Beyond the Gates: Daily Episode Discussion

[michelec]

On 4/11/2025 at 10:33 PM, drivethroo said:

We know both Kat and Chelsea are over 21 years old because both of them have been hanging out in that Uptown bar (and Eva's been at the bar too).

Chelsea is 23 per Dani's exposition scene with Vanessa in the premiere episode. I would imagine Kat is maybe a year or so older/younger.

On 4/12/2025 at 4:51 PM, AnimeMania said:

I see it as the opposite, that fact that Samantha doesn't want to listen to anything that Dani wants to say to her makes me think that she is wanting to having fun more than to learn what it really takes to be a professional model. If I were her Dads I would make Dani be her manager and spend all her time learning everything before ever letting her take her first gig.

I feel like everything Chelsea told Samantha went in one ear and out the other. Dani would be a better manager IMO, because I feel like she would take a drill sergeant approach which is what Samantha needs.

 

4 hours ago, mbluecpa said:

I really liked Friday’s scenes with Ted and Andre, as both the writing and the actors did a good job of building some tension without dragging it out. I know I’m jaded from years of soap watching but I fully expected an interruption followed by multiple other ‘false alarm’ reveal scenes over the coming weeks.  And in a way it was really two confessions in one: both the affair/pregnancy and the blackmail.

I was shocked the the confession happened so quickly. Most shows rely too much on fakeouts, so this was refreshing.

We'll see how strong Doug's resolve is in giving up gambling, but at least he recognizes it's a problem.

[TiffanyNichelle]

1 hour ago, michelec said:

I feel like everything Chelsea told Samantha went in one ear and out the other. Dani would be a better manager IMO, because I feel like she would take a drill sergeant approach which is what Samantha needs.

That's why Martin should have said the only way Samantha could try modeling is with Dani as her manager. Dani would take all the fun out of it and Samantha would most likely drop the whole thing, the way Martin wants.

[ByaNose]

I’m not feeling My Two Dads. They are so boring. Maybe, it’s the 30 year old daughter. LOL!!!!! Break them up. Smitty can be shady reporter and Martin can have his nightmare which I’m dying to know what they’re about. Strangling them with teenagers was a horrible decision. IMO!!!!!

Shanice is such a fun character. While she’s the hospital gossip she actually seems to very smart and goes into nurse mode without batting an eye. She’s very well written. I liked that Eva was snooping but Shanice was shutting her down. There’s only room for one gossip at the hospital and it’s Shanice. 

Speaking of Eva I like that they aren’t making totally clueless about her mother. She has the pieces of the puzzle but she needs time to put them together. Ambyr Michelle was a real find and has such a unique look which makes you notice her. I think my favorite scenes are between Eva & Kat. They are on fire. 

[Sake614]

I don’t get all the hoopla about Tajah Jackson (Samantha). Jaden Miller (Tyrell ) is 20 not 16. And if either of these kids are going to be series regulars, they need adult actors because of child labor laws. YMMV but I think Tajah is very believable as a 16 year old. In fact I didn’t even know her age until it became a thing here and on Twitter. Adults have been playing teens for 30+ years and no one batted an eye. 

[drivethroo]

55 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

Adults have been playing teens for 30+ years and no one batted an eye. 

Weren't the actors who portrayed Andrea and Dylan on 90210 in their late 20s/early 30s?  I think the only actors on that show that were the same age as they were portraying were David and Donna.

Plus Gen Z looks old, as did their grandparents/great grandparents, The Boomers. Ever look at a 1950s-1960s year book?  Everyone looked 35 years old.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E34: Monday, April 14, 2025

[Kerri]

Behind, I've just missed Friday's. But re Dana caring about anyone- Dana is a sociopath. She doesn't care about anyone but herself, including her daughter. I think she has manipulated Eva for years. 

Certainly doesn't care about Laura or Mona. I think Laura is only alive bc Dana didn't think outright killing her was necessary. I think her 'friendship' with those women is strategic, to get info and to pass as a normal person with a life.

Other - really disappointed they're pursuing this twin modeling thing. All the twin stuff is tedious. As is Martin. 

I actually would have found Dani returning to modeling would've been more interesting. 

[ShadowHunter]

Beyond the Febreze lol. I know they have to do what they have to do but that conversation between Nicole and Anita felt so unnatural. I did laugh though.

[Rodney]

Didn't need the Febreze product placement at the top of the hour.

