My View From Beyond the Gates: There Will Be Blood

While a new Platinum Deb was crowned, a hero was taken away too soon. And another loved one we lost returned… or did he? There Will Be Blood: A Beyond the Gates commentary by Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll for the week ending May 22, 2026.

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I never again want to hear anyone say that nothing ever happens on Beyond the Gates.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I think we can move into this week’s column because there is an awful lot to talk about. The week of May 18, 2026, may have been the most engaging week of shows since Beyond the Gates debuted. Stories that have been percolating for months suddenly exploded — like the cotillion and the “red market” blood ring. One character lost his life while trying to protect another. And the old soap opera adage of “there’s no death if there isn’t a body” is once again back in play.

I Need a Hero

It was hard deciding what to talk about first, so I am going to start with the resolution (at least for now) of the blood and plasma theft operation.

The cinematography of the warehouse scenes in the Wednesday, May 20, episode was absolutely stellar. The lighting direction made it look like the scenes were filmed at night under those horrible “daylight” temperature lights used in large buildings. The trippy effects used as Elon was bent over a stunned Jacob perfectly conveyed Jacob’s condition – he had banged his head when tackled to the ground by Derek.

Later, in the same episode, the final scenes of the episode were also brilliantly crafted. Ashley provided the play-by-play for the audience, which made sense given that she was the one closest to Derek. Her face dropped when the surgeon walked up to the nurses’ station. Naomi suggested that he had turned over the surgery to another doctor or needed a consult but Ashley, being a nurse, knew that wasn’t how things went.

From that point on, there was no more dialogue. Shanice turned in slow-motion toward those gathered in the waiting room, her eyes welled with tears. She shook her head and everyone — including us — knew what had happened.

The History of Derek Baldwin

If you’ve followed this column from the very beginning, you’ll know that I’ve had a very rollercoaster relationship with Derek. First, if I am being honest, he was horrifically boring. And interestingly, for a contract player, Ben Gavin’s Derek seemed to have very little airtime during most of Beyond the Gates’ first season. Still, I gave Derek a pass because he was a fireman and first responders — even fictional ones — deserve appreciation.

After he and Ashley split, Derek became wildly more interesting when he started seeing-but-not-dating Shanice and had a brief flingish thing with Sheryl. Then there was that whole biking accident that rendered Derek temporarily paralyzed. Rather than being a true soap villain and faking paralysis, Derek did what I can only describe as Dudley Do Right faking. Derek decided that he wouldn’t tell Ashley that he’d regained the ability to walk until their wedding day. In his mind, it was the perfect wedding gift – and if his progress was short-lived or if he suffered a setback, Ashley wouldn’t have to go through that heartbreak.

I think the tide of public opinion changed in Season Two of Beyond the Gates. Derek sparring with Leslie earned him the respect of her many haters out there. There also seemed to be a very real possibility that Derek might go full-on stalker when Ashley started dating Grayson. Derek repeatedly warned that Grayson was bad news. He wasn’t entirely wrong. Sometimes being right sucks.

It Must Be the Name

As a side note, the universe clearly has an issue with me when it comes to fictional Dereks passing away unexpectedly. Years ago, when Derek Shepherd was killed off without warning on Grey’s Anatomy, I was in Los Angeles unwinding after the Daytime Emmys. I was checking my social media accounts to see what people thought of my interviews and the Emmy broadcast as a whole – and there it was… trending. Patrick Dempsey had opted to exit his Day One role on the ABC medical drama. As an East Coast resident, I usually do not have to worry about having my viewing experience ruined by live tweeters. It never dawned on me that the three-hour time difference would come back to bite me.

More than a decade later, I wasn’t able to watch the Wednesday episode of Beyond the Gates live due to another commitment. I knew to stay off of social media so that I wouldn’t know who got shot. What I didn’t know was that when I reinstalled Twitter/X on my phone, it reset my notification settings. There I was, on a conference call to discuss (ironically) a Red Carpet event, when a notification popped up on my phone with an announcement that fans were reacting to the “Derek Character” being killed off on Beyond the Gates.

Sigh.

Touch Me In the Mourning

In a perfect example of not knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone, I can say now that I’ll miss seeing what could have been for Derek. But Derek Baldwin, like his fellow Derek on Grey’s, went out a hero and that’s not the worst thing that can happen to a character.

