This was more of a hangnail kind of week on Beyond the Gates <\/em>than a huge heart-shattering problem one. There were some memorable plot moments that maybe seem to be setting up drama ahead. But as we inch closer to May, things were decidedly low key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean, Grayson might argue that a lab tech blood smuggler getting jabbed in the gut isn’t very low key. I’d probably agree. Other than that, though, this was more of a week about building character story. There were some new interactions, a little bit of backstory, and possibly a set-up for drama to come next week. And there will be drama… but more on that near the end of this week’s column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an interesting week for everyone\u2019s celebrity real estate agent. I\u2019ve said it before, but newer readers might have missed it and, to be honest, it\u2019s worth repeating. Vanessa McBride has been the absolute surprise of Beyond the Gates<\/em>. For weeks it seemed like she was a sex-crazed scatterbrain. We would eventually learn that there was a whole lot more going on there than met the eye. In fact, Vanessa might be the most complex character on the entire canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lauren Buglioli was perfectly cast as Vanessa. I was unfamiliar with her work prior to February 2025, so, like much of the Beyond the Gates<\/em> cast, I wasn\u2019t sure how she\u2019d work out on the show. She has been an absolute star and I fully expect to see her name listed as a Daytime Emmy nominee later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But back to the fictional Vanessa. She had some fun girl talk with Dani at the start of the week. It\u2019s interesting to see how Vanessa\u2019s relationship varies with each Dupree sister. With Dani, Vanessa can be a little more unbuttoned, a little more silly and a bunch more naughty. It might have been a safer bet for Vanessa to ask for a double date with Dani and Andre, but I don\u2019t think that Vanessa needs Dani\u2019s approval as much as she needs Nicole\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of double dates, I don\u2019t know what<\/em> to make of Vanessa cozying up to Leslie. At the start of everything, it was implied that Vanessa wanted to infiltrate LSD (that\u2019s Leslie\/Sherry\/Dana, if you\u2019re a newer reader) and Marcel Malone\u2019s world. I guess she\u2019s still not aware that Marcel would do just about anything for Joey. Actually, she might want to stay unaware of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Vanessa and LSD\u2019s getting-to-know-you session kicked off, it looked like a terrible idea. It wasn\u2019t until Vanessa, in her pink outfit from the Elle Woods Collection, said that Leslie and Marcel have a \u201cmatching charm\u201d that LSD let down her guard a little. This is where I could no longer tell if Vanessa was still fishing for a way in or if she genuinely wanted to get to know Leslie. Maybe in her mind, Leslie is the \u201cJoey\u201d of the Leslie\/Marcel relationship. Few people in town approve of Joey, and probably fewer are fans of Leslie Thomas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As things progressed, it almost seemed to me like Vanessa was\u2026 dare I say\u2026 bonding<\/em> with Leslie. This has got to violate some sort of girl code. Vanessa chumming it up with the woman who torched her BFF\u2019s marriage? Yes, you can argue that Ted is the one that torched his marriage to Nicole, but Leslie has flat-out made life miserable for Nicole. The idea of Vanessa cozying up to her is a big no. Enn Ohh<\/em>. NO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We did not get to see Joey and Marcel\u2019s male bonding, but we did get to see him reach some sort of Strait of Hormuz d\u00e9tente with Nicole. It was refreshing to see Joey and Nicole both admit that they could have handled the double date a little better. Ya think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have no idea how long Nicole and Joey will be able to play nice, but I do think that they have a better understanding of each other. They both realize that the other is important to Vanessa, so I am hoping that their mutual love for Vanessa will at least keep things civil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strictly as a viewer \u2013 and author of a Beyond the Gates <\/em>commentary \u2013 it was a lot of fun watching Daphn\u00e9e Duplaix and Jon Lindstrom have their icy meeting of the minds. It was probably just as much fun as the equally tense Orphey Gene\u2019s conversation with Dani. Lindstrom has chemistry with everyone. I think that\u2019s part of the reason that Joey\u2019s character has been so successful. Joey isn\u2019t a nice a guy. It\u2019s very hard to make a murdering mobster likable. I don\u2019t know that another actor would have been able to keep Joey this interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, what could be the biggest mystery in Beyond the Gates<\/em> history was dropped on us at the end of Thursday\u2019s episode. Who in the hell are those people in the picture frame that Vanessa took to Joey\u2019s house?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Evil Richard Simms, who I usually try to keep far, far away from my columns, sent me an urgent message asking if I knew who the people were because he needed to know for an article he was writing about on Soaps.com. My first thought was that the people were the random people that come default anytime you buy a new picture frame. Why? Because Vanessa obviously can\u2019t put a photo of Doug or her kids on Joey\u2019s mantle. This would be a way to have something of her own at Joey\u2019s without the associated risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My second thought was that it looked maybe sorta kinda like the new \u201cJaylen\u201d character that I talked about in last weeks\u2019 column<\/a>. The photo was small and angled, so it\u2019s tough to say. Maybe Jaylen is Vanessa\u2019s brother-in-law? Does Vanessa even have a sister?