{"id":5270,"date":"2026-05-08T20:28:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T00:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/?p=5270"},"modified":"2026-05-09T01:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:02:02","slug":"beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/","title":{"rendered":"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background\" id=\"h-disappearing-con-artists-criminal-enterprises-missing-family-members-looming-threats-they-ve-all-collided-and-suddenly-fairmont-crest-doesn-t-seem-so-safe-only-murders-in-the-damn-building-a-beyond-the-gates-commentary-by-soap-central-founder-dan-j-kroll-for-the-week-ending-may-8-2026\">Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They&#8217;ve all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn&#8217;t seem so safe. <strong>Only Murders In the Damn Building: A Beyond the Gates commentary by Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll for the week ending May 8, 2026.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color has-background\"><strong>Don\u2019t have time to read the entire <strong>Beyond the Gates<\/strong><\/strong> <strong>column? You can now stream an audio\/podcast version of this commentary \u2014 complete with off-script silliness, bloopers, interviews, and more. And it\u2019s totally free to download or stream. <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2k5ZCYtYWgzYK4BYmTbpFw?si=Rtb4zl8zSBuHFcdDGHwBhQ\">SPOTIFY<\/a><\/strong> | <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/my-view-from-beyond-the-gates-by-dan-j-kroll\/id1894877704\">APPLE MUSIC<\/a><\/strong> | <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/cd5dd480-df62-4109-9b84-4be80c57bc4b\/my-view-from-beyond-the-gates-by-dan-j-kroll\">AMAZON MUSIC<\/a><\/strong> | <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/269-my-view-from-beyond-the-ga-330922612\/\">iHEART RADIO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the second straight week we were robbed of two episodes of <em>Beyond the Gates. <\/em>I don&#8217;t know about you, but this week&#8217;s two-day preemption seemed like the longest two days in the history of soaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While we were light on episodes, we were not light on drama. The investigation into the blood theft ring is coming apart at the seams. There are now at least half a dozen people who could find themselves in serious danger. Jacob and Smitty can&#8217;t seem to agree on anything &#8212; and now they can&#8217;t decide if they should stop the operation and take whatever win they can get or keep going and risk even more collateral damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the &#8220;red market&#8221; story may or may not be linked to another burgeoning mystery: Joey&#8217;s in-the-wind sister, Heather. Does Heather exist? Is Heather someone we&#8217;ve already met&#8230; or someone that we might meet in the near future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past week, <em>Beyond the Gates<\/em> has become a series of riddles and mysteries. It&#8217;s almost as if someone took the scripts from a police drama, a murder mystery, an episode of Maury Povich, and a true crime podcast, shuffled them all together, and said, &#8220;This is going to be our May Sweeps.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I like the organized chaos of it all. I like it a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-7350302b2bccda9c1032c2077a4d1558\" id=\"h-no-way-out\" style=\"background-color:#dc2254\"><strong>No Way Out<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For more than three decades, it was hard for me to be surprised by anything that played out on the soaps. It wasn\u2019t because I had psychic powers or that the shows had become predictable. It was because I reviewed all of the interviews, articles, and scoops that were posted on the Soap Central web site. I ended up knowing what was going to happen even if I didn\u2019t want to know. Call it an occupational hazard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had forgotten what it was like to watch a soap strictly for pleasure until <em>Beyond the Gates<\/em> launched in February 2025 and I came out of retirement. Since this column isn\u2019t part of my job and is written simply because I enjoy it, I\u2019ve been able to be spoiler-free &#8212; unless I make the mistake of popping onto social media before I\u2019ve watched an episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-i-ve-been-watching-you-watching-me\">I&#8217;ve Been Watching You Watching Me<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, it amuses me when I demand answers to something in my column only to have the question answered by the time my next column is posted. It makes me feel like the Powers That Be have read my column and want to placate me with answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, I know that\u2019s not the case, but\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/smooth-criminal-my-view-from-beyond-the-gates\/\"><strong>last week I stated<\/strong><\/a> that I needed to know why Lia Whitmore had cast aside her years as a respected doctor to lord over a blood and plasma \u201cred market\u201d theft operation. Now we know: Lia was one of the many victims that Lynette Wise bled dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am sure there is someone on social media saying something like, \u201cLosing all of her money shouldn\u2019t make her abandon her Hippocratic Oath.\u201d That\u2019s easier said than done and people have done worse over less. Turn on the news or look at a viral TikTok post and you\u2019ll see examples of the lengths that people in the real world will go when pushed to the edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-else-knows-that-lynette-scammed-lia\"><strong>Who Else Knows that Lynette Scammed Lia?