"Beyond the Gates" Week 21 Review

It all finally came out during the twentieth week of Beyond the Gates; the very thing that had been plaguing Martin Richardson for two years was finally unveiled: ugly detail after ugly detail. One has to believe that the fallout would be immense, heartwrenching, explosive, you name it. So many questions would be asked. Some people wouldn't like the answers. Such is life when everything's out in the open.

This past week was Week #21, and it was quite interesting for sure. Here are the highlights:

July 21

Ted Richardson's role in this was fully unveiled in the Monday episode. Turns out, he put his plastic surgeon skills to use by giving Kenny a new face after his fellow potential January 6er was knocked off in self-defense. Oh boy. Nicole rightfully let Ted have it (more on Nicole later), and just when you think Ted can't get any lower. Ted can now add "Gave a new face to a raging racist so he can hide easily" to his growing dossier of immorality. Hell's bells, indeed.

July 22

We finally got to see a result regarding Kat's attempt to sabotage Eva. I was really hoping Eva would tell Ted about what Kat had done. Instead, she did something that I loved even more. Eva outshined Kat. She fixed things, and made herself look very good in front of Ted, and she didn't have to drop dime on Kat at all. Let me break it down in hockey terms. Eva broke away and scored shorthanded. That's basically what happened. And as a hockey fan, I know this: shorthanded goals are so good. It boosts up the team, while destroying the morale of the opposing power play. That's what Eva did to Kat, and it was glorious.

July 23

And apparently, Eva wasn't done yet. Wednesday's episode started with Eva and Tomas... making out. This was overdue. We knew this would happen eventually; the tension was immense. It could fill up the Grand Canyon ten times over. So not only was Eva winning the tit-for-tat against Kat, she was winning the battle when it came to Tomas. Holy moley! And they would end up in bed together later in the week as well!

July 24

Nicole Richardson has unleashed a lot of rage in the last few weeks, and it's continuing after learning about Martin's true story and how her family had covered up the truth and kept Nicole in the dark. The fury continued on the Thursday episode when she let Bill have it for his role in the cover-up. With weeks of this, I now find myself wanting one of two things right now. One, a heel turn for Nicole. I seriously think it's coming. Something will turn Nicole to the dark side. Whether it's the increasing rage we've been seeing from her, or a twisted realization that being the voice of reason is getting her nowhere; something will cause Nicole to totally snap. Two, I truly want Daphnee Duplaix to play a Lifetime film villainess. It can happen; she actually did a LT movie a long time ago. In 2008, Duplaix appeared in The Governor's Wife, which saw her as a victim of an evil Marilu Henner.

July 25

So after Tomas and Eva are caught under the same roof by Kat, we see Kat being told all the right things by Tomas, and they make out. Oh boy. As an Archie Comics fan who enjoyed the Betty-Archie-Veronica triangle, I find this triangle, well... unsettling. Not completely unsettling, but still. Granted, Eva and Kat fit the Betty and Veronica traits, but Tomas is more of a Reggie Mantle than an Archie Andrews. Part of me thinks Tomas is basking in this whole thing. He has two girls after him, and he's playing non-committal with both. That's going to bite him in the ass. BTW, I always wanted Archie to be with Veronica. Yeah, I knew (and still know) that Betty was better for him, but Veronica was that ultimate goal. Regarding this, I'm definitely Team Eva. Though if Eva and Kat miraculously band together to fuck with Tomas, that would be something, too.

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Week 21 gave us one hell of an aftermath, and it comes as Beyond the Gates is closing in on its first milestone. This upcoming week will see the show reach 100 episodes, with Episode #100 airing on July 30! Here's to many, many more!