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out that a little patience would have gone a long way. In the next episode, Vanessa explained the picture frame \u2013 and in doing so confirmed that I was right. Sort of. The couple in the photo was John and Jane Campbell from Aspen, Colorado. What, you don’t know who they are? Neither did Vanessa. The randos were just a way for Vanessa to snap a photo of herself and Joey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was interesting to see Anita dole out unsolicited life advice to Vanessa, who honestly had just dropped by to give Anita a planner she’d bought as a gift. It was even more interesting to see how differently Vanessa reacted to Anita saying the same thing that everyone else has been saying. We’ve gotten to see the origin story of Vanessa and Nicole’s friendship and now I want to find out how Vanessa met Anita and Vernon for the first time. Maybe we’d even get to see Doug in a newly created flashback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin\u2019s decision to run for the U.S. Senate baffles me. I don\u2019t question his political ambitions, per se. He\u2019s the grandson of a renowned former Senator, so that makes sense. It\u2019s his decision to move forward knowing that he has this major secret hanging over him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I try to avoid real-world politics in this column because I like to keep the real world and the pretend world as far apart as possible. However, there have been several recent real-world scandals in politics that make for perfect examples of why Martin\u2019s decision to move forward is as reckless as Smitty\u2019s off-the-books investigating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somehow\u2026 somehow<\/em> the Duprees have managed to keep the details of the encounter with KKKenneth and his brother buried. It\u2019s hard to keep a secret when only two people know the truth, but there are at least half-a-dozen folks who know what happened that night on the side of the road. Since both Kenneth and his brother are no longer with us, most of the people who know the truth are firmly in Martin\u2019s corner. But there are two wild cards \u2013 Bill Hamilton and Joey Armstrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill probably<\/em> wouldn\u2019t blab since he could also be implicated in the fallout. But remember when Joey tried to get Bill to run for office? Is there a way that Bill could expose Martin and somehow remain unscathed? I haven\u2019t quite figured that out. Joey, on the other hand, might also want to remain quiet since he has a whole lot of questionable activities of his own. I\u2019d have to imagine that drawing any attention to himself could be bad for him\u2026 and Vanessa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could someone anonymously leak the information to the press? Could a member of the press leak the info? Yeah, I am talking about Smitty. Right now, Martin and Smitty are very much in love \u2013 even if Smitty doesn\u2019t want his husband to run for Senate. If things turned acrimonious between the two, could Smitty turn on Martin? Divorces can get messy. I am not trying to put the cart before the horse here and I don\u2019t want \u201cSmarty,\u201d as they are affectionately called, to split. That said, Martin and Smitty rarely seem to function as a couple or as a team. They sure do keep a lot of secrets from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of that, Smitty is a hypocrite. He chides Martin for keeping secrets when he is doing exactly the same thing. Smitty, though, hides his lies of omission behind investigative journalist. Smitty clearly doesn\u2019t believe that his husband is part of the \u201cred market\u201d operation, so why not tell him what\u2019s going on? Does he not trust Martin to stay silent? If so, that\u2019s another sign of problems in their marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the thoughts and observations about other things happening on Beyond the Gates<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know Bill is supposedly a beast in the courtroom, but outside of it? He might be as dumb as everyone on social media says he is. Hayley closes one of their accounts without his permission, claims not to know that she could have moved the money to an existing account automatically, and Bill barely raises his voice? Nope. Meanwhile, Hayley was pricing new Maseratis. I’m not saying that Bill deserves to be bilked out of his squillions of dollars, but I don’t get this blind spot that he has for Hayley. He deals with criminals — er, alleged criminals — almost every day and he hasn’t seen the warning signs in his own home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you believe in jinxes? I ask because I am pretty sure that Tomas just put a whammy on himself by pledging to be around for \u201cmany more Kat days\u201d to come. I might not have thought anything of it had actor Alex Alegria not been dropped to recurring status earlier in the month. Will his investigation into Lynette Wise result in him ending up like<\/em> Lynette?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It looks like we dodged a bullet with Vernon\u2019s memory lapses. At least for now, it all appears to be the result of a vitamin D deficiency. However, Madison did order more tests, so we aren\u2019t quite out of the woodwork yet. The Duprees have a whole lot of medical drama and potentially more to come with Dani and Naomi. Kam, who has been reading my column for quite some time, made a really good point. \u201cFor another family member to be facing another health crisis right now seems like a bit much too soon.