It’s not easy when our favorite character is going through some stuff. But it’s not personal — in fact, it’s probably just the opposite. This Is What Happens On A Soap Opera: A Beyond the Gates commentary by Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll for the week ending June 19, 2026.
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There are three types of people in this world. Those who love rollercoasters, those who hate them or are terrified by them, and those who don’t really care about them one way or the other. I fall into the “love rollercoasters” category. I have a season pass and try to find the twistiest, fastest rollercoasters around.
I would think that anyone who has watched a soap opera for any period of time would know that soaps are their own form of rollercoaster. Yet I am always stumbling across viewers were seem shocked that their favorite character or favorite couple are going through… wait for it!… drama. The reactions are also all over the place. A common one is that the writers hate the character or couple in question so they make life complicated for said character or question.
Take Eva and her damaged-beyond-repair liver. There are some fans who insist the writers hate Eva. Why else would they do this to her? Others think it’s Kat that the writers hate because they are forcing her to potentially be a donor for a sister that she hates. To those viewers, I say: This is a soap opera. This is what happens on a soap opera! Soap operas are messy. Soap operas are twisted. They are about love and hate and jealousy and passion and all of the emotions in between. And, if I am being honest, they often make absolutely no sense. That’s why we watch.
I’ve always felt that if your favorite character or couple isn’t seeing soapy drama, you might want to worry that that character or couple might be on their way out.
How Can We Be Lovers Livers If We Can’t Be Friends?
Whereas last week was an emotional, on-the-edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, this week was a totally different kind of rollercoaster. There was still emotion, but how those emotions were received and perceived depended a lot on how you felt about the various characters involved.
Let’s start with the setup. The incontrovertible facts that no one can deny or claim as bias. Eva Thomas was critically injured in the tornado that struck Fairmont Crest. Okay, I think that’s about all that we can all agree on. Oh, and Eva needs a new liver or she will die.
I don’t know that at this point in the history of humankind if most people are able to accept that two things can be true at the same time. I have some real-world examples that I’d love to share – and maybe they’ll make the podcast – but I’m choosing not to share them here because I don’t want to derail this commentary in the third paragraph.
Leslie Thomas has done some horrible things. We don’t need to list them all, let’s just all stipulate to the fact that she’s done bad things. That doesn’t diminish in any way the pain that she is feeling as a mother who is watching helplessly as her daughter fights for her life. Before anyone starts wagging a finger, popping their lips, or racing to social media to scold me: Yes, Laura’s loved ones undoubtedly felt that way when LSD (that’s Leslie/Sherry/Dana if you’re a new reader) nearly killed her twice. We’ve already agreed that Leslie isn’t winning a Nobel Peace Prize any time soon. This goes back to that whole two things can be true at the same time. Leslie is bad, but losing a child is also bad.
LSD’s Bad Trip
For as over-the-top as Leslie can be, Trisha Mann Grant was given a chance to show off a whole range of emotions this week. Yes, there was that way-too-familiar lashing out for no good reason that Leslie has become known for. Claiming that Kat was only at the hospital to gloat that Eva was dying was totally uncalled for and pretty disgusting. I’d blame it on Leslie’s grief… but she acts that way on a normal day.
There was a more somber moment when LSD was given that common drama point where someone suggested prayer and Leslie shared that she wasn’t sure that God wanted to hear from her. It’s not just a soap opera thing. I’ve seen it used on primetime television shows and in film. I guess it’s a feeling that we can all relate to at some point or another.
In spite of Leslie’s nasty attitude, she was shown grace by just about everyone in town – even by those that, many would argue, didn’t need to show her even a nano-speck of grace. Shanice, for example, gave Leslie a pair of her scrubs. Even Kat, who had been berated by Leslie moments earlier, sat by Leslie’s side to await word on Eva’s fate.
Someone To Call My Lover Liver
Since I’ve mentioned Kat a few times now, it’s probably the right time to bring her into the conversation. It’s wild, but not unexpected, to see how divided the fanbase is on this whole liver donor situation.
If, for some reason, you haven’t watched all of this week’s show and rely on this commentary to stay-up-to-date… well, thank you for putting your Beyond the Gates recapping trust in my hands, but you really should tune in and check out the actual episodes. Here’s the gist of what went down. Eva’s liver was shredded beyond repair during the tornado. She either needs a living person to donate a portion of their liver or a deceased donor’s liver to keep her alive.
