Once we make up our mind on something, it’s often next to impossible to get us to change it. Forgiving the person who kept a secret from us? Possibly. Giving someone who broke our heart another chance? Doubtful. Absolving the person who stole our Articulettes Reunion ticket? Never.
You’ll forgive this week’s column if it seems a little rushed. I am running a little late for the one night only Articulettes reunion concert. I need to make sure I get beyond the gates and beat the crowds to the merch table because I want to pick up a commemorative t-shirt.
If you feel like I do, you were probably wanting the concert to take place during the 100th episode of Beyond the Gates. Instead, we got a whole bunch of other things that were not the concert. But, as they say, good things come to those who wait.
The past few weeks have left us dizzied by a series of bombshells. It might seem like this last week lacked the same concussive force of previous shockers, but I think that this week was a chance for the show to reload. We got at least one haymaker: June has two children. That is going to set up a whole lot of drama (at least I suspect that’s the case) in the weeks ahead.
Whereas everyone seemed to be tied into the Martin secret a few weeks ago, right now everything is wrapped up in the Articulettes concert — and in ways that make perfect sense. There was also a lot of actual meaningful, communication between people. That is something that is sorely missing on the other soaps, where dialogue tends to be either be repetitive or solely to move plot. On Beyond the Gates, people tend to behave more like normal folks — they talk to friends and family about all the things that friends and family talk about. Yes, there is often a lot of silliness, but who doesn’t need a little silliness in their life from time to time?
The Dupree pre-show
I liked all of the Dupree family lead up to the Articulettes concert. Honestly, I assumed that everyone would be clamoring to go to the concert because it was a once in a lifetime event. I forget that, people being people, some folks were going to be caught up in their feelings and not want to go. Leave it to Dani to be the driving force behind getting everyone in the Howard concert venue.
Beyond the Gates | Screenshots /CBS
First Dani zinged her own daughter. As Dani sought out a concertworthy outfit for herself, she invited Naomi into her closet, telling her, “Maybe you can find something better than what you have on!”
Next up, Dani crashed Nicole’s therapy session with Martin. As Nicole led her son through a breathing exercise, she told Martin, “This is a calm, safe space filled with…” A chipper Dani burst in and exclaimed, “Have no fear, Dani’s here! Now let’s get you two from pouting to partying.”
Congressman Nephew, one selfish son of a bitch
Somehow, Dani convinced her more staid sister to go along with her plan to divide and conquer and get both Martin and Smitty to attend the Articulettes concert. I didn’t think it would work. First, Dani as a yeller/scolder seemed… way out of character. She seems more like the “cool mom” from Mean Girls. Somehow, telling Martin to “suck it up” and put on his “big boy boxers” worked. I giggled, though, when she told Martin that he could “go back to being Eeyore” after the concert. Oh, Pooh.
Pushy mom, I guess
On the other hand, Nicole was way too mellow while talking to Smitty. As Smitty whined on and on about how he was lied to for two years, I wanted nothing more than for to Nicole to go, “Two years? I was lied to for two decades.” She didn’t. Clearly, she’s a better person than I am. Perhaps that’s why she’s the therapist and I’m not.
Powerfully retro
I thought it was a really nice moment to have Chelsea show up at her grandparents’ house and bump into Sharon and Tracy. It didn’t feel like a forced moment when the women asked Chelsea to look at the frocks they’d be wearing and offer her opinion. Chelsea hated them, but did so in a nice and loving way. She sketched out some ideas and the group’s seamstress was able to make the alterations and save the day. Yes, that part was a little Disney movie, but I didn’t mind.
I intend to be grateful
Vernon giving Andre an interrogation over his intentions toward Dani was also a lot of fun. We’ve heard that Vernon was quite the intimidating force when it came to how he addressed the men who wanted to date his daughters. He seemed more like a puppy dog when he quizzed Madison and Chelsea. Here, he got straight to the point: I hear you’re having an affair with my baby girl. Thankfully he didn’t reply with Dani’s line that she and he were “superstars of the sack.”
Still, it was weird to hear Dani refer to her relationship with Andre as a “transitional relationship.” I suppose that’s better than being a “rebound” relationship. What will each transition to? Dani reuniting with cheater cheater pumpkin eater Bill? As for where Andre seems to be headed…
The awful tower
Like Ashley, if I could go anywhere in the world for a getaway, it would be Paris. I might reconsider that, though, after Andre whisked her away to a make-believe bistro in his apartment. Nothing about it screamed romance or offered the je ne sais quoi that The City of Light has to offer.
Backtracking a bit, the Tour Eiffel should have packed itself up and walked away the minute that Andre asked Ashley what she likes to do and she had no answer. Andre claimed it was “exciting” that Ashley didn’t know what she wanted from life, but… Ashley is old enough to know what she likes, what she doesn’t like, and what she dreams about.
