Beyond the Gates: Daily Episode Discussion

[ShadowHunter]

Today Friday May 2nd this was soap opera. 

I feel a bit bad for Eva even though she went along with things she was manipulated and lied to as well since Leslie didn't tell her everything. I did like Andre talking to her a few minutes. I think he will accept her as a family member since they are cousins.

Bill sucks course he said he would kidnap a child. I will give Ted some benefit of the doubt I dont  think he knew Bill told her that. 

Kat and Eva are twins. That is how she knew it was that twin sense lol.

While Martin has not always been my favorite I am glad he went it on Ted. Ted using his own kid as a way to see his mistress was low.

Edited Friday at 07:27 PM by ShadowHunter

[AnimeMania]

I thought the episode was alright. I wasn't sure if Doug was referring to Vanessa cheating on him is the same as Ted cheating on Nicole, Doug has to know what his wife is doing.

I thought Andre would have been much nicer to Eva, maybe even welcoming, since he was also an outsider to Ted and Nicole's family and they graciously accepted him in. Andre should have had a little longer story for Eva in support of Nicole and especially Ted. Andre should have had a little more compassion for Eva, for just wanting to belong, maybe give her a hug and welcome her to the family, for better or worse.

The problem with the Dupree's is they want to control the narrative without even having all the facts. They have no idea what is true or false and they are already trying to do crisis management on the situation.

I don't know why Leslie showed up at the Dupree's house (what is the point of living behind gates if they just let anybody in), they should just hit Leslie in the head with a shovel and bury her in the back yard, crisis managed.

[Rodney]

4 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

The problem with the Dupree's is they want to control the narrative without even having all the facts. They have no idea what is true or false and they are already trying to do crisis management on the situation.

I imagine that they'll let Ted tell his side of the story, though with some reluctance in letting him do so, to get all of the facts.  However mad they are at him, they should at least grant him that chance.

[Sake614]

Today’s show was amazing! I didn’t want it to end and now can’t wait for Monday to see the fallout! From the previews, it appears one of my questions was answered: Eva had a DNA test that proves Ted is her father. Unless Leslie somehow tampered with it. But since she’s been steadfast in her belief that Eva is Ted’s, I think that’s unlikely. Regardless, the woman is certifiable and needs to be locked up. 

I guess I was wrong about Bill not being part of it. But damn,threatening Dana with kidnapping her child? If he really did that, then that’s low even for him. And I hope even Hayley takes him to task for it.

i do feel bad for Eva having to learn just how sick and twisted her mother is. She still bears some responsibility for what happened but she too was lied to her whole life. 
 

doesnt surprise me that the Duprees are already focused on damage control. Powerful families/companies generally employ fixers to spin the narrative in their favor.

Leslie showing up at Anita and Vernon’s house took balls.

[YaddaYadda]

5 hours ago, Skarzero said:

If Eva were Nicole's daughter too, the emotional stakes & consequences of Ted's affair kinda dissipate imo 

I don't think that's necessarily true. 

If Nicole and Ted were using IVF and Leslie stole one of their embryos as has been speculated, then that's a whole other can of worms.

Ted and Nicole had a daughter out there they did not know about. They had a daughter who was threatened by Bill. They had a daughter who was raised by a woman who is unhinged.

the flip side is that Eva wouldn't even exist if not for Leslie. And embryos do get destroyed eventually.

I don't think that it would dissipate what Ted did. If anything, it makes things a lot worse because he opened the door for this particular scenario. 

I think it might end up being worse than the truth as we know it right now.

Can we be done with the Hayley Lament? Honestly. Girl, you had an affair with a married man, he left his wife for you, married you. What did you think the consequences for Bill were going to be? Why would his former brother-in-law want to hang out with him? Also, does she feel bad because Bill is not invited to these social events or because she's not invited?

Have a tall glass of STFU, Hayley. She did look good in that soft pink, though.

Today was Martin and Ted's best episode. The acting was pretty good.

Leslie and her fantasy about Nicole handing Ted over to her. She and Hayley should hang out, trade notes.

[drivethroo]

1 hour ago, ShadowHunter said:

While Martin has not always been my favorite I am glad he went it on Ted. Ted using his own kid as a way to see his mistress was low.

Especially since he knew Leslie was telling the truth about the brownies ...she brought him a brownie on the other episode earlier this week.

2 hours ago, Rodney said:

But props to Andre for showing Eva at least a little bit of decency and kindness. 