Everyone who was tested was, for one reason or another, not a suitable match. That list included Ted, Leslie, Martin, Smitty, Izaiah, and everyone on staff at Ted and Carlton’s practice. The doctors also put Eva on the transplant list, but time was of the essence and Eva’s family members were being tested first since there was a higher likelihood of one of them being a match.
The only person left untested was Kat. Or rather I should say the only one who wasn’t tested to see if they were a match was Kat. Kat was definitely been tested in other ways. Many Kat fans have said that Kat doesn’t owe anything to Eva. That’s a very true statement.
Despite both of her parents having gone into medicine, Kat is very medically averse. If you recall, she reacted strongly to being told she should get tested to see if she had the BRCA gene mutation. Kat insisted that she didn’t want to know if her body was essentially a ticking time bomb. In the end, she didn’t need to get tested for the gene mutation. So, it’s not totally out of character for Kat to not want to undergo even a simple medical procedure to see if she might be a potential liver donor to the half-sister she never wanted and certainly doesn’t like.
Live(r) To Tell
As a random aside, I don’t judge Kat for being uncomfortable about the whole liver donor thing. I knew someone who needed a kidney donor and her own sister with whom she had a great relationship did not want to be tested. The sister was terrified of hospitals and surgery and everything else and she ended up not getting tested. The medical staff even found a way to keep the sister’s refusal to get tested a secret by saying something like she wouldn’t be a suitable donor. My friend always suspected that her sister didn’t get tested.
That random detour in the middle of the column was simply to say that there are many reasons that people choose not to be living organ donors. The most common reason is fear, which appeared to be Kat’s biggest concern. Not that anyone stopped to consider that. As it turned out, fear wasn’t the real reason. Kat would later admit that she wouldn’t think twice if Chelsea or Dani needed a liver. The main reason? Kat just doesn’t like Eva. You know what? If that’s how Kat truly feels, it’s a valid reason.
I Hate Myself For Loving Livering You
I am curious where Martin gets his angry streak. Everyone around him is relatively calm, cool, and composed. Of course there are exceptions. Like that one time Nicole strangled Leslie at Orphey Gene’s. And that time Grandma Anita slapped Leslie silly in the foyer. And, sure, his aunt did shoot up a wedding. Those, however, were three very distinct exceptions that prove the rule.
Maybe being in Congress has soured Martin. Decorum has evaporated there, so maybe he brought it home with him. I understand that Martin has a much better relationship with Eva than Kat does, but the ease with which he lashed out at “Princess Kat” was pretty stunning. “Are you going to be so selfish to let Eva die just because you don’t want to share a father with her?” Um… no one said anything of the sort. Martin didn’t even stop to listen to Smitty – not that that should come as a surprise any more – and his defense of Kat.
I did appreciate that Ted sought Kat out in the hospital stairwell where people get shanked to check on her. Ted has had very few moments where he’s come off as a decent parent – especially where Kat is concerned. Rather than pounding his fist and making demands, Ted let Kat speak from her heart to share what she was feeling. It was heartbreaking to hear that Kat felt her dad saw her as “a body to be used for spare parts.” Ted scored big when he told Kat, “You’re the heart that I carry outside of my own body.”
Things did go a little off the rails after that when Ted did turn on the pressure campaign. I understand it, though. Ted is worried that Eva, his daughter, could die. It just so happened in that scenario that the person he was pleading to was also his daughter. I don’t think anyone would have blinked if Ted had pressured Smitty in the same way. Or Ashley.
It’s been a minute since I’ve mentioned that I am an only child. I’m also the youngest of the grandchildren and most of my cousins had already flown the coop by the time I was a walking, talking human being. So not only is the concept of having a sibling something I can’t fully grasp, but I also don’t have anyone in my life like Kat has with Chelsea. I am thankful that Kat has Chelsea. She really was the right person to help talk Kat through what she was feeling. It might not have been entirely what Kat wanted to hear, but I think Kat knew that it came from a place of love and a place of honesty.
The Right Kinda Lover Liver
We all need someone in our life who, when we say that we hate someone, that person will say, “You can hate her better if she has a pulse.” And we also need that person who knows that there is sometimes someone even better to talk to.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Kat ended up at Nicole’s house. I’ll admit that all of the social media jibber-jabber got in my head a little bit and I worried that Nicole would not be the sounding board that Kat needed. I should have known better. Nicole said and did everything that needed to be said and done. I don’t know if Nicole’s professional training here played any part or if she was operating on 100% mom mode. It could very well have been a little from Column A and a little from Column B.