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>There are still some unanswered questions. For example, how did the upstanding Chief of Staff know who to contact to become part of the \u201cred market.\u201d Were any of Lynette\u2019s other victims roped into the operation? If so, that would imply that someone knew what Lynette was up to\u2026 and perhaps that person is the infamous Impaler. If so, is it someone we know? Right now, the only people we know that had a previous connection to Lynette are Hayley and Randy. And I don&#8217;t see either of them being the Impaler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We did learn something interesting from DracLia. It doesn\u2019t appear that she is the Impaler as many have speculated. She had a serious look of fear on her face when she told Grayson that their \u201cemployers\u201d \u2013 yes, <em>plural<\/em> \u2013 would go to unimaginable lengths to keep their business afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-there-are-no-coincidences-in-soap-opera-s\"><strong>There Are No Coincidences In Soap Opera<\/strong>s<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I need to revisit something else I said in a recent column because I may have jumped the gun. I said that I was no longer worried that Kat might be a victim of the Bloodhound Gang. That was based mostly on her apparent loss of interest in knowing why Smitty and Jacob had their heads together. <em>But<\/em> now Kat has found another way in via Tomas\u2019 investigation into the disappearance of Lynette Wise. That put her on Lia\u2019s proverbial doorstep. If she keeps asking questions, Kat will be squarely back in harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This falls under the \u201cthings aren\u2019t said or done for no reason on soaps\u201d header, but my ears perked up when Kat said that Nicole \u201cdeserved\u201d the happiness that Carlton gave her. I sure hope that wasn\u2019t a sign that the happiness is about to come crashing down soon. And it surely would if Carlton turned out to be the Impaler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, it\u2019s still not looking great for Smitty or Jacob. Their partnership has been a disaster since day one. Ren is giving Jacob unusual instructions. And not only does Smitty face danger from investigation into the blood theft ring, but now he has Randy on his tail. As if that were not enough, whoever is keeping an eye on Ashley might also be keeping tabs on Naomi. Remember the other week when Ren just happened to show up at Orphey Gene\u2019s while Naomi was there? It seemed like a coincidence, but there really aren\u2019t coincidences on soap operas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-850c5837dfff0282905f145061c6479f\" id=\"h-postcards-from-the-edge\" style=\"background-color:#dc2254\"><strong>Postcards From the Edge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>That leads into another interesting coincidence. The Joey-reads-a-letter scene on the Thursday, May 7, episode was very unusual and I am wondering if it was also part of a misdirection. The letter seemed to come out of nowhere. Joey is hardly a sentimental guy, so why would he be toting around a letter in a well-worn envelope?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I immediately assumed the letter was from his long-lost sister Heather. Joey would ultimately confirm that, but there is, of course, always the possibility that he lied about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The content of the letter was interesting, too. The author claimed to be \u201csuffocating here\u201d and begged Joey not to try to find her. \u201cThis has to be a clean break or I\u2019ll never become the woman I\u2019m destined to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-so-many-questions\"><strong>So Many Questions<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the point in the column where I remind everyone that I am an only child. Because of that, I am not well-versed in the words siblings use when talking to one another. Would someone really say that they needed a \u201cclean break\u201d from their sibling? That seems more like something a romantic partner would say. Maybe I\u2019m just looking for scandal in places that scandal doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which takes me back to the coincidences that I mentioned in the last section. After Joey sent Randy to check up on Smitty, he placed a call to an unknown person. In the next seen, we saw Lia taking a phone call from an unknown person. Did Joey call DracLia or was that writers wanted us to infer? Could Joey and Lia\u2019s calls be totally unrelated? They could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of people on social media seem to have graduated from the Katlock Institute of Amateur Sleuthing. There is a small but vocal group that believes Lia is actually Heather. That would mean that Joey has been lying about not knowing where his sister is. That seems like a weird thing for him to lie about. Let\u2019s say that Lia <em>is<\/em> Heather. Is it possible that Joey lied about his sister\u2019s name and Heather is actually the name of his wife or lover? Might there be a Mrs. Armstrong flittering about in the universe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which is worse? Finding out that your lover killed your husband or finding out that your lover killed your husband and your lover is also married? Is that a hat on a hat? Lipstick on a pig? Is there a point when it doesn\u2019t matter how many secrets you pile on to the initial secret?