My View From Beyond the Gates: What’s In Your Search History?

Information is power, but how one goes about getting information says a lot about them. Do you ask probing questions? Eavesdrop? Or do you do a little questionable research? What’s In Your Search History?: A Beyond the Gates commentary by Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll for the week ending September, 2026.

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More often than not, soap opera viewers have a much more complete picture of what’s going on than any of the characters on the show. We know that two characters had sex in an elevator during a tornado… who the mystery person was that ran a woman off the road… and the identity of the person who leads a blood and plasma theft ring.

I’d like to think that some of the characters on Beyond the Gates would make better decisions if they were more well informed. This being a soap opera, I think we all know that wouldn’t be the case. Even in the real world, I think we all know someone who can be shown irrefutable facts and somehow still find a way to ignore the truth and even find a way to twist the facts into something else.

I might be dating myself, but there used to be a time when you had to go to the library or a village elder in order to get the answers to the difficult questions. Now, you can simply type a few things into your computer or voice-dictate something into your phone, and you get more information than you could possibly ever want or need. The problem with that is there’s no way to assure that the information you’re getting is accurate. There is also technology that can create a whole array of spoofs and deep fakes that sow even more confusion.

A Break In the Case

My feelings toward Tomas have seen more back-and-forth action than the ball in one of Vernon’s squash matches. At times I’ve tolerated him, rooted for him, been indifferent toward him, and flat-out hated him. Now, I’ve added a new sentiment to my Tomoji list. That’s Tomas+emoji, in case you are wondering what on earth I am talking about. What’s the feeling? I’m calling it “color me impressed.”

I was shocked and amazed when Tomas offered to help Naomi sift through the Internet search history of the woman suing Madison. For the first time in a long time, he seemed like a normal human being. More than that, it was also the first time in a long time that he actually did some lawyering. I’m sure there were ulterior motives, but I will get to that in a bit.

Naomi was absolutely certain that she had come up with a winning strategy, but Tomas warned Noami that finding some questionable searches wasn’t enough to provide a smoking gun. I’m glad Naomi listened to Tomas because he was absolutely right. Once Tomas came up with a new approach, it changed what they were looking for. They no longer wanted evidence that the woman searched for nontraditional medical advice. What they needed was something that showed her lawsuit was bogus. And they found it. The plaintiff made a statement online that doctors are all quacks and that none of their medical advice should be followed.

It’s All Research, Your Honor – I Swear!

Just a really quick aside before continuing on to Tomas and his questionable motives. The number of weird things that I have had to search for over the years due to their presence in soap storylines undoubtedly has me on some sort of list. For example, not that long ago I did a search on this mystery poison that Hayley has been pouring into Bill’s beverages. Hey AlexaSiriGoogle! Are there lethal poisons that are undetectable in bloodwork?

Some of my past searches have included seeking the locations of abandoned mine shafts were bodies could be disposed of, directions to create a weather machine that could freeze the world, how to perform an exorcism, whether or not it is common for one woman to sleep with all of the men in a family, and what sort of mental illness claim will allow someone to get away with multiple murders while I walk around making strange clicking noises. Okay, that last list of searches isn’t really in my browser history – but bonus points if you know what each of them refer to!

Tomas or No Más?

My praise of Tomas was short-lived because, well, I just don’t trust him. His sudden desire to be a team player came after Hayley warned him that Naomi would take away everything he worked so hard to attain. Was Tomas buying what Hayley was selling, or was it enough to make him see that he needed a new approach? It’s more than likely a little from Column A and a little from Column B.

My counterpoint to Hayley’s planted doubt would be that Noami very, very quickly made sure that Bill knew that Tomas was the one who’d made finding the so-called smoking gun possible. If she were really trying to discredit and get rid of Tomas, she would have kept quiet and allowed her dad to heap praise upon her. Will Tomas have the wherewithal to realize that? Probably not.

I agree that it’s probably only a matter of time before Naomi does join the Hamilton and Associates practice. But two things can be true at the same time. She can join the practice and not be a threat to Tomas’ job. I think it is delusional for Tomas to think that he is the heir apparent to the law firm. Even though he’s the only other lawyer we see, I’d have to imagine that there are plenty of other attorneys wandering around just out of sight. Even if he were the only one, if Bill were to retire or pass away, I’d still think that Naomi would be the one to take over the practice because she’s both his actual heir and an attorney.

