Beyond the Gates: Daily Episode Discussion

[drivethroo]

3 hours ago, RedRockRosie said:

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 Kate’s brief conversation with cute cop (can’t remember his name darnit).

June apparently had heart disease and the pneumonia was worsening the oxygen getting to her heart muscle.

Vanessa would definitely try to turn Smitty out if he was straight.

I'm not feeling Sherry Ann's Side Chick Sob Story. She knew Ted was married and didn't mind Martin growing up in a fatherless home if Ted had actually left Nicole and Martin. No ma'am.  You chose to be the side chick, you need to stay on the side.

I know Tracy is coming on the show next week but the person who needs to come on is Sharon.

[Constantly]

I think the writers are leading Ashley and Derek to be the comic relief on the show. 
Remember Caliiope on DOOL? Funn!

[ByaNose]

Now, that BTG has been on a few months can we please have some of these men shave their beards or goatees? I swear I keep mixing them up.  It’s crazy. 

[TiffanyNichelle]

49 minutes ago, Constantly said:

I think the writers are leading Ashley and Derek to be the comic relief on the show. 
Remember Caliiope on DOOL? Funn!

I remember her being wacky fun. But so far nothing about Ashley and Derek has been any kind of fun. They just slow the show down.

[Sake614]

15 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Now, that BTG has been on a few months can we please have some of these men shave their beards or goatees? I swear I keep mixing them up.  It’s crazy. 

I thought I was the only one lol! And as someone else mentioned upthread, throw some salt and pepper in Ted’s hair. NuTed looks like he could be Martin’s brother, not his father.

[KittyQ]

On 5/14/2025 at 7:12 PM, 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! No wonder the country is in a mess - no one bothers to show up for work. How do they expect to get reelected? 

[KittyQ]

On 5/15/2025 at 6:02 PM, michelec said:

'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.

I think Ashley didn't really want to live with Derek but felt obligated due to his accident. Now, she's irritated by everything he does, even when he's trying to be helpful. Not that Derek seems to be any prize, but he seems to be an ok guy. Ashley needs to either come to terms with living together or tell him that it is too soon and he needs to get his own place. 

[Badsamaritan]

I'm sure the Ashley and Derek actors are lovely people IRL but they're an albatross around this show's neck. They either need to do a hard reset or cut bait. And for all our sakes, keep Ashley away from Andre. I was so happy the last few weeks when Ash and D were on sporadically and mostly contained. And now they're back, annoying me even more. There is no chemistry between Ash and Dre, and there's barely any between Ash and D. Ugh. Please just stop, show. 

Vanessa as Mistress Foot Fetish was cracking me up, but this shit is gonna come back to haunt her. Diego has backed off but where is he, really? I feel like Joey is gonna be connected somehow to somebody else she's sleeping with. Maybe he's been keeping tabs on her and approached one these guys and told him if he wanted to keep sleeping with her, he'd keep him updated on things about her? I wouldn't put it past Joey, he is purposefully and precisely invading Doug and Vanessa's lives and will use them both up until they either turn on him together or they no longer serve him. It's really diabolical and why, even though Nessa and Joey have chemistry, I didn't want her to give in to him. She doesn't know exactly how bad he is but she does know he's a criminal. Both of their vices - Doug's gambling, Nessa's sex addiction - will be their downfall. I'm still rooting for those 2 crazy kids, I don't know why lol. 

The only reason Naomi and Jacob are this invested in June is because she is going to be involved with someone or something else on canvas. They've lingered on that picture like 5 times now, it means something. It seems a little old so maybe it's June and a sibling as children. Like Hayley. They kinda favor. And, being that she was Naomi's best friend at one time, maybe Hayley showed her a picture she had of herself as a child, and Naomi gets the picture cleaned up and recognizes Hayley as one of the kids. It could be amazing storytelling if June wound up connected to 3 major stories: witness to Leslie tryna kill Laura, Martin's secret, and Hayley and Bill's punishment when she moves in their house lol! 

Why is Ted listening to this crazy woman? And, why is he letting her touch him? Come on, man, I needed you to snatch your arms away so fast from this lunatic side chick. Since this was Trisha and Keith's first scene together with him as NuTed, I did enjoy Leslie looking him up and down like 'Harpo, who dis man?' 😂

Bill is such a liar, he can't stay out of a Dupree's face. Like Vernon said, he could have couriered that shit over. But no, he chose to present his lying ass liar ass at their door. All them complaints can be returned to sender. 

