Come on, Beyond the Gates<\/em>! The holidays are supposed to be merry and bright and you have us all worried that there might be something seriously wrong with Anita Dupree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s time for a little truth. I can\u2019t help but roll my eyes at myself when I find myself being concerned for the wellbeing of the fictional characters that I\u2019m watching on television. But how can you not have some sort of attachment when you spend fiveish hours each week welcoming these characters into your home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart ached for Anita as she chose to go through her breast biopsy alone. I may or may not have said something like, \u201cCall him!\u201d to the screen while watching as I hoped Anita would reach out to Vernon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I understood Anita\u2019s decision to not tell anyone. She doesn\u2019t want to make anyone worry about her until, God forbid, there is reason to worry. I\u2019ll admit that I\u2019m the same way. \u00a0And\u2026 wait. Do you hear that? Is it the bells on Santa\u2019s sleigh? No \u2013 it\u2019s the hypocrite alarm<\/strong>! It\u2019s been so long since it\u2019s rang that I forgot what it sounded like. But like Anita, I keep my personal woes a secret, yet get angry when others keep theirs from me. I wonder if Anita is a Pisces?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I thought the hospital scenes were really well produced. They were understated and that proved to be incredibly powerful. It was difficult to watch Anita try to be strong and emotionless. I wished someone had been there to hold her hand. I also thought the imagery of the procedure was well done. The show didn’t try to be Grey’s Anatomy<\/em> with an onslaught of equipment or medical jargon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I no longer run a soap opera web site, I have been able to avoid nearly all Beyond the Gates<\/em> spoilers since the show\u2019s launch. When I started drafting this column on Thursday, I had no idea if Anita\u2019s biopsy would reveal that she has breast cancer or would prove to be a \u201ccancer scare.\u201d With so much loss and sadness of late, I wasn’t sure that I was emotionally prepared for bad news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was relieved to learn at the start of Friday’s episode that Anita had reached out to Sharon and Tracy to ask them to be with her while she awaited news from the hospital. The three women were even able to share a few laughs. And then came the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that bad news doesn’t take a vacation, but to have Anita learn that she had breast cancer less than a week before Christmas and<\/em> as the Friday cliffhanger seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. Talk about the Grinch stealing all the Christmas joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t you just hate it when another con unexpectedly shows up in town and messes up your plans to kill your husband?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think we all knew that there was some sort of connection between Hayley and Lynette based on Mrs. Hamilton\u2019s reaction last week. The big question was whether the two women were in cahoots or rivals. This week we learned that the ladies formerly to run cons together or, as Hayley put it, they \u201cused to engineer coincidences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though they used to be somewhat close, it\u2019s clear that Hayley doesn\u2019t trust Lynette anymore. Why else would Hayley lie about her intentions toward Bill? There was no mention of Bill being a mark, only talk regarding how much Hayley had turned her life around when she met and (supposedly) fell in love with Bill. I guess when you know someone runs con jobs you kind of have to be suspicious of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does Lynette know that Hayley is playing Bill? Does she want in on the action? Would Lynette consider exposing Hayley\u2019s sketchy past unless her former partner-in-conning doesn\u2019t agree to cut her in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a second scenario, I can see Lynette\u2019s presence scaring Hayley straight. Perhaps that<\/em> is how they keep Hayley on the canvas — her close encounter with Lynette will make Hayley reconsider her plans to kill Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a third scenario that, while unlikely, could be a lot of fun to watch play out. I noticed that Bill has been staring curiously at the mugs of tea that Hayley has been plying him with. At first, I thought it was just him dreading that he had to drink the concoction. Now? Maybe there\u2019s more to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if Bill figured out that Hayley has been poisoning him? Maybe Bill had his private investigator do a deeper dive into Hayley\u2019s life and he uncovered her scammer past. Bill or the PI could have reached out to Hayley\u2019s old partner to get her to drop by the DMV and stick it to Hayley. If you recall, Bill made it a point to say that he wanted Hayley to help work on Lynette\u2019s case. Bill has never<\/em> asked his wife to do any work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In last week\u2019s column I had questioned what would be next for Bill if Hayley\u2019s con were to be exposed. The easy answer seemed to be that Bill would try to woo back Dani. In an unexpected development, there\u2019s a new possibility courtesy of Joey Armstrong: Bill could become a politician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For me, I\u2019d rather get to see Bill practice some of the lawyering that he supposedly does so well. The idea of him running against Martin is actually kind of fascinating. Challenging Martin could reignite some of that red hot disdain that the Duprees had for Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, it was funny to hear that Bill finds Hayley\u2019s black nail polish \u201ccreepy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Lynette, Hayley\u2019s real name would appear to be \u201cVal.\u201d I wonder if her last name is Jean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not really a fan of Carlton, but this week I finally got a glimpse into why Nicole is attracted to him. Rather than doing some sort of macho caveman routine about Nicole going to Winterfest with Kial, Carlton stepped up his game and invited her to a living room picnic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlton was charming, funny, and his swaggy assertiveness was somewhere between creepy\/clingy and sexy. When Nicole said she hadn\u2019t heard one of the songs that was playing, Carlton immediately declared that it was their song. Sir, I\u2019m gonna need you to slow your roll. This was your first date and you don\u2019t get to have a song yet. I admire his confidence, but it\u2019s a little red flaggy to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Ted and Shanice are still making me smile. The minute Ted gave Shanice the gift bag, I knew it had something to do with birds. I thought it was going to be some sort of plush stuffed animal, but Ted dropped a couple of dollars to get her a really good<\/em> gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was funny to watch Shanice initially reject the gift only to later warm to the idea that birds would come to love her if she were the provider of food. Things started to get a little spicy as Ted talked about how he\u2019d need an invitation to Shanice\u2019s house so that he could mount it for her. Shanice turned up to the heat by asking what she could possibly do to thank Ted for the thoughtful gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ted