Beyond the Gates: Daily Episode Discussion

[Sake614]

1 hour ago, Crashcourse said:

I have to laugh at Anita always being in full blown makeup and jewelry and flowing hair while lounging around the house.  Now, I don't expect to see her in a ratty housecoat and slippers with her hair in curlers, but she just looks so...fake.  I'd like to see her in something more casual for a change.

Yeah it’s the same on all the soaps. I laugh when watching Y&R and seeing the women in 4 inch heels with hair and makeup and dressed for an evening out, even though it’s 9 am and they’re not going anywhere. It’s ridiculous. Thankfully other than Anita, the rest of the cast mostly dresses more casually in their own homes.

[AnimeMania]

Samantha and Jessica look exactly alike, they couldn't have found someone else for the part.

Andre could have shut down Nicole's attack by saying that he was only related to the family through Ted. That would have made Nicole rethink what Andre really means to her.

They are really going to stir up a hornet's nest when Naomi and Jacob find the people in June's photo.

[SoapDoc]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

Speaking of whom, Clifton is the only one of the Big Four of this show of whom I've never heard a single thing before this show.  What has he done?  Has he done soaps before this one?

Ironically, he's a singer as well!

Some of this background I knew because he got a Theology degree in my hometown, so he became a little more familiar. But I had to look some of his stuff up -- he wrote "Never Can Say Goodbye" and had been on Broadway (Tony-nominated).  The show I remember the most is when he was the pastor in the series with Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson) called Amen. There were others.

 

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

That ending was sad.  So it looks like the former Articulettes do still hold a grudge.

I would expect some grudge. Anita looks like she went on to be famous and make money. The others probably faded into relative obscurity. 

[Sake614]

Honestly, if I were Naomi and Jacob, I wouldn’t be anywhere near June while she’s coughing like that! It’s fairly clear this woman doesn’t want help and likes being homeless. She’s not compelling in any way, although I’m sure that photo she left behind is going to lead to a familial connection. 

Bill is an idiot. Ever hear of ‘pride goeth before a fall?’ Cause he’s gonna fall HARD pretty soon and end up in a hospital. Don’t want to tell your wife? Fine at least tell your damn doctor!

Welp, so much for an Artiqulettes reunion. At least one member of the group was none too pleased to hear from Anita. She must’ve done them real dirty when she struck out on her own. 

I don’t know if Clifton Davis was pretending to not be able to sing or if he truly can’t. But I almost hope it’s the latter because at least then he’d be just like so many of us lol! Either way it was fun watching him try for his wife’s sake 🤣

not sure how I feel about Martin inviting Eva to dinner and asking Kat to make peace with her. It hasn’t even been a week yet. Let your sister be pissed for a while before expecting her to make inroads with the woman who just helped blow up your parents marriage. Maybe she’ll come around. Maybe she won’t. But she’s entitled to her own feelings and her own timeline. 

lastly, on a shallow note, that color was all shades of wrong for Dani. The lips, the shirt…it was much too dull for her skin tone and made her look washed out. She does much better in bright, vibrant colors.

[CaffeineFree]

Well, now that the show has had some time to settle, I can say that it is becoming something I look forward to. Not that it doesn't have it's issues, but it is not weighed down by too much history and half of the characters having been married 8 times. I hope that continues.l The woman playing Leslie is a guilty pleasure to watch. She is so over the top, but in an entertaining and classically soapy way. She is ALL IN on the character's crazy.

I think the show still has a way to go regarding dialogue, as the constant references to the character relationships ("Hey Cuz", etc.) make things sound a bit stilted. I know the show is still new, but most people don't talk like that. Another thing, I am not sure if it's intentional, but I find the Duprees to be highly arrogant, constantly hyping each other like publicists. I know that it is good and healthy to provide encouragement to your family, but these folks are over the top in the not-good way.

The acting seems fine, but I believe it is hampered by the dialogue in some cases, and some of the folks need to grow into their roles, as they seem a little stiff. The gentleman playing Martin seems to speak unnaturally, and again, super arrogant and judgy. They should all have time to settle into the characters, though, and they show promise across the board (or have already hit the ground running). In particular, the actresses playing Hayley and Eva both seem comfortable already. 

I heard the show was just renewed for season 2. Good for them!

[drivethroo]

4 hours ago, Rodney said:

Martin finally told the twins that he was considering running for President, but Samantha looked disappointed that he wasn't actually going to do it.

Because Samantha was imagining life as First Daughter.

8 hours ago, Skarzero said:

I get Eva is a victim here too, and she's been very conflicted almost from the jump but I really wouldn't demonize the Dupree's(normal & initial) reaction to her just yet.

I don't have a problem with the Duprees giving Eva the business when it comes to Nicole but that's not exactly what Anita & Dani were doing. They were letting Eva know there was no Dupree money or status for her so she needs to run along and go back to where she came from.

5 hours ago, Rodney said:

Sharon and Tracy may indeed hold a grudge.  But it's been so long that they don't. 

Didn't Sharon hang up the phone on her?

5 hours ago, Rodney said:

Speaking of whom, Clifton is the only one of the Big Four of this show of whom I've never heard a single thing before this show.  What has he done?  Has he done soaps before this one?

• Clifton Davis wrote The Jacksons' "Never Can Say Goodbye"
• Starred as Rev. Ruben Gregory on the sitcom "Amen" (so Karla Mosley has acted with both Rev. and Thelma as her parents LOL)
• Is a Tony award nominated Broadway star
• Is a minister

This might be the first soap he's starred on but he has credits a mile long.

