Four sides to every story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Being a so-called soap opera expert implies that you have an unparalleled knowledge of soap opera characters and history. While three decades of covering daytime dramas has given me a particular skill set, I\u2019ll be the first one to admit that I have absolutely no idea what\u2019s going on between Andre, Bill, Dani, and Hayley. I do, however, find solace in knowing that Andre, Bill, Dani, and Hayley also have no idea what the hell they are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To help make some sense of it all, I think it\u2019s best to just focus on this wacky foursome in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story of us<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
A few months ago, Andre was concerned about the amount of alcohol Dani was drinking. So much, in fact, that he staged a one-person intervention. Fast forward to last month when he saw absolutely nothing wrong with Dani (and himself) getting so drunk on drinks named after their exes that they flew to Las Vegas and got married. Overindulgence be damned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andre got exactly what he wanted\u2026 at least to a degree. It\u2019s pretty clear to me that Andre just wanted to be in a committed relationship with anyone. <\/em>Think of it as relationship pin the tail on the donkey. He was tired of being called a playboy and decided that whoever was closest to his, um, pin was going to be the one he chose to settle down with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think that Andre\u2019s feelings for Dani are greater than her feelings for him. I think a fringe benefit in their relationship is that Andre really, really likes being able to flaunt his marriage in Bill\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I struggle to see why Andre is torn between Dani and Ashley. If I had to guess I’d say that Andre is in love with the idea of being able to show Ashley the world. Dani has been everywhere and done everything at least twice. To Ashley, the world is a blank canvas and I think Andre likes the idea of being able to lean into all of the stereotypical roles that come with being a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think Bill is having something akin to buyer\u2019s remorse. Not that I am saying that Bill bought<\/em> Hayley, but there is an element of truth in that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I absolutely love my car — shout out to all the Honda CR-V owners! — but that doesn\u2019t stop me from checking out the new models when they are released each year. That\u2019s pretty much what Bill did. He traded in his fully operational wife for a newer model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the past year or so, that\u2019s been working out well for Bill. The sex has kept him feeling virile and parading around Fairmont Crest with his trophy wife has been good for his self-esteem. But I think Bill is realizing that there is no real depth to his relationship with Hayley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though Bill has moved on in his head, his health crisis and Chelsea\u2019s kidnapping made him realize the depth of the connection he and Dani still share \u2013 in spite of whatever happened in the waning years of their marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s admirable, I guess, that Bill wants to have that connection with the mother of his children. But you don\u2019t get to have your cake and eat it too. Bill is entitled to his feelings. He can feel however he wants to about Dani or Hayley or anything else. What he doesn\u2019t get to do is to try to play protector of his ex-wife. He gave up that role when he slipped a ring on Hayley\u2019s finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I do think that Bill\u2019s whatever-he-has for Dani has been heightened by the fact that she has moved on with Andre. Andre is Dani\u2019s Hayley — younger, a good time in bed, and fun to look at. It was okay for Bill to move on, but Dani doing the same? No, that\u2019s not okay in Bill\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does that mean that Bill and Dani are Beyond the Gates<\/em> endgame? It\u2019s hard to throw away 20some years of life together, but things do happen for a reason. Too many hateful things have been said by Dani and Bill in the aftermath of their marriage ending. I don\u2019t think you can just forgive and forget. Some things don\u2019t need a second chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first glance, Dani seems to be very happy being a married woman. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t think anything has changed in her relationship with Andre since Fauxnita (that\u2019s the nickname I\u2019ve given Jackie Tyree, the Anita Dupree impersonator) declared them husband and wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t doubt that Dani cares about Andre. She has said over and over that she has no intention of hurting Andre. Of course, not planning to hurt someone doesn\u2019t mean that you won\u2019t still end up hurting them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dani has always been something of a wild child. Being married to Andre when everyone in the free world is against the idea falls very much in line with her raison d\u2019\u00eatre. I could be wrong, but I have to imagine that the thrill would have worn off by now if everyone supported the marriage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Andre, I think Dani loves that her marriage is driving Bill nuts. What I have yet to figure out is if she is using Andre to get back into Bill\u2019s life or just using him to get back at <\/em>Bill. Neither of the two options is healthy. Dani told Pam that she doesn\u2019t want Bill back because she has \u201cthe ideal\u201d relationship with \u201crespectful, considerate\u201d Andre. Being able to send your husband back to his own home doesn\u2019t sound much like a marriage. But it\u2019s 2025 and maybe I am just out of touch with the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the four people in the love square, Hayley is the one whose intentions are the hardest to figure out. Andre, Bill, and Dani are all messed up in their own ways, but at least I can sort of figure out what they are thinking. Hayley, though, seems to have the most nefarious reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since Beyond the Gates<\/em> debuted back in February, we\u2019ve repeatedly heard Hayley say that she never meant to fall in love with Bill. That heart does tend to want what the heart wants. I believed that things happened and Hayley fell for a man who was not available\u2026 and then he fell for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t believe that any more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that Hayley set out to land Bill any way she