Andre will be the only family member to accept her; while Martin and Kate are also his first cousins, they are also Duprees.  He is a Richardson and when the DNA tests prove Eva is Ted's child, she will be a Richardson too.  Anita showed Andre he was not part of the tribe when she summoned Naomi, Chelsea, Kat and Martin to the house for a family meeting but not Andre.

2 hours ago, Rodney said:

Speaking of Leslie, her fantasy of Nicole essentially conceding Ted to her shows yet again just how far gone she is.

It was always about Nicole.  It was never about Eva and she realized it on these past 2 episodes.

1 hour ago, ShadowHunter said:

I feel a bit bad for Eva even though she went along with things she was manipulated and lied to as well since Leslie didn't tell her everything.

She realized she had been lied to the entire time at the party.  She realized Ted didn't know Leslie was pregnant because Bill threatened to hunt her down and take the baby and sell it so she fled town.

Out of all of the Dupree women, I think Naomi will take a softer approach to Eva and possibly Leslie because a big, powerful man (Bill) used his resources to get his way (get Leslie out of town/hide Ted's secret). Although Eva should be held accountable for scamming Nicole, she shouldn't be held accountable for Ted, Leslie or Bill's actions.

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

wasn't sure if Doug was referring to Vanessa cheating on him is the same as Ted cheating on Nicole, Doug has to know what his wife is doing.

While Vanessa is hurting for her friend, she should really keep her mouth shut about Ted, since her legs are wide open to everyone in Fairmont Crest.

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

I don't know why Leslie showed up at the Dupree's house (what is the point of living behind gates if they just let anybody in),

She was already behind the gates because the party was at the country club.

48 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

And I hope even Hayley takes him to task for it.

If she was actually smart, she would have to wonder if Bill would've done the same thing to her if she had gotten pregnant when he was married to Dani. But she's not, she giggled with glee learning Ted was no better than her.

44 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

What did you think the consequences for Bill were going to be? Why would his former brother-in-law want to hang out with him?

I suppose Hayley meant if Bill hadn't divorced Dani for her, Bill would also be at Ted & Nicole's anniversary, but the doe act is worn now.  What they need to do is make Hayley Leslie's other daughter that she sicced on Bill for revenge.  

44 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

Today was Martin and Ted's best episode. The acting was pretty good.

Martin realized Ted took him around his ho and he remembered the countless days and nights his mother was in despair over losing her children and he shut Ted down.

I certainly hope Leslie has the same smoke for Bill that she has for Ted.

Edited Friday at 09:05 PM by drivethroo

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, Sake614 said:

It was but that can take its toll on a marriage. Nicole said that it became all about schedules and whatnot. There was no joy in their life because she had trouble conceiving. So Ted strayed. He wouldn’t be the first and he won’t be the last. He was wrong and he knows it. 

Yeah.  I think a lot of the reason I am not willing to give him a pass was exposed in this episode.  They were actively trying for a child and she was having miscarriages.  That's sleazy.  He brought his young child to meet up with his mistress.  Very sleazy.  He then roped Bill into the situation.  He can cry all he wants about not knowing how Bill took care of business but there's a reason he went to Bill of all people. 

So even if he spent 20 years of being faithful, he was willing to pay off Leslie as recently as a few weeks ago.  It goes a little beyond a whoops.

4 hours ago, Rodney said:

Doug was cute taking care of Vanessa in the hospital.  But I love that Vanessa wanted to wring Ted's neck.  Surprised that Doug tried to be any bit defensive about Ted, though.

So we now know that Bill was the fixer for Ted's mistake way back when.  And although he didn't say it directly to her, Hayley figured it out.  I don't like her much, but Marquita Goings played her reaction perfectly.
 

The lack of awareness by Vanessa and Hayley was something else.  I really thought Doug was onto Vanessa.  I knew it'd be too soon but I like the way actor played that. 

I like Eva a lot but Eva saying she didn't know her dad didn't know about her made her sound pretty ridiculous.  Even though he didn't know she had been born, he pretty much did everything he could to get Leslie to abort her.  He didn't want her.  And honestly, even if he had known about her in Chicago, I think he would have happily ignored her existance as long as no one was going to make him acknowledge her. 