5 hours ago, Rodney said:

I wonder if that would've changed if Nicole and Dani knew that Andre directly urged Ted not to tell Nicole?

That's still getting mad at the wrong person because Ted should've protected Nicole and his family by telling Nicole the truth about Leslie when he saw she came back to town.

5 hours ago, Rodney said:

Nicole and Kat's brief scene was nice, but I hope that Nicole doesn't talk Kat down from getting to know her sister.

Nicole should leave it up to Kat whether she wants to get to know Eva or not.  Eva isn't any of Nicole's business (yet); Eva is Ted's problem.

I think Martin sees a fellow outsider in Eva and that's why he's taking to her.  I see nothing wrong with Kat not wanting anything to do with Eva and Eva just needs to accept that.  Kat should NOT be straight up nasty to Eva and if she is, I think Ted will set her straight.

[One Tough Cookie]

Shout out to Tide!

[Marisagf]

Does Martin ever work?  He is a member of the US House of Representatives.  He is never at his office.  Never has meetings.  What’s the deal?  It’s so unrealistIc even for a soap!

[michelec]

6 hours ago, SoapDoc said:

I would expect some grudge. Anita looks like she went on to be famous and make money. The others probably faded into relative obscurity. 

I always assumed that Anita was based on Diana Ross, so knowing how messy it got right before she left the Supremes, I could see a story with the remaining Articulettes being bitter and still holding grudges.

I'm honestly shocked that Dani didn't kick Andre to the curb when she found out he previously knew about Ted/Dana/Eva. He must be putting it down good.

Martin is actually becoming a considerate and compassionate human being. I don't recognize this guy.

Can we please find something for Hayley to do? I feel like the writers have boxed her into a corner. Though if there is some truth to that theory floating around about June being her mother, that could be interesting.

 

[Sake614]

18 minutes ago, Marisagf said:

Does Martin ever work?  He is a member of the US House of Representatives.  He is never at his office.  Never has meetings.  What’s the deal?  It’s so unrealistIc even for a soap!

Just like Drew on GH. Apparently they don’t have to work, they just hold the title 🤣

[Maelstrom]

At least Martin lives in DC, so theoretically he could be going to the office and doing his job when he is offscreen. Drew, in upstate New York, has no excuse (except that he sucks).

Edited Thursday at 04:11 PM by Maelstrom

[Rodney]

2 hours ago, michelec said:

I'm honestly shocked that Dani didn't kick Andre to the curb when she found out he previously knew about Ted/Dana/Eva. He must be putting it down good.

He explained himself well enough for Dani to understand.  But I think that if she knew that he'd also encouraged Ted to stay quiet after he confided in him, then that would've changed.

[Matteo]

I definitely think Clifton Davis was singing terribly on purpose during his duet with Anita.  There's no way a trained actor like that who's worked on Broadway could be so off, haha.

I am glad some of the family is starting to accept Eva, but it does seem a little too quick for them to be able to accept her into the fold.  Not that they should hate her forever, but it's been like two days...?

The actress playing June is doing way too much, but hopefully she will tone it down if she is going to play a bigger role and tie into being someone's relative.  It has to be Hayley, right?  I am having a hard time thinking who else she could be related to that would make sense from a dramatic standpoint.

Just wanted to say that I agree with some of the earlier posts, and I feel like this is one of the first episodes where it felt like the majority of the cast has sort of settled into their roles and they are beginning to feel more natural and comfortable on the screen.

ETA: Quick question, does anyone know or does it seem to anyone else that they completely dropped the "crooked cop" storyline they had brewing with Jacob, his cop partner, and Jacob's father? We haven't heard about that in ages?

Edited Thursday at 02:20 PM by Matteo

[Badsamaritan]

Catching up after a couple days, and I have thoughts lol....

It's only been less than a week since Nicole had her life blown up at the club, Ted. You could've taken Eva somewhere else. And that remark about, he thought Nicole was a mess on the couch at home? And then insisting he and Nicole would be back together by their next anniversary? If you don't take your trifling ass somewhere and sit the fuck down.

I don't think fans have read the Beyond the Gates background, because Vernon's father built Fairmont Crest and the club, so yes, this is literally THEIR COMMUNITY. FC ain't just some posh suburb, the Dupree family founded it. So both Ted and Bill coming up in their with their birds and side kids is an affront to the family who founded the place they just swanning around in. Both men are actively choosing to stay in the Dupree orbit. They get whatever is coming to them. 

When did everybody start deciding that soap characters should have a limit on how long they receive consequences for their actions? And what's that limit? Anita and Vernon invited Eva to take Kat's spot at breakfast at the club, then took her side when Kat was upset about it. Then Eva went home and gloated. That's the part where I personally think she's got more coming to her, all the gloating when she knew damn well Kat was right. And, SHE approached Kat at OG's, Kat was ignoring her. So yes, all these peripheral folks STAY in a Dupree's face. I'll say it again, Eva was complicit, until she wasn't. And then it was too late.

I'm also not liking that it seems like the menfolk are the forgiving ones and the Dupree women are taking it on the chin for standing on business. I don't like that AT ALL. And the reason they told Eva she wouldn't be a Dupree is because her crazy ass momma waltzed up in their crib and told them they should accept her. They don't know if Eva has plans like her momma did. They thought she was one kind of person and then they found out she's a liar and the truth ain't in her. So how do they know she's not still scheming? They certainly can't believe the words coming out of her mouth. 