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-c97f0bef3e7fe52c841f8e0e96096078\" id=\"h-beside-behind-and-beyond-the-gates-the-speed-round\" style=\"background-color:#dc2254\">Beside, Behind, and Beyond The Gates: The Speed Round<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Here are some of the thoughts and observations about other things happening on Beyond the Gates<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-please-help-yourself\"><strong>Please&#8230; Help Yourself<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I thought it was hilarious when Kat helped herself to some of the booze in Bill\u2019s office and held the glass slightly askew as she laid into Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-confession-is-good-for-the-soul\">Confession Is Good For the Soul<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s funny that after however many decades, Ted felt the need to confess to Nicole that he\u2019d given Carlton bad directions to keep him far, far away from her at the convention in Hawaii. It was even funnier to find out that Carlton has known the supposed \u201csecret\u201d for all these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-chipping-in\">Chipping In<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>There was another not-so-secret secret that also cracked me up. Apparently, Vanessa hands out chips to random bettors in Joey\u2019s casino \u2013 and he knows that she does it. I have never had a random passerby gift me a chip in any of the casinos I\u2019ve ever been in. Maybe it\u2019s time for a road trip to the DMV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-grand-theft-borrow-auto\">Grand <s>Theft<\/s> Borrow Auto<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Something else to file under amusing: a young Anita used to hotwire her father\u2019s Mustang and joyride around town with Barbara, Sharon, and Tracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-foxy-danipatra\">Foxy Danipatra<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I need a spin-off series featuring Bea Guiling and Cam Aura immediately. It&#8217;s hilarious that Andre decided to fixate on him being &#8220;cast&#8221; as a men&#8217;s underwear photographer from Iowa in Dani&#8217;s fantasy rather than on the fantasy as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andre&#8217;s story was&#8230; less successful for me. I did, however, like that Dani&#8217;s name tag referred to her as &#8220;DAN.&#8221; I will take that as a shout-out to me, even though I am pretty sure it&#8217;s not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hayley-s-comment\">Hayley&#8217;s Comment<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I may have missed something, but I thought when Bill found out that Hayley had closed the bank account set up as a college fund for their future child that Hayley said she planned to deposit the money in another of their shared bank accounts. When Hayley was toasting life with Randy, she seemed to imply that she still had the money in her possession. Did she lie to Bill? Has Bill not bothered to check his many bank accounts to verify that the funds had been (re)deposited?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of Hayley, Drunk Hayley was something else. When I realized she showed up in Bill\u2019s office near the end of the episode, I was absolutely certain that she was going to say something she shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dessertaphobia\">Dessertaphobia<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>What do the folks on <em>Beyond the Gates<\/em> have against dessert?! It&#8217;s become a regular occurrence. Nicole and Carlton ditched their cherry crumble and banana pudding for, what, some sexytimes? Have they never heard of to-go boxes? Hell, I&#8217;d have taken the dessert, dishes and all and returned them at a later date. It&#8217;s not like they aren&#8217;t at Orfey Gene&#8217;s on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-quick-takes\">Quick Takes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I joked about Nicole wanting two men in bed with her, but I didn&#8217;t expect Ted to be one of them! Was this sexy Ted vision a fantasy or a nightmare? I guess time will tell&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s probably still an unpopular opinion, but Tomas is a far more fascinating character now than he ever was before. I just hope his investigation into Lynette&#8217;s disappearance doesn&#8217;t&#8230; end badly for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though she didn\u2019t really have any reason to be suspicious at the time, why didn\u2019t Ashley look through the peephole to see who was banging loudly on her apartment door?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-347407cf33dc3d60fb61f8f41bb117c9\" id=\"h-beyond-the-gates-lines-of-the-week\" style=\"background-color:#359d92\">Beyond the Gates: Lines of the Week<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>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&#8217;t already mentioned in this column).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cI\u2019ll be as smooth as my hair after a silk press.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>Kat in assuring Tomas that she could press Lia for information without looking suspicious.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cYou are wound as tight as a tambourine on Easter Sunday.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>Anita upon feeling the knots in Vernon&#8217;s shoulders.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cPlease&#8230; don\u2019t let the concept of knocking stop you.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>Bill in response to Vernon barging into his office unannounced.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cI was passing Civil Rights legislation when you were just a twinkle in your pappy\u2019s eye.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>Vernon when Bill tried to &#8220;lecture&#8221; him on politics<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cThis is not an episode of Only Murders in the Damn Building!.