 

 

[Sake614]

32 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Yeah.  I think a lot of the reason I am not willing to give him a pass was exposed in this episode.  They were actively trying for a child and she was having miscarriages.  That's sleazy.  He brought his young child to meet up with his mistress.  Very sleazy.  He then roped Bill into the situation.  He can cry all he wants about not knowing how Bill took care of business but there's a reason he went to Bill of all people. 

So even if he spent 20 years of being faithful, he was willing to pay off Leslie as recently as a few weeks ago.  It goes a little beyond a whoops.

Yeah I’m definitely not letting him off the hook, and I didn’t know when I posted this that he’d pulled Bill into it or that he took Martin to the diner where she worked. But I do think he and Nicole can work through it given enough time and real contrition on his part, plus owning his indiscretion. Of course like any affair, this could all have been rendered moot if he’d just come clean. If not years ago, then at least before he paid her off a few weeks ago 

[Badsamaritan]

Oooh whee! That was amazing. Start to finish, no notes. Everybody brought their game and damn, they brought it well. I can't wait til Monday lol.

Will somebody please serve this crazy woman her karma? Wipe that smirk off her face? Trisha Mann-Gant is doing a fantastic job of making me hate Leslie. And, just when you think you've seen how crazy Leslie is, she shows up to the Dupree lion's den and kicks crazy up a whole other level. She has to have a downfall. She can't keep waltzing around town proselytizing and grinning maniacally, she has to have a reckoning coming.

Finding out she stole Eva from Nicole and Ted and kept her from her rightful family would be a great way to kick off a murder mystery. Not to mention what Leslie did to Laura and all the lies she told and people she has hurt. Damn near everyone on canvas could be a suspect. That's another way to raise the emotional stakes of the fallout from Ted's affair. Family and friends could suspect each other, with people hiding things and impeding the investigation. That would delay any big 'welcome to the family, long lost daughter!' feelings for a while.

I also thought maybe Kat continues to investigate Leslie's story, because she feels some kind of pull to Eva. They had some pointed dialog about Kat being right and that she 'just knew it', so that could allude to the twin theory, and as she and Eva look into Leslie and what really happened between her and Ted, they somehow make the discovery that Leslie's story of Eva's birth is complete bullshit.

Either way, Leslie has to face some kind of consequences for what she did to Laura at the very least, since she could have killed her either time she tried. 

I really can't wait until Monday 😁

[JAYJAY1979]

Today was soap opera to the hilt!

I enjoyed the long scene of Leslie spitting out her views on all the Duprees.  It reminded me of the 1983 episode when Renee let all of Salem know what she thought of them on Days of Our Lives.

Team Leslie/Dana over the vile Duprees (except Nicole).

I think Doug knows of Vanessa and her interests based on the Cosmopolitan remark he made.  It's interesting her perspective on Bill/Dani and Ted/Nicole's marriage.

Unpopular opinion: I like Bill and Hayley as a couple.  

[drivethroo]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I like Eva a lot but Eva saying she didn't know her dad didn't know about her made her sound pretty ridiculous.  Even though he didn't know she had been born, he pretty much did everything he could to get Leslie to abort her.  He didn't want her.

But Eva didn't know that Ted didn't know about her.  As far as he knew there was no baby to know about because Leslie had an abortion.  That's an even worse truth for Eva to find out: that Ted never wanted her at all. 

Leslie is correct about the summary but twisted/omitted the detais.

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And honestly, even if he had known about her in Chicago, I think he would have happily ignored her existance as long as no one was going to make him acknowledge her. 

This is absolutely true and this is what Eva was raised to believe.  Again it's the truth but the details were twisted/omitted to Leslie's (and not Eva's) benefit. 

Leslie doesn't give 2 figs about Ted not acknowledging Eva.  Leslie is mad Ted is not acknowledging HER.

1 hour ago, Sake614 said:

But I do think he and Nicole can work through it given enough time and real contrition on his part, plus owning his indiscretion.

It will take time and Ted will need to give Nicole all the time she needs. She doesn't need to make any decisions about staying, going, talking to, working with etc. Ted. He needs to give her that space.  No begging for forgiveness.  No apologizing. Do not blame Nicole in any way.  Let her reach out to him and if she never does, accept it and charge Nicole to the game and leave her alone.

Even if they work it out, she's never going to ever fully trust him or any man like she trusted Ted before the revelation. It's not even about the actual sex. What did he say about her to Dana/Leslie? What else is he hiding? How many other kids does he have out there? Does he actually love Nicole or does he love the prestige of being with Nicole? She will have to be ok with never fully trusting him and he will have to be ok with that.