I had seen some folks on Twitter give suggestions about who should play Sharon and Tracy, but I see the show has their own ideas. They're going with singer first, actress second.

Spoiler

Tracy will be played by Maria Howell. She was the young choir soloist who was originally singing 'God's tryin tell you something' in the original The Color Purple when Shug leaves the juke joint singing all the way in the church doors. 

The Articulettes will be singing, y'all! 😁

Edited May 17 by Badsamaritan

[drivethroo]

4 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

I'm sure the Ashley and Derek actors are lovely people IRL but they're an albatross around this show's neck. They either need to do a hard reset or cut bait.

The Ashley actress has zero chemistry with Derek and Andre, yet she's fine with her mom and Naomi.  The Ashley character serves little purpose.  I say move the Ashley character to be a character like Shanice, Laura, Randy and Mona and call it a day.

Derek is fine with everyone except Ashley.  Move him to be like the Shanice, Randy etc. character tier and call it a day.  I think the show messed up by making him a firefighter.  Derek should've been a police officer like Jacob.

Move Shanice up to being a secondary character.  She's more interesting than Ashley, Derek, Tomas and Hayley.

 

4 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

And for all our sakes, keep Ashley away from Andre.

If they insist on an Andre/Ashley pairing, they need to recast Ashley but they also need to write the character better. There's no reason at the present why Andre would be captivated by Ashley no matter who the actress was.

4 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

I feel like Joey is gonna be connected somehow to somebody else she's sleeping with.

Well Joey DOES own the escort service Vanessa uses...

[AnimeMania]

S01.E55: Monday, May 19, 2025

[Rodney]

How is that Pamela was getting tons of luck at the casino, yet Doug gets consistently bad luck?

Oh, hello, Tomas.  Looks like things are awkward with him and Kat now due to him talking to Eva.  And Kat is again demanding him to not see Eva.  Especially with the possibility that she's an attempted murderer.  But Tomas was right that Leslie's word is untrustworthy, so Kat shouldn't take her words at face value.  But it sounds like the two of them are back on track, which is good.

But Tomas was in the Navy?  Never knew that.  And I wonder if his tattoos are Alex Alegria's real-life tattoos?

Looks like Ted isn't buying what Leslie's selling.  But I liked his mini-celebration of Eva's birthday with her and Andre (at least before he left).

So Diego's seeing Pamela now?  Didn't expect that.  And he's going to be part of her and Dani's new modeling agency.

Leslie certainly tried to avoid Jacob's questions at the station.  Honestly, that should've made her look more guilty, not Eva.  I'm surprised that Jacob didn't think of that.  But surprisingly, Leslie at least admitted that Eva's incapable of hurting anybody.  Consider my mind blown that she said that.  Still, Jacob definitely sounds like he's suspicious of her.  Especially since he added "or woman' at the end of what he said to Leslie.

Andre and Dani remain hot.  Oh, but now Andre wants to go public with their arrangement?  Uh . . . wow.

Ashley, the food Derek tossed was still in the container.  Being in the trash isn't going to hurt it since the container was pretty much protecting it from the rest of the trash.  And it definitely seems like she thought that they moved in together too soon.  Derek seemed to pack out.

And of course, after getting into it with Derek, Ashley again ends up turning to Andre.

Joey and Vanessa were charming once again.  But yeah, I know that she's still married to Doug.  But it seems that their daughter's name is Deanna.  And Vanessa finally admitted to Doug that she sees other men.  But she hopes that he's seeing other women?  But he's telling the truth about not seeing other women.  Yet he still won't tell her about the gambling.

Kind of a sedate episode.

[ShadowHunter]

I am surprised that as of now Leslie hasn't completely hung out Eva to dry and she even told Jacob she wouldn't hurt anyone. I still think that recording makes Leslie sound more quilty but I agree it would not hold up in court.

I again felt bad for Derek. Ashley is too much and not in any kind of a fun way. Some fun magnets could have been used to cover the scratches on the Fridge. I did like the Freddy Kruger mention cause I love Horror but that was it.

I don't care for Pamela. Joey is a delight but something about Pam is not clicking for me.  Was surprised to see Jon and Cady in the same scene though. 