and Shanice are the couple that I didn\u2019t know I needed. In fact, I even started using \u201cT-Nice\u201d as their smooshed couple name. I don\u2019t know if this will be some sort of lasting relationship or just a temporarily placeholder until Nicole and Ted rekindle things, but I am going to enjoy \u201cT-Nice\u201d for as long as they\u2019re on my screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the other things on Beyond the Gates<\/em> that have me thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like that Beyond the Gates<\/em> takes time to explain some of its seemingly glaring mistakes. During Winterfest, fans were very vocal about not seeing Martin, Smitty, and the kids enjoying the festivities. During a chat with his mom, Martin revealed that he and the kids all had previous commitments that they could not get out of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chelsea snooping for Christmas presents in Dani\u2019s house was actually kind of fun. When she heard Dani and Andre\u2019s voices, she had to duck for cover where she was promptly pelted with bits and pieces of her mom and stepdad\u2019s wardrobe. Fearing that Andre was about to slide down Dani\u2019s chimney, Chelsea closed her eyes and screamed for them to stop. It turned out that they were just trying on some outfits for a Christmas photo, but the cringe factor was absolutely hilarious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not sure when it happened, but Madison and Chelsea are actually kind of boring to me. Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2026 I still like them together, but I\u2019m sort of feeling the way that Kat was when she texted the daydreaming Chelsea three vomiting emojis. As an aside, it was really funny to me that Kat had to text Chelsea, who was sitting at the same table, to get her attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leslie has done a lot of things that are not very nice, but the way she dismissed Samantha being the originator of the free clinic idea ranks pretty high on her naughty list. LSD (that\u2019s Leslie\/Sherry\/Dana if you\u2019re a new reader) doesn\u2019t even seem to actually care about what a free clinic would do. She just wants everyone to know that it was her money that made it happen. Oh, and for her name to be plastered on the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For someone with a questionable moral compass, it was nice to hear Marcel Malone offer up some sound advice to Chief Hawthorne. In a nutshell, he told Elon that he needed to put his pride aside and make amends with Izaiah. Across town, Eva was offering some similar advice to her new beau. In the end, while it wasn\u2019t a warm and fuzzy moment, it was nice to see that father and son were willing to put their differences aside for the holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a bowling alley in the basement of the Dupree home. It seems the Duprees have everything that they need in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Except, of course, a way to keep interlopers out of their house.<\/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 \u201cThe only feelings I\u2019ve caught from Bill Hamilton is a whole bunch of annoyance and a crick in my neck from having to look up all the damn time.\u201d<\/strong> — Hayley, when Randy questioned if she was backing off of her con job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had other ways to duet.” <\/strong>— A naughty Anita when Vernon expressed regret that he and Anita had never sang together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t peck out the eyes of the food fairy.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 Shanice when she realized that Ted’s gifted birdfeeder wasn’t really a terrible gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I knew carpet picnic meant something else!” <\/strong>— A giddy Dani when she learned that sissy Nicole’s date with Carlton involved some kissing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I do the kissing and you get the glory<\/strong>.” — Nicole responding to Dani taking credit for Nicole’s successful date with Carlton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe could swing from the chandelier at home for free.\u201d<\/strong> — Naomi in response to Jacob’s suggestion that they spend another night at the hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne minute you\u2019re Bonnie to my Clyde. The next, you\u2019re cashing in your chips.\u201d<\/strong> — Joey’s assessment of Vanessa’s constant threat to cut and run from their situationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHearing the story and living it are two different things.”<\/strong> \u2013 Tomas, pushing back on what he perceived as Kat not understanding his drive to continuing working under Bill Hamilton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no such thing as a free lunch\u2026 or a free clinic.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 June after she saw how dismissive Leslie was of Samantha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love all my children\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 Elon Hawthorne. He was referring to his actual children, but I echo the sentiment in a soapier way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to overburden the force that makes miracles come true.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 Ted<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m a lawyer like my dad. Chelsea\u2019s a model like her mom. Jacob\u2019s a cop\u2026\u201d<\/strong> Naomi when Izaiah claimed that children, particularly Eva, weren’t like their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo matter how far from the tree the apple falls, it\u2019s still an apple.\u201d<\/strong> — Jacob with another jab directed at Eva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been running game since naptime and juice boxes.\u201d <\/strong>— Leslie<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s all I have for this week’s My View From Beyond the Gates column. Remember that next week I will be posting my Best of Beyond the Gates 2025, and the following week it’ll be the Worst of Beyond the Gates 2025. As always, 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><\/a>Port Chuckles is Grieving<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251219-btg-02.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI need a little angel sitting on my shoulder<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Santa Con Is Coming to Town<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
He Sees You When You’re Scheming<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
You Better Watch Out<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
All I Want For Christmas Is You… and Maybe You, Too<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251219-btg-03.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDance of the Sugar Plum Food Fairy<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Stocking Stuffers: Beyond the Gates Speed Round<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
I Saw Mommy #@*%ing Santa Claus<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251219-btg-04.png\")
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
You’re A Mean One, LSD Grinch<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Please Come Home For Christmas<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Holiday Bowl Game<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the Gates: Lines of the Week<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Naughty List<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
The Naughtier List<\/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