janea4old

Okay so who is June's sister? The woman who answered the phone number from June's photo clearly wasn't Hayley.

same promo in higher def Anita to Nicole: "What I'm about to tell you will demand not only your attention, but your willingness to confront the aftermath in all its ugliness." https://www.instagram.com/p/DMJLidARW6w/ Beyond the gates, truth isn’t just revealed. 👀 #beyondthegates #cbs #paramountplus

I have found missed beats to be rare with this show, which is why I noted this one with Smitty meeting Kenny with no explanation. A very very rare missed beat for BTG. I find that BTG covers most of the beats and nuances.

I agree, it's a bad take. They think it's "soapy" but it's insulting to modern families.

The big mess will be when Nicole learns that everyone has kept this hidden from her for two years. She will be wrecked and furious.

All they had to do was put in one line of dialogue or one second of visual, showing Smitty using his reporter skills to find Kenny's picture on Tyrell's phone, and then Smitty dashing off to the park to find him.

The character Juliet was part Asian. That was a feature of the role. Juliet was Brash&Sassy's person in Japan. The original actress Laur Allen is half Chinese. Juliet died giving birth to Cane's son Sam. (I mean they've already recast Cane without an Australian accent, so they could pull an OLTL Blair recast thing, but I hope not.)

Did I miss a scene in some earlier episode setting up a Smitty/Kenny meeting? That seemed to come out of nowhere (to me). How did Smitty know what Kenny looks like or how to find him in the park?

Vernon had been telling Martin for two years that Martin that he couldn't tell Smitty. Obviously, Martin should have told Smitty himself anyhow, of course. But still. The Dupree family dynamic is that you do what Vernon and Anita say, and you keep up appearances, and you don't admit any weaknesses. It's pretty twisted. Martin did as he was told. I'm glad he's finally breaking free. Yes of course Martin should have given Smitty, Samantha, and Tyrell before the press conference! Egads! But I think Martin was afraid he'd lose his nerve if he waited another second, so he called the press conference. Not great, but I understand it. Vernon had been telling Martin for two years that Martin that he couldn't tell Smitty. Obviously, Martin should have told Smitty himself anyhow, of course. But still. The Dupree family dynamic is that you do what Vernon and Anita say, and you keep up appearances, and you don't admit any weaknesses. It's pretty twisted. Martin did as he was told. I'm glad he's finally breaking free. Yes of course Martin should have given Smitty, Samantha, and Tyrell a heads up before the press conference! Egads! But I think Martin was afraid he's lose his nerve if he waited another second, so he called the press conference. Not great but I understand it.

I hold Vernon responsible for much of this! He was micromanaging the entire situation starting two years ago, constantly telling Martin the equivalent of "There, there, don't worry your poor little mind about it". It infantilizes Martin, instead of encouraging Martin to face it. Vernon (and Anita!) suppressed the whole thing. I know they were "worried about appearances", public perception, political ramifications, etc. And maybe even (justifiably) worried that there might be very real unwarranted criminal charges against Martin due to the societal perception of Black men. But Vernon and Anita seriously damaged Martin's psyche by trying to make him "forget" it happened. They should have gotten Martin counseling. Oh but they thought they could "take care of it" themselves and leave Martin out of his own process. That's patronizing and disrespectful of Martin. With all the money Vernon used to pay off Kenny/Bill/Marcel, etc. -- that money could have been used to hire a discreet psychologist.

The BTG camera did show that Kenny had arrived just outside of Orphey Genes -- Kenny could be seen through the Orphey Gene's window blinds with a gun pointed at him -- it was onscreen for only a second, but it was shown. Assuming the person holding the gun was Marcel or someone working for Marcel, who caught Kenny as he arrived. So did Marcel kill Kenny or just fake the death? I would think Marcel would want Kenny dead so as to keep Marcel's involvement secret -- so that Marcel can retire with full pension. But I don't know.

Interesting. I didn't think of that, but it makes sense. Bill did say he had a plan and was stalling to give it time to happen. Maybe that's the plan -- did Marcel text a faked photo to Bill so that Bill could show it to Martin, to stop the press conference? hmmmmm.

I was pondering Martin's situation and missed some of that phonecall! Will rewatch later, I want to see/hear the phonecall.

When Bill approached Martin in the diner and offered to be his attorney, I thought it was Bill's idea. I'll have to rewatch later to see if Vernon suggested it. This is all so layered, sometimes I miss aspects on the first watch.

Same

Finally. Great cliffhanger! Will Martin go through with the press conference anyhow? I hope so. Tune in tomorrow!!! I'm team Martin all the way with this. He's no deadbeat. He's standing up for the truth, finally. Throwing off the micromanaging of Vernon at last!

Exactly. Bill offers to be Martin's attorney so that Bill can claim attorney-client privilege. This allows Bill to avoid discussing anything about himself in Martin's situation.

Eating popcorn! What an episode. Vanessa arriving to keep Joey in check. Marcel or someone's hand briefly visible through Orphey Gene's window blinds with a gun pointed at Kenny. Commercial break. Tide!

Yes but it's better than the country club for this situation. I mean there should be a town hall or something but whatevs.

In the dialogue today between Martin and Vernon, it was confirmed that Martin was merely defending himself against a hate crime. And Vernon wanted it covered up because people might not understand. Joey and Bill will try to stop Martin from speaking the truth at his press conference today, but I hope Martin goes through with it.

I really like Martin being his own man, finally.

I think the only way through this is for Martin to go ahead with his press conference. He can tell the truth and maybe lose his seat in Congress, but he'll have his integrity (and sanity) restored, and his family will be no longer harassed. The kids will get teased about it but at least they'd be safe. Vernon and Anita micromanaging messes end up just making things worse.

Here we go . . .

Rocco typing an email at the end of Friday July 11.

Whenever Bill needs to have a private conversation with a visitor at home, he sends Haley upstairs to give him privacy. I wonder: what if Haley secretly listens in on Bill's secret meetings?