Like Derek, Ashley has also been a polarizing character. I am pretty sure that in at least one past column I said that Ashley was at her most interesting when she was not in a storyline that revolved around her love life. This week Jen Jacob proved me right and, weirdly, wrong at the same time.

Last week, Ashley was a bundle of nerves as she spun out of control upon learning what Grayson had gotten himself wrapped up in. I expected her to be over-the-top inconsolable when Derek died. Instead, Jacob delivered a more subdued, heartbreaking reflection on the life she’d shared with Derek. We watched as Ashley sped through some of the stages of grief, and, in true-to-Ashley form, she didn’t go through the stages in order.

There was a moment that really was a standout moment to me. In the midst of her mourning, Ashley was able to be strong as her mom, Jan, broke down over Derek’s death. Ashley asked Jan if she remembered Derek’s hideous chair that he’d brought along when he moved in. The two women laughed. Then in a moment of clarity, Jan called the chair “the underdog of furniture” and mentioned it was representative of the way Derek lived his life. He was a champion for the vulnerable. Ashley then linked her hatred of the chair to Derek’s death. If she hadn’t hated the chair, they might not have split, Derek wouldn’t have gotten injured while riding a bike, and wouldn’t have ended up working at the clinic.

Let’s Make A Deal

It’s fascinating to me how many people involved in the plasma ring are getting deals or could be getting deals. Grayson has immunity, Ren is offering up the name of the Impaler in exchange for a get out of jail free card, and then there’s Lia. She might have to make fire in order to avoid being eliminated. I might be confusing Beyond the Gates and Survivor, but you get the idea. It almost seems as if no one is going to do any serious jail time.

However, I can’t see how any plea deal will allow Lia to remain on as Chief of Staff at Garland Memorial – even in soapland. That means there will be an opening for the top spot at the hospital. Way back in my March 7, 2026, column (“The Pungent Odor of Narcissism”), I offered up a list of all the possible replacements. You can click on the link to check out the old column since the roster hasn’t changed much.

I think Nicole is the leading candidate at this moment in time. Other than helping Martin through things, heading to the roof to talk to “Sherry,” and the emergency consult she had during the cotillion, Nicole rarely seems to have patients any more. Plus, it would be another crowning achievement to have a Dupree at the helm of the hospital.

Coming Out of the Dark

The cotillion was everything that I hoped it would be and more. The term that I saw used most on social media was “Black excellence.” Indeed it was – and not just on screen.

First, let’s get the superficial out of the way. Everyone looked gorgeous. The costuming and wardrobe was flawless. Because I am in such a celebratory mood, I am going to overlook whatever it was that Chelsea was wearing. And the gorgeous looks even got their own new set in which to showcase them. I don’t know the economics and the logistics, but creating a new set that presumably will only be used once shows the level of commitment that the executives had to showcasing the cotillion.

I thought the waltz scene was perfection. Beyond the Gates brought in a renowned choreographer, Jamaica Craft, to make sure that the dance sequence was tight. While some of the old folks at the cotillion gagged, Craft even worked in a fun TikTok generation update to what could have been seen as a stuffy waltz. To go along with a 2026 waltz, Kurt Farquhar composed a 1-2-3, 1-2-3 skrrrt rendition of the waltz. Okay, it wasn’t really trap waltz, but it definitely wasn’t your grandmother’s waltz.

It seems like a given, but in the days of budget cuts it was nice to see that the cotillion had lots of attendees and not just the same ten or so characters that we usually see at big events. Heck, we even got to meet Jessica’s parents… though they could have stayed wherever they were.

Moonlight Meets the Karate Kid

I loved that the Francesca/Samantha rivalry continued to play out as the cotillion got underway. With Donnell nowhere to be found, Chessie took shots at Samantha by saying that even her escort didn’t want to be around her. I wasn’t sure that Donnell was even going to show up and I started trying to guess who would step in for him. It was a perfect Cinderella moment when Donnell showed up at just the right moment to prevent Samantha from falling down (thanks to Chessie’s foot on her dress) as she made her entrance.

I know I will get angry messages over this, but I don’t think Samantha should have won Platinum Deb. Let me clarify that. I like Samantha and wanted her to win, but it seems so rom-com fairytale ending to have her win. And, yes, I know that just one paragraph ago I was talking about how I loved a Cinderella moment. Feel free to sound the hypocrite alarm if you’d like.