So today's Kat's birthday.  Yes, I remember the show's Wiki saying that her birthday is on April 14, so that tracks.  Her birthday is the day before my mother's.  And I'm shocked that she only wanted family there.  She has no friends outside of the family?

What is pont neuf, though?

Kat was once against cute with Tomas.  And if I'm reading between the lines of her metaphors to Chelsea, it sounds like she's considering having sex with him.

Oh, boy.  Hayley's probably pregnant?!

I was wondering in Martin would come since Kat is his sister.  Glad to see that he did.  Sorry that Smitty didn't.

Of course Eva showing up ruins Kat's birthday.  And she makes the mistake of trashing her to Tomas?  Yeah, Kat was justified in throwing her out, no matter what Nicole might think.

Tamara really does have a good singing voice!

I thought that it was kind of adorable that Dana/Leslie wanted to spend some time with Eva and have a picnic with her.  At least she realizes how much she's stifling her life.  But Eva admitted that she chose to commit herself to the plan, which was mature of her.  I missed what made Eva angry all over again, though, and make her storm out.  But the ending of their scenes was adorable.  I hope that this makes some people rethink Dana/Leslie being a sociopath, because I don't see her doing that for Eva if she were one.

So Vernon's dad founded Fairmont Crest.  Interesting.  At least after hearing Vernon's story, Dani put her own problems into perspective.  And it sounds like she heard of the new charity that Anita and Vernon started for her.

More great Bill/Naomi scenes.  I see that Naomi is starting to let up on Bill.  But she's reluctant because of her case.  Liked the Jacob/Naomi scenes, too.  But in the end, Naomi took herself off the case, much to my surprise.

Dani is still drinking.  Hoo boy.

Yet another good episode.

[michelec]

28 minutes ago, Rodney said:

So Vernon's dad founded Fairmont Crest.  Interesting.

Maybe for next Black History Month BTG could air a Paul Cheeks Dupree origin episode. That would be cool.

I think Hayley always wanted a baby but said she didn't to keep Bill happy.

Don't think this is the end of Naomi's harassment lawsuit. I saw Bill grabbing Mike by the collar in the weekly preview, so Mike will probably say or do something that blows up the peace.

Eva, I like you, but you don't talk trash about the birthday party guest of honor within earshot of everyone. Also, bad call on Nicole's part for asking Eva to stay, knowing how much Kat hates her.

Dani stays messy. That is all.

[One Tough Cookie]

5 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

Beyond the Febreze lol. I know they have to do what they have to do but that conversation between Nicole and Anita felt so unnatural. I did laugh though.

I almost pissed myself.  The mighty Matriarch Anita Dupre doing a Febreze commercial. PLEASE.

Haven't finished today's episode, but someone needs to 5150 Eva's mother IMMEDIATELY.  She's bat shit crazy and not too stable.  And I'm trying to be nice about it.

[TiffanyNichelle]

7 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

Beyond the Febreze lol. I know they have to do what they have to do but that conversation between Nicole and Anita felt so unnatural. I did laugh though.

They had me dying because I'd just said out loud, "where's Nicole's Febreze??" right before she handed it to Anita.

 

6 hours ago, michelec said:

Eva, I like you, but you don't talk trash about the birthday party guest of honor within earshot of everyone. Also, bad call on Nicole's part for asking Eva to stay, knowing how much Kat hates her.

I was firmly on Kat's side here. She doesn't like Eva no matter what Nicole wants, she shouldn't have to have Eva at her family only birthday party. And she definitely shouldn't have to hear Eva trashing her to her own boyfriend.

I was confused at how Kat's birthday is a few weeks before Eva's when I thought Eva was born first. Or that Leslie was pregnant shortly before Nicole got pregnant. Unless Eva is a year older. Though I did see some speculation on twitter that Eva could actually be Kat's twin and Leslie stole her. Now how Dr. Nicole didn't know she was pregnant with twins is beyond me but it's a soap, they could make it work.

Naomi no longer representing the women because Bill had a small health issue and now she's worried about the firm going down was annoying. If she felt that way she should have just let them take the settlement. Now they aren't going to get that and whoever will end up representing them will most likely lose.

For once I didn't hate a Hayley outfit. I notice how she got Bill being all "hell no, I said no more kids" to "maybe we could try for a boy" in a just a few scenes. She is crafty.