Also, I don't want another 'rival' family. Let's break this down for real:

Introducing another family means bringing on, at the minimum, another 5-8 characters, because you can't have a rival family with 3 sad little members. What the fuck is that? So the audience has 8 more people to figure out, who in the original cast is gonna get cut to bring on these new people? Yeah, there are 3 or 4 I'm not crazy about but I would rather more peripheral characters I actually like get more screen time than 8 brand new people that I may end up hating. Yes, this is a soap but they've already shown they don't wanna be exactly like soaps of old. I think there are enough characters on canvas as well as other potential connections through current characters, that can provide enough conflict. I don't miss a whole ass other family at all.

Fairmont Crest is the Dupree's world, period. And personally, I love spending 5 days a week there. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[michelec]

I forgot to add this to my post last night re: Clifton Davis. I'm telling on my age but in the early/mid-70s him and Melba Moore were the "it" Broadway couple, so much so that they had their own summer variety show on CBS one year.

[drivethroo]

2 hours ago, Matteo said:

I am glad some of the family is starting to accept Eva, but it does seem a little too quick for them to be able to accept her into the fold.  Not that they should hate her forever, but it's been like two days...?

The only person that's accepted her is Martin and IMO that's because he connects with her as far as being an outsider*. Samantha warmed up to her because Samantha is easily impressed. Tyrell was too busy with Jessica to care and Smitty was minding his business.

Everyone else in the family (except Vernon, who doesn't care) wants Eva gone.

1 hour ago, Badsamaritan said:

You could've taken Eva somewhere else.

He could have, but it wouldn't have mattered if he took Eva to the country club or Eva to Chipotle: The Duprees don't want Eva anywhere in the DMV, they want her to go back to where she came from and never be seen again.

1 hour ago, Badsamaritan said:

And the reason they told Eva she wouldn't be a Dupree is because her crazy ass momma waltzed up in their crib and told them they should accept her. They don't know if Eva has plans like her momma did. They thought she was one kind of person and then they found out she's a liar and the truth ain't in her. So how do they know she's not still scheming?

They don't know but at that particular moment in time, Eva wasn't bothering them, trying to engage with them or up in their face. They went out of their way to invite her to sit down, relax and then tell her she will NEVER be a Dupree.  And the purpose of doing that wasn't solely about hurting Nicole IMO because Nicole never came up in their little conversation.  Anita and Dani let Eva know she is nothing more than a hoodrat and she needs to scurry back to whichever sewer she came from and never be seen again.

This is why Dani told Eva "Remember what I said" when she saw Eva at the club with Ted, like "Didn't we tell you yesterday to beat it?"  But that's on Ted because Eva was Ted's guest at the country club. If you don't want to see Eva at the country club anymore, cancel Ted's membership.

1 hour ago, Badsamaritan said:

Also, I don't want another 'rival' family. Let's break this down for real:

I don't support a rival family unless it makes sense because IMO many of the people who want a rival family really want a rich White family on the show (cuz I guess Ashley and her mom don't count ---and if there's a rich White family on the show it would be Vanessa's family).  The Duprees are doctors, lawyers, politicians and entertainers. They wouldn't be Forrester v Spectra or Jabot vs. Newman Enterprises; there have  no business rivalries.

*Now* a rival family would make sense and that rival family needs to be either Tracy or Sharon's family.  We know from yesterday's episode Sharon isn't feeling Anita and I can see a situation where either Tracy or Sharon and/or their families are pissed Anita moved on up and left them behind in brokeness and obscurity.  We know Anita feels bad for something she did to the group back in the day. This is where a rival family makes sense: WE all dreamed we would make it big together but at the first chance, YOU left us behind.  Now YOU are living the life all of US were supposed to have together.

Bonus points if Leslie is either Sharon or Tracy's daughter.

*Being an outsider is exactly how Ted & Eva will bond as father/child.

Edited Thursday at 04:31 PM by drivethroo

[Badsamaritan]

39 minutes ago, drivethroo said:

They don't know but at that particular moment in time, Eva wasn't bothering them, trying to engage with them or up in their face. They went out of their way to invite her to sit down, relax and then tell her she will NEVER be a Dupree.  And the purpose of doing that wasn't solely about hurting Nicole IMO because Nicole never came up in their little conversation.  Anita and Dani let Eva know she is nothing more than a hoodrat and she needs to scurry back to whichever sewer she came from and never be seen again.

This is why Dani told Eva "Remember what I said" when she saw Eva at the club with Ted, like "Didn't we tell you yesterday to beat it?"  But that's on Ted because Eva was Ted's guest at the country club. 

I saw that scene differently, especially as they never said anything about Eva being a hoodrat and scurrying back to wherever. They actually told her they understood she had a fucked up momma. Just like Mona told her, Eva is a grown woman with her own agency, she chose to let it get to the point of public humiliation for their daughter. And, I'll be honest, if somebody did that to my sister, lied to her every single day and plotted the exact time of her downfall, someone who was nothing but kind to them? They'd get this work every time I saw them, from now til eternity. And they would either stay the fuck out my and my family's face or we would be some fighting mother fuckers on sight. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Edited Thursday at 05:09 PM by Badsamaritan

[TiffanyNichelle]

16 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

Shout out to Tide!

The way I laughed so hard at Samantha walking in carrying just that bottle. I also clocked the product placement in Eva's hair products. Two or three bottles had full labels with only the hairspray being all black with no label.

