"Beyond the Gates" Week 12 Review

Amazing that we are closing in on three months since Beyond the Gates hit CBS, and this soap has really turned heads and drawn massive attention in such a short time. This past week has been quite eventful; the fallout from Leslie's actions continued on, and it's been very fruitful, indeed.

So let's get to what stood out in this, the twelfth week of this amazing show:

May 12

The true highlight of Monday's episode had to be Eva's face-to-face with the matriarch herself, Anita Dupree. Anita, from Episode 1, Scene 1, has pretty much established herself as the typical strong-willed and benevolent matriarch who is also capable of showing that she will not take any nonsense from anyone. We see that in this moment, where Anita does display some semblance of compassion to Eva, informing Eva that, despite her actions, she is not fully to blame for everything that occurred. Despite that moment of compassion, Anita makes one thing perfectly clear to Eva: she will never be part of the Dupree family.

That is exactly what I expected from Anita Dupree. Kindness, compassion, but that killer biting remark right at the end. She's the GOAT of soap matriarchs. Yes, even above Katherine Chancellor.

May 13

So Tuesday's episode saw Ted go through with his desperate "father of the year" approach, and proudly show off Eva at the same club that the Duprees frequent. Of course, Dani, Vanessa, and most notably, Nicole, saw the pair, along with Anastasia--whose mouth is bigger than the Buffalo Sabres' playoff drought. Eva runs off, feeling that she doesn't belong in that ritzy world, but her attempt to get Leslie to act like something resembling an actual mother falls flat.

We see Eva return to Ted, and he reassures Eva that he has her back. Amazing. It's been said that we can't choose our family, and it's true. Regarding Eva, both of her parents... definitely not four-star. Yet it really says something about Leslie when Ted's the better parent; it really does.

May 14

For Wednesday, I wanted to focus on Anita and Vernon Dupree, and I want to talk about how much they love and appreciate each other. The way Vernon talks about Anita and vice versa is wonderful, and the chemistry between Clifton Davis and Tamara Tunie is just spectacular. And scenes like this are why this soap was badly needed. Even though we are in the heart of 2025, we live in a society who racially stereotypes Black men; always portrays Black men of being misogynistic when we're actually the biggest feminists in society. Vernon and Anita's commitment, adoration, and appreciation to each other has been such a beautiful thing to see for the entire three months that the show's been on.

May 15

There's something different about Ted Richardson. Ah, now I see it! No turtleneck. Yep, that's it. I may know as much about soap operas as the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers do about winning without help from the refs, but I know this: recastings in soaps are a regular thing. So many soap characters have been played by more than one actor, and the latest one to join that long club was Ted Richardson.

The Thursday episode saw the debut of Keith D. Robinson as Ted, replacing Maurice Johnson, whose last appearance came in the Tuesday episode. Robinson's introduction came early in the episode as Ted met with Kat, and we would see Robinson again on the following day. I know it's only been two days, but while I have liked what little I've seen from Robinson as Ted, I do think Johnson nailed it a bit better. But hey, I'll definitely get used to Robinson and be more impressed by him, that's for sure.

May 16

You know, it's been twelve weeks, yet I haven't brought up who I think is one of the most underrated characters on the show: Bradley Smith, known more commonly as Smitty. The husband of Martin Richardson, Smitty has been shown many times to be a supportive and concerned spouse, and the Friday episode was no exception, as we see him actually trying to get answers from Bill Hamilton regarding Martin and his sudden change of heart regarding his Presidential aspirations.

Mike Manning is playing the absolute hell out of this. I did my homework on Manning and I have seen him on a few things; appearing on Teen Wolf and This Is Us, among many other things. This soap is definitely Manning's big break, and he's really showing out big time.

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This past week also featured some good news about Beyond the Gates: a second season is happening! This is no shock, this show has become quite an instant hit since premiering nearly three months ago. The buzz has been immense; the fandom has been very elated with the series, and again, this show is exactly what the soap opera genre needed!