I thought the gift Ted gave Eva sucked lol. The thought it was counted but I didn't like it. 

Joey and Vanessa continue to be a highlight and glad she was finally honest with Doug. Doug needs to come clean as well.

Today was the first time I left like I saw something between Kat and Tomas. Though if Eva does get in trouble for the accident will Tomas be her lawyer? 

 

 

Edited May 20 by ShadowHunter

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

Ashley, the food Derek tossed was still in the container.  Being in the trash isn't going to hurt it since the container was pretty much protecting it from the rest of the trash.

Yeah.  No.  I know you're logically right but I wouldn't touch food in a container that touched garbage, especially if I don't know how long it has been sitting in there.  And I felt her irritation with Derek was overblown but somewhat understandable today.  Derek is over 30 years old and he doesn't know how to clean or look up how to clean? 

26 minutes ago, ShadowHunter said:

Was surprised to see Jon and Cady in the same scene though. 

Was their divorce acrimonious?  Michele Val Jean is friends with both.  I'd think if their divorce had been especially sour, she wouldn't have invited both to work on the show.  Speaking of the two, Jon has found the character of Joey.  Cady is talented but I don't think she quite gets Pamela yet.  Pamela goes from being normal to being quite affected in her speech patterns.

 

[Rodney]

17 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Yeah.  No.  I know you're logically right but I wouldn't touch food in a container that touched garbage, especially if I don't know how long it has been sitting in there.

I must be gross or unrefined, then, because I still would've eaten it as long as it was in the container.

[Marisagf]

Sorry, I still don't like Tomas.  

And I don't understand Cady McClain's accent or the character of Pam.  

Was there any P & G product placement in that cleaning scene with Derek?  That was a great opportunity!

 

[One Tough Cookie]

2 hours ago, Rodney said:

because I still would've eaten it as long as it was in the container.

I did that with a box of Girl Scout Thin mints and then came to my senses and grabbed then right back.

[Sake614]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Was their divorce acrimonious?

No it was amicable. Jon posted on Twitter when they announced and said they remain friends, just decided to go their own ways. 
 

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Derek is over 30 years old and he doesn't know how to clean or look up how to clean? 

I don’t understand this question. He was cleaning the apartment when she walked in. Her only complaint was the fridge and even that was stupid. “Oh no! My fridge! MY fridge. It came with MY apartment that I paid for and I decorated and I I I. Just tell him you don’t want to live together after all.

[One Tough Cookie]

I was expecting to see a bottler of Mr. Clean!

[AnimeMania]

That brush that Derek was using for cleaning, I thought it looked more like what hairdressers use to put curls in woman's hair.

[TiffanyNichelle]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Cady is talented but I don't think she quite gets Pamela yet.  Pamela goes from being normal to being quite affected in her speech patterns.

I want her to speak in her regular voice. Right now it's too much and sounds like a caricature. 

I'm very interested in how many more tattoos Tomas has. He was also good at pointing out that Kat has blinders on when it comes to Eva. That even if Eva went to jail, she'd still be her half-sister and some how in her life.

I also loved that Jacob immediately opened with he thought Leslie was trying to frame Eva as the driver but he knew she really wasn't.

Derek is like a big dumb dog, he's mostly harmless. Ashley is exhausting.

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, Sake614 said:

I don’t understand this question. He was cleaning the apartment when she walked in. Her only complaint was the fridge and even that was stupid.

Steel wool on stainless steel?  I hate cleaning and even I know that's a no go.

Thanks for the response on Jon and Cady. I had thought their divorce had been rather no drama so I'm not surprised they're both working together.  If anything, I was more surprised their characters didn't really interact.

Edited May 20 by Irlandesa

[YaddaYadda]

Ashley is a fucking nightmare.

Watching her fly off the handle at everything is exhausting. She needs to see a shrink.

You threw my food? And the container? I AM TRYING TO SAVE THE PLANET!!!

You bought a lottery ticket and you won $100 million? HOW DARE YOU SPEND $2 ON THE TICKET KNOWING IT'S A CRAPSHOOT!!!!

The character was bland, now she's just crazy. 