[Giuseppe]

I thought the editing on today's show was weird. Lots of abrupt scene cuts and weird blocking.

7 hours ago, michelec said:

Eva, I like you, but you don't talk trash about the birthday party guest of honor within earshot of everyone.

This was weird, too. They showed Kat cutting the cake with Eva and Tomas standing behind her. Then Eva started trashing Kat to Tomas without ever looking away from where Kat was sitting, yet Kat somehow sidled up beside Tomas without either of them noticing?

Also, if Eva just wanted to "chill at home" when Dana-Leslie suggested the picnic, why was she dressed like she was ready to go to a disco party? Who folds laundry in a jumpsuit? Lol.

I feel the Tomas actor has really loosened up the past several episodes. I thought he was pretty good today with Kat giving her the necklace.

32 minutes ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I was confused at how Kat's birthday is a few weeks before Eva's when I thought Eva was born first. Or that Leslie was pregnant shortly before Nicole got pregnant. Unless Eva is a year older. Though I did see some speculation on twitter that Eva could actually be Kat's twin and Leslie stole her.

I was wondering today if Kat and Eva were supposed to be the same age. Hearing that their birthdays are so close together makes me wonder if somehow Kat is Dana-Leslie's daughter and Eva is really Nicole's and someone pulled the old switcheroo for some reason.

Edited April 15 by Giuseppe

[Irlandesa]

On 4/13/2025 at 11:56 AM, mbluecpa said:

I chuckle every time I see the poker room, with three players at the table, the owner and pit boss/manager watching from six feet away and a bar that looks like it was a prize on The Price is Right in the 80s.  It stands out even more against what overall is really good set design on this show.

The mistake is calling it a casino instead of an underground poker game.  I'd easily believe a backroom environment for an underground poker game as opposed to a casino.

 

[Badsamaritan]

Whew, finally caught up (side note....I HATE when real life interrupts my soap viewing and forum commenting 😒) and I am firmly standing ten toes down that Eva and Kat are full sisters and Leslie stole Nicole and Ted's fertilized embryo and got herself implanted. I don't think there was a switch where Kat is actually Leslie's daughter, I think Leslie doesn't have any biological children, and may even be infertile. I can easily see her lying about being pregnant, thinking it would somehow keep Ted. Or, she had already stole their embryo and was pregnant with their baby. We see how comfortable she is swanning through a hospital like she works there. And, apparently she had no love at all for Alan even though he tried to raise Eva as his own. Leslie is absolutely a sociopath. She is gaslighting and manipulating Eva in order for her not to find out what she's done to Laura. I don't believe for a second she decided to throw her an early birthday because she loves Eva. Nope, it was more psychological games because Eva is her means to her end. If she felt real love for her daughter, she would have told Ted years ago about Eva so that she could have a relationship with him. But she didn't. She let Eva grow into adulthood and sucked her into her schemes. So I never see actual parent/child love in the scenes between Leslie and Eva, because Leslie is not capable of that kind of love. 

It's nonsense that Chelsea agreed to be Samantha's manager, considering she's trying to start her own fashion line. And I agree with whoever above that said Martin should tell Samantha she can model, but Dani will be her manager, not Chelsea. Let's see how bad she really wants in the game.

I expected that teens/young adults would start appearing on canvas the closer we get to summer, so now I'm wondering if we're gonna see Vanessa and Doug's twins soon. 

Hayley is too dumb to be anybody's mother. She is one of the last people on canvas that should procreate. I'm including Derek and Ashley in that group too because, just between Hayley and Derek, I don't think their brains generate enough power to light a Christmas tree bulb. I look in their eyes and there's absolutely nothing behind them. Just a hamster on a wheel. 🤷🏽‍♀️

And, since it can never be said enough - Bill and Hayley are trash, and I loved how the club staff treated them, I don't care. I hope they keep it up and it becomes this running thing. They deserve so much worse, GO THE FUCK SOMEWHERE ELSE. 😒

Edited April 15 by Badsamaritan

[AnimeMania]

S01.E35: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

[Rodney]

So Naomi's referring the case to someone else because she loves Bill and doesn't want to lose him from her life, after all, by facing him in court.  Bill had to do a lot of digging and maneuvering to get her to finally admit that.

Whoa.  Bill fired Mike?!  Didn't see that coming!