Out Of Order In the Court

If that sneaky little Internet entry does result in the case against Madison being tossed, that means that once again there will be no reason to show us the inside of a courtroom. I know things have changed since the pandemic, but are virtual hearings commonplace now? Every aspect of Madison’s case so far has involved legal proceedings that have been done remotely.

Uptown Girl

With her red market closing up shop, there really seemed to be no reason for Heather to stick around the DMV. Yeah, there’s the whole obsession thing with Andre, but I can’t see Heather turning her life upside-down to chase after some penis. As it turns out, Heather now has something new to fixate on: Uptown.

Heather swooped in and made the owner an offer he couldn’t refuse and bim, bam, boom, she’s got herself a restaurant and bar. Not only does it give her a perch to watch over everyone, but it means that she is once again Grayson’s boss.

I honestly didn’t see this coming. Normally, there would have been some sort of tease – a  “for sale” sign in the background or Grayson casually mentioning to a patron that the restaurant was on the market. Here, though, there was no warning. That seems to be the norm where Heather is concerned. From her arrival to her obsession with Andre to becoming a restaurateur, this woman flies by the seat of her designer pants.

She’s getting tired of her high class toys

Still, I can’t see Heather sticking around for the long haul. From the feedback I’ve received, nearly everyone seems to think that Joey is going to “handle” his sister. Joey even made mention to the possibility that he might have to “hurt” Heather. And that’s exactly why I don’t think Joey will commit sororicide. I had to look up that term, so add it to the list of things that will land me on a government watch list.

There are already quite a few people in town with at least a piece of a motive to want to see Heather meet her maker. Her connection to Andre is still a secret, so I don’t see her life coming to an end before that little nugget gets exposed. Plus, there are still a few more characters that need a little stronger reason to want to impale her. On top of that, no one (other than Joey) knows that Heather is the Impaler. Once that secret is revealed, we will need to start one of those Doomsday clocks that counts down the time until Heather is the subject of a whodunnit.

The Eye In The Sky

One of the people that still needs a little more motive to be considered a suspect in Heather’s theoretical murder is Smitty. Until now, he looked like someone who might fall victim to Heather Armstrong. Now, though, he is under investigation for possibly being involved in Lia’s death… which could give him reason to want to lash out at Heather. Of course, that will first require him to realize that Heather is the Impaler.

It might not be too long before someone makes the connection. Isn’t it odd that the video of Smitty and Max having a meeting turned up around the same time that Heather bought Uptown? It seems safe to assume that Heather inherited the same AI video editing gene as her brother. That probably means that Joey will be the first to figure out that Heather is setting up Smitty. Smitty also seems to suspect that the video is fake. He asked that it be analyzed to look for any anomalies.

It’s interesting that this story popped up just as the public is learning about all of the real-world dangers that AI poses. Lest we forget, Beyond the Gates tapes a little more than three months ahead of airdate, and the storylines are created weeks to months before that. Timing, as they say, is everything – even if it is coincidental.

I Became Part of the Story

It is weird to me that Uptown has video cameras above its booths that also record sound. Actually, it’s creepy and a total invasion of privacy. When you leave the house, you have to realize that you are giving up your right to privacy. It seems like every house has a doorbell camera and most businesses have cameras. But there is a big difference between being filmed when you enter the door of an establishment and having the entirety of your sit-down meal recorded with full video and audio.

I’ve added another questionable entry to my Google search history: Is it legal to record someone’s conversation in a restaurant without telling them in Washington, D.C.? I also ran the search for Maryland, since I am not entirely sure where Uptown is located. The short answer is: No, it is not legal. Maryland is an “all-party consent state” and D.C., requires the consent of at least one person involved.

The difference between Uptown and, say, Orphey Gene’s is that you expect that June will blab your business at Orphey Gene’s. If you don’t want that, you either don’t go or show up on a day when June isn’t working.

Smile! You’re On Candid Camera

But back to the video of Max and Smitty, I am pretty sure that the video had its date imprint doctored. The conversation sounded like it took place when Max was still in the red market operation. He talked about a meeting he had with “the boss” and needing to “get out.” A few days before Lia’s death, Max was out. He was in Witness Protection.

In spite of all this evidence, it seems to be a given that Smitty is going to be blamed for Lia’s death. Whether he gets jailed or ends up the lead story on the 11 o’clock news, I don’t know. It will be interesting to see how the news of Smitty’s “involvement” – and I use quotes because I don’t believe Smitty was involved – in Lia’s death impacts Martin’s congressional campaign. I am trying to think about how I  would react if the spouse of someone running for office was implicated in wrongdoing. I don’t think it would make me change my opinion of the candidate unless there was evidence that the candidate was complicit.

