"Beyond the Gates" Week 8 & 9 Review

Once again, I have been lagging on recaps for this amazing soap which has really raised the bar in the soap opera genre. While I have been enjoying Beyond the Gates, and have done so since the show premiered in the tail end of February, I have also enjoyed the NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the chaos from those forums as well. That's a hell of a lot of chaos for sure!

We've been enjoying this soap for two months now. Hard to believe, but it's true. Two months; nine weeks that this series has been on, and it keeps getting crazier. Right now, this is not only a combined recap, but unlike the one I did for Weeks 5 and 6, I'm only going to focus on the top highlight and attribute from each of the last two weeks (Weeks 8 and 9). This is done to save time, though I promise, I'll try my damnedest to get myself back to the usual format of picking out a highlight from each day. I truly owe you fine readers that much.

So onto the abbreviated recap:

Week 8 (April 14-18)

Week 8 came at an interesting time for me, as it was the week that the NBA and NHL's regular seasons were both coming to an end, and the seasons were preparing for the playoffs. The week actually started with a surprising statement from Hayley to Bill: she's pregnant. Well, let me add a correction: she "might be" pregnant. The second those words came out of Hayley's mouth, I went, "She's lying." We are at the point where we definitely acknowledge that Hayley is capable of saying anything and everything for God knows why. She can't be trusted. Hell, look at how she and Bill got together. That should tell you all you need to know.

And lo and behold, days later, she says she's not pregnant anymore. How convenient. When Hayley gave the news of her "pregnancy," Bill had that same look that I had when the Bills beat the Ravens in the Divisional Playoff: that "oh no" look. Bill made it clear that the news got in the way of whatever plans he had, and when Hayley said that she wasn't pregnant... oh man. Outside, Bill was disappointed. Inside? A toned-down version of my reaction to Juan Soto's pennant-clinching home run for the Yankees last year. I think Hayley's slowly starting to realize that Dani was right about Bill, but we'll see.

Week 9 (April 21-25)

Week 9 (amazing that it's nine weeks, and we're heading into the tenth week) was mostly centered on Doug McBride, which I loved. I do make fun of him at times, mainly because of his penchant for betting nearly fucking up everything but I do like him. We see him on the receiving end of yet another shakedown from Joey, and during that week, Doug comes very close to telling Vanessa about his vice, and I was hoping he would, but he couldn't. I'll be honest, at that point, I stopped making fun of him. The reason is simple. Here's a man who fucked up and he knows it. It's eating him up big time. He's afraid he's let people down. He's afraid he's let Vanessa down. These are feelings I know all well. It's why I fear making any mistakes, because I feel like I've let someone down if I do.

While Doug still didn't spill the beans to Vanessa, he did tell Nicole, and I was glad for this. I was hoping he'd tell someone. Nicole's that perfect someone. Yes, I do make fun of Nicole a bit for being naive, but she's also understanding. She's not judgmental. That's what Doug needed. That's what anyone who messes up needs. I'm reminded of Lenny Leonard's line from "Homer's Enemy" (the famous Frank Grimes episode), which was a response to Frank's constant bitching about Homer's recklessness:

"Everyone makes mistakes. That's why pencils have erasers."

Ah, The Simpsons. Eases the pain.

So that's my mini-recap, if you will, and I'll try to go back to the normal format for recaps next week. Again, I owe you that much, at least.