I'm surprised that Jacob wasn't more suspicious of Andre turning down meeting a maternity nurse when he ran off to meet Dani.  But Andre was so sweet to Dani when he found her drunk.  But it's clearly getting worse.

Is this the first time we've seen Dani's actual bedroom?

Jacob and Naomi are adorable together.  But I wish that we could see more of their place.  Not just their bedroom.

Doug is actually making an effort to avoid gambling, especially after he nearly botched that surgery.  And as such, he's taking on more surgeries to make the money to pay off Joey.  But Randy's right that quitting an addiction cold turkey rarely works.  Let's see how long it likes.

I'm glad that Martin and Smitty know the full truth about Tyrell's bullying.  But at this point, Tyrell's the wrong one here by wanting to endure it.  His dads stepping in is just what he needs.  Though it's interesting that only Tyrell gets the "charity case" bullying, but not Samantha.  Odd that Smitty wanted to let Tyrell handle it.

Why is Vanessa so determined that Diego spots for Doug?  At least he seemed more concerned for Vanessa and less possessive of her today.

Decent episode today.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Rodney said:

So Naomi's referring the case to someone else because she loves Bill and doesn't want to lose him from her life, after all, by facing him in court.  Bill had to do a lot of digging and maneuvering to get her to finally admit that.

I really liked Naomi in the beginning but the past few weeks have made me think less of her.  She agrees to take on the case for her clients, talks them out of a settlement (twice I think), one of which was actually a good one in my opinion, and now she's abandoning them because she think her dad might have a health issue? 

Not impressed.

Martin might be in the right mindset but I get why Tyrell didn't want to listen to him.  Martin sounded very judgey of his son.  I kind of get why Smitty wanted to let Tyrell handle things, especially at that age. 

Does anyone else think they wanted to do a sexting story but weren't allowed which is why we now have this blander underwear story?

[One Tough Cookie]

57 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Martin sounded very judgey of his son.  I kind of get why Smitty wanted to let Tyrell handle things, especially at that age.

Martin always acts like has a stick up his ass.

 

59 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Does anyone else think they wanted to do a sexting story but weren't allowed which is why we now have this blander underwear story?

/dead/

[Rodney]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

Martin might be in the right mindset but I get why Tyrell didn't want to listen to him.  Martin sounded very judgey of his son.  I kind of get why Smitty wanted to let Tyrell handle things, especially at that age.

This might sound crazy, but I actually sided with Martin on an issue for the first time ever since this show started.  While Smitty had a point in leting Tyrell handle it, sometimes letting someone that age "handle" bullying isn't the right choice.  It might get worse and escalate, which is clearly what Martin fears for Tyrell.

I can relate, because in seventh grade, I could be made to cry very easily and was bullied relentlessly by this awful group of boys because of it.  But I endured it because I felt like going to my parents wouldn't help.  But it just escalated and got worse, especially from one boy who was a latecomer to that group of boys and, probably desperate to belong with them, gave it to me worse than any of them.  I finally broke when, again trying to make me cry, the boy in question just casually made a threat to kill me, and I went to my principal about it, and he was so horrified by that, he expelled the boy.  He had to go to a local German school the next year.  The best thing about the whole thing was that the other boys were so spooked by what happened to him, they left me completely alone in eighth grade, so that ended up being a pretty peaceful year for me.

TL;DR, trying to handle it has risks of escalation, so I get why Martin wants to put a stop to it personally.

Edited April 15 by Rodney

[JAYJAY1979]

The Dani/Andre scenes were unneccessary.  She's on too much.

The Vanessa/Diego scenes would have been better if Hayley caught sight of the two going into a room together and she put two and two together.  She then could use that to get Vanessa to support her being at the country club.  Would be something new and continue the quest of Hayley merging into Fairview Crest.

Bill and Naomi had great scenes together.  I've always thought Chelsea would be the tough nut to crack since she had to deal with Dani's emotional abuse.

Mike being fired was a nice surprise and I'm curious to see the fall out.

Why are Tyrell/Samantha getting stories and airtime?  They should be on the backburner till summer.

I'm noticing background music is slowly being worked into the show.

[Badsamaritan]

20 minutes ago, Rodney said:

This might sound crazy, but I actually sided with Martin on an issue for the first time ever since this show started.  While Smitty had a point in leting Tyrell handle it, sometimes letting someone that age "handle" bullying isn't the right choice.  It might get worse and escalate, which is clearly what Martin fears for Tyrell.