If this does tank Martin’s campaign, it would most definitely land him on the ballot as a candidate for killing Heather Armstrong. Ditto for Samantha and Tyrell. I would even add June to the list. She’d do anything to protect her kids, and if someone did something to hurt Samantha and Tyrell’s dads… Plus, when everyone learns that Heather is the Impaler, June will realize that she had a good ol’ fashioned tea spilling conversation with the enemy.

LSD: The Origin Story

Leslie has been written as the villain since week one of Season One of Beyond the Gates. Whether you like the character or hate her, there’s no denying that she’s done some very top tier villainy in her time in the DMV.

I know Beyond the Gates is a soap opera, a work of fiction. For me, though, part of watching any form of entertainment is to trying to understand a character’s motive. Why did Vivienne become a hooker in Pretty Woman? Why did Hannibal Lecter enjoy munching on people? And, yes, why is Dana Leslie Thomas – LSD (Leslie/Sherry/Dana), for short – acting the way she does?

The easy answer is that she’s crazy or a horrible person. But I think there’s more to it. The show has just started to scratch the surface of this mystery. To be clear, I am not defending Leslie’s actions. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of things.

It seems that her horrible behavior has to do with losing two people that she feels should have loved her unconditionally through the end of time: Barbara Mitchell and Ted Richardson. Even though Leslie didn’t know who her mother was until recently, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s grown up wondering how her mother could just give her away. As for Ted, she’s probably transposing a lot of what she feels about her mom onto him. How could a man that claimed to love her, a man that gave her a child, simply walk away?

The Facts of LSD

I don’t typically repeat myself, but considering how controversial and disliked Leslie is, I think it bears repeating: I do not condone Leslie’s behavior or actions. Am I amused by her from time to time? Absolutely. Do I like that she blew up Ted and Nicole’s marriage? Nope. Do I like how she was dismissive of Anita’s cancer battle? Not at all.

Why am I going into all of this? It was a really fascinating moment to see Leslie, a woman with limitless outlandish antics, put all of that on pause to ask Marcel Malone why he liked her. Marcel knows that Leslie is a handful. Several, actually. He knows she is still fixated/obsessed with Ted. He’s heard her loud and clear when she’s said that she wants to keep things casual. Still, he wants to be with her.

Everyone else in Leslie’s life, with the exception of Eva, has been chased away by her behavior. Yet, here is this man sticking around in spite of all of that. Is he just a glutton for punishment or does Marcel see something redeeming stashed away deep inside Leslie’s cold, twisted heart. I mean, the man is a detective, so finding hidden things is kind of what he does.

Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast

One of the complaints I see most often is that the Duprees seem to be impotent when it comes to handling Leslie. They are supposed to be this big, powerful family and somehow Leslie runs circles around them. It’s almost as if they are a little too worried about decorum and turning the other cheek.

Maybe that’s why I really, really enjoyed watching Shanice take down Leslie at Orphey’s Gene’s on the Tuesday, September 15, episode – all as Marcel looked on. Shanice strolled into the diner and sat down without so much as an invitation. She then tore into Leslie for “flaunting [her] fixation” with Ted in Marcel’s face. Leslie tried to silence Shanice, but it didn’t work. Shanice questioned why Leslie would chase after a man who “literally” hasn’t wanted her “in decades.” She even tossed in a mocking Ted-dee for good measure. Shanice warned Leslie that she risked losing her whatevership with Marcel because a “proud, successful, eligible Black man” was not going to waste his time “competing with the ghost of an affair.”

When Leslie turned to Marcel to get him to do something or say something, she was not prepared for him to admit that Shanice was making a lot of sense.

Lucky in Life, Unlucky In Death

Last week, I compared Hayley to Wile E. Coyote. This week she came across more like an impatient child just before Christmas. Christmas, in this case, is Bill’s death. She has made tentative arrangements for her belongings to be shipped to St. Barts the minute Bill drops dead.

Even though she is getting sloppy, it’s crazy how so many things are still falling into place to cover Hayley’s behind. For example, when Bill dropped by the casino to ask Joey what he knew about Hayley and Sammy/Randy’s friendship. We were moments away from finger-sucking Randy being linked to Lynette… but we never got there. Instead, we got waylaid by whether or not Randy and Mona are a couple.