[Badsamaritan]

Ashley and Derek are terrible. And whatever CBS exec keeps tryna make them happen, just stop it. Ashley is so bad, she's making me root for Derek's boring bland ass. And after Dani broke Andre's heart, now he running to that basic ass girl. They have no chemistry and if the show insists on them having sex, Imma throw something at my TV while wishing it was them. I haven't found a single viewer that wants to see that, TAKE THE HINT, SHOW. 😒

Glad to see Jacob wasn't having any of Leslie's foolishness. And, was she threatening him at the end there? She don't know Jacob is ready to take down one of his fellow officers, he ain't scared of that crazy heffa. 

While Tomas was right about some of the things he said to Kat, I still don't like him and I don't care the truth came from him. The young women on this show need some more young men that aren't related to them to choose from. Something about him is smarmy and untrustworthy. Not to mention, he's a terrible actor. His eyes are just dead, there's nothing behind them at all.

[ASpring1900]

11 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I'm very interested in how many more tattoos Tomas has.

Me, too! We've seen three so far.

[Sake614]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Steel wool on stainless steel?  I hate cleaning and even I know that's a no go.

Oh yikes! I guess I wasn’t paying close attention. I just saw him with cleaning stuff.

[Lugal]

11 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I want her to speak in her regular voice. Right now it's too much and sounds like a caricature. 

To me it sounds like some weird combination of 1940's high society and Glinda the Good Witch.

20 hours ago, Rodney said:

So Diego's seeing Pamela now?  Didn't expect that.  And he's going to be part of her and Dani's new modeling agency.

Which is weird because Diego does not have a model face.  Parts modeling maybe.  And I get it's in character for Dani and Pamela to seek out male models, but female models make a lot more money.

[YaddaYadda]

22 hours ago, Rodney said:

So Diego's seeing Pamela now?  Didn't expect that.  And he's going to be part of her and Dani's new modeling agency.

No he isn't and he apologized for the kiss. He told Pamela that he did it to make someone he was seeing jealous. She knew he was talking about Vanessa, so she reminded him that the person is married and to keep the lips in their lane.

I was actually startled that Vanessa had never told Doug that she was seeing other men, that it was just something she assumed and expected he knew.

[Kerri]

I think NuTed may be a better actor, but they made a mistake casting someone so physically different imo. I'm having a hard time getting past it. And not just physically- his whole manner seems different than original Ted, at least to me. 

I read the new Ted is the one they originally wanted, but he wasn't available right away. I have no idea if it's true, but if so they didnt plan it well. 

Anyway Eva being Nicole's daughter could also help to explain why Leslie has no problem throwing her under the bus for attempted murder. I mean in addition to the crazy. Get her charged, and then drop the bomb she is Leslie's. Maybe Bill can defend her.  

I find I ff about half of any given episode, but the other story I'm enjoying is Anita's, and I was really happy for her the one Articulette responded. 

Edited May 20 by Kerri

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, ASpring1900 said:

13 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I'm very interested in how many more tattoos Tomas has.

Me, too! We've seen three so far.

Way more than 3, he had a gigantic eye on the back of his neck.

7 minutes ago, Kerri said:

I think NuTed may be a better actor, but they made a mistake casting someone so physically different imo. I'm having a hard time getting past it. And not just physically- his whole manner seems different than original Ted, at least to me. 

OldTed seemed to stand up the Leslie, NewTed looks like he wants to curl up in a ball whenever she is around.

[TiffanyNichelle]

NuTed plays everything much more softer than original Ted. He's very apologetic.  can see the old Ted completely rejecting Eva in a way that NuTed would never.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E56: Tuesday, May 20, 2025

[Maelstrom]

Yup, those tattoos are definitely the actor's own, kind of cool they're using them to (finally) flesh out his character. The one on his left forearm that Kat was looking at was especially cool. Now if only the actor could, you know, act. At least he's pretty.

I've been ff'ing Ashley and Derek but watched them yesterday, and can't agree enough that Ashley is a fucking nightmare! Both as a fictional character and a human being. You complain your boyfriend's messy, so he cleans up the place - that's pretty sweet! So he didn't do it the way you wanted, that's how life goes. Why does anyone want to be with her? Why did she agree to let Derek move in if she's such a rigid, inflexible nasty piece of work? Why am I wasting so much time thinking about her? Cut your losses, Show, and dump her before she drags the show down further. Derek is bland but inoffensive, and I'd be curious if he could be fun away from her. Put him with Vanessa, why the hell not!