I wasn’t surprised that Kat ultimately agreed to get tested. What I wasn’t sure about was what would happen next. Would there have been all that hoopla only to have Kat not be a match? Would Kat be a match, but be unable to be a donor for some unknown reason. Or maybe Kat would be a match and run off.
Kat got tested and then we got the ultimate liver fake-out. Before the test results were even in, a doctor informed Leslie and Ted that a donor had been found on the transplant list. I’m sure I’m not the only one that rolled their eyes and grumbled that we went through all the angst for nothing. Then came the fake-out. The liver was diverted to another patient and Eva was still without a donor.
Forbidden Lover Liver
Kat eventually learned that she was a match, but before deciding what to do about it she headed over to see her grandparents. Anita’s advice landed somewhere in the overlap of the Dupree Venn diagram. Anita was compassionate and understanding. She did not pass judgment. What she did do, though, was to make Kat look inside herself. If Kat chose not to be a donor and Eva died, how would Kat feel as she carried that with her for the rest of her life? It was a pain Anita knew all too well after Barbara’s death.
I was a little let down by how everything played out after Kat made the decision to go through with the operation. It all seemed a little rushed. I know that things needed to move quickly since Eva’s time was running short, but when has that ever stopped a soap from drawing out the drama?
Interestingly, I thought Leslie’s reaction to Kat’s news was far more powerful than Ted’s. Then we had to endure Martin chattering on about how he knew Kat would do the right thing.
I think the writers are well aware of the Team Eva and Team Kat camps. If I had to predict what might happen next, I’d say that the writers will continue tweaking both fanbases. I don’t see either Kat or Eva dying, but I can see Kat suffering some sort of medical emergency. It will further heighten the tension on-screen and off-screen.
That’s A Totally Different Organ
There was a point in time when I wanted to see Dani and Bill get back together. The reason? They are both larger than life and I really wanted to experience what they were like as a larger-than-life couple. Since the couple’s golden age existed before Beyond the Gates started, we have only seen newly created flashbacks of what their life was like when they were happy. Bill and Dani reuniting would have been the soapiest twist yet on Beyond the Gates.
Now, though, I just can’t get behind them getting back together. As much as I love fictional messiness, I can’t help but think about what I would want for a real-life friend. Would I ever say, “I really think you should get back together with the guy who cheated on you for most of the time that you were married”? No, I wouldn’t. Why would I want to condemn someone to repeat the same cycle?
I do believe that people deserve second chances, but not everyone. When someone shows you who they are… well, you know the rest. For the bulk of Season One of Beyond the Gates we were led to believe that Bill’s only transgression was falling for Hayley and that his relationship with her came out of nowhere. Well, now we’ve learned that he was kind of a jerk and also engaged in multiple extramarital sexcapades.
Change Of Heart
I suppose that I could live vicarious through a fictional couple. To see what could happen if I encourage a friend to go back into a toxic relationship. It’s all pretend, so what’s the harm? It’s a soap and soaps are supposed to be messy.
The “harm” in all of this is what will happen to Andre’s heart if (and when) Bill and Dani’s love in an elevator session becomes public. I really like Andre and I like Andre and Dani together. No, they don’t have the same pop that Bill and Dani do, but I truly believe that Dani and Andre love each other. Every relationship is not Pop Rocks and diet soda. Some relationships are comfy blankets and watching television together on the sofa.
What was fascinating to me was how quickly Bill seemed ready to return Hayley to the bounce house where he found her. Or maybe it was the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese. We’ve suspected for some time that Hayley’s luster had worn off, but this was the first time that Bill confirmed it.
I suppose the best thing that could come of Bill dumping Hayley is that he’d unwittingly save himself from being killed by Hayley’s bosom poison. Bill’s an ass, but I don’t want to see him offed by Hayley’s boobie trap.
Don’t Make Me Over
While Bill was ready to ditch his still-new marriage, Dani was not. In one of the most powerful moments of the week, Dani expressed her fear that she had become her ex-husband. She pleaded with Bill to keep quiet about what she did to his shaft while stuck in an elevator shaft. “Do not turn me into you,” she said with a whole mixture of emotions.
I haven’t quite figured out why, but if Dani really wanted the elevator romp to remain a secret why tell Vanessa about it? I get that Dani needed someone to vent to, but wouldn’t Nicole have been a better person to talk to? She she might not have wanted to tell her husband’s ex-aunt that she cheated on him. Or maybe she just didn’t want to be judged. Still, the more people that know a secret the less likely the secret will remain a secret. Will Vanessa innocently share Dani’s secret with Joey? Will Bill be the one to blab? He’s already having way too much fun dangling his nuggets in everyone’s face.