I can relate, because in seventh grade, I could be made to cry very easily and was bullied relentlessly by this awful group of boys because of it.  But I endured it because I felt like going to my parents wouldn't help.  But it just escalated and got worse, especially from one boy who was a latecomer to that group of boys and, probably desperate to belong with them, gave it to me worse than any of them.  I finally broke when, again trying to make me cry, the boy in question just casually made a threat to kill me, and I went to my principal about it, and he was so horrified by that, he expelled the boy.  He had to go to a local German school the next year.  The best thing about the whole thing was that the other boys were so spooked by what happened to him, they left me completely alone in eighth grade, so that ended up being a pretty peaceful years to me.

TL;DR, trying to handle it has risks of escalation, so I get why Martin wants to put a stop to it personally.

I kind of agree with Martin too. What we the audience already know is that Tyrell isn't really handling it, he's reading the comments obsessively, which Samantha tried to get him to stop doing, but he keeps doing it. I also sensed some misplaced anger at them when he talked about being teased for being adopted, so I don't think he's handling this well at all. I would hate if they waited too late, past the point of escalation. It already feels like they're dangerously close because we haven't seen Tyrell do anything to deal with it, either directly with the bullies or honestly talking about it with his dads. Instead, he hid it. He's only 17, his prefrontal cortex isn't thinking clearly, and that's to be expected. This is where the hard parenting comes in. 

I wouldn't mind seeing Tyrell seek out his grandmother, she is a therapist after all. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Rodney]

4 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Would be something new and continue the quest of Hayley merging into Fairview Crest.

Fairmont Crest.😉

Edited April 16 by Rodney

[Giuseppe]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Martin sounded very judgey of his son.

He sounds judge-y with everyone he speaks to. It's like his voice is stuck in Lecture mode, lol.

I don't know if different breakdown writers are responsible for different scenes, but I've found the dialogue in Naomi and Bill's scenes to be really sharp. I've enjoyed watching their verbal sparring.

Still wish they'd tighten up the editing. Sometimes it almost seems like conversations are being cut off mid-sentence to transition to the next scene. 

[AnimeMania]

It shouldn't be that hard to solve Tyrell's problem, it would be obvious to tell that he didn't take the picture himself (selfie) so somebody taking pictures of kids while they are changing is a very serious problem that no school would want to have, so just pointing that out to the school authorities that this is happening should be enough to get them to vigorously deter anyone who might try to take one of those pictures.

[michelec]

12 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

I don't know if different breakdown writers are responsible for different scenes, but I've found the dialogue in Naomi and Bill's scenes to be really sharp. I've enjoyed watching their verbal sparring.

Their scenes were the highlight of the episode for me because it made their history very believable. I could visualize Naomi as a little girl peppering Bill with questions at the dinner table, shadowing him at the office as an intern, etc. The law is a unique bond that the two of them will always share.

[ShadowHunter]

I am glad and surprised Bill fired Mike. I also liked the reaction Bill had when Naomi told him she loved him. I really felt how much it meant to him. 

I have to echo a problem though personally for me Dani is on too much.

[Kerri]

Just watched Friday's ep. I really think they should just lean into the obviousness and comedy of the Febreze, break the fourth wall with some kind of wink to the audience, like 30 Rock used to do when they were mimicking placements. 

They could really lean into the humour with it, and/or they could also change it up and do it in way that is some kind of homage to the original soaps and the ads.  

I mean if they have to do it, I'm sure they could find a way to be creative with it. 

 

Edited April 16 by cleo

[drivethroo]

17 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

so I don't think he's handling this well at all. I would hate if they waited too late, past the point of escalation.

I see a "thug" storyline for Tyrell...not that he's a thug but sometimes Black kids from affluent backgrounds feel they need to cosplay a  "thug" or "hard" to fit in with the other Black kids. Martin & Smitty have the twins in DC public schools so they would be grounded but maybe it's time they pull them out and put them in private school instead.

17 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

She then could use that to get Vanessa to support her being at the country club.  Would be something new and continue the quest of Hayley merging into Fairview Crest.

That still wouldn't help Hayley because she's still the homewrecker that broke up Dani's marriage, even if she threatened to blackmail Vanessa.  I doubt Vanessa would even care if Hayley exposed her. 

17 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Mike being fired was a nice surprise and I'm curious to see the fall out.

