I am now worried that she might do something irresponsible like drown her sorrows in booze and then get behind the wheel.

Beside, Behind, and Beyond The Gates: The Speed Round

Here are some of the thoughts and observations about other things happening on Beyond the Gates.

Quick Takes

• Why does every single resident of the DMV know that Jacob is working an undercover mission?

• June’s shameless flirting with Joey made me laugh. Poor Randy caught absolutely no love.

• Bradley Smith, if you don’t take your hoodie-wearing behind back to the house… I laughed out loud when Smitty showed up for a clandestine meeting with Jacob wearing whatever he was wearing. Sir… if you are going to try to blend in on the streets, maybe don’t use Tide to wash your clothes.

• Funny admission: When Smitty was hugging the then-unknown Monica at the country club, for a very split second I thought to myself, “Is this his mother?!”

• I like that Nicole and Vanessa were able to bond over their grief. Grief comes in all shapes and sizes and a true friend would never try to measure your grief against theirs. So, I appreciated Vanessa assuring Nicole that her mourning the loss of her marriage was just as valid as Vanessa’s mourning of Doug’s death.

BTG (Behind the Graphic)

If you are wondering what inspired the graphic for this week’s column, you’re in luck. I happen to know the person who made it. And… yes, it was me.

The book was inspired by Kat leveling a claim that Leslie had written a “Deflection for Dummies” book. The dog is Rihanna, the pretend poodle that Kat may or may not get when she gets her own place. The Rehoboth Beach sign and its accompanying stones were lifted directly from Anita’s read of Anastasia.

The Doctor Is… TBD

I still don’t think Leslie’s free clinic is ever going to open, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy certain aspects of the story. Derek agreeing to work at the clinic is honestly such a great storyline decision. I’m finding Derek more interesting now than he ever was before. It also doesn’t hurt that he needles Leslie. Derek as a foil for Leslie was not on my bingo card for any year.

Leslie calling Derek “Mister Stop, Drop, and Roll” made me chuckle. The same happened when Eva re-suggested that Leslie hire Derek for the clinic and she replied, “Been down that road, caught a flat.”

LSD is so unserious, though. She wants to toss her money around and have things spontaneously happen. Her complete cluelessness wasn’t without some humor. Leslie didn’t understand the importance of having the clinic pass a fire inspection, believing that someone just needed to check the smoke alarms. “Newsflash! If it’s not beeping, it’s working,” she blurted out.

Leslie’s not-so-live livestream also cracked me up – but not in the way that you might think. The two extras who sat at the table that LSD circled were hilarious. Their facial expressions and reactions took me out. I don’t know who they were or if they will ever see this column, but ladies… job very well done.

CBS Redacted

For a show that makes sure that there is always a bottle of Febreze or Tide hiding somewhere in a scene, I was surprised that there wasn’t more of an in-episode pimping of the CBS Morning show. They barely even mentioned Gayle King’s name. It wasn’t until two days later when people were watching the interview on their various screens that we even saw a CBS Mornings logo. Was the interview filmed out of sequence? Was the uncertainty behind-the-scenes at CBS News partially to blame?

Having A Ball (For the Next Three Months)

We’ve been hearing about the cotillion non-stop for what seems like months. But, according to show executives, the cotillion doesn’t take place on-screen until May. Yes, the same May that doesn’t happen for another two months. The bad news is that I am pretty sure I will be bored by the idea by then. The good news is that I should have mastered the waltz by then.

Where… What…?

As I have mentioned in the past, I watch the show with a secret first-time soap opera viewer. It’s been fun because it allows me to “see” the show through the eyes of someone who doesn’t have built-in soap opera expectations.

The latest observation that got me thinking? When that newish set where people seem to meet up randomly for coffee and quick chats popped up on screen, this is the comment that was made: “I still don’t know what this location is.”

You know what, I don’t either. Is it in a mall? Is it… outside? Inside? Are the doors that we see in the background functional?

Life Is An Elevator

I thought observing Ashley’s first anniversary of being a nurse was a nice call. Whereas social media bemoaned the decision as unimportant, I think they all missed that this was a metaphor for the first year of Beyond the Gates. Ashley called her first year as a nurse “exhausting, all-consuming, and more emotional.” I’d imagine launching a new network soap opera in 2025 is all that and more. However, Ashley continued on, noting that the past year had also been “the honor of my life.”

Happy Beyond The Gatesiversary

This week, Beyond the Gates celebrated its first birthday. Or anniversary. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a milestone occasion. There were plenty of people on social media predicting that Beyond the Gates would be canceled after a single season – if it even made it that long.

Congratulations to the cast and crew for a job well done.

I am also going to extend a congratulations to all of the fans for making the show a success. It’s been such a great feeling for me, someone who has covered soaps since they numbered in the double digits, to see a fan base so energized.

It occurred to me that not everyone has been watching since Day One. Some viewers may have jumped in mid-stream and others may have decided to start watching now from the first episode.

If that’s the case, please know that every single one of my Beyond the Gates commentaries are archived. If you missed out on being able to live tweet when the episodes originally aired, you can read my columns to find out what I was thinking in the moment. The columns also work as a quick recap for someone looking to get up to speed or for anyone who needs a reminder about what happened.

To check them out, click or tap here. The columns are arranged in order from newest to oldest by default.

Beyond the Gates: 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).

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“If it quacks like a date…” – A purse-lipped June arguing that Samantha and Donnell’s non-date meeting looked like a date.

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“Are we sending men to prison as a charity project?” – A shocked Hayley when Randy tried to convince her that Wesley would be better off in jail than living on the streets.

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“Mother would never walk into a wedding packing heat.” – Dani in response to a suggestion that she was a representation of the best of Anita Dupree.

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“I am the new face of benevolence.” – Leslie, though if you have to tell people… you probably aren’t.

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“I need you to take all those stones you’ve been throwing and put ‘em in your pocket and then drive straight to Rehoboth Beach and walk in and keep walking until those stones weigh you down to join the rest of the bottom-feeders that live there.” – Anita when Anastasia asked if there was anything Anita needed.

As if that wasn’t enough, Vanessa swooped in, put her hand on Anastasia’s shoulder, and added, “I can drive you.”

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Vanessa was on the receiving end of a zinger, though. When she objected to daughter Deanna using the Heart Attach app, Joey couldn’t help but note Vanessa’s hypocrisy.

“Do as I say, not who I’ve done.”

Gatecrashers: Reader and Viewer Feedback

I love interacting with other Beyond the Gates fans. So I thought I’d create a section to share some of the comments I’ve received on my columns and social media posts. If you’d like to see your comments shared here, you can scroll down to the Comments section below this column and post away. You can also chat with me on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and/or TwitterX.

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Anita was on the minds of a lot of viewers, many of whom praised her courageousness for telling her story to a national audience.

Then there was Cherise who all but suggested that we hold a national day of remembrance for the way that Anita destroyed Anastasia.

Then there was Leslie. It seems that some of her luster has started to fade. But not for everyone!

Zach, meanwhile, has gone on his own undercover mission… to find Momma Hawthorne.

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, Back In The New York Groove.

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

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