Back in my February 13, 2026, column (“Plans Get Made. Life Happens. We Adjust.”) I wrote, “If I had to make a prediction right now, I’d say that Jessica is going to end up winning the platinum deb title. Why? Because she doesn’t want it.” Having Jessica win would have prevented Chessie from winning, rejected the Dupree dynasty notion, and pretty much made everyone unhappy. Jessica put forth zero effort to try to capture the tiara, so I guess there was zero chance of her winning.

Coming Out In the Dark

Deanna strolling into the ballroom in her goth-style Black Swan, Queen of the Damned outfit was a highlight. I have no idea if she wore her outfit to make a statement (she was mourning, she hates her mom, or she’s ticked that Frank Ocean and Rihanna aren’t putting out new music) or if a past Platinum Deb is forbidden to wear anything white and demure. Either way, her presence and her outfit were big hits.

I laughed and laughed when Deanna looked at the name of the new Platinum Deb and announced that something must be wrong. Everyone assumed that she had taken issue with whose name was there. It wasn’t just that. It took several moments before she revealed that the name on the card was written in crayon and spelled wrong. Okay, maybe it wasn’t written in crayon – but Francesca’s name was definitely misspelled.

The camera panned over to a drunken Nathan who celebrated his prank. I thought we were about to get a PSA about the dangers of drunk driving, but since the story has moved on from the night of cotillion, I guess it’s safe to say that Nathan is safe. For now. Graduation is coming up, and I am worried that Nathan’s underage drinking could be a foreshadowing of dangers to come.

I thought Chessie handing over the tiara and sash while Anastasia still raged against the machine was very Karate Kid. (That movie ends with the young villain handing over the trophy while the coach/sensei is still furious that their kid lost.) It was telling when Anastasia shrieked, “This was my night!” I don’t think it’s a surprise that Anastasia made the cotillion all about her, but it was a bit of a shock that she told on herself in front of all the cotillion-goers.

Not My First Rodeo Cotillion

Fun and unknown fact about me, but I’ve attended a cotillion. It was a pseudo niece’s debut over a decade ago in Philadelphia. She was something of a Jessica – she didn’t understand it, but was doing it because her parents wanted (or expected) her to.

It isn’t lost on me that the fictional Barrington County cotillion was probably the first time a lot of viewers – particularly white ones — had seeing anything like that. I have always thought it was important to familiarize yourself with the culture, customs, and traditions of people in your life that you hold dear.

Where Are You Now?

And that leads me to a question that I really need an answer to: Where were Smitty’s parents? They are Samantha’s grandparents, too, and it’s a little disappointing that they couldn’t be bothered to attend. None of the explanations I’ve come up with are anything other than unacceptable. Were they too busy doing other things and couldn’t make time for their granddaughter? This might sound harsh, but were they MIA because they viewed the cotillion as a “Black thing?” Is there some sort of tension that we’ve not been told about?

We don’t know a lot about Smitty’s parents. I think they were mentioned once at Thanksgiving or some other holiday and they were “sorry” to miss things because they were traveling or something like that. Unless it somehow didn’t register, I don’t think there has ever been any other mention of Smitty’s parents actively engaging with Martin, Smitty, and the kids – or even the Duprees. What if their unavailability is just a polite euphemism for Smitty’s parents don’t like that he’s gay … or married a Black man… or adopted children…or went into journalism? I could just be looking for problems where they don’t exist, but at the very least they won’t be getting “World’s Best Grandpa/Grandma” coffee mugs anytime soon.

The First Time

I’d say that Tyrell isn’t getting a “World’s Best Brother” t-shirt for bailing on the cotillion before he got to see his sister crowned Platinum Deb. He was busy front loading (don’t you even go there!) his brotherly love before the cotillion by giving Samantha earrings and telling her how much he loved her.

Here’s hoping that he and Jessica used the condom that she brought along and that it wasn’t tampered with or defective in any way.

Doug Himself a Whole

I will admit that the whole Doug surprise was, once again, ruined for me by social media. It wasn’t entirely ruined since no one seemed to know how Doug would appear. I assumed it might be in some sort of cotillion-related flashback. Then, as my mind started to wander, I thought we might see that a very-much alive Doug was being held somewhere. I also could not help but see tweets from folks declaring that Doug is, in fact, the Impaler.