I'm a bit torn on NuTed as well, he's certainly a better actor (and can stay still without having to sway in place, thank the tv gods) but he lacks the physical presence that I kind of expect to go with the character.

I have a theory, with absolutely nothing to back it up, that the Vanessa role was originally offered to Cady but she turned it down (whether due to not wanting to commit to so much time in Georgia, or because of not wanting to share a story with JL) and so the role of Pamela was created for her. Again, just 100% pure speculation on my part. Agree that her accent/vocal inflections are definitely distracting.

16 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I was expecting to see a bottler of Mr. Clean!

I thought maybe it wasn't a P&G product but it is! Definitely a missed opportunity. Why not have him carry around some Tide? Or Febreeze? Both of which, BTW, are well on their way to becoming scene stealers like the legendary Bowl of Moss on GH.

[ShadowHunter]

5 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

While Tomas was right about some of the things he said to Kat, I still don't like him and I don't care the truth came from him. The young women on this show need some more young men that aren't related to them to choose from. Something about him is smarmy and untrustworthy. Not to mention, he's a terrible actor. His eyes are just dead, there's nothing behind them at all.

He acts like he is in a church play lol. Huge agreement this show needs to bring on a few more males. Kat is giving Tomas chances because she has very limited options it seems.

[YaddaYadda]

The scenes with Eva and Tomas were really good when they were talking about their parents. They actually gave Tomas a legitimate reason why he keeps gravitating toward Eva. 

I don't know who this Ashley Morgan Andre sees is, because the person he describes is not the person on screen. And she should beat herself up. She was a complete asshole.

Kat better be careful. But I have the feeling they're setting up Leslie going after her and Eva saving her.

[Rodney]

8 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

The character was bland, now she's just crazy. 

Better that than bland, though, right?

[One Tough Cookie]

Could someone PLEASE tell the producers to burn that atrocious green polyester coat Leslie wears.

Eva is a really good actress and has taken the role believable as someone who had a chaotic upbringing,

I'm just gonna say it--Leslie is unbelievable.  She is supposed to be diabolical; to me she's just not --maybe she's just a bad actress,

Thankfully Dani has stopped chewing the scenery and morphed into a totally believable character.

[Sake614]

Had to laugh at Anita thinking the country club was too off putting and flaunting her wealth as opposed to her mansion or the diamonds on her fingers 🤣. But something tells me Tracy can’t be trusted. I dunno, but her whole ‘I suppose I could stay at a hotel. I did bring a change of clothes because well, you just never can trust travel.’ She lives less than 2 hours by train. And if the train is delayed she could take a bus or rent a car. I just get the ‘danger Will Robinson’ vibes from her, so of course I’m likely wrong lol!

Yes Ashley, you are an asshole. If you didn’t want to live with Derek, maybe you should’ve just told him ‘no’ when he suggested it. Nothing wrong with not being ready to move in with your boyfriend.

loved how Jacob shot down Derek’s idea of crashing on the couch. ‘Ashley is Naomi’s best friend. I’ll never hear the end of it.’

so Leslie is going full on batshit crazy. If Laura was so nervous, why didn’t she ring for the nurse? That would’ve been the first thing I did when some stranger walked into my hospital room!

1 minute ago, One Tough Cookie said:

Could someone PLEASE tell the producers to burn that atrocious green polyester coat Leslie wears.

I think it’s pleather, but yeah it’s pretty bad.

[Badsamaritan]

I need somebody to stop Leslie. Truly. Saying she was busy washing her wigs was funny as fuck but still. She's a menace. I've said before, her murder would make a great umbrella story. And going to scare poor Laura today? We haven't seen him but, supposedly Laura has a boyfriend. Even he could be a suspect. Because as great a villain as she is to watch, her particular brand of crazy has a shelf life. She has no friends, no anchor other than Eva, and only when Leslie can use her. Plus, she's got attempted murder charges on her head. She claims she's got more tricks up her sleeve but are they gonna benefit her in any way or just piss people off even more? Her end game, other than Teddy Bear, is unclear. 