Randy and Hayley’s friendship would be super suspicious by any measure, but somehow Hayley has been able to explain it all away. Bill seems to totally believe that she and Randy had become fast friends because he helped her when she suffered her miscarriage. Hayley even had a somewhat logical reason for why she trusted a stranger to take her to the hospital instead of Dani. Hayley claimed that she worried that Dani would kick her out on the side of the road while en route to the hospital. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but there is enough history between Dani and Hayley to almost believe that Hayley thought that could happen.

Gone Fishin’

Maybe Caroline will have better luck uncovering Hayley’s lies. She is definitely on a mission to get to the bottom of things for her boss. I’m not sure if Hayley will pick up on what Caroline’s really up to or not. If she does catch wind of things being off, I fully expect Hayley to have another lie in place to put an abrupt end to Caroline’s fishing expedition.

Caroline had better hurry because Bill is now convinced that he’s dying. He’s not wrong. His hand is shaking more violently than before and he’s now even unable to type out a text message. But you know what he’s able to do? Drive across town to Dani’s house.

For the life of me I don’t know why Bill thinks showing up unannounced at Dani’s place is a good idea. I suppose Dani has been sending mixed signals. Still, you don’t just show up. Dani didn’t respond to his texts and voicemail messages for a reason. Bill’s behavior is bordering on stalker at this point.

All of this does make me wonder if Bill has any clue that Hayley is responsible for his health issues. You’d think that if he knew he was being poisoned he’d do something to stop it, right? Maybe in his warped and twisted mind he thinks it’s some sort of penance for how he treated Dani. I don’t understand how men’s brains work and I’m one of them.

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.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

If you follow me on social media or have ever stumbled across one of my non-soap posts, you’ll know that I am a big-time gardener. Big. Huge! My ears perked up when Anita revealed that there is a Fairmont Crest Garden Club. How does one become a part of this club? Is there a residency requirement? I’ve been sneaking into Fairmont Crest for nearly two years in order to write this column and, so far, no one has noticed. I can’t imagine the Garden Club checks ID before granting membership, so I should be home free, right?

Is it just me or did Anita seem less-than-thrilled about having to attend the club’s most recent meeting? Anita doesn’t strike me as a gardener. I’m sure she loves flowers, but I think the whole hands in the dirt thing is where she’d lose interest. I’d be more than happy to serve as her proxy if it makes her life a little easier.

Quick Takes

Tyrell has been gone all of three-point-six seconds and Samantha already has plans to take over his bedroom. What is it, Greenland?

I don’t think Kat has any plans to make a move on Izaiah, but I’m sure she loves the attention that she gets from Izaiah. Plus, I’m pretty sure Kat loves how much her friendship with Izaiah annoys Eva.

Of all the people in the DMV to give the new ChelseaKat bag to, Darlene Hawthorne wouldn’t be at the top of my list. If Kat really wanted to generate buzz, I’m sure there was an influencer or girlfriend of a mover-and-shaker that she could have given it to.

According to the Gospel of George Michael, sex is natural… sex is good. But do Dani and Andre do anything other than have sex?

BTG: Behind the Graphic

Wondering what the art for this week’s column is all about? There’s no need to corrupt your search history, I have the answers!

The tooth fairy was mentioned by Leslie when Eva suggested that her mom could try to befriend the Articulettes. The apple was given to Jacob by his mother because Darlene knew he wasn’t eating. The purple pouch is what is getting Smitty in trouble. And the milkshake had several mentions — one tawdry and one not.

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 don’t want anything toxic to destroy our marriage.”
Hayley, telling Bill that she was still fully committed to their marriage.

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“Leslie is gonna Leslie.”
Shanice

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“Stalker, much?”
Nicole of Heather’s slinking and lurking everywhere at all times.

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“And maybe the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny rabbit will invite me to tea.”
Leslie, when Eva suggested that Leslie might be able to turn the Articulettes project into some sort of new friendships.

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“The older you get the faster time flies.”
Samantha quoting her great-grandmother and telling the absolute truth.

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“Are you sure a squash ball didn’t hit you upside your head?”
Martin when Vernon said that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Martin lost reelection.

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.

Here is what some other viewers had to say about Dani and Andre’s constant sexing:

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. Liz is on deck with week with a new column called, Dial K For Killow.

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

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