"Beyond the Gates" Week 19 Review

So Beyond the Gates took the week between June 30 and July 4 off for reasons I still cannot figure out. Even so, I figured that the show would return with a huge bang after their strange hiatus. Boy, was that an understatement! So much craziness happened in this past week on the show, and most of it happened in the same episode!

So let's take a look at the most recent week of this fantastic show, shall we?

July 7

Just when Chelsea had successfully moved on and was enjoying a new relationship, the past strikes back. We had been seeing Allison, Chelsea's ex, a little bit prior to the July 7 episode, but now she's really trying to slither her way back into Chelsea's life. And from what we've seen this week, Allison is totally in stalker mode here. Amazing. They end things, see that their former significant other is thriving, and then want to get back in like nothing happened. That's now how this works, but from the looks of it, Allison's definitely not going to let a thing like logic get in the way of her desperate need to get Chelsea back in her life.

July 8

Andre... is an idiot. Seriously, is there something up with most of the men on this show where they're just ate up with dumb or something? Andre should be running like hell when Ashley appears near him, but nope, there he is, willingly allowing himself to be sucked in to Ashley's obsession for him. And yes, she's obsessed; it's been plain as day for almost as long as the show's been on. Thankfully, they haven't done the horizontal Curly Shuffle. For Andre's sake, they better not get busy. It could end very badly for him if he does end up with Ashley.

July 9

God, I love Vanessa! I do! It's halfway because of who's playing her (Lauren Buglioli), but I just love how fabulous, feisty, and no-nonsense she is. I also love how she basically has Joey's marbles on a proverbial vice. Joey blusters and boasts with everyone else, but when it comes to the five feet, four inches of strong and awesomeness that is Vanessa McBride? He crumbles faster than Josh Allen does in Arrowhead. I'm anxious to see how far this goes, and it's already getting very deep enough in the proverbial waters as it is.

July 10

July 10 is where so much happened. It started with Hayley and Leslie--talking. To each other. Yeesh. We also find out that Eva was sabotaged by Kat at work, but the big kicker is Nicole and Leslie. Nicole was actually about to meet with Ted, but at that diner, we see Leslie in Nicole's face pushing every button possible, and probably some that don't exist. Nicole actually lunged at Leslie, wrapping her hands around Leslie's neck. Here's the thing. I absolutely loved what Nicole did to Leslie. Leslie had this coming. However, I absolutely hated what Nicole did to Leslie, and the reason was simple. It was a simple trap, and Nicole walked right into it. As I said before, for a psychiatrist, Nicole has no common sense. She gets played so damn easy, it's ridiculous.

July 11

So the drama with the Articulettes got worse and worse, to the point where Anita Dupree simply had enough. I'm gonna be honest, I was optimistic about the Articulettes as they went on tour, but Sharon just had to be, well, Sharon. Both she and Tracy just couldn't keep their self-serving egos at the door, and as a result, Anita finally decided to leave to avoid the drama. Anita Dupree is a treasure, and Tracy and Sharon's continued disrespect was just too much. Way too much.

* * *

This was a hot start to the month of July for Beyond the Gates. I sense that the show's angles will be hotter than the California temperature, and that is really saying something!