The Richardson men, Ted, Andre, and Martin giving Eva a chance makes sense to me. It was also a good way to soften up Martin a little for me. He's so harsh about everything else, it's nice to see him chilling out a little bit. He can be rough on Leslie but I like that he has a little understanding for Eva. He's not ready to completely forgive her but he wants to give her a chance and he saw that big blowout with Leslie. Seeing how her mother treats her made her sympathetic (part of Leslie's new plan??).

[AnimeMania]

S01.E53: Thursday, May 15, 2025

Jason Vendryes as Kenny, conversation eavesdropper

Maurice Johnson as Ted Richardson

replaced by Keith D. Robinson

[drivethroo]

30 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

I saw that scene differently, especially as they never said anything about Eva being a hoodrat and scurrying back to wherever.

They told her they understood her "circumstances" and their charity helps disadvantaged girls like her. This is why Eva told them she was not a charity case.  That was nice/nasty for "you are a hoodrat."

30 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

And they would either stay the fuck out my and my family's face or we would be some fighting mother fuckers on sight. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Except Eva wasn't in their face, Eva was minding her business at Uptown picking up her dinner. Which is why I said it didn't matter if Ted took her to the country club or to Chipotle, they would have a problem with it

The ice out tactics the Duprees use on people like Hayley isn't going to work on Eva because Eva doesn't care about the Duprees or their status. Not once did Eva dream about being a Dupree; she has had fantasies about being a Richardson.

The Duprees have the right to not see Eva in their community but they don't have the right to dictate what Eva does outside of the community (Orphey Gene's, Uptown, etc).  The solution is simple: if you don't want to see Eva in Fairmont Crest, cancel Ted's membership.

 

18 minutes ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

part of Leslie's new plan??).

Leslie's only plan was for Ted to dump Nicole so he could be with her and she could live the Dupree lifestyle, which is silly because Ted is not a Dupree. Ted will be giving Eva a priviledged lifestyle, not Leslie so she has no more use for Eva.

 

[Rodney]

1 hour ago, drivethroo said:

The only person that's accepted her is Martin and IMO that's because he connects with her as far as being an outsider*. Samantha warmed up to her because Samantha is easily impressed. Tyrell was too busy with Jessica to care and Smitty was minding his business.

Everyone else in the family (except Vernon, who doesn't care) wants Eva gone.

I want to add that Andre's accepted her, too.  But I realize that you only meant the Duprees.

[ShadowHunter]

Hayley is boring. Jacob is boring and I do not care yet at all about June. 

I agree about Samantha and Jessica looking alike. If they bring on a guy or Sam I hope he is Latino or White cause I am worried he will look like her brother. 

Martin bringing Eva to meet his family was nice. He needed some nicer moments as well. 

Sharon hanging the phone up when she heard it was Anita was funny. Too bad she could not slam down the receiver. We lost the little things lol. I hope they hire a couple of soap vets to play Anita's old band members.

[Rodney]

Second episode ever not to contain any of the show's Big Four (Anita, Vernon, Nicole, and Dani).

Well, hi there, Chelsea.  Where've you been throughout all of this fallout?  I enjoyed her and Naomi's scenes.  I've wanted to see how they're truly dealing with their family's latest scandal.  But I've totally forgotten about the Bill side of things.  Being that he's their father, of course they'd still be wondering how far Bill would've gone with Leslie.

Welcome, Keith D. Robinson, to your first day as Ted.  I thought that his talk with Kat was very honest as she let Ted explain his side of things.  She seemed to walk away believing him.  But she's right that Ted has to go much farther to make up for the damage he's done.

So Leslie lied that she was on the pill when she and Ted were together?  Oh, yeah.  She was playing Ted from the start.

That said, Keith doesn't feel as physically imposing as Maurice.  Maurice was much bigger and more built than Keith is.  But he's trying to take on his speech patterns and mannerisms, at least.  He still

Andre and Eva had good scenes, too.  It's clear that he's accepted her, but he's also being cautious around her in case there's more she (or Leslie) has in store.

So Leslie got her chance to confront Bill.  Loved Bill throwing the aliases and wigs in her face.  Wasn't nearly a long enough scene in my books.  But it sounds like Leslie has some plans in store for him now.

Naomi and Jacob were good friends to Ashley and Derek, respectively.  It seems like they're on the rocks from living together.  But if they want to figure things out, then they need to talk to each other.  They did, and Derek tried, but Ashley seems to be avoiding things.

. . . Or maybe not.  The scenes with Andre definitely have reignited my feeling that they're moving Ashley toward him.

Leslie actually talks to Eva even after being mad at her?  And she wants her to ask Ted to get Bill off her.  Even worse, Eva gets reamed out on her own birthday just for getting close to Ted.  Damn.  That's harsh.  But Eva puts the fear of God into her by rightly pointing out that the Duprees could figure out the truth behind Laura's accident.

And indeed, through her talk with Chelsea, Kat has her lightbulb moment and realizes that -- oh, shit! -- there might've been more to Laura's accident than they'd previously thought.  She was smart to try to record her saying anything incriminating about the accident.  But she clearly didn't expect Leslie to say that Eva did it.  That was some odd camera work being done, though, with cutting to both Kat and Leslie's eyes during the scene.  Surprised that Leslie left the room without being suspicious of the phone, though.

I have to add that Kat's fast becoming my favorite character on the show.  She's sharp as a tack, witty in her one-liners and comebacks, and she just lights up the screen whenever she's on, thanks to Colby's near-natural ability.