Dialing things back a bit, there’s no indication that Doug is actually real. He could very well be a figment of Deanna’s imagination. Talan-Tee-J pointed out on Twitter/X that the writers have kind of “positioned Deanna as someone with ‘problems’ before we even met her.” That led to speculation that the alcohol Deanna drank while talking with Kat could have interfered with any medication she might be taking, resulting in a hallucination.

Whereas I’ve labeled Ashley a bundle of nerves, Deanna seems to be in a constant state of anger. If this Doug sighting really is all in her mind, might it signal that Deanna is about to spin out of control? I will admit, the idea of Deanna hearing Doug tell her to burn things is incredibly appealing. We haven’t seen much of actress Angela Fairley on Beyond the Gates, but I already know that she’d be amazing as a crazy, psycho (and I mean that in a loving way) soap character.

Alive Again

But what if Doug is real? My first inclination would be to say that it’s not really Doug. But then a voice in my head tells me that Beyond the Gates doesn’t seem like an evil twins kind of soap. Maybe the voice in my head is actually Doug McBride. And here I am worrying about the mental health of Deanna.

If it is really the real Doug, then… is he the Impaler? That seems like such a stretch. Doug was a kind and gentle man -— except when he was intoxicated and losing squillions of dollars at the casino. I suppose that someone trying to kill you would give you a justifiable reason to lose your Mr. Nice Guy status. Still, I can’t see the Doug we knew suddenly deciding that stealing and reselling blood was the way to go.

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.

Who’s Your Daddy?

It’s crazy to me that Bill is just now asking questions about Hayley’s past. I know that he’s suspicious of her connection to Lynette, but I am setting that aside for a minute. You’re telling me that a man with vast wealth married some young tender roni without knowing anything about her past other than her claim that she was an alleged orphan? That’s just wild. Hayley’s reaction to Bill suddenly asking questions was equally wild. I keep thinking Hayley is going to slip up, but so far she’s mostly managed to keep things in check.

The Blackbird of Unhappiness

It will be interesting to see what Leslie’s reaction is to Derek’s death. I suspect she’ll make it all about her and how she suddenly has to work at the clinic because Derek had to go and die without permission. I’d say I was being hard on good ol’ LSD (That’s Leslie/Sherry/Dana), but her lack of concern over Anita’s cancer diagnosis is a pretty good indicator.

Unfinished business

We’ve heard all about Derek’s hideous chair — which wasn’t really that bad — and his lazy habit of leaving a towel on the floor, but is anyone going to mention that stuffed moose head?! I even name the moose “Edgar.” Am I the only one that remembers it? Maybe I should lay claim to it. I have a perfect spot for it above the fireplace in my library.

Quick Takes

I often wonder how far everyone’s houses are from each other in Fairmont Crest. Do Dani and Nicole live within walking distance of their parents or would they need to take a golf cart if a car wasn’t available?

It was odd to me that the show didn’t cast another actress during the flashbacks to Naomi’s cotillion prep.

BTG: Behind the Graphic

If you’re wondering what this week’s header image is all about, you’re in luck. I have the answers and I can give them to you freely without the need for my attorney to be present. The chair is Derek’s chair — the one that Ashley hated. The handcuffs were present everywhere after the police busted the red market operation. The envelope with Francesca’s name misspelled is Nathan’s handiwork. And the prophylactic is hopefully what Tyrell used when being intimate with Jessica.

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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“I’m a legitimate entrepreneur. I pay taxes!”
Joey claiming to Donnell that all of his businesses are legit and above board,

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“It was Moonlight all over again.”
Deanna comparing her cotillion envelope mishap to a famous Best Picture flub at the Academy Awards.

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“I was just walking around, minding my Black business.”
Randy explaining to the police why he was milling about the warehouse.

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“How about a little less support and a little more mind your business.”
Nicole as Dani teased her sister about the cotillion being a family-friendly event that wasn’t suited for Nicole undressing Ted with her eyes.

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“She’s dating a walking RICO violation, yet I’m the problem.”
Deanna’s response to Vanessa going off on her for wanting to apologize for her behavior at the cotillion.

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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.

My favorite comment of the week may be this one — because it just came out of left field and escalated super quickly. But… the idea is absolutely fascinating.

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 this week with a new GH musing.

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

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