On the Monday, September 14, 2026, episode of “Beyond the Gates,” Hayley (Marquita Goings) played dodgeball with Bill’s questions, Smitty (Mike Manning) and Martin (Brandon Claybon) reevaluated their work/family balance, and Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) helped Anita (Tamara Tunie) articulate her feelings about The Articulettes.
Billie Jean Is Not My Lover
Hayley peeked into Bill’s office, ready to go home – but Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett) wanted to return to the subject of Hayley lying about having had an ultrasound. Moreover, he wanted to know why Hayley had allowed a perfect stranger, “Sammy,” to drive her to the hospital while she was miscarrying. Hayley wailed that she hated dredging up such painful memories and said that she’d randomly chosen “Sammy” to help her rather than Dani, who had offered to take Hayley; she added that she couldn’t have been sure Dani wouldn’t have left her on the side of the road somewhere.
Bill addressed the fact that “Sammy”/Randy just happened to work for Joey, theorizing that the situation only made sense if Hayley had known the man from before – otherwise there were too many coincidences. Hayley grimaced at Bill’s implication that she might be having even an emotional affair with Randy, calling it disgusting. She told Bill that Randy was seeing Mona, which set off Bill’s radar even more. Bill eventually asked Hayley not to keep anything else from him, as secrets were toxic. As they hugged, Bill stared off, clearly worried about his own secret.
Got Me Workin’ Workin’ Day And Night
Darlene (Monique Mosee) stopped by the station to see Jacob (Jibre Hordges), who was working overtime. After she said that Jacob was just like Elon in that he would just keep working until he got sick, Jacob asked her to check, as a 911 dispatcher, whether there had been any calls to the emergency service the morning Lia Whitmore had been found dead in her prison cell. Darlene learned there’d been none, then advised Jacob to pay attention to his wife and not treat Naomi the way Elon had too often treated her.
Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) visited Madison (Kenjah) at the hospital, letting her know how Mike had been forced by a judge to turn over his client’s digital footprint to determine whether the woman had gotten her bad medical advice from the blog Madison’s mother, Willow, ran. Madison was thrilled at the development and wondered why Naomi wasn’t inclined to continue working with Bill, since they were a “dream team.”
Madison understood when Naomi replied that she and Bill were just too far apart ethically; she could relate, given how different she and Willow were in that regard. Jacob’s call interrupted the conversation, and Madison encouraged Naomi to hurry on to the date that Jacob was offering.
Tell ‘Em That It’s Human Nature
Tomas (Alex Alegria) was in the middle of recalling Hayley’s warning that Naomi would take away everything he had worked for when Kat (Colby Nixon) arrived at Uptown, having gotten his text. He admitted that he had been “a complete and total ass” getting upset at Kat earlier, and she agreed. Tomas explained that he had taken his work frustrations out on her and promised to do better, retroactively accepting the ChelseaKat purse Kat had wanted him to give to his grandmother in Puerto Rico. Kat announced that she had gifted it to Izaiah, and Tomas pouted when she raved about how interested Izaiah was in her work.
To make up for his behavior, Tomas suggested taking Kat out for an expensive dinner. Just then, Naomi and Jacob arrived at the establishment – she wanted to celebrate her victory over Mike, though Jacob couldn’t help mentioning his thoughts about The Impaler. Jacob caught himself and proposed that he and Naomi go home for some real connection. Tomas wanted to approach Naomi to congratulate her on her win and show Kat he was making an effort, but before he could, the Hawthornes left, and Tomas still eyed Naomi with disdain.
Another Part of Me
At the brownstone, Smitty laughed that the college-bound Tyrell had forgotten to pack his socks, then observed how quiet the house was without him. Martin wanted to take advantage of the privacy to get intimate, but was shot down when Smitty suddenly announced that Tyrell’s absence gave him more time to focus on his articles. Smitty became worried that Jacob’s questioning of him might reflect negatively on Martin’s re-election campaign, so Martin offered to get former senator Vernon’s take to ease Smitty’s mind.
Nicole and Vernon sat at the family table at the country club, discussing Martin and Smitty’s empty-nest syndrome as well as Anita’s struggle to get her voice back in shape. Once Martin arrived, Nicole gave the politicians their space, and Martin admitted that he was more worried about Smitty’s questioning affecting his chances in the election than he’d told his husband. Martin was shocked when Vernon decided that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if his tenure as a congressman ended.
Elaborating, Vernon said that Anita’s bout with cancer had made him realize that his wife and loved ones were far more important than any career, venture, or hobby one might have. Martin took this in, thinking of the extra time he could spend with Samantha before she went off to college, and acknowledging that it might be his turn to stay home after Smitty’s years of giving up reporting to do just that.
You Are Not Alone
Smitty went to Orphey Gene’s to pick up some milkshakes and ran into Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla), who was happy that things were looking up for Madison. Chelsea was surprised to learn that Smitty had been questioned regarding Lia’s death and supposed that he might benefit from backing off from writing about The Impaler. Smitty interpreted Chelsea’s advice that he “go back to [his] old life” as stepping down entirely from reporting, saying he enjoyed being the one to get attention for a change. Chelsea conceded that there was nothing wrong with “being the star of your own life.”
Meeting back at home, Martin put Smitty at ease by sharing Vernon’s view that Smitty’s “tenuous connection” to Lia’s death would not cause his campaign any problems. Smitty was amazed to hear Martin leaning toward Vernon’s view that family was paramount, adding that he was late to that realization, whereas Smitty had been there all along. Again noting that they had the place to themselves, Martin refreshed his offer to go upstairs for marital moments. This time Smitty agreed.
Can You Feel It
Anita sat at her piano in the mansion trying to hit the notes of one of her old Articulettes tunes. When she had trouble with the higher ones, she grabbed her phone and looked up whether or not chemo could permanently damage one’s voice. However, after Nicole entered, Anita swore she was fine – at first. She finally told her daughter that cursory research had revealed that, while uncommon, it was still possible for her to have lost her singing ability to chemo.
As Anita fretted that she was putting the whole re-release project in jeopardy, Nicole honed in on Anita’s admission that she still felt guilty about her part in allowing Barbara to be ejected from The Articulettes. Anita became agitated and denied that there was anything psychosomatic about the problems with her voice, yet she coughed constantly, describing how she had found the tape of Barbara’s singing to play for Leslie and all the feelings it had brought up.
Anita sat at the piano again and easily reached her higher register. The returning Vernon applauded that Anita was ready for the studio, but Anita pooh-poohed the notion until Nicole played back a recording of Anita’s vocalizing on her phone. While Vernon credited Anita’s dedicated rehearsing to the improvement, Anita smiled that Nicole had had something to do with it, too.
Beyond the Gates Recaps
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