Mike brought a lot of business to the firm and probably knows a lot of Bill's dirt so this could be the origin of Mike's Supervillain story.

I want Mike to stay on as a villain.

22 hours ago, Rodney said:

Why is Vanessa so determined that Diego spots for Doug? 

To let Diego know she might be sleeping with him but she's still spoken for.

On 4/14/2025 at 10:23 PM, TiffanyNichelle said:

I was confused at how Kat's birthday is a few weeks before Eva's when I thought Eva was born first. Or that Leslie was pregnant shortly before Nicole got pregnant. Unless Eva is a year older. Though I did see some speculation on twitter that Eva could actually be Kat's twin and Leslie stole her. Now how Dr. Nicole didn't know she was pregnant with twins is beyond me but it's a soap, they could make it work.

Eva could be Kat's twin if Nicole underwent IVF and Dana stole one of the embryos and had herself implanted.

Or Nicole could actually have not known she was carrying twins if Dana was one of the nurses attending to Nicole's care and she altered some records.

44 minutes ago, cleo said:

Just watched Friday's ep. I really think they should just lean into the obviousness and comedy of the Febreze, break the fourth wall with some kind of wink to the audience,

LOL they could have Dani visiting Nicole, Nicole spraying the Febreze and Dani asking why is Nicole always spraying Febreze, does her house stink and Nicole replying she just likes the scent of Febreze Whipped Warm Sugar and Dani shrugging and saying "Well maybe I'll try it".  LOL

[AnimeMania]

S01.E36: Wednesday, April 16, 2025

[Rodney]

I can't offer up anything for today until later tonight, because Utica's CBS affiliate apparently thought that ten inmates getting arraigned for the death of another inmate was more important than the show.

WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LOCKED-UP DREGS OF SOCIETY, LOCAL NEWS!

[ShadowHunter]

Glad Bill stuck to his guns and kicked Mike out. When Mike started to go in on Naomi and Bill grabbed him I liked it lol. This was actually the most I have enjoyed Bill.  What I do not enjoy is the Triangle. 

Those bangs on Pamela are awful. 

I think Martin and Smitty both made right and wrong points about Tyrell being bullied. 

Jacob holding the pillow and sniffing the clean while the bottle of Tide was in the basket 😂🤣

 

[AnimeMania]

That in-story Tide commercial was brutal, who gets up in the middle of the morning/night/day off/??? to wash one pillow case. They hardly had anything in the laundry basket, all their other clothes must be dry-clean only. They should really try harder to write their product placement into the story line. It is not that hard.

Tyrell's dads are so focused on the bullying when they should be more concerned about students taking and posting pictures of each other while changing in the locker room, they might have realized that if Tyrell was a girl.

Cut the time of all the praise and pep talks speeches in half and push in more story lines per episode, everybody has character stories that they find more interesting than others and that might keep them hooked. Does it really take that much encouragement for Dani Dupree to become "full of yourself"?

[Elizabeth233]

Dani was right about everything she said to hayley but hayley is too stupid to listen.I hope this girl isn't pregnant.I also enjoyed Dani and Pamela friendship.

I actually think Martin is right to try to get the school involved with the bullying although understandable why Tyrell won't be happy about it at all.

[JAYJAY1979]

41 minutes ago, Elizabeth233 said:

Dani was right about everything she said to hayley but hayley is too stupid to listen.I hope this girl isn't pregnant.I also enjoyed Dani and Pamela friendship.

I actually think Martin is right to try to get the school involved with the bullying although understandable why Tyrell won't be happy about it at all.

And yet I'm team Hayley and not team Dani.  Who you cast and how they choose to play a part is key.

Cady is still molding the Pamela character...and I like the snooty modeling agent vibe she tried today.

I hate to say this, but I think I prefer the awkwardness of Derek and Ashley over Dani.

[One Tough Cookie]

6 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

I have to echo a problem though personally for me Dani is on too much

and she's a bad actress.

 

5 hours ago, drivethroo said:

see a "thug" storyline for Tyrell...not that he's a thug but sometimes Black kids from affluent backgrounds feel they need to cosplay a  "thug" or "hard" to fit in with the other Black kids.

I worked in a high school and some black kids would come in dressed like "thugs" and found most of them, just like any teen agers, altho we did have some bad apples, black AND white. And we had kids come in their PJs too.  School ain't what it used to be!

eta:  I lol'd right out loud at the TIDE plug.  Who keeps laundry detergent in their bedroom? Not too subtle.