Naomi had a busy episode.  Started out talking to Chelsea, then had breakfast with Ashley, and suddenly zipped to confronting both Bill and Ted.  (Ah, nice unintentional reference!)  And then, after that, visiting June in the hospital.  She had pneumonia, it seems.  And we see the picture that June dropped, and she doesn't recognize the children in it.

Good episode that didn't even need the Big Four in it to be good.

[AnimeMania]

I am team Original Ted, unless there was a reason other than his acting that made them release him.

They can always take the photo and see in they can restore it. That way June can have a backup copy and somebody can recognize the people in the photo.

I prefer the episodes where they cut down the character praising and the prolonged make-out scenes, they get so much more story line in. Although Derek and Ashley is not a story I am interested in and could have been told in a quarter to the time spent.

It is amazing how much of the story involves people meeting at the three eating establishments.

[Badsamaritan]

I like NuTed so much better. And no swaying, thank goodness. I think he brought layers to the scenes with Kat that old Ted couldn't. He feels a lot more natural whereas OG Ted always felt so formal to me. 

Chelsea been hanging with one-third of her throuple, getting tossed up lol.

Ugh. I do not wanna see Andre's fine ass with that basic nurse. There is nothing about her that should warrant his attention. I hate Ashley for making me feel bad for Derek. Derek, of all people! 

I loved Kat standing up to Leslie and her crazy. Also props to her for putting the pieces together. Unfortunately, poor Chelsea strikes me as slightly dim, so Kat needs someone smarter to brainstorm with. Which is why I'm hoping Kat realizes it was Leslie because of all the details she gave, and that Kat teams up, reluctantly of course, with Eva to find the proof that Leslie tried to kill Laura. I just think both actresses are fantastic and they have amazing chemistry as scene partners, so I don't want them to be enemies for the long haul. I feel like they each bring something to the other that will make both better. Yes, I want my 'Wonder Twins Power Activated' and watch them go after somebody else together, dammit, LET ME HAVE THIS. 😭😂

Also loved Andre's real talk with Eva. He's open but wary of her, as is right. 

I need more Bill and Leslie scenes, like yesterday. I also need Leslie to read Hayley like a short book. I feel like she'd have some real good nicknames for that bird lol. 

June could be a witness to Laura's attempted murder and can finger Leslie. She was living under an overpass, after all. But also ends up connected to Martin, because of ANOTHER car accident. I think Martin hit June and caused some sort of brain damage. Somebody witnessed it, and that became the cover-up that Bill took care of. Maybe the twins are actually her children, who wound up in the system because June could no longer care for herself or them. And due to the brain damage from the accident, she forgot about them and just has the picture. There would be a symmetry to June witnessing a car crash that then made memories of her own accident start to come back. Just like Martin. 

[ShadowHunter]

I can't believe I actually felt bad for Derek. Ashley is beyond annoying. 

Smart of Kat to put it together about the accident and record Leslie. Frankly the tape makes Leslie sound worse and I hope it's figured out she was the one who went after Laura and not Eva. Poor Eva she really thought that her Momma was at least going to say Happy Birthday and  not in the flippant way she did as she was leaving the diner. Sweetie she only uses people. 

I need time to adjust to Ted. In some ways he seemed better but he also seemed younger. Glad he and Kat talked though. 

 

[AnimeMania]

42 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

Unfortunately, poor Chelsea strikes me as slightly dim, so Kat needs someone smarter to brainstorm with.

Eva is an interesting choice, but Shanice is smarter than the rest of the cast put together. I am guessing that Shanice wasn't there when Leslie was pretending to jump off the roof, or she would have pegged her quick for pretending to be that fake nurse.

47 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

June could be a witness to Laura's attempted murder and can finger Leslie. She was living under an overpass, after all. But also ends up connected to Martin, because of ANOTHER car accident. I think Martin hit June and caused some sort of brain damage. Somebody witnessed it, and that became the cover-up that Bill took care of. Maybe the twins are actually her children, who wound up in the system because June could no longer care for herself or them. And due to the brain damage from the accident, she forgot about them and just has the picture. There would be a symmetry to June witnessing a car crash that then made memories of her own accident start to come back. Just like Martin. 

This is a brilliant soap theory, might I add that while in the hospital, the doctor's notice that something is wrong with June's brain and a simple surgery can fix it (which also stops her violent tendencies and makes her more rational). After the surgery, June becomes Nicole's patience and Nicole helps her to recover her repressed memories. As the memories become clearer, does Nicole help June get better or steer her in a different direction to protect Martin and cover up his crime. The real truth, June was almost hit by Martin's car, as both are standing in the street arguing about it (June is trying to extort Martin to get a little money), Mr. Eavesdropper drives by and hits them both. Martin is slightly injured and June more so, both are having trouble remembering what happened that night. Martin wakes up scared, gets back into his car and calls Vernon. Vernon and Bill cover the incident up, after assuming the worst case scenario.

[One Tough Cookie]

9 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

ntroducing another family means bringing on, at the minimum, another 5-8 characters, because you can't have a rival family with 3 sad little members. What the fuck is that? So the audience has 8 more people to figure out, who in the original cast is gonna get cut to bring on these new people? Yeah, there are 3 or 4 I'm not crazy about but I would rather more peripheral characters I actually like get more screen time than 8 brand new people that I may end up hating. Yes, this is a soap but they've already shown they don't wanna be exactly like soaps of old. I think there are enough characters on canvas as well as other potential connections through current characters, that can provide enough conflict. I don't miss a whole ass other family at all.

co-sign.  It took me almost 3 months to get all the people right on YR, so don't add any more characters--my brain will explode.

