"Beyond the Gates" Weeks 38-44 Recap

It's been a minute since I delivered a Beyond the Gates recap, but I want to start with this. If you had told me that in 2025 and now into 2026 that I'd be religiously watching any soap opera, I would have looked at you like you had three heads or something. My feelings about soaps had always been complicated. I had peeped into some of the classics at times, but I was never a religious viewer. A question I never asked myself was this: "What would it take for me to actually watch a soap every day?"

The answer came to me before I even thought of the question, and that answer came in the form of one word: representation.

The soap genre needed Beyond the Gates, badly. Soaps have existed for close to a century, but we've only seen one predominately Black soap, and that was the short-lived, half hour serial, Generations. When the news regarding Beyond the Gates hit, I was over the moon. The representation was a big part of it, but I couldn't help but also love the cast! Tamara Tunie, who I first heard of from the film Devil's Advocate, and who played Melinda Warner for years on SVU and other L&O shows. Karla Mosley, who is a soap veteran, recently coming off a run on The Bold and the Beautiful. Daphnee Duplaix, a former Playboy Playmate who has done so many excellent projects in her acting career, including a Lifetime film--The Governor's Wife. And then there's Clifton Davis. Where do I start? My parents know him from the short-lived sitcom, That's My Mama. As for me, I know him from Amen, and several other memorable appearances, mostly in sitcoms, yet here he is on a daytime soap. Epic!

As for the recap, well, the holidays were celebrated in the time that passed since my last recap. Thanksgiving first, then Christmas, then New Year's. While a lot did happen during that time, here's what took center stage:

It was entering the show's Christmas celebrations that the news hit the Duprees hard. Anita Dupree, the beloved matriarch, is diagnosed with breast cancer. When she first received the news, it was during an insane period where the writers actually tried to tease that Vernon, of all people, was messing around on Anita with Sharon (one of Anita's former bandmates). And yes, Ted was stupid enough to actually tell Nicole this, and even crazier, Nicole actually told Dani. Oh boy.

Of course, they weren't messing around with each other. As it turned out, Sharon was teaching Vernon to sing, because one of Vernon's very few flaws was that he could not carry a tune at all. However, he surprised everyone--especially Anita--at their holiday gathering with his rendition of the Jackson 5 classic, Never Can Say Goodbye.

So when Anita announces the news, the family stands with her, and that leads to other family members getting tested for the BRCA gene. There was one member who protested, and of course, it was Kat, because of course it is. She was too caught up in trying to live best life, to do what she can to make sure she could. Ironic, right? Nicole and Dani did get tested, and the results: Nicole doesn't have the gene, but Dani does.

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While quite a bit occurred in the last few weeks, I figured I would solely focus on the central story going on. 44 weeks. That's how long this soap has been on. This is an amazing addition to my TV viewing, and was quite the stand out in 2025. Next month, Beyond the Gates will celebrate a full year. Amazing, isn't it? Here's hoping this soap receives a plethora of Daytime Emmys!