Tracy is up to something. She told that story about Vernon having his pick of the Articulettes for a reason. She ain't slick. Ms Anita peeped game, though. 👀

I wish Shanice was Naomi's best friend. Everything about Ashley irritates my spirit. That fake ass sobbing with NOT ONE TEAR SHED. She couldn't even bat her eyes together real fast, or surreptitiously poke one to squeeze out some waterworks, she hates that man. I wish Derek would leave then Andre would leave cuz Dani is texting that she needs her back blown out and then Ashley falls asleep alone with a lit candle that catches her ugly curtains on fire but by the time Derek finds out it's too late, Ashley has gone on to Glory. So Derek decides to become a man whore and seduces Hayley after she catches her stove on fire because the knobs didn't have child locks and he saves her after she immediately faints from uselessness. 😁

[Sake614]

7 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

Derek decides to become a man whore and seduces Hayley after she catches her stove on fire because the knobs didn't have child locks and he saves her after she immediately faints from uselessness

::dead:: 🤣

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

I wish Derek would leave then Andre would leave cuz Dani is texting that she needs her back blown out and then Ashley falls asleep alone with a lit candle that catches her ugly curtains on fire but by the time Derek finds out it's too late, Ashley has gone on to Glory.

You forgot to mention that Derek was the one driving the fire truck and he makes a wrong turn and the firemen get there too late to save Ashley.

[Rodney]

Finally catching up after some work-related stuff kept me from watching this live.

Jan showing up to encourage Derek was probably what he needed.  They need to talk things over and figure out how to move forward from there.

They are clearly going in hard on Ashley and Andre hooking up.  It's too obvious.  But at least for now, Andre got Ashley to see that she loves Derek and should be working things out with him, not pushing him away.  But I'll give it to Ashley that she was self-aware that she'd pushed Derek away with her rules.

Kat is a little bit too eager to bust Eva for Laura's accident.  But Jacob showed a bit of smarts that Leslie didn't have an alibi for that night, and he seems close to figuring out that she did it.  I was disappointed that Kat didn't show an openness to that possibility, instead continuing to focus on Eva.

I'm honestly starting to lean more toward wanting Tomas to end up with Eva.  They seem to have an easier vibe than he has with Kat.  Plus, she doesn't try to control whom he can or can't see, unlike Kat.  Hearing that Tomas has a father who treats him like Leslie treats Eva was interesting.  But it seems that Leslie blaming her for Laura's accident has just become news to Eva.  But Eva's not stupid.  She's suspected Leslie of the accident since it happened.

I was scared for Laura when Leslie showed up in her room.  Please let her live, Show.  Please let her live.  Agree with whomever said that she should've gone for her call button.  And of course, Leslie tries to get Laura to think that Eva ran her off the road.  Kat got to her just in time.  I feared that Leslie was going to do something to her if she hadn't.  But good for Laura for turning Kat to the school of thought that Leslie was the one who did it, even if Kat wants to keep her mind more open to Eva being the culprit.  She even realized that either Leslie or Eva spiked Laura with potassium.

Some smarts from Kat in getting security to protect Laura, though.  Good move on her part.

3 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I'm just gonna say it--Leslie is unbelievable.  She is supposed to be diabolical; to me she's just not --maybe she's just a bad actress.

You're kidding, right?  I think that Trisha's been great in the role.  She is so deliciously evil as Leslie.

For all of the complaints of Derek having no chemistry with anyone, I can sense some friend chemistry with Jacob.  Jacob was a good, supportive friend to him.

So this was our introduction to Tracy.  Judging by her initial reaction to Anita, it's clear to me that she's hiding how much of a grudge she's truly holding.  Interesting to know that Vernon had known all three Articulettes, too.  Who was this Dante Green Tracy mentioned, though?  But I wonder if she has a real reason for wanting to stay with them?

Oh, of course Derek barely misses seeing Ashley with Andre.

Okay episode.

[Giuseppe]

I enjoyed Eva and Tomas today. Their conversation felt real and believable. Alex Alegria seems to have good days and bad days acting wise, but I still don't think he's as blank as Derek, whose character I am starting to really feel bad for, lol. His conversation with Jacob was also really good. Jacob told him everything he needed to hear.

Poor Laura sure has been in the hospital for a long time. 

UO, but I don't mind Cady/Pamela's accent. Pamela seems like just the type of person to adopt such an affectation.