That might be the reason that her relationship with Derek faltered. With apologies to RuPaul, if you don’t know yourself, how in the hell are you going to be able to know someone else? It’s also the reason, I think, that Ashley and Andre just don’t work for me.
Usually, a story of a worldly man or woman becoming enamored with someone whose life has been more provincial is the fodder for romance (or at least a rom-com). Here it’s just not working for me.
The Internet has been very unkind to Jen Jacob and her alter ego of Ashley Morgan. I actually like Ashley and I think the actress is doing a really good job. Ashley as a nurse? Great. Ashley squabbling with Shanice? Amusing. Ashley in any sort of romantic pairing? It’s a mixed bag. I only seem to like Ashley when she is in romantic conflict.
It was… lovely
It’s a rarity to see any sort of love-making scenes on the soaps any more. There are numerous reasons why that’s the case. To keep this column tight, I won’t be going into those reasons. But even when we were back in the crazy days of love in the afternoon, it was still rare for people to talk candidly about s-e-x.
That’s why it was a surprising, but welcome, shock to hear Kat talking about her own romantic conflict: the underwhelm of her first time. Instead of a sugary and flowery description about how magical it was, we got a “It was… lovely.” That’s a description more in line, as Tomás said, with your auntie’s potato salad.
Later, when Kat opened up to Chelsea, Kat stated that she “hated” sex with Tomás and worried that something was wrong with her. “My body did what it was supposed to do… but the whole time I was thinking, ‘Is this what everybody’s obsessed about because I’m not getting it.’”
I don’t know if teens and preteens are still watching the stories with their parents and grandparents. If they are, this was a good and very real moment for them. It was also responsible (safe sex was implied by showing the condom wrapper) without being preachy. I liked that Chelsea told Kat to talk to Tomás about the way she was feeling. Talking to a partner about wants, needs, and likes is incredibly important for a healthy relationship.
Salve Regina
It’s another case of ask and ye shall receive. In last week’s column I had stated that we’d been given no clear indication that June suffered from a mental health issue. A couple of columns ago I questioned if we’d ever get to meet June’s previously unknown sister. This week we got the answers to both – plus some answers to another of the show’s biggest mysteries.
I was more than a little surprised when Regina (played wonderfully by Jacinte Blankenship) showed up unexpectedly at Orphey Gene’s. After Naomi said that she’d gone to visit the woman and had no luck getting her to talk, I figured we were months away from having Regina show up on screen. Not only did Regina show up, but we also got a Regina/June face-to-face.
It seems that June’s troubles started when she became addicted to a not-revealed drug. That does fill in some of the blanks about how and why June started living under the overpass as well as some of her behavioral issues. There are still a lot of other holes in the story that will need to be filled in, but I trust that those will come in time.
Scattered pictures
When Regina showed that she had an image on her phone of what June’s photo used to look like, I admit that I experienced a bit of a letdown. I was fully expecting Regina to say that the kids in the photo were her and June. Thankfully, I was wrong.
When Regina revealed that the kids in the photo were Ron and Cecile — June’s children — I was oddly not surprised. I think I’ve believed for so long that the kids in the photo were June’s kids that it didn’t shock to me. It was more of an, “A ha! I was right!” moment.
Trust me, I am not claiming to be Sherlock Holmes on this one. I know a lot of viewers suspected that. I’m not sure how to describe my next reaction. Regina shared that Ron should be around the age when he’d be picking out colleges. I immediately knew that this confirmed that Ron and Cecille are probably Tyrell and Samantha.
Maybe the kids aren’t alright
I will say that the timeline doesn’t quite line up for me. Regina made it seem like the kids were in and out of “the system” in the blink of an eye. She’d stated that by the time she realized that the kids were in the system, they were adopted. Regina also claimed it was a closed adoption where the records were sealed. But Tyrell and Samantha have made it sound like they were in the system a lot longer than that. So… maybe Regina wasn’t fully aware of what was going on for a much longer time than we’ve been made aware?
A lot of folks on social media thought it was strange that June claimed that she didn’t have children. I don’t think that at all. I’d imagine that part of June’s survival mechanism has been telling herself that she has no family. It could also be the result of drug use and underlying mental health issues. If she is able to get professional help, that could all change.
I suspect that Smitty and Martin’s relationship will get back on solid ground when it comes to light that the kids’ biological aunt is back in the picture and, potentially, wants to lay claim to them.
One night only
Is it weird that I want to attend the reunion concert of a make-believe girl group whose music I’ve never heard? That’s how I feel about the Articulettes. For whatever reason — probably good storytelling and acting — I care about this supremesly talented group of children of destiny. Yes, I typed that last sentence with a straight face.
The concert has, so far, been everything I’d hoped for. It appears to have been shot in something that resembles a theater. I suspect it was another studio space at Beyond the Gates’ Atlanta-area studio, but I could be wrong. The point is, it wasn’t held in a conference room at the country club. Heck, there were even extras in the audience. Raise your hand if you wish you were one of them!