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>An angry Bill in response to Kat wanting to solve the Lynette Wise mystery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cBaby, I&#8217;m as clean as a nonstick pan.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>Bea Guiling<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cThere wasn&#8217;t exactly an employee orientation.\u201d<\/strong> <br><em>Grayson&#8217;s response when Jacob asked if Grayson knew the Impaler&#8217;s identity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-vivid-purple-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-08f5256cee385658ccce4a357a98fdaf\" id=\"h-gatecrashers-reader-and-viewer-feedback\">Gatecrashers: Reader and Viewer Feedback<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>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&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:5doexz5iyqssy6tbpegkjuzj\"><strong>Bluesky<\/strong><\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/danjkroll\"><strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@danjkroll\"><strong>Threads<\/strong><\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/danjkroll\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>, and\/or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/danjkroll\"><strong>TwitterX<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-6a32952d7c6541a8f205843396dc20e8\" id=\"block-7b155270-3639-4d18-8f36-5f25ea122ce3\" style=\"background-color:#006699\">Follow my Random Acts of Dan<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-569505e0-c240-4fde-a234-90c0fdb95dc5\">That&#8217;s all I have for this week&#8217;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 <em>Beyond the Gates<\/em> in the Comments section below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-42edb15a-e9ae-4dd3-90b3-506e3756e95e\">If you&#8217;ve enjoyed my column this week and want to see what I have written about <em>Beyond the Gates<\/em> in previous weeks, you can check those out in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/tag\/beyond-the-gates\/\">My View From Beyond the Gates<\/a><\/strong> archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-5e616ee1-3271-4dcc-b26b-17d55c22f542\">Have a penchant for gardening, interior design, or fixing up old houses? Check out my <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/tag\/kroll-manor\/\">Manor Makeover series<\/a><\/strong> where I write about all of the things I&#8217;ve been up to here at Kroll Manor in Allentown, PA, over the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-a0cc6b3e-7e83-44b3-91b7-251741b03d5d\">To keep up with all of the shenanigans I engage in on social media, please consider giving my a follow on <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:5doexz5iyqssy6tbpegkjuzj\"><strong>Bluesky<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/danjkroll\"><strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@danjkroll\"><strong>Threads<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/danjkroll\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/danjkroll\"><strong>TwitterX<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-458c8942883ab00afbe920044c81d255\" id=\"block-3e2d2bbd-679c-4ba6-9545-b3b514c5a7b7\" style=\"background-color:#469156\">Life outside the gates<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-593b5be3-9969-4482-8730-80c958457c62\">Two of my former Two Scoops columnists from Soap Central, Liz Masters and Tamilu, have joined me here on my personal web site &#8212; and they are <strong><em>still<\/em><\/strong> writing about <em>General Hospital<\/em>. Liz is on deck with week with a new column called, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/general-hospital-commentary-all-tied-up\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/general-hospital-commentary-bang-bang-sidwells-silver-bullet\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=3714&amp;action=edit\">Dial K For Killow<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f0ef96ff-8371-4ae4-90b2-b2b6ea06be4a\"><strong>To read more thoughts, opinions, rants, and raves about daytime television, be sure to check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\">Editorial section<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-x-large-font-size wp-elements-84b21e654bd550fb2b7eab18d0c232da\" id=\"block-10a4b5f6-c493-49f1-9b8e-cbf3a0b47373\" style=\"color:#006699\"><strong>dan<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They&#8217;ve all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn&#8217;t seem so&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16,5],"tags":[118,13,14,69,3],"class_list":["post-5270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-entertainment","category-soaps","tag-118","tag-beyond-the-gates","tag-commentary","tag-soap-opera","tag-soaps"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Only Murders in the Damn Building: My View From Beyond the Gates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They&#039;ve all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn&#039;t seem so safe.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They&#039;ve all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn&#039;t seem so safe.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dan J Kroll\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/DanJKroll\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/DanJKroll\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-09T00:28:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-09T05:02:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-btg-02.