Edited May 21 by Giuseppe

[YaddaYadda]

11 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

I wish Shanice was Naomi's best friend. Everything about Ashley irritates my spirit. That fake ass sobbing with NOT ONE TEAR SHED. She couldn't even bat her eyes together real fast, or surreptitiously poke one to squeeze out some waterworks, she hates that man. I wish Derek would leave then Andre would leave cuz Dani is texting that she needs her back blown out and then Ashley falls asleep alone with a lit candle that catches her ugly curtains on fire but by the time Derek finds out it's too late, Ashley has gone on to Glory. So Derek decides to become a man whore and seduces Hayley after she catches her stove on fire because the knobs didn't have child locks and he saves her after she immediately faints from uselessness. 😁

This was an amazing read this morning 🤣

[One Tough Cookie]

11 hours ago, Rodney said:

You're kidding, right?  I think that Trisha's been great in the role.  She is so deliciously evil as Leslie.

I disagree, but that's my opinion.

[LadyWave]

It’s ridiculous how long Laura has been in the hospital. My friend had 17 hour brain surgery two weeks ago on a Thursday and they released her that Saturday. 

[TiffanyNichelle]

I also really liked the Tomas and Eva conversation where we found out more about Tomas's backstory. If this is going to be a real triangle, he needs to be a fully fledged out character (despite the actor's skills). This could end up being like Carrie/Austin/Sami on Days where looking back, Austin was a straight doofus, so I want something a little more with Tomas. Finding out that he also has a very toxic parent was interesting. Both he and Eva need to learn how to cut those people out of their lives (which of course they can't because we need it for the DRAMA!).

Was I supposed to feel sorry for Ashley and be angry at Derek for giving up? Because I was rooting for Derek to flee Ashley and her void of personality. He doesn't have one either so the two of them together is just a big time suck. I love the suggestion that he could go over and be with Hayley. Maybe she could use him as a boytoy to pass the time when Bill is off bothering the Duprees.

Leslie in Laura's room was scary. You couldn't tell exactly what she was going to do even until the end. It's interesting that every time she goes to "protect" Eva from the accusation, she basically tells everyone she ran Laura off the road.

[drivethroo]

 

On 5/19/2025 at 3:36 PM, ShadowHunter said:

Some fun magnets could have been used to cover the scratches on the Fridge.

Not really.  Not all stainless is magnetic.  I have a stainless fridge and it is not magnetic.

On 5/19/2025 at 8:29 PM, Sake614 said:

Her only complaint was the fridge and even that was stupid.

Scratches on the fridge is not attractive.  I would've been hot, too.  Ashley is correct, that money is coming out of her security deposit. It would be one thing if Ashley caused the damage but Derek just moved in and is causing damage? No sir, you've got to go.

On 5/19/2025 at 11:04 PM, AnimeMania said:

That brush that Derek was using for cleaning, I thought it looked more like what hairdressers use to put curls in woman's hair.

It was probably Ashley's.

23 hours ago, Kerri said:

I think NuTed may be a better actor, but they made a mistake casting someone so physically different imo. I'm having a hard time getting past it. And not just physically- his whole manner seems different than original Ted, at least to me. 

They can explain it away as he hasn't been eating or sleeping.

OG Ted was showing off his muscles (muscles we didn't get to see) on FB the other day.

18 hours ago, Sake614 said:

loved how Jacob shot down Derek’s idea of crashing on the couch. ‘Ashley is Naomi’s best friend. I’ll never hear the end of it.’

What newlyweds want some dude crashing on their couch?

14 hours ago, Rodney said:

I was disappointed that Kat didn't show an openness to that possibility, instead continuing to focus on Eva.

Kat has hated Eva on sight and her mission will be getting rid of Eva.  She doesn't care how she does it.

14 hours ago, Rodney said:

I'm honestly starting to lean more toward wanting Tomas to end up with Eva.  They seem to have an easier vibe than he has with Kat.  Plus, she doesn't try to control whom he can or can't see, unlike Kat.

I think Tomas thinks he's supposed to like Kat because of who she is but he doesn't because of who she actually is. He's only seen Kat be mean, spoiled, nasty, elitist and rude. I suspect his father may have the same type of attitude.

14 hours ago, Rodney said:

She even realized that either Leslie or Eva spiked Laura with potassium.