[Rodney]

28 minutes ago, One Tough Cookie said:

co-sign.  It took me almost 3 months to get all the people right on YR, so don't add any more characters--my brain will explode.

Yeah, I say that if the show would ever want to build a second family on the canvas, then build it naturally over time from some of the side characters already here.  No need to bring in any new families right now.

[michelec]

2 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

Ugh. I do not wanna see Andre's fine ass with that basic nurse. There is nothing about her that should warrant his attention. I hate Ashley for making me feel bad for Derek. Derek, of all people! 

I've been screaming for weeks that a studio apartment is way too small for two people. Derek was being completely reasonable with his suggestion that they get a bigger place that's theirs together. Don't know what Ashley's problem was.

More scenes with Bill and Leslie, please.

Look at Kat getting her Nancy Drew on.

I was surprised that Leslie wasn't permanently banned from Orphey Gene's after showing her ass last time.

Edited Yest. at 01:03 AM by michelec

[DearEvette]

Oooh... Kat was my MVP today. Girlfriend has some superior Spidey senses since she was suspicious of Eva and Leslie all along.  But recording Leslie who just can't shut up! (LOL) was a great idea.

I dunno about Martin hitting June.  I think that 'what is the color of your money' line feels very deliberate in the word choice. I am wondering if he was racially profiled or in some sort of race-based altercation and  he killed someone.

But yeah. Martin's interactions with Eva have been the most I've liked him. Although I do wish people would stop saying Eva is part of the Dupree family  because she is NOT and it is so insulting to Nicole ( .. well at least until the inevitable big reveal).

Under no circumstance are Dani, Anita, Kat, Mona... etc. interactions with Eva worse that Leslie's continues to be. Objectively she is treating Eva terribly, but it is 10x worse because this woman is supposed to be her mother.  She has put Eva out of her house and mind until she needs her again to weedle up to Ted.

Leslie keeps saying how she has more to come... I can only imagine that her hidden bombshell is to reveal that Eva really is Nicole's.

I continue to love everybody's shade on her multiple names and wigs.  And yes, we need more interactions between her and Bill.  They are two vipers and it is fun to see them viper-off. But more importantly, there i a lot of energy in their scenes together.  Honestly, I would DIE if all that animosity turned to lust and he ended up cheating on Hayley with her.  The layers such a move would have!

I can only imagine there was some behind the scenes issues with the Ted actor because that fact that he got replaced and not the block of wood that is Derek feels like it wasn't about acting...

Shallow note:  I loved that red lipstick that Kat was wearing on yesterday's episode paired with the checkerboard white/black sweater.  She looked lovely. 

About the second family:  I agree they need a second family.  Not necessarily a rival family but a complete family that is some sort of contrast to the Duprees. It would have been good for them to have introduced the family early on --say  Instead of Andre being Ted's nephew they could have built out Andre, Mona and Leslie and maybe Shanice as a more blue collar family.  And since the show began with Ashley and Andre already having some sort of history it makes sense that they would have possibly grown up together since Mona and Jan are good friends.

But at this point, they are gonna have to build out gradually or cut some dead weight.

[Giuseppe]

I can't really buy the Ashley-Derek conflict. Just seemed to happen overnight. We saw Derek spending the night there several times when the show first started. I know that's not the same as living together, but they were all over each other until the day they moved in and all of a sudden they became awkward together. I know it's to eventually move Ashley more towards Andre, but feels like we should've gotten more of a honeymoon period before they started to get on each other's nerves this bad.

NuTed debuts, and I think his acting is much better than old Ted, but I will admit to missing old Ted's physical presence and voice. I do agree though that nuTed brought some much needed layers to his performance that was sorely missing before, IMO. And he does look younger, even though the actor is 49. I don't know if these fellas are dyeing their hair or not, but a little salt and pepper could go a long way towards making all the men NOT look like they're the same age, lol.

How old is June supposed to be? Since she's in Naomi and Jacob's orbit, i've been assuming they're around the same age. June's picture looked very old and faded, so my speculation is that the children in it are a very young June and her sister, who will turn out to be Haley. Have we gotten Haley's family backstory yet?

Edited Yest. at 02:09 AM by Giuseppe

[Rodney]

37 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:

Have we gotten Haley's family backstory yet?

Just that she was a young girl who lost her family before getting taken in by the Hamiltons.  Nothing more about that yet.

[Joimiaroxeu]

On 5/14/2025 at 11:59 AM, Rodney said:

Speaking of whom, Clifton is the only one of the Big Four of this show of whom I've never heard a single thing before this show.  What has he done?  Has he done soaps before this one?

Clifton Davis was a primetime star back in the '70s and '80s, and mostly on sitcoms. He was also successful on Broadway. I was surprised to hear he was going to be on BTG because I didn't realize he was still working. He's a few months shy of his 80th birthday.

On 5/14/2025 at 11:56 AM, Crashcourse said:

I have to laugh at Anita always being in full blown makeup and jewelry and flowing hair while lounging around the house.  Now, I don't expect to see her in a ratty housecoat and slippers with her hair in curlers, but she just looks so...fake.  I'd like to see her in something more casual for a change.

I think the hair and clothing budgets for this show must be relatively large. I mainly use this show as background noise but I always notice how often the characters change clothes. For example, Dani commonly wears two outfits per episode she appears in, and they've made a running joke of Leslie's wig changes. I think one day Leslie took off a wig she was wearing over another wig!

Meanwhile, over on Y&R characters might wear the same outfits for a week or more.