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan J Kroll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@danjkroll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@danjkroll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan J Kroll\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dan J Kroll\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae\"},\"headline\":\"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-09T00:28:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-09T05:02:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2619,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260508-btg-02.png\",\"keywords\":[\"2026\",\"Beyond The Gates\",\"Commentary\",\"Soap Opera\",\"Soaps\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Editorial\",\"Entertainment\",\"Soap Operas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/\",\"name\":\"Only Murders in the Damn Building: My View From Beyond the Gates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260508-btg-02.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-09T00:28:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-09T05:02:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They've all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn't seem so safe.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260508-btg-02.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260508-btg-02.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Only Murders in the Damn Building: Beyond the Gates commentary for the week ending May 8, 2026. | PHOTO: Dan J Kroll\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dan J Kroll\",\"description\":\"Pieces of My Mind\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae\",\"name\":\"Dan J Kroll\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Dan J Kroll\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Online soap pioneer. Bunny whisperer. Award-winning snacker. Prize-winning gardener. Lord of Kroll Manor. Red Carpet chatter-upper. Sorta doctor. Almost Mayor.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\",\"https:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/DanJKroll\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/DanJKroll\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/danjkroll\",\"https:\\\/\\\/youtube.com\\\/@DanJKroll\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danjkroll.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Only Murders in the Damn Building: My View From Beyond the Gates","description":"Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They've all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn't seem so safe.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building","og_description":"Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They've all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn't seem so safe.","og_url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/","og_site_name":"Dan J Kroll","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/DanJKroll","article_author":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/DanJKroll","article_published_time":"2026-05-09T00:28:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-09T05:02:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-btg-02.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Dan J Kroll","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@danjkroll","twitter_site":"@danjkroll","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan J Kroll","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/"},"author":{"name":"Dan J Kroll","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae"},"headline":"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building","datePublished":"2026-05-09T00:28:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-09T05:02:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/"},"wordCount":2619,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-btg-02.png","keywords":["2026","Beyond The Gates","Commentary","Soap Opera","Soaps"],"articleSection":["Editorial","Entertainment","Soap Operas"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/","url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/","name":"Only Murders in the Damn Building: My View From Beyond the Gates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-btg-02.png","datePublished":"2026-05-09T00:28:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-09T05:02:02+00:00","description":"Disappearing con artists. Criminal enterprises. Missing family members. Looming threats. They've all collided and suddenly Fairmont Crest doesn't seem so safe.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-btg-02.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260508-btg-02.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Only Murders in the Damn Building: Beyond the Gates commentary for the week ending May 8, 2026. | PHOTO: Dan J Kroll"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/beyond-the-gates-only-murders-in-the-damn-building\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"My View From Beyond the Gates: Only Murders In the Damn Building"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/","name":"Dan J Kroll","description":"Pieces of My Mind","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4975a028776853e5ba1c05cee74dc6ae","name":"Dan J Kroll","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Dan J Kroll"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cropped-170430-emmys-2.jpg"},"description":"Online soap pioneer. Bunny whisperer. Award-winning snacker. Prize-winning gardener. Lord of Kroll Manor. Red Carpet chatter-upper. Sorta doctor. Almost Mayor.","sameAs":["https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog","https:\/\/facebook.com\/DanJKroll","https:\/\/instagram.com\/DanJKroll","https:\/\/x.com\/danjkroll","https:\/\/youtube.com\/@DanJKroll"],"url":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5270"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5316,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5270\/revisions\/5316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}