Hello, Goodbye
I think we all know that Heather isn’t really gone for good, but this whole two-day visit thing makes the Impaler reveal even more womp-womp to me than it was before. Heather was missing in action for years, but she decides to drop in unannounced to say that she wanted to be like her old man and run a criminal enterprise? Isn’t there a Hallmark card for that?
Then, before leaving, Heather made some weirdly flirty comment about Vanessa, gently pleaded for her big brother to partner up with her, and then decided to move back to London? It’s all very weird.
I’d imagine there has to be more coming, right? Right?
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.
Let’s Make A Deal
It’s never a good idea to make a deal with the devil, but… maybe if some terms are put in place. For example, why didn’t Kat condition agreeing to be a liver donor on Leslie going to the police and confessing that she tried to kill Laura? It’s just a fun, soapy thought.
The Wrath Of Kroll
I don’t want to imply that I had anything to do with it, but last week I commented that it would be ironic if Leslie was given permission to resume construction on her shouse only to have it leveled by the tornado. Well, it looks like that’s exactly what happened.
The thing that makes it even worse is that I don’t know if Leslie even knows it yet. Her sole focus has been Eva – as it should be. I’m not sure if all of these things are part of the comeuppance that show execs teased, but Leslie has definitely taken some Ls in the past few weeks.
Picky, C-PAPicky
I think we are on the verge of another scandal at Garland Memorial. There appears to be some illicit gang going around and stealing the hospital’s ventilators. I have no idea what kind of ventilator or respirator Eva was hooked up to, but it definitely wasn’t a real one. It looked like someone took the oxygen mask from an airplane and tied it to a pool vacuum pipe with a red shoelace.
Timing’s Everything
Joey Armstrong has the absolute worst timing of anyone I’ve ever seen. Just as Vanessa and Deanna were making some progress with repairing their strained relationship, Joey called out that Vanessa’s bubble bath was ready and all that progress went down the drain. The last time Joey “accidentally” called out to Vanessa she was on the phone talking to Doug just before he died. Did Joey know that Vanessa was on the phone with Deanna? I’m not sure. I’m hoping that it was an honest mistake, but I don’t know if anything about Joey is truly “honest.”
Mother’s Day
I know that a lot of viewers do not like Ashley. But I think that even those Ashley haters would have to agree that Jan is a really good mom. I thought the scenes where Jan checked in on Ashley were sweet and tender and very motherly. If Jan ever wants to bring me some food, I’m just a couple of hours up I-95.
Time Flies
For much of Beyond the Gates‘ run, it seems like the writers have tried to have every episode be a new day. There have, of course, been exceptions. If I have done my math correctly, the past two weeks of shows have taken place over the course of about two days in Fairmont Crest time. At least part of next week also appears to be in that same two-day span. I’ve watched some soaps where the same day has stretched on for nearly a month. I think this is the longest stretch of time where this has happened since Beyond the Gates debuted.
BTG: Behind The Graphic
If you are wondering what this week’s header graphic is all about, you’re in luck. I have answers and you don’t have to subject yourself to any sort of testing to get those answers. The drink is a mojito, something Leslie referenced when she was lashing out at Tomas. The box of breadcrumbs came up when Dani worried that Bill was leaving little clues to expose their elevator sex. The rebound cake was mentioned when Anita admitted that she thought Andre was “just the cherry on top of the Bill rebound cake.” And the liver? Well, that’s self-explanatory.
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).
“You can hate her better if she has a pulse.”
Chelsea’s words of… encouragement?… to get Kat to consider donating her liver to Eva.
“Not to brag, but your mouth is about to be very happy.”
Kial was talking up his omelet making skills. Or at least that’s what I think he was talking about.
“They need to keep us in the loop at all times.”
“You can say that again.”
“They need to keep us in the loop at all times.”
Anita (and Vernon) grumbling that the kids and grandkids hadn’t told them about all the injuries suffered in the tornado.
“You take your bad mojo and you take your bad mojito here and y’all kick rocks!”
An angry Leslie lashing out at Eva and Tomas.
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.
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.
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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. Liz is on deck with week with a new column called, Dial K For Killow.
To read more thoughts, opinions, rants, and raves about daytime television, be sure to check out our Editorial section.
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