And then there's the problem of Eva. Eva is a reminder of Ted's infidelity so Nicole's not going to want her around BUT Nicole would lose the last bits of respect she had for Ted if he didn't want anything to do with Eva.  So if she decides to work it out with Ted, she will have to accept Eva as well and if Ted wants to work it out with Nicole, he will have to accept Eva too.

1 hour ago, Badsamaritan said:

and as she and Eva look into Leslie

Kat won't be having anything to do with Eva, half sister, twin sister or not. Andre will accept Eva as family because they're both Richardsons.  Martin will take his cue from Nicole, if only for optics.  Kat won't be having anything to do with Eva at all.  

EVA needs to investigate because she just found out her whole life has been a lie.

1 hour ago, Badsamaritan said:

Either way, Leslie has to face some kind of consequences for what she did to Laura at the very least, since she could have killed her either time she tried. 

I think unfortunately Eva will be blamed for Laura's accident and situation, not Leslie.

I saw someone theorize what if Ted actually isn't Eva's father but her uncle (thus Andre's sister)?

[Badsamaritan]

10 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Team Leslie/Dana over the vile Duprees (except Nicole).

I love Leslie as a villain but, considering she tried to kill poor, innocent Laura - twice - just to further her plan to humiliate a woman who didn't have shit to do with the emotional damage Leslie is experiencing, I can't choose her. And, we haven't been shown that the Duprees have done anything to her either, so this is all on Teddy Bear and Bill. The Duprees should in no way be held responsible for Ted's grown man choices. 

We also don't know if everything Leslie is saying is true since she's a known liar. That flashback of her and Eva after Alan died, talking like she deserved some kinda life. She was the side chick, and all side chicks are stupid for thinking they're the one that's gonna get wifed up. She slept with a married man, she brought this on herself. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[michelec]

5 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

That flashback of her and Eva after Alan died, talking like she deserved some kinda life.  

That scene had me thinking that Leslie may have had something to do with Alan's death. We already saw her try to kill Laura twice, so definitely within the realm of possibility.

[Rodney]

19 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Team Leslie/Dana over the vile Duprees (except Nicole).

I'm sorry.  "Vile Duprees?"  How are they "vile," exactly?  I would certainly love to hear it.  I really would.  But . . . you probably don't have an answer for it.

19 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Unpopular opinion: I like Bill and Hayley as a couple.  

You're going to be all alone on an island for this one.  I haven't found a single person who likes them.

[DearEvette]

19 hours ago, drivethroo said:

I saw someone theorize what if Ted actually isn't Eva's father but her uncle (thus Andre's sister)?

That was one of my theories very early on.  Only because Andre always seems to low key flirt with women and he never seemed to flirt with Eva.

[drivethroo]

4 hours ago, michelec said:

That scene had me thinking that Leslie may have had something to do with Alan's death.

I wonder if Alan died of a heart attack?

 

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

You're going to be all alone on an island for this one.  I haven't found a single person who likes them.

The show isn't telling us why Bill left Dani for Hayley but didn't leave Dani for any of the other women he cheated with. Is it because she's young and he's having a midlife crisis? Dani has been "Dani her entire life so what happened where Bill said he just can't take it anymore? We can't root for Bill and Hayley if we don't know why they're together.

52 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

That was one of my theories very early on.  Only because Andre always seems to low key flirt with women and he never seemed to flirt with Eva.

Is Ted a twin? Would identical twins have identical DNA so even if Ted's brother were actually Eva's father, the DNA test would say it's Ted?

I've seen people on social media claim this Carlton guy is the doctor who ran the DNA tests but did Leslie ever mention the name of who she asked to run the test? Because that would be quite diabolical if Carlton and Leslie were working together to bust Ted and Nicole up.

[One Tough Cookie]

On 5/2/2025 at 4:14 PM, Sake614 said:

I guess I was wrong about Bill not being part of it. But damn,threatening Dana with kidnapping her child? If he really did that, then that’s low even for him. And I hope even Hayley takes him to task for it.

Since Leslie is so bat shit crazy, I wouldn't believe anything she says about the kidnapping

 

20 hours ago, drivethroo said:

Either way, Leslie has to face some kind of consequences for what she did to Laura at the very least, since she could have killed her either time she tried. 

She should be tried for attempted homicide {and have Bull defend her!