So far we’ve gotten only two songs — one Articulettes track and a jazz solo from Anita. Both were everything they needed to be — except for available to download or stream. I need these songs p-r-o-n-t-o.
The group track sounded a lot like the Bruno Mars throwback-sounding “Finesse.” It had a very New Jack Swing sound to it, which again has me trying to figure out the timeline of this girl group. I don’t know that we’ll ever get it, so I am content to just sing: I’ve been watching you, watching me from across the rooooooooooooom.
It was clear that the performers playing the Dupree family members did not need to do any acting during the concert. You could tell that each and every one of them were thrilled out of their minds to see Tamara Tunie (Anita) and her sisters performing.
I loved that Leslie was in the audience singing and chair dancing. She might be delulu, but at least she’s delulu with a great taste in music.
Beyond the Gates Speed Round
Here are some rapid fire thoughts about some of the other action from the week gone by.
… never a McBride
The Doug and Vanessa situation gets twistier with each passing day. Earlier in the week someone on TwitterX asked “what type of marriage Doug and Vanessa have.” It seemed easy enough to answer, so I did. I replied, “I think it became one-sidedly open because Doug was too busy for Vanessa. He was fine with that until she started flirting with his bookie/loanshark.”
Now… I’m not so sure. Doug showing up drunk at Joey’s club and nearly getting sized up for cement shows wasn’t the smartest move. Did he think that he could mouth off because Vanessa did?
Where I go thrown was when Vanessa warned Doug that his antics threatened to blow everything up. It almost made it seem to me like she and Doug had some sort of plan in place to deal with Joey. Or, I could be reading way too much into their hospital chat. Maybe Vanessa was just worried that Doug might, as I said, end up at the bottom of the Potomac.
Check up on it
There is no way that Ted writing a proxy check for LSD (That’s Leslie/Sherry/Dana to the uninitiated) doesn’t come back to bite him in the butt. However, I am not letting Eva off the hook here. The only reason she asked for the check in the first place was because she thought her mom was about to get booted out of her apartment. The moment that she saw that LSD wanted to buy designer thisses and thatses, she should have snatched that check back and tore it up.
Grown folks business
You can tell that Vernon was a politician. The way he handled Tyrell’s questions about what really caused Smitty and Martin’s breakup was far more diplomatic than it should have been. He politely told his great grandson that he was still a child and needed to respect that his fathers knew what was best for him. In my experience — and social media backs me up — Tyrell should have gotten a much firmer talking to.
Lines of the week
The Beyond the Gates writing team is once again 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 been mentioned in this column).
“Com-part-ment-al-ize. A little trick used by CEOs and serial killers” — Dani
“My bad reputation is making me more famous than ever.” — Dani
“Sometimes the good memories cut deeper than the bad ones.” — Vernon
“Does it give supermodel daughter of a singing sensation who can walk Fashion Week without hesitation or preparation?” — Dani, asking for an opinion about a dress she planned to wear.
“I should know better than to engage in public foolishness” — Anita
Closing the gates
That’s all I have for this week’s My View From Beyond the Gates column.
I’ll be tuning in and I’ll continue to share my thoughts on Beyond the Gates as long as you’re interested in reading them. 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.
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dan
Senior moment?? I started to read your recap and realized I hadn’t seen the concert. Totally confused! We’ve had company all week … they left yesterday … I lost track of the days and never watched Friday’s episode! So thanks for the reminder … it was great 🙂
Dear Dan –
I am thankful you scored your ticket to the concert, and like you, I am am waiting for a few more songs from the trio. We deserve that seranade after sitting through all the angst, arguments and audacity of the pot-stirrer getting….stage fright?
Doug is getting sized up – cement shoes, a coffin, a walk off a short pier….even Vanessa is shocked at this behavior. A dive into what brough this couple to this point is needed. It is too easy to choose sides with what we have been shown. There is more to this story – a biracial couple who are childhood sweethearts, two children (unseen), successful in their chosen careers. Respected and liked in the neighborhood. What the heck happened? I want the details.
Yes – Andre’ is the rebound. Dani has already said it – she wants Bill back, or to be swept off her feet by a Bill Richardson replacement. Andre’ is not that person.
And I am not sure that Ashley is that person for Andre’.
And I am not sure that Ashley is even close to being ready to settle down, like Derek says he is.
The triangle that was LSD/ NIcole / Ted needs to be wrapped up. Tricia Mann-Grant is the gift that keeps on giving, but the accident investigation / attempted murder has gone on long enough. NuTed has put up with LSD long enough. Eva (bless her heart) has enabled her mother long enough. Send her out of town, lock her up for a stint but that storyline needs ended.
What is next for the fine folks of the DMV? Joey seems a strong storyline. Retire Marcel. June seems to be the next surprise in the making. Martin needs to come out from the 50s and Smitty needs to listen to what Naomi said.
I am enjoying the saga.