[YaddaYadda]

7 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

He's a few months shy of his 80th birthday.

Really? I thought he was 72-73. Good for him!

So there was a line yesterday about how Leslie got pregnant before Nicole did. If I understood this correctly, and someone can correct me, then unless Nicole gave birth prematurely to Kat, there's no way she's older than Eva.

Leslie swanning all over town is a choice. But I do love her crazy ass, so I'm just all in with her. And yes, more of her and Bill. That scene with them was barely an appetizer. 

Kat is going to get in trouble. She better be careful because she's about to end up on Leslie's hit list.

[Matteo]

I adore Kat. Colby Muhammad is great and I love that she is so perceptive and proactive in figuring out the truth and motives of the people who are coming for her family. They also style her very cute and distinctively.

I couldn't be more bored of Ashley and Derek. The show grinds to a halt with any scene that is just the two of them. DON'T CARE.

I also had a wild theory today that maybe June was Eva's real surrogate mother or something, but I don't want that to be true

[Melgaypet]

Can Hot Andre become fascinated by Shanice instead? I like Shanice, she has a sparkly presence.

I don't dislike Ashley, exactly, but @Badsamaritan is right, she's basic. I, a basic white lady, do not watch this show for basic white people.

I continue to not be into the Nicole-is-Eva's-bio-mother theory. It's not a bad theory, but I just think there is more long-term story potential in Eva being Leslie's and Ted's daughter. Plus, I think that any warm relationship Nicole and Eva form, assuming they do, will be more meaningful if they're not biologically related.

[YaddaYadda]

3 hours ago, Matteo said:

I couldn't be more bored of Ashley and Derek. The show grinds to a halt with any scene that is just the two of them. DON'T CARE.

Their problems are soooo boring!

Plus Ashley is completely unlikable in this. Living together is about compromise. And it seems to me that Derek loves her more than she loves him. This storyline has made Ashley unbearable. She knows how to suck the air out of a room. I don't even know why Andre is into her. Or Derek for that matter.

[Kerri]

I've only watched Mon and Tues, read everyone's comments.

1. If Martin actually gave a shit about his family he would tell his mother and partner what happened. I know soaps are built on people hiding things but it had always driven me bananas.

2. Very early on, I was rooting for Vanessa and Joey but that stopped fairly quickly. The reality is however charming he is to her, he wants to use her for criminal activity and probably aet it up so that if it goes south, all the evidence will point to her and Doug. Trying to sleep with her on top.of that is just gross.

Doug is a moron, but the red line for him should've been the second he saw Joey near his wife for any reason. He should have told Vanessa straight up at that point.

3. Kat is my favourite character- the style, the attitude, smarts, love it lol. Next to Hailey, Dani is least favourite.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E54: Friday, May 16, 2025

Keith D. Robinson as Ted Richardson

[Rodney]

Ooh.  They've already updated the opening to put in Keith in Maurice's place.

Well, hello, Pamela.  Nice to see you in one of your rare appearances.  But why gamble for seed money for the modeling agency?  She and Dani are both wealthy enough that they should be able to fund the agency on their own.

Ooh.  Joey was at the casino, too.  Surprised that Jon and Cady could be on the set together given that things are still fairly recent between them.

Sounds like seeing Doug there has made Dani suspicious, though.  She could probably tell Vanessa about this, and it would finally put Vanessa on the path to figuring out what Doug's really been doing.  And Joey's threat level against Doug is increasing even more.

So June needs surgery?  How does pneumonia require surgery?  At least Doug isn't performing the surgery.  But why do Jacob and Naomi care so much about who does perform the procedure?

And why do I care about their storyline when they, like everybody else, should be dealing with the Dupree/Richardson drama?

Nice to see Shanice again.

As excited as Kat must be to bust either Leslie or Eva for Laura's accident, Jacob's right.  The recording, while a good start, is hearsay.  But Kat's right, too, that they were the only two people who'd have benefited from Laura being hurt.  If nothing else, that establishes motive.

Ted and Leslie's scenes further highlighted her narcissism and her newfound disdain toward Eva.  Ted calling her a monster is spot-on.  But maybe she's not one, since she did tell Ted that she does love her.  Or maybe that was yet another lie.  Oh, thanks to Trisha's acting, I can't tell which is truth or lie with Leslie.

Anita and Vernon's scenes with Bill were entertaining, and like the two of them, I knew that he was there for more than just the selling of his and Dani's beach property.

Anita's still hesitant about reuniting the Articulettes.  Which, after the call to Sharon, is understandable.  But she still hasn't tried Tracy yet.  And of course once she finally does, she says yes!  So that's one of them, at least!  Surprised that she didn't sound any different.  Her voice hasn't aged at all?  Really?

Nicole and Smitty had nice mother-in-law/son-in-law scenes today.  Smitty being suspicious about Martin's motives for dropping his bid for the presidency is reasonable, but if nothing else, at the same time, he should be glad that he's rededicating himself to his family.

And of course this leads him to meet with Bill again.  I'm wondering if Bill wants to put him on the path to learning Martin's secret?  Smitty seems to think so.  Still, Mike Manning did a good job of showing Smitty's obvious contempt for Bill.  It was actually weird to see Smitty in an episode without Martin, though.

Didn't know that he knew Vanessa well enough to hug her, though.

Vanessa is still creeping.  Of course.

But I enjoyed Nicole with Vanessa.  I like that she was continuing her support of Nicole.

That cliffhanger with Jacob and Leslie, though?  I wonder how it's going to go at the station next week.