[Kerri]

I just finished the 2 eps. I was on the edge of my seat. They have done this story beautifully from the beginning. 

Agree with everyone, clothes were amazing, I love the fashion on this show usually. Nothing I could ever wear, but just fun and colorful, then usually with some black/silver/gold contrast.

I knew at the end that wasn't actually Nicole talking to Leslie. She is crazy. Sad that she totally destroyed her daughter and doesn't give a shit. I hope Eva doesn't get pulled back into her bullshit. It can be hard to walk away from a parent though, even an awful one. 

Only in a soap would Chelsea actually lwt that woman in. Youre telling me they don't have cameras or a way to see who is at the door? I assume Leslie is there to extort money.

They can do anything they want with the DNA results. Most soaps play it out one way and then say it was tampered and then play it out the other way lol.

Haley laughing about Bill's morally impaired clients. She knows exactly who he is. They're both trash.

I am also really invested in the story with Doug and Vanessa, they've done a good job of bringing these characters to life and with some complexity. Moreso Vanessa thsn Doug, but the last couple conversations bw them have been good scenes.

 

 

 

[ShadowHunter]

35 minutes ago, Kerri said:

I just finished the 2 eps. I was on the edge of my seat. They have done this story beautifully from the beginning. 

Agree with everyone, clothes were amazing, I love the fashion on this show usually. Nothing I could ever wear, but just fun and colorful, then usually with some black/silver/gold contrast.

I knew at the end that wasn't actually Nicole talking to Leslie. She is crazy. Sad that she totally destroyed her daughter and doesn't give a shit. I hope Eva doesn't get pulled back into her bullshit. It can be hard to walk away from a parent though, even an awful one. 

Only in a soap would Chelsea actually lwt that woman in. Youre telling me they don't have cameras or a way to see who is at the door? I assume Leslie is there to extort money.

They can do anything they want with the DNA results. Most soaps play it out one way and then say it was tampered and then play it out the other way lol.

Haley laughing about Bill's morally impaired clients. She knows exactly who he is. They're both trash.

I am also really invested in the story with Doug and Vanessa, they've done a good job of bringing these characters to life and with some complexity. Moreso Vanessa thsn Doug, but the last couple conversations bw them have been good scenes.

 

 

 

Chelsea letting Leslie in didn't surprise me. After she live streamed her Mom at the Wedding she still was holding her phone recording what was happening at the Anniversary party. Naomi really had to point out to her not to do that. She is lacking some awareness lol. 

I liked the fashion as well. Kat and Chelsea definitely had nice Summer colors going on. 

 

[Giuseppe]

On 5/2/2025 at 3:00 PM, Rodney said:

If this was Maurice Johnson's last episode as Ted, then he's done a great job in the role.  But he should've been allowed to play out at least the first few weeks of the fallout before being replaced

Can't say I agree, honestly. Watching these scenes, I found myself wishing they'd replaced him before the big reveal. I feel bad saying it, though. I'm sure Maurice is a nice guy but I just didn't think he was cutting it. 

Also, what was with his suit? Perforated fabric? I've seen open-weave suits, but never anything quite like that.

My DVR didn't pick up Friday's show for some reason so I assumed it had been pre-empted again. Glad I checked here today and was able to watch on Paramount +. 

On 5/2/2025 at 3:00 PM, Rodney said:

Really liked Mona's glare at Eva before she left the party.

That was perfect. I still think the actress playing Mona is the most natural of the cast. Her face said everything without her having to actually say a word.

I feel like this show is maybe cutting some scenes for time, and it kinda throws off the rhythm for me. It seems weird we didn't get a reaction scene of Naomi wondering/realizing what was happening. We went from her walking into the club talking to Jacob and then her next scene she was just telling Chelsea to put her phone away. There was a beat missing of Naomi asking someone who that woman was and what in the world was happening.

Anyway, looking forward to Monday's show!

[Rodney]

13 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:

Can't say I agree, honestly. Watching these scenes, I found myself wishing they'd replaced him before the big reveal. I feel bad saying it, though. I'm sure Maurice is a nice guy but I just didn't think he was cutting it.

Well, unfortunately, it wouldn't have hit the same if he had been replaced beforehand.

[Kerri]

They really need to have newTed's first line to Nicole be something like:  I'm a different man now, baby, I promise! Heh.

Edited 5 hours ago by Kerri

[ShadowHunter]

The New Ted starts on Thursday May 15th.