Edited April 16 by One Tough Cookie

[Rodney]

Okay!  Watched on Paramount+.

I'm also glad that Bill stuck to his guns in firing Mike.  And taking his clients and splitting them up among the other partners was smart.  But I'm surprised that he didn't at least give him a recommendation for another firm.  Though I guess that he ruined any chance of that by trashing Hayley and starting to trash Naomi.  Damn, he was scary in that moment!

I liked Jacob and Naomi's scenes once again.  Naomi feels conflicted about Bill, and Jacob did a good job in helping her deal with those mixed emotions.  But she still hates Hayley, though Jacob's right that if she reconciles with Bill, then she'll have to deal with Hayley, too.  But hearing that bit of Hayley's history before she started her affair with Bill does make it clear why Naomi blames her more for the affair than she blames him.

I like that Andre tried to get Dani to stop drinking.  Too bad that it didn't work.

So now Nicole tells Andre about the rough patch that she and Ted faced, though Andre already knows about it.  And what his uncle did during that time.  But at least we heard more of it from Nicole's point of view.  Ted felt so bad that he nearly outed himself!  But of course, he pulled back.

I think that Martin was right to go to the principal (if that's the one with whom he met).  Hopefully, he doesn't make things work.  I get Smitty being upset about being left out at that, but at least he understood why Martin went the route that he did.

Agree that bangs don't work on Cady McClain.  But it was nice to see Pamela again.  And her idea to get Dani's fire back was a nice one.  I actually tittered when she lightly encouraged Dani to spar with Hayley again.

Dani said everything that Hayley needed to hear.  I don't get why anyone would support Hayley over Dani.

And meanwhile, Hayley still faces mistreatment from the country club staff.  But at least she finally did get an order in.  Whoever would've guessed that Dani would've stopped that?

Good episode once again.

1 hour ago, One Tough Cookie said:

and she's a bad actress.

I think that Karla's just fine in the role.  She's not bad at all.

[wonderwoman]

14 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Okay!  Watched on Paramount+

at least there are now options to watch at another time. it wasn’t all that long ago that when an episode was interrupted, that was it — gone forever.  so, i try to keep things in perspective  

 

4 hours ago, Rodney said:

I can't offer up anything for today until later tonight, because Utica's CBS affiliate apparently thought that ten inmates getting arraigned for the death of another inmate was more important than the show.

WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LOCKED-UP DREGS OF SOCIETY, LOCAL NEWS!

and for the record: it was ten guards being arraigned for the murder of an inmate. 

[Rodney]

7 minutes ago, wonderwoman said:

and for the record: it was ten guards being arraigned for the murder of an inmate. 

Hmm. . . . Still don't care.  Though that is doubly scummy if men supposedly on the side of justice did that shit.

. . . Are you in Oneida County, too?

[wonderwoman]

5 minutes ago, Rodney said:

. . Are you in Oneida County, too?

boston.

[drivethroo]

3 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

When Mike started to go in on Naomi and Bill grabbed him I liked it lol.

Did Mike think Bill would keep him on after almost calling Bill's daughter a little bi^^^?

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

That in-story Tide commercial was brutal, who gets up in the middle of the morning/night/day off/??? to wash one pillow case.

One of them spilled chocolate on the pillow and the other one was like "oh no the stain will set."

52 minutes ago, Rodney said:

And meanwhile, Hayley still faces mistreatment from the country club staff.

Hayley should not be mistreated by the country club staff but she also should stop going to the country club without Bill for right now.  Bill actually should've gone to the manager when the server blatantly dissed Hayley right in front of him.

 

[One Tough Cookie]

14 hours ago, Rodney said:

I'm also glad that Bill stuck to his guns in firing Mike.  And taking his clients and splitting them up among the other partners was smart.  But I'm surprised that he didn't at least give him a recommendation for another firm.  Though I guess that he ruined any chance of that by trashing Hayley and starting to trash Naomi.  Damn, he was scary in that moment

That guy's career is in the toilet.  I hope the severance he got will last long time, because his career is toast.

[YaddaYadda]

Hayley gets denied service at the Club, so of course she keeps going back to the Club because she's a masochist? Wants to complain about how she's getting ignored? I hope she's not pregnant, but I'm pretty sure she is.

I hate these product placements.

Cady McClain's weird accent or tone is just weird.

