BTG: March 2025 Discussion Thread

6 hours ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

Martin just told nicole that he wants to run for president — minimum age 35! — this is the kind of silliness that is so easily avoided.

-- I know soaps play with ages, but this is a HUGE error, in my eyes. And running for president? Are you kidding me? Soaps never do high-level political stuff realistically, so this is ridiculous. If they had mentioned senator or governor, I might have swallowed hard on it.

Also, talking about running the day after Dani's viral video makes Martin sound really dumb.

 

Leslie gaslighting tf out of Eva was so perfectly played. Trisha Mann-Grant is the biggest find/revelation for me in this series, for sure. Out of all the daytime newcomers, she’s the one who feels the most like we’ve seen her in soaps before. I just hope they don’t have Leslie go so far that she can’t remain a redeemable character. Maybe causing Laura’s crash was too far? Only if you gaf about Laura! And if Dani can get away with angrily shooting a gun in a room full of people, our girl Les is as innocent as they come.

13 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

So you noticed a little spark there between them today as well. There was some actual flirtatious energy coming from both.

-- This was Martin's and Smitty's best day, for sure. I do wish that kiss had been a peck on the lips instead of the cheek, though. I hate to think they're overdoing the "playing it safe" thing.

 

-- Kat was so much fun today. Loved her.

-- Loved the "real" references like TMZ, the Shade Room, Insta, Gucci, Loubitins, etc. Soaps always make up some generic name that is so bad, and it takes me right out of the scene. It's Facebook, not FacePlace or some other bullsh_it.

-- Overall, a really good episode. I was invested in every single scene.

4 minutes ago, All My Shadows said:

Leslie gaslighting tf out of Eva was so perfectly played. Trisha Mann-Grant is the biggest find/revelation for me in this series, for sure. Out of all the daytime newcomers, she’s the one who feels the most like we’ve seen her in soaps before. I just hope they don’t have Leslie go so far that she can’t remain a redeemable character. Maybe causing Laura’s crash was too far? Only if you gaf about Laura! And if Dani can get away with angrily shooting a gun in a room full of people, our girl Les is as innocent as they come.

Laura didn't die so we good lol.

7 minutes ago, All My Shadows said:

Leslie gaslighting tf out of Eva was so perfectly played. Trisha Mann-Grant is the biggest find/revelation for me in this series, for sure. Out of all the daytime newcomers, she’s the one who feels the most like we’ve seen her in soaps before. I just hope they don’t have Leslie go so far that she can’t remain a redeemable character. Maybe causing Laura’s crash was too far? Only if you gaf about Laura! And if Dani can get away with angrily shooting a gun in a room full of people, our girl Les is as innocent as they come.

It’s just a leg fracture, Leslie’s good lol. She gaslit the hell out of Eva today, it was delicious. I said it during the specials before premiere week that I was most intrigued by Leslie and Eva, and they’ve completely lived up to the hype for me.

13 hours ago, AmandainNC28655 said:

I may be in the minority here, but I am beginning to like the Ashley character, especially away from Derek.  I say either flesh out his character more or cut him loose. 

Minority, but you are in good company. One dull day for me doesn't stop the show. I still feel she will become important to several plots in time. But I also think she might get hit by Hurricane Dani at some point.  

Agree about the running for Prez stuff. I hope the show doesn't overreach and just keeps the characters in the Fairmont Crest universe.

Maybe the long story is that Martin's secret will be exposed and his political ambitions will be thwarted.

Very happy that today’s episode had heavy focus on Nicole’s side of the canvas, Daphnee Duplaix is magnificent as a leading soap lady and should have been one years ago. Something very classically late 60s-70s soap opera about the way the Richardson clan is presented on the show and it makes them my favorites.

Kat vs Eva was amazing. These two are the best of the younger crop because their characters are the most distinctive on screen just based off of performance choices by the actresses. I like that Kat spotted Eva’s fraudulence right out of the gate and put her on notice, also appreciate the added realism of Kat immediately searching Eva’s socials too—the other soaps still don’t understand how much more accessible certain information is. Playing these could be sisters against each other early highlighted their acting talent and I can’t wait to see more.

I felt bad for Eva getting ignored by Ted, dragged by Kat and manipulated by Leslie. I don’t trust Leslie’s interpretation of events and I hope Dr Ted ends up not being a deadbeat father.

Martin was much more natural with his direct relatives. I don’t trust Smitty at all, he seems like a snake in the grass who will end up selling the family out for a story. The way Martin treats him will only make it easier to do so.

Vanessa cheating on her gambling addict Darnell Williams look a like husband is some fun mess. Curious how bad things get for them once the loansharks come knocking

After Jacob let Dani run amuck at the wedding then got dismissed from the family meeting by Naomi I can’t take him serious in the cop role, sorry lol. Good casting for Jacob’s dad though and he gave sound advice.

Now that we’re seeing the series operating with a full writing staff it should be interesting to see what vibe the show settles into. Definitely got a break from Dani/Bill/Hayley drama just in time and its also nice to be without the two unexciting whites hogging airtime in the boring triangle with Andre. Still pinching myself in disbelief that this show even exists but I’m enjoying every moment.

30 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

-- I know soaps play with ages, but this is a HUGE error, in my eyes. And running for president? Are you kidding me? Soaps never do high-level political stuff realistically, so this is ridiculous. If they had mentioned senator or governor, I might have swallowed hard on it.