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a cute moment when Anita threatened to fatten Vernon up with some of her famous milkshakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It looks like Derek was right about Grayson, Ashley. We all knew that Grayson was sketchy, but no one on-screen had reason to believe that. Sure, Derek\u2019s \u201csuspicion\u201d could have simply been brought on by jealousy. Whatever Spidey sense he was using, Ashley should have listened. I\u2019ve now added her to my list of \u201cPeople Who Might Get Offed By Ren \u2018n Them\u201d list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ren went stabby stabby all the things this week. Meredith Grey doesn\u2019t have to worry about him coming for her job any time soon. First, Ren jammed a scalpel into Grayson\u2019s abdomen. Later, he was ready to cut a tic-tac-toe board into Rashad, er, Jacob. Rashacob? I don\u2019t see Grayson succumbing to his injuries, but I don\u2019t see him being long for life in the DMV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicole may claim that she\u2019s happy to have dating options, but as an objective observer it seems Nicole likes Kial a lot more than Carlton. Maybe it\u2019s the newness of him. Nicole smiles and laughs more when she\u2019s around Kial. That said, I still think Nicole has thought about being with both men at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Martin has put his secret to bed, as he claims, then why is he still having nightmares?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Folks on social media have been complaining about Anita and Vernon not having a bedroom set. Well, they might since there is officially a date for them to resume having sexytimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fans were screaming on social media that it was ridiculous that the hospital cameras didn’t capture Grayson’s attack. Again, the writers were prepared for that. Ren made it clear that Lia (or someone else) had taken the camera off line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It looks like Beyond the Gates<\/em> will be preempted a bunch of days over the next two weeks. The show will be booted off the daytime calendar by CBS coverage of soccer on Tuesday, April 28, and Wednesday, April 29. It\u2019s rinse and repeat the following week. The preemptions were planned, so there will be no \u201clost\u201d episodes as a result of the scheduling change.<\/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 \u201cI\u2019d rather focus on your curves than any guy\u2019s angles.\u201d<\/strong> \u201cThere really is a lid for every warped pot.\u201d<\/strong> \u201cI am planting myself firmly in the no beef zone.\u201d<\/strong> \u201cIf Beelzebub Leslie popped out of that cake, I would have been unbothered.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n I love interacting with other Beyond the Gates fans. So I thought I\u2019d create a section to share some of the comments I\u2019ve received on my columns and social media posts. If you\u2019d 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<\/strong><\/a>, Instagram<\/strong><\/a>, Threads<\/strong><\/a>, Facebook<\/strong><\/a>, and\/or TwitterX<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Soap math has never made sense, but Brenda has some serious questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is always a troublemaker in every group. This week, the role of troublemaker is being played by Christina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LaTorre sees a pattern of when the drama kicks into high gear in Fairmont Crest.<\/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><\/a>Darling, Can’t You Hear Me?<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGetting to Know You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keeping Your Enemies (Too) Close<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Brokering a Ceasefire<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Framed!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Bonus Advice<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Redistricting Is the Least of His Problems<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Secrets Rarely Stay Secrets<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Beside, Behind, and Beyond The Gates: The Speed Round<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Crazy<\/s> Dumb In Love<\/h5>\n\n\n\nJinxed!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Anita’s Milkshake Brings Vernon to the Yard<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Derek Baldwin, Psychic Medium<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Jagged Little Pill<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Two Lovers<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Quick Takes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
We Interrupt This Program…<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the Gates: Lines of the Week<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Joey explaining why he prefers Vanessa\u2019s company to any male bonding.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Joey’s assessment of the always warped Leslie Thomas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Dani “Switzerland” Dupree after hearing Vanessa talk about the infamous double date.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Kat dismissing that asking Eva to join her birthday party was any sort of momentous moment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGatecrashers: Reader and Viewer Feedback<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFollow my Random Acts of Dan<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Life outside the gates<\/h5>\n\n\n\n