Mike is gross, but Bill is even worse for not doing something about him when he knew full well what Mike was about. I like how douchebags from all walks of life close ranks until it doesn't suit them anymore.

I'm don't even know how Naomie and Hayley were besties. They are just so very very different. Was Hayley Naomie's maid of honor at her wedding too?

[AnimeMania]

S01.E37: Thursday, April 17, 2025

[Rodney]

This is a landmark episode.  The first one with none of the Big Four (Anita, Vernon, Nicole, and Dani) in it.

I still think that Martin had the right idea.  But I'm not totally surprised that things only got worse for Tyrell.  But at least there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.  The now-ex-girlfriend of the guy who bullied him approached him.  And apparently, she broke up with him over his bullying of Tyrell, which shows that she is a sensible girl.  She definitely seemed to make him feel better.  Maybe Jessica's on the road to becoming his love interest.  In the end, Tyrell finally felt better enough to stop brooding and just living his life.  So no switching schools for him.

I thought that Samantha really dropped out of school.  I was relieved that she was messing with Chelsea and Kat.  But I'm glad that Kat saw through her lying that Martin was cool with her modeling.  She had a great idea of getting her to take baby steps, though, by being a featured model.  Particularly for their teen market.

Naomi's now-ex-clients had a good demand.  But Naomi was right to at least agree to help them get things started.  She stood her ground with Bill once more.  And she actually got what she wanted out of him without things getting ugly!

Ashley and Derek were just there today, but at least Derek's friend was going to be okay.

Doug nearly told Vanessa the truth today, and I think that he badly wants to.  But something held him back from doing so.  But hopefully, Vanessa at least realizes that he's not having an affair.

For an episode not featuring any of the main four characters, it was pretty good.

[ShadowHunter]

Tyrell and Jessica seemed cute so far. She seemed nice and smart for dumping the boyfriend for being a bully jerk.

The Doctor who was spying in the back hearing about Joey and talking to him about gambling I assume he might want his job. I think this might lead to something or he was just around to make the point about him ignoring Vanessa.

Ashley and Derek I just don't care at all.

I didn't mind no Dani or even Nicole. 

[AnimeMania]

Is it normal to keep your laundry detergent somewhere that isn't right next to your washing machine? Maybe I am doing it wrong?

Their behavior is closer to people who go to a laundromat.

I am glad that they picked up the pacing, Tyrell's diner scene could have been half as long, we all knew what was going to happen. Is it weird that I thought that was Samantha until she said she wasn't, now I know how people feel when they say that the men look too similar.

[drivethroo]

3 hours ago, Rodney said:

For an episode not featuring any of the main four characters, it was pretty good.

It was a good information episode. It sounds like Martin & Smitty just got those kids and it sounds like they were adopted out of foster care. So that explains a lot of the age situation.

Sounds like Martin went to public school but did Kat go to public school?

I wouldn't be surprised if Nicole & Dani also went to public school because Vernon would've wanted to show he was down with the people.

The 3 staffers are getting on my nerves. I'm glad Naomi is negotiating a settlement between them and Bill so she can wash her hands of all of them.

Samantha just wants clicks and views so I'm glad resourceful Kat devised a solution that would make everyone happy.

Shanice is going to be the one who puts 2 and 2 together on a number of storylines.

Doug is lame and I wouldn't be surprised if the eavesdropping doctor was paid by Joey to pull Doug back in.

[YaddaYadda]

I can say that the episodes have been consistently strong. I haven't been bored watching any of them. Well except for Derek and Ashley. Derek hasn't been so bad when he's away from Ashley. But Ashley is a total pill.

I liked the all-girl scene and how Kat and Chelsea are looking out for Samantha, and how they uplift each other. It's really really nice. It's a nice departure from women tearing each other down.

The Doug/Vanessa scenes were pretty good.

I caught Shanice's last name yesterday, Johnson. And it made me wonder if it's not a tribute to head nurse Epiphany Johnson, portrayed by the late Sonya Eddy. MvJ, Guza and the other one all worked with her.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

I caught Shanice's last name yesterday, Johnson. And it made me wonder if it's not a tribute to head nurse Epiphany Johnson, portrayed by the late Sonya Eddy. MvJ, Guza and the other one all worked with her.

Not sure, but the actor's real name is Ernestine Johnson, so it doesn't look like they had to work that hard to come up with a last name.