Kind of a good calm-down episode as we move into next week.

[Crashcourse]

I'm waiting for Anita to find out when Tracy and Vernon start smashin'.

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, Kerri said:

 

1. If Martin actually gave a shit about his family he would tell his mother and partner what happened. I know soaps are built on people hiding things but it had always driven me bananas.

Wait... does Martin know what happened.? I admit, I am consuming these episodes in chunks, so I might have missed something.  But I thought something suppressed the memory for him and hence the dreams/subconscious is trying to force the memories to the front?

[drivethroo]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

Didn't know that he knew Vanessa well enough to hug her, though.

Well, Vanessa is supposed to be Smitty's MIL's BFF so he should know her well enough to hug her.

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

But maybe she's not one, since she did tell Ted that she does love her.  Or maybe that was yet another lie.

Le'Dana knows she better say she loves Eva if she wants any chance at Teddy Bear.

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

o June needs surgery?  How does pneumonia require surgery? 

It had something to do with her heart.  Ischemia, I think.

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

And why do I care about their storyline when they, like everybody else, should be dealing with the Dupree/Richardson drama?

I don't see why Jacob would actually care.  He didn't even tell Naomi HER DAD was fooling around with Hayley.

2 hours ago, Kerri said:

Doug is a moron, but

Vanessa is a moron too.

16 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

He's a few months shy of his 80th birthday.

9 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

Really? I thought he was 72-73. Good for him!

Black don't crack (unless you do crack).

[RedRockRosie]

My first response to June needing surgery for pneumonia was “are you kidding me?” No way would they or could they ever put her under anesthesia when she can’t half breathe. Then the heart surgery (!?) lasted the length of Kat’s brief conversation with cute cop (can’t remember his name darnit).

Also very interesting that they showed how the successful surgery improved her coloring immediately…which it probably would. Got some things right & some things wrong I think.

Am really enjoying most of the show. Not easy to start from scratch. Kudos to BTG writers & show runners.

Edited 13 hours ago by RedRockRosie

[Irlandesa]

20 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

I can't really buy the Ashley-Derek conflict. Just seemed to happen overnight. We saw Derek spending the night there several times when the show first started. I know that's not the same as living together, but they were all over each other until the day they moved in and all of a sudden they became awkward together.

That was my thought too.  Living together exposes some thing that just spending the night together doesn't.  But I feel that some of the conflicts that have come up would have come up when they spent the night together--like what they eat in the morning for breakfast. 

I do think Derek is right that some of this is because they're in a studio apartment.  That issue should have been obvious from before they even moved in.  But there's something else going on with Ashley. 

9 hours ago, Matteo said:

I also had a wild theory today that maybe June was Eva's real surrogate mother or something, but I don't want that to be true

I didn't see the picture June was holding but could she possibly be Sam and Tyrell's birth mother?  Maybe she had her children removed from her custody, put into the foster system and Smitty & Martin adopted them.

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Wait... does Martin know what happened.? I admit, I am consuming these episodes in chunks, so I might have missed something.  But I thought something suppressed the memory for him and hence the dreams/subconscious is trying to force the memories to the front?

That's what I thought at first but we saw Martin talking about the secret with both Anita and Vernon.  In fact, Vernon laid into him quite hard when he heard Martin was considering running for president because he felt the opposition would discover his secret.

[Rodney]

11 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

That's what I thought at first but we saw Martin talking about the secret with both Anita and Vernon.  In fact, Vernon laid into him quite hard when he heard Martin was considering running for president because he felt the opposition would discover his secret.

I'm thinking that Martin knows and remembers part of the story, but still has blocked out the rest.  That might be what his nightmares are.

[TiffanyNichelle]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Wait... does Martin know what happened.? I admit, I am consuming these episodes in chunks, so I might have missed something.  But I thought something suppressed the memory for him and hence the dreams/subconscious is trying to force the memories to the front?

I feel like Martin is the only one involved who doesn't remember exactly what happened which is why his dreams are so vague. Vernon, Anita, and Bill do know what happened which is why Bill was able to blackmail Vernon & Anita into bringing the family to the wedding after he covered it up.

 

40 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I do think Derek is right that some of this is because they're in a studio apartment.  That issue should have been obvious from before they even moved in.  But there's something else going on with Ashley. 

The Ashley/Derek "drama" makes me care less about Ashley and I kind of want Derek to have more random scenes with Hayley. He was some how better with her in that one little scene that the majority of his scenes with Ashley.

Dani and Pamela need to have more wacky adventure scenes. They were a hoot together at the casino.

I don't know if I want it to be a soapy story where Eva is actually Nicole's but the way every now and then Leslie will say something about Eva that makes me think she's not actually her mother. Like when she called Eva a "souvenir" of her love with Ted. It was just weird.

[Badsamaritan]

2 hours ago, drivethroo said:

Black don't crack (unless you do crack).

The way I hollered just now! 😂😂

[Kerri]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Wait... does Martin know what happened.? I admit, I am consuming these episodes in chunks, so I might have missed something.  But I thought something suppressed the memory for him a

When the soap started, I thought he had no idea. But he obviously knows enough- he knows something happened, he knows Bill was involved in covering it up, and he knows it could affect his political career. So whether he knows all the details- you're right maybe not. But he knows enough to be making a decision to consciously hide it from the rest of his family. 

Like I said, I know soaps are built on hiding things. It drives me bananas but probably partly bc IRL my anxiety would give me an instant ulcer and I would never sleep again if I tried to hide something like that lol.