could. I think breaking up his marriage was a calculated decision. I don\u2019t have any hard evidence of this, but the circumstantial evidence makes me believe that Hayley is a homewrecking hussy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s something that just doesn\u2019t sit right about Hayley\u2019s pregnancy. Even though an alleged professional backed up Hayley\u2019s claim that she had been pregnant, I still don\u2019t buy it. Nothing about her actions makes sense. Could it be that something in the storyline changed from the time it was initially conceived and that\u2019s <\/em>why things don\u2019t add up? Yes, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you add in Hayley\u2019s odd \u201crandom\u201d encounter with Randy at the Uptown, things just get weirder. It could be that Randy gave a fake name because he was still technically in hiding (and not doing such a great job of it). I think these two know each other and have some sort of connection, but I haven\u2019t figured out what that connection is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hayley\u2019s attempts to make Bill jealous are juvenile, but they\u2019ve also been really kind of pathetic. Maybe her \u201cyouth\u201d hasn\u2019t given her the mental means to craft a better scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While incredibly immature, I absolutely loved crazed Hayley showing up at Dani\u2019s house and practically tearing the place apart to look for Bill. Prior to this total meltdown, Hayley had become really kind of annoying. Her whole \u201cbad bitch\u201d persona that she had in the early days of Beyond the Gates<\/em> morphed into some whiny, possessive, sex-crazed pushover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In case you were wondering, I don\u2019t think that Hayley showing up at Dani\u2019s house proves that she loves her man. I think it does <\/em>prove that she doesn\u2019t want to lose<\/em> her man. And the lifestyle that comes with having that man as her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hayley hates that Dani and Bill have a connection because they have two children together. But that hasn\u2019t stopped her from wanting to create the same thing with Bill by having his child. It comes off as desperate. It\u2019s giving gold digger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something I noticed this past week is that everyone was a relationship expert. But none of those experts were taking their own advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was inundated with messages from folks who were moved to tears by Martin and Smitty\u2019s decision to get back together. Or stay married. I\u2019m not sure what we\u2019re calling it. But I know what it was: anticlimactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For as much as I wanted Martin and Smitty to work through their differences, I wasn\u2019t moved by their date-night-turned-epiphany. I didn\u2019t get misty-eyed. I wasn\u2019t touched by some sappy, sentimental trip down memory lane. There was no grand gesture. Sorry, but remembering your spouse\u2019s drink of choice or wearing the same outfit you wore on your first date doesn\u2019t make the grade in my book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, I am glad that they are not headed for divorce court like everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first time in what seems like an eternity, Eeyoredore (it\u2019s a nickname I\u2019m playing with for Ted) actually had something insightful to say. Ted understood why Smitty had feelings of mistrust for Martin. As it turns out, Ted saw a similarity in his situation with Nicole. Then, when Smitty was in full agreement, Ted lowered the boom. Ted claiming that Smitty needed to give Martin reason to believe that he could<\/em> tell him the truth without the constant fear that Smitty would end their marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicole, who doesn\u2019t take any of her own advice, had previously downplayed Martin\u2019s withholding the truth and urged Smitty to essentially get over it and put his marriage back together. Of course, Nicole is biased because Martin is her son. But did she ever listen to her own words and think about applying them to her own situation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good doctor got a bit of her own medicine when she was helping Kat. Nicole railed against Tom\u00e1s for cheating on Kat. But when Kat admitted that she still loved Tom\u00e1s, Nicole changed her tune and encouraged her daughter to \u201cwork on the issues\u201d that were causing the trouble in her relationship with Tom\u00e1s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wait\u2026 could it be? Have I ever sounded the hypocrite alarm twice in one column? There\u2019s a first time for everything! It\u2019s the hypocrite alarm \u2013 and it\u2019s for someone other than me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does Nicole listen to the words that come out of her mouth? Thankfully, Kat was listening because she promptly asked if her mother ever intended to forgive Ted. If she didn\u2019t, Kat suggested that Nicole might want to stop giving relationship advice. \u201cAt least I can admit I still love the guy,\u201d Kat said before walking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I really wanted Kat to swoop on over to Leslie\u2019s hotel room to give her the same speech. Why? Because LSD\u2019s (that\u2019s the nickname I\u2019ve given to Leslie\/Sherry\/Dana) advice to Eva was atrocious. Horrendous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is there an actual term for bad advice or do we just call it \u201cbad advice?\u201d Everything that Leslie said to \u201chelp\u201d Eva came out of LSD\u2019s own tired, winless playbook. Okay, I will admit that Leslie did have one useful piece of advice. She urged Eva to \u201cfight for what you deserve.\u201d Other than that, though, everything she said was trash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It almost seemed like Leslie was trying to live her life vicariously though her daughter. She encouraged Eva to throw herself at Tom\u00e1s even though Tom\u00e1s was involved with someone else and in love with that someone else. It\u2019s literally<\/em> Ted and LSD, part deux. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then call me Dr. Dan J Kroll-Richardson because I am officially diagnosing LSD as insane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, as quickly as I got my doctoral degree, I am going to need to give it back because I am not sure how to diagnose Joey Armstrong. Is Joey so completely pathological that he is unaware of how twisted his actions are? Or has he seen the error of his ways and is now trying to atone for them? Or maybe assuage some of his own guilt so he can sleep at night?