original release date: Thursday, August 20, 2026 (#351) | writers: Anthony Lucente, Judy Tate | director: Michael V. Pomarico
Thoughts:
Damn! Kial and Nicole found the right way to celebrate the night's success! Whew.
Marcel, buddy, you are really breaking this down in a not-so-positive way, all because Dana does not want to live on your damn boat? I do not blame her one bit. Oop... not Dana ending things with Marcel altogether. Wowza. I did not think she would do that. I really did not.
Very interesting to see Bill and Ted connecting as the former in-laws/husbands of the Dupree family. Very interesting.
Yes, aisle 5 is very dirty. But surely clean-up could wait until the morning, daylight hours, no?
Eva, your wish is about to be... not coming true anytime soon.
OH! We are finally seeing the origins of Dana and Ted's interaction. How interesting.
See, Dana just feels like an easy-going, carefree spirit in her past. I do think if she let go of the idea of Ted, she could get back to the carefree spirit that she was before.
Not the Articulettes playing at the bar as Dana and Ted share their interaction. Hilariously coincidential.
I never had one of those situations happen to me, but I hear they happen all-too often with high school students.
Oh no! What is the significance of what was broken to receive that kind of reaction from Nicole?!
Ahh... a wedding gift. Understandable and look at how understanding Kial is of it.
Not Marcel bringing up Grayson's history working for Lea and transferring the plasma. 😬 We are about to have a stereotypical sitdown discussion, right?
Not Bill wanting to know how Ted turned to Dana while he was with Nicole. Even he questions it. Hilarious.
It is interesting to hear the back story through Eva telling it to Izaiah. Very interesting. So that damn bar is a curse. Whew.
Dana, now why would you turn immediately back to Ted after you broke it off with Marcel? I hope that her leaving the bubbly and stemware is a sign of good faith towards Ted's relationship with Shanice.
I feel like Kial understands what Nicole is going through, even though his wife died, and Nicole and Ted were divorced. And I am glad that Nicole recognises this and is asking the right questions about if Kial held onto Sarah's belongings. I know my mom held onto a lot, too. It is a natural response.
Not going to lie... it is easy to see how Dana fell for Ted; however, it also feels like she is preying on his vulnerability within his marriage. Preying on the weak. And that hand pulling away says it all.
Not Grayson throwing shade at Dana when she tells him that she was a bartender once upon a time. 🤣 Not a drink called the Black Magic.
Damn, Ted. How many times did you go back to the bar? This is the third visit I am counting. And not a damn teddy bear as a gift. 🤣 Okay, that is kind of cute. Ted, what the f**k! Wow. Did not think that is how it went down.
So tonight is a distinct memory for Izaiah, too? Are we going to explore this backstory, or is that going to be saved for another time?
Damn... the way Izaiah could have followed the same fate as Dez, or even a fate worse than that.
Not Bill (in the past) warning Ted of what he was doing... hypocritical much?
Well... at least Ted took his ring off before he got it on with Dana. That is a plus, right?
Not Nicole flashing back to that one moment she nearly had some breakup sex with Ted... which was a huge missed opportunity.
Grayson... do not become Dana and share something with Dana. Do not do it. Oh, thank goodness... whew. That was a close call.
Notes:
Lucente is about to become known as writer3. This is bad. Very bad. I would have thought having forty-two episodes of TOLN's All My Children under their belt would have been a pro to them joining Beyond the Gates; however, within the first minute of being on air, we had all of the producer credits and the title cards. Atrocious. Thankfully, we have Tate writing the script; otherwise, this would just be a missed day for me.
The new set for these newly created flashback scenes is very interesting. Honestly, I would not hate this as the private room at Joey's casino. It just feels more polished and realistic.
Shout-out again to Jeresa Featherstone and her team; she is always on point with her costume design, and this is not the first time flashback scenes have been produced with 'of the time' clothing. It works every single time.
The dated flip phone, whew. Those were the days without these smartphones, which have rotten the brains of those of today's world. Bring back the flip phone or the Nokia's.
I SWEAR... IF SOMEONE DOES NOT TELL KEITH D. ROBINSON (Ted) TO UNBUTTON HIS DAMN JACKET WHEN HE SITS DOWN, I AM GOING TO REACH THROUGH THE SCREEN AND STRANGLE HIM!
By
Liberty City ·