But he's older than that in real life? Both Brandon and Mike are over 35 so I wouldn't imagine their characters would be any different. I normally don't love political storylines on soaps but I do think it fits here with the show being set in the DMV. Plus with what we already know about his background, there is no way he'd ever make it to the presidency so I'm willing to go along for the ride.

28 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

-- This was Martin's and Smitty's best day, for sure. I do wish that kiss had been a peck on the lips instead of the cheek, though. I hate to think they're overdoing the "playing it safe" thing.

I agree with you 100% here. This episode was a big step forward for both actors IMO. I felt like both felt more comfortable in their characters skin. We really needed a break from Dani and Bill so the rest of the cast can start to breathe and develop as well. 

28 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

-- Overall, a really good episode. I was invested in every single scene.

I have to give a shout out to Jazmen Darnell Brown on an excellent script! He's one of the younger writers on the team and I'd also like to note, his first regular gig was with Jamey Giddeons, Michele Val Jean and Susan Dansby on Ambitions where IMO, they all did great work. This is another reason I'm not worried about Jamey on this show. I know the complaints about Jamey on Days, but Sistas has been doing well since he became the HW and he's already proven he can work well with MVJ. Also on Days he was under a headwriter generating awful storylines so I wouldn't expect greatness from anybody working under Ron, especially as stubborn as he is.

9 hours ago, Antoyne said:

I rewatched last week and there is zero dialogue about a twin. People have started taking their theories as facts for some reason. It keeps getting parroted in this thread.

 

9 hours ago, Rmodelboy said:

I was one of the ones that thought I heard Ted was a twin ( face plant ) lol. 

You're not alone, I thought I heard it, too. But I am for sure guilty of being the 'Ted has a twin' over from other online thread as a theory for the Ted/Silk Press Sheila scene. My bad!  

 

9 hours ago, OzFrog said:

It’s incredible that the BTG March thread already has almost 4 times the amount of posts of the other soaps March threads combined 🤪

When you have great writing.  

 

 

My lovely Kat finally got something to do today and I loved every moment of Kat/Eva's first meeting.  I agree that Colby Muhammed and Ambyr Michelle are the two best young actors on the show, so to have be rivals is perfect because I love both characters.  Both actors/characters can bring it, so you know it's not going to be one sided, like one actor outshining the other by a mile.  I also really like the contrast between them.  And please keep Kat's fashion style - I look forward to see what cute outfits she wears.  The last time I really cared about what someone was wearing was probably Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl (I loved her headbands).  LOL

I also agree that it's great the show is mentioning real social media apps and real gossip sites.  No stupid made up apps/sites like other soaps do. 

7 hours ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

so, how old is eva supposed to be?

leslie/dana keeps saying that ted left her for nicole, which sounds like leslie/dana were together before ted and nicole married and would make eva older than martin, who, has to be at least 25 to be a congressman. and, it doesn’t seem as though he was just elected, which puts him closer to 30. 

finding it hard to believe that that anita and vernon are that old. 

as i’m typing, martin just told nicole that he wants to run for president — minimum age 35! — this is the kind of silliness that is so easily avoided. 

He said he wants to run for president one day....that doesnt mean right now. I kinda pinpoint him at no older than 31/32

Eva is younger than him. No clue as they havent given hints. Anywhere from 22-29 is my guess

Anita and Vernon appear to be in their 70s. Their age is fine. Its the kids/grandkids that feel off

If the Fandom page for Beyond the Gates is correct, Brandon Claybon is 36 and it seems like the character is near a similar age judging from the political career that is being portrayed. There are definitely some flubs with the writing in terms of the timeline that is being set.  Based on the clash she had with Kat it seems like the writers are putting them in the same age group yet at the same time Leslie is seemingly saying she knew Ted before he met Nicole. Very confusing.

Edited March 6Mar 6 by ReddFoxx

1 hour ago, Chris B said:

But he's older than that in real life? Both Brandon and Mike are over 35 so I wouldn't imagine their characters would be any different. I normally don't love political storylines on soaps but I do think it fits here with the show being set in the DMV. Plus with what we already know about his background, there is no way he'd ever make it to the presidency so I'm willing to go along for the ride.

1 hour ago, ranger1rg said:

but martin is anita and vernon’s GRANDSON! and martin’s parents met when they were at a medical convention — so even if they met while they were still in medical school, no way they would have had martin until they were in their late 20s. supposedly, nicole is 53, so if martin is 35 she would have had had him when she was 18 — MAKES NO SENSE!

in tennis, they call this an unforced error — really surprised that no one noticed this lapse in logic — or, maybe they were hoping we would notice. 

2 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

but martin is anita and vernon’s GRANDSON! and martin’s parents met when they were at a medical convention — so even if they met while they were still in medical school, no way they would have had martin until they were in their late 20s. supposedly, nicole is 53, so if martin is 35 she would have had had him when she was 18 — MAKES NO SENSE!

in tennis, they call this an unforced error — really surprised that no one noticed this lapse in logic — or, maybe they were hoping we would notice. 

But this is so common on American soaps. This isn't like UK or Australian soaps where people are allowed to age normally. Every US soap on the air has the exact same thing, in some cases much worse.

I go based off what I see on screen and I find it to be working, for me at least. I was worried about Dani having kids in their 20s but on screen I find the chemistry believable. Nicole feels natural with Martin and Smitty. Plus Black people tend to look younger than their natural ages so without it being brought up I really don't think I would've given it much thought.