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was breathtaking to watch Joey sit at the same table as Vanessa and Donnell and wax on about how his mother had died because of an addiction to plastic surgery. The story was true, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why he was telling the story. Was he really trying to make Donnell feel better? Maybe Joey saw himself in Donnell\u2019s grief? If not, was the story a way to ingratiate himself into Donnell\u2019s life\u2026 so that he can later swoop in and be a father figure to Donnell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am in no way trying to whitewash Joey\u2019s crimes, but it would be really nice to have some insight from the show\u2019s execs about how they <\/em>see Joey\u2019s actions. Maybe I am way too analytical and looking for things that aren\u2019t really there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the other things on Beyond the Gates that made an impression.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the funniest moments of the week came with the reboot of When Harry Met Sally.<\/em> I was certain that the nosy country club member was going to alert the management to Tom\u00e1s and Kat\u2019s sex romp in the supply closet. Instead, she flagged down an employee and asked, \u201cCan you find out what those two were having\u2026 and make an order to go \u2013 for two?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was amused that Jackie Tyree invited Anita and Vernon to see her Las Vegas show. I kind of wish the Duprees had accepted the offer because that<\/em> could have been comedy gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ted referring to Smitty as \u201cClark Kent\u201d also tickled my funny bone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t decide if Leslie\u2019s sporadic use of Spanish words and accents is offensive or if she is trying to appear as an ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a weird glitch in my Monday broadcast that had Chelsea sounding like Max Headroom. If you were born after the 80s, you\u2019ll probably need to Google that reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was disappointed that the service for Doug wasn\u2019t shown on-screen, especially since such a big deal was made about the eulogy that Nicole delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did enjoy the fake-out of having Joey say that he needed to get rid of Marcel Malone. Based on some of the live tweets, I wasn\u2019t the only one that thought that Joey meant he was going to off Malone. Turns out he just needed the detective digitally deleted from the security camera footage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anita sharing her “scandalous” past of having “five gentlemen callers” at the same time was juicy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of sexytimes, after LSD finished talking to Tom\u00e1s and left Bill’s office, I could not help but notice a little smirk on Tom\u00e1s’ face. Why do I feel like he and Leslie are going to have sex in the near future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Beyond the Gates<\/em> 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I wasn’t naked. I was wearing a towel.” <\/strong>— Tom\u00e1s<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Two confliced peas in a testosterone filled pod.”<\/strong> — Leslie, trying to draw some sort of comparison between Ted and Tom\u00e1s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You’re opening your own doors now? I will never<\/em> do that!”<\/strong> — Leslie, when she arrived at the Dupree house and Vernon answered the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Duprees’ euphemisms are less kind.”<\/strong> — Vanessa, when Joey referred to the departing Leslie as “a live one.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Have you considered obedience school? He does run off and hump anything that moves.”<\/strong> — Dani’s response to Hayley showing up and wanting to know where Bill was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I could have cheated years ago and saved my marriage.” <\/strong>— Dani, explaining to Pamela how Bill was jealous of Andre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I couldn’t convince Dani to give up on her first marriage and that guy was the worst<\/em>.”<\/strong> — Pamela when Bill asked her to tell Dani to end her marriage to Andre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/em> in the Comments section below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’ve enjoyed my column this week and want to see what I have written about Beyond the Gates<\/em> in previous weeks, you can check those out in the My View From Beyond the Gates<\/a><\/strong> archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have a penchant for gardening, interior design, or fixing up old houses? Check out my Manor Makeover series<\/a><\/strong> where I write about all of the things I’ve been up to here at Kroll Manor in Allentown, PA, over the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To keep up with all of the shenanigans I engage in on social media, please consider giving my a follow on Bluesky<\/strong><\/a>, Instagram<\/strong><\/a>, Threads<\/strong><\/a>, Facebook<\/strong><\/a>, and TwitterX<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/em><\/strong> writing about General Hospital<\/em>. Tamilu is on deck with week with a new column called, <\/a>Ruin the Friendship<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Bill](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251010-btg-01.jpg\")
The smallest man who ever lived<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
A Bill Hamilton shaped relapse<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
I can do it with a broken heart<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Hayley](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251010-btg-02.jpg\")
You need to calm down<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
No body, no crime<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Wait\u2026 do you hear something? Could it be\u2026 it is<\/em>! It\u2019s the hypocrite alarm!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Ruin the friendship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The way I loved you<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251010-btg-04.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou’re not sorry<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
I knew you were trouble<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Joey](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251010-btg-03.jpg\")
Better than revenge<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the Gates Speed Round<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lines of the Week<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Follow my Random Acts of Dan<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Life outside the gates<\/h5>\n\n\n\n