"Beyond the Gates" Week 29 & 30 Review
The soap takes an ominous turn as a regular character fatally departs
Beyond the Gates has now aired on CBS for just over seven months, and we've seen so much in that little time. We've see love triangles, love quadrangles, deep secrets, family loyalty, dark betrayals, explosive moments, you name it, we've seen it. As I've said many times in many recaps, this was the very thing that the soap opera genre badly needed--and I'm not just saying that because of the massive representation displayed, but it's definitely one of the top reasons.
As I said, Beyond the Gates has seen it all, except for one thing: a major death. That did change during the end of Week 29. So who took their final breath on the show?
Week 29 (September 22-September 26)
You know, I'm kinda not surprised that Doug McBride got knocked off. It's mainly because he had that "nothing to lose" demeanor about him for the last couple of weeks, and with all of that, it was only a matter of time before he would meet his end. I was thinking as I watched this show for months: "Nearly all of the men on this show are either idiots or jackasses." Doug was one of the few who was neither. I liked Doug a lot. Yes, he messed up with his gambling habit, but when you compare that to the shit that Bill Hamilton and Ted Richardson have pulled, Doug's mistakes are very, very small potatoes.
Even so, Doug has always known that he's messed up, and he had trouble forgiving himself, because in his mind, he let those around him (including and especially Vanessa) down. As for the demise, It's clear that Joey had his hands in this somehow. "Drunk driving"? Too damn random. There's a polecat in the henhouse, folks.
Week 30 (September 29-October 3)
While Major League Baseball was preparing for this year's postseason, the soap's 30th week saw quite a bit take place. It was the aftermath of Doug's departure, as well as the aftermath of Andre and Dani getting married (by an Anita Dupree impersonator, no less). The centerpiece of Week 30 was the explosion of the weeks long triangle between Kat, Tomas, and Eva finally going off. It was on that week's Monday episode (September 29) that Chelsea suggested a peace offering to Eva, with Kat actually agreeing. But that episode ended with Kat's discovery that Eva and Tomas had just come off doing the horizontal Curly Shuffle, and all hell broke loose.
What followed was Kat repeatedly failing to realize that she's to blame for this. She was on the receiving end of a mostly genial "Reason You Suck" speech that actually had merit. Kat's attitude pretty much pushed Tomas away, but if you ask Kat, everyone's wrong except her. Here's the thing: for Tomas' flaws, and he has quite a few of them, he's never really tried to force Kat to change anything about her. We have to give him that, even if he is a bit of an idiot. The idiocy comes after Tomas voices his desire to stay with Kat, who basically--for all intents and purposes--abuses him. Even crazier: Kat tells Chelsea that she wants to stay with Tomas, and in that fell swoop, Kat goes from being one type of woman I hate, to another type of woman I hate. Kat admitted what I'm about to say: she only wants Tomas just to keep Eva from getting him. That's not love, that's control. Some would say it's abuse.
And I guarantee you, if Kat does gets what she wants and ends up with Tomas, she'll parade him around like he's a trophy. She'll also use Tomas' dalliance with Kat as a weapon against him to keep him in line. I'm as sure of that as I'm sure I'm a Colorado Avalanche fan.
* * *
Beyond the Gates really delivered with the hard hits in Weeks 29 and 30. I sense a very wild fall season for the soap, and I have a feeling we will see some stunning swerves and crazy angle coming up!
About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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