"Beyond the Gates" Week 24 Review

This week's Beyond the Gates recap is brought to you by the letters O, M, F, and G.

So there's quite a bit to unpack from this past week of this amazing, iconic soap. We received an awesome (and emotional) surprise appearance, but that would be followed by some explosive reveals--one we saw coming, the other we're still processing. Because of this, this will not be a day-by-day weekly recap; well, not completely. It'll be a reaction to the top moments that took place during the week between August 11-15.

So in the immortal words of current TNA World Champion Trick Williams, "Let's talk about it."

It wasn't just the gates that got crossed. Not even six full months into this soap, and we already got a crossover. In the home stretch of the Monday episode (August 11), we were treated by an appearance from Devon Winters, from The Young and the Restless. The visit was a happy one but also an emotional one, as the topic turned to Neil Winters--the character played by the late, great Kristoff St. John. Not only was St. John a longtime staple on Y&R, but the emotion comes full circle, as before he was Neil Winters on Y&R, St. John was part of the cast of Generations, the first-ever predominantly Black soap opera that aired from 1989-1991, and set the bar for BTG.

So Devon's appearance was mainly for Anita Dupree, as he was offering Anita a huge gig, only for Anita to not only decline, she suggested her Articulettes bandmates, Tracy and Sharon, as a star duo for Devon. We also get a bit of an exchange between Devon and Dani at episode's end. Devon's appearance was emotional for me, and not just because of the tribute to Kristoff St. John. It's because of who's playing him: Bryton James, who I know as Bryton McClure. Yeah. Little Richie from Family Matters is currently in the world of soap operas, absolutely epic!

Following that crossover appearance, we received the two reveals, beginning with one we saw coming. June, the homeless woman we've been seeing with Naomi and Jacob in recent weeks, is the biological mother of Tyrell and Samantha--the adopted children of Martin and Smitty. The clues were definitely there for weeks, and it was in the end of the Tuesday (August 12) episode, that it was officially revealed. June wanted to visit the kids (originally named Ronald and Cecile), and it was on the Thursday (August 14) episode that the meeting finally took place. Unsurprisingly, it was a tense one; Tyrell and Samantha didn't mince words when it came to June giving them up, June herself voiced her regret for doing so and hoped to have some place in their lives. I sense more from this in coming weeks.

Speaking of more, the tail end of the Thursday episode saw Leslie visited by an older woman she clearly knew. "OMG is that Leslie's mom?!" was my exclamation, and I was right. Sort of. The woman, referred to as Peaches, was Leslie's mother, but as Peaches herself revealed, not biologically. The Thursday episode ended with Peaches revealing that she was at death's door, but the Friday (August 15) episode was when the real explosions came out. Already the wheels were turning in my mind. A crazy thought I had: "What if it's Barbara?" As in Barbara Mitchell, the fallen member of the Articulettes. Peaches says Leslie's bio mom was once a famous singer.

Immediately, that feeling I had on the evening of June 26, 2022, when there was one minute left in the third period? It was coming back... in spades! Internally, I was screaming exclamations. Externally, I drank it in. Finally, Peaches said the name. Barbara Mitchell. Barbara Mitchell was Leslie's biological mother. I'll... be... damned!

You know what just happened with this revelation? Dana Leslie Thomas is now the most dangerous entity on the soap--even more so than Joey. We saw the lengths she resorted to committing just to fuck with Ted and Nicole. Now we know that Leslie's bio mom is the very woman who Anita Dupree was accused of shortchanging. The very woman who Anita still carried guilt for. Oh, and Leslie's set to receive an inheritance because of it. But Leslie won't settle for just that. She's going to go about 100 steps above nuclear. I'm as sure of that as I'm sure I'm a Colorado Avalanche fan. Count on it!

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I sense a huge explosion or series of explosions in the weeks to come. I'll be here for it, of course. It helps make the wait for the NFL season easier, plus this soap just gets more and more epic!