Eva is going down for the poisoning of Laura because Laura, Nicole and Shanice will remember Eva popping up at the hospital to give flowers to Laura.  Even if Shanice remembers the new nurse as not being Eva, they will all conclude Eva and Leslie were working together to poison Laura and Leslie is going to toss Eva under the buss.

Ted is going to end up defending Eva which will only piss Kat off even more.

14 hours ago, Rodney said:

For all of the complaints of Derek having no chemistry with anyone, I can sense some friend chemistry with Jacob. 

They really should've made Derek one of Jacob's cop buddies down at the station.

14 hours ago, Rodney said:

Judging by her initial reaction to Anita, it's clear to me that she's hiding how much of a grudge she's truly holding.  Interesting to know that Vernon had known all three Articulettes, too. 

I don't think Vernon was messing with either Sharon or Tracy because he wouldn't be pushing Anita to befriend them again.  But I definitely think Sharon and/or Tracy have held a 50+ years long grudge against Anita because one of the two of them (or both) wanted Vernon but Anita got him instead.

And perhaps one of them has a daughter who is resentful because the Dupree lifestyle should've been hers and her momma's, not Anita and Nicole's...

[Rodney]

4 minutes ago, drivethroo said:

I don't think Vernon was messing with either Sharon or Tracy because he wouldn't be pushing Anita to befriend them again.  But I definitely think Sharon and/or Tracy have held a 50+ years long grudge against Anita because one of the two of them (or both) wanted Vernon but Anita got him instead.

Tracy didn't sound like she held a grudge over that, but she did sort of hint that Sharon held one.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E57: Wednesday, May 21, 2025

[Rodney]

Wow.  Leslie's continuing the gaslighting of Eva over Laura.  I think that Eva never shook off her suspicions of her mother, given that the timing of Laura's misfortunes lined up perfectly.  And after digging a lot more deeply this time, Leslie finally confesses to doing so.  And Eva admits that she knew deep down that she was guilty.  And of course, Leslie manipulates Eva just enough to get her to not implicate her.  Of course.  Even after Jacob tried to give her a friendly warning not to get dragged down into her mess, she still protects her.  *sighs*

If they're trying to make Bill and Hayley sexy, I'm still not seeing it from them.  And of course Bill tries to insinuate himself into Dani and Chelsea's moment.  At Hayley's insistence, no less.  That was none of her business.  She was right that not everything is about Bill, though.  And Bill is still experiencing those twitches.  He really needs to see a doctor.

Chelsea has her first real date with Allison.  Or she starts to.  But she immediately gets shot down from possibly being with her when Allison says that Craig is the one whom she loves.  The date ends pretty quickly from there.  So much so that she can't even talk to her own sister.

Wow.  This must be the longest time that Cady was in Atlanta.  Save for yesterday, she's been in a long streak of episode.  Still, I was surprised to hear that Diego turned down the offer to join their agency.  But Pamela seems to be a smart cookie.  She's figured out that Dani's seeing Andre in a "friends with benefits" kind of thing.

Holy shit.  Dani and Pamela kissed?!  For real?!  And in full view of Bill, Hayley, and Chelsea, no less?!  And of course Bill uses it for an ego booster.  Unfortunately, it backfired thanks to Chelsea's reaction.  Clearly, she's still hurting over Allison rejecting her.  Dani clearly sensed that something else was off about Chelsea, and she got it out of her fairly quickly.  Honestly, I think that Chelsea went over the line there.

But this leads to Chelsea finally telling Dani about her threesomes with couples.  That was surprising to hear that she'd been more into the male halves of the couples at first, but then started getting more into the female halves.  And now we know that Chelsea is bi.  Nice mother/daughter moment in the end.

I wish we could see more of Jacob and Naomi's bond as spouses, because they have very good chemistry.  Too bad Jacob got called away.

I did like Naomi's scenes with Derek, though.  Interesting to hear that she and Jacob fight more often than they're shown.  But they do so in a way that doesn't hurt each other.

Ashley has her revelation that she was too into holding onto her independence that she didn't listen to Derek's idea of making her place their place.  Unfortunately, she has this revelation with Andre there, and he tries to throw the blame onto Derek even though it's Ashley's fault that the fight happened, not Derek's.

A second musical montage at the end.

This was a good episode.  But I'm missing Nicole.  This has been three straight episodes without her.