BTG: October 2025 Discussion Thread

To be fair IMHO, the writing has always seem like Dani/Bill was going to be endgame with Hayley as a spoiler. The happy surprise was Dani/Andre. Otherwise, those writers would still (are still trying) be trying him with Ashley. 

 

I still feel they are still going to try with Andre/Ashley because MVJ or someone in the writing room wants that as a main couple. Same for Dani/Bill. And that could be a potential problem if the writer cannot let a character go due to the plot/pairing they are fixed on versus what the audience is responding to. We already see how people are split (or over) Silk Press Sheila from how she is written character-wise to how it appears that she is always winning. Tomas speaks for himself. And goodness knows we can talk about a certain producer and his flavors of the month on another soap where there are other things the audience is interested in seeing. 

Ashtray (Andre/Ashley) is a supercouple pet project that was pushed from the start, but it's not working. More positive response might give the writers incentive to elevate Andre/Dani more. Instead of gravitating towards Bill/Dani eventually, the story should progress toward Bill knowing what it feels like to be on the outside. He threw away everything and damaged his relationship with his daughters for a scammer. And he is a schemer so of course there would be room for him to try and break up Andre and Dani's marriage.

1 hour ago, Vee said:

IMO the Hayley we had prior to this reveal was not compelling or viable as a long-term rival to Dani anymore. Just whiny Hayley faking a miscarriage bored me. Whereas this con moves her into a different and more urgent role that isn't about a triangle. Any future romantic rival for Dani with Bill would have to be someone more grounded.

Couldn’t agree with this more. And honestly I don’t feel cheated or anything by this at all. There have legit been breadcrumbs but because Hayley is typically inconsequential it was very easy to ignore. And things like her explaining how good he was in bed easily help fill in the early part of the show where all they did was bang.

I admit...with today's reveal I thought of this...

 

 

RIGHT!! 🤣🤣🤣#BeyondTheGates#GateKeepers pic.twitter.com/jCNe7eVYC0

— Wayne Pittman, Jr. (@Sony12Play) October 15, 2025

And LOL!!

 

 

They wilding on fb 😂😂😂 #BeyondTheGates pic.twitter.com/4akIEbbr6F

— Teekii (@Queenies1st) October 16, 2025

35 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

Ashtray (Andre/Ashley) is a supercouple pet project that was pushed from the start, but it's not working. More positive response might give the writers incentive to elevate Andre/Dani more. Instead of gravitating towards Bill/Dani eventually, the story should progress toward Bill knowing what it feels like to be on the outside. He threw away everything and damaged his relationship with his daughters for a scammer. And he is a schemer so of course there would be room for him to try and break up Andre and Dani's marriage.

Not at all. Especially compared to the fire that comes from Dani/Andre. Online might like Dani/Bill in spite of themselves, but they really loved Dani/Andre, too. Now THAT I could see being an interesting triangle (Bill/Dani/Andre). Especially right now. 

 

I agree with that storyline direction for Bill. He has already started scheming from him hiring that investigator to already planting seeds in Dani's mind about Andre's past...using the same technique he was using to cause cracks in Martin/Smitty right before he had his stroke. It was nice to be reminded that yes, Bill is crafty, too.

8 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

I admit...with today's reveal I thought of this...

 

 

OMG I would so die if it turns out this was intentional from the damn start. I always loved it because it was so unique from the others.

Guess the wink was there for a reason.

The twist is good but turning Hayley into a total scheming villianess is limiting in some ways. We will all now be waiting for her comeuppance whereas if she were a little more grey then there would be more mileage. Hayley needed more colors, for sure, but too make her so calculating?

Especially as Leslie is running  in the same lane.

There still hasn't been an explanation as to why Bill, who seems a pretty savvy dude, was taken in by Hayley, after so many affairs. How was this different?

Had Dani had enough, or was it the fact that Hayley was known to the Duprees the final straw?

Did Bill commit to Hayley to save face? Coz he could have just as easily dumped her when the affair came to light, to show Dani she meant nothing to him.

I also think Hayley should have got some sympathy from the Duprees as a victim of Big Bad Bill. She could have used that to her advantage.

27 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

The twist is good but turning Hayley into a total scheming villianess is limiting in some ways. We will all now be waiting for her comeuppance whereas if she were a little more grey then there would be more mileage. Hayley needed more colors, for sure, but too make her so calculating?

Especially as Leslie is running  in the same lane.

We have other characters for those kind of roles (or can make new ones). I have a feeling Hayley's lows will make Leslie look soft by comparison.

30 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Guess the wink was there for a reason.

The twist is good but turning Hayley into a total scheming villianess is limiting in some ways. We will all now be waiting for her comeuppance whereas if she were a little more grey then there would be more mileage. Hayley needed more colors, for sure, but too make her so calculating?

Especially as Leslie is running  in the same lane.

There still hasn't been an explanation as to why Bill, who seems a pretty savvy dude, was taken in by Hayley, after so many affairs. How was this different?

Had Dani had enough, or was it the fact that Hayley was known to the Duprees the final straw?

Did Bill commit to Hayley to save face? Coz he could have just as easily dumped her when the affair came to light, to show Dani she meant nothing to him.

I also think Hayley should have got some sympathy from the Duprees as a victim of Big Bad Bill. She could have used that to her advantage.

I don’t think Hayley and Leslie will be in the same vein at all. For one Leslie is quite literally obsessed with Ted and the Duprees. Bill and the Duprees are a means to an end for Hayley.

Today's episode was an early Christmas present!

6 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

The Hayley reveal was surprising AF... and I don't know how I feel about it. On one hand, it makes the pregnancy stuff make WAY more sense. On the other, I'm like huh? She seemed really into Bill... and then explain to me about her friendship with Naomi???  And even Caroline? I guess she conned even in her off time having take out with Caroline and watching movies? 

 

This is my issue.  I admit sometimes I don't watch the show super closely but I thought Hayley was a *childhood* or at least teenage friend of Naomi's??  Wasn't part of the betrayal that as an orphan she kinda grew up in their household or at least was always around?  But now it seems retconned to Naomi befriending her at the gym (presumably as adults?)  I mean she had to be an adult right if she had already grifted in similar ways several men as she said today?

6 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

I'm 100% with you. I was really intrigued when Hayley wanted to break Bill's legs at the end of yesterday's show. I felt like she was finally showing cracks and getting interesting. Then this reveal, IDK. They had originally made it seem like she'd been around for years and was a paralegal and it seemed like a sharp one, which you need actual skills to do. I think it had been discussed here, people were wondering at what age did she meet the Duprees, some wondered if she met them as a teen, and the show never technically said how long ago, so they're not contradicting themselves, it's just weird. For me this kind of strips away some of the conflict in the story.

Right, these are all the questions I have.  Still, I do agree with Vee that the old Hayley didn't feel like she had any legs as a character....

38 minutes ago, EricMontreal22 said:

This is my issue.  I admit sometimes I don't watch the show super closely but I thought Hayley was a *childhood* or at least teenage friend of Naomi's??  Wasn't part of the betrayal that as an orphan she kinda grew up in their household or at least was always around?

I think several of us thought that. I'm not sure I recall any explicit confirmation of that though and I think what they're going with is they met in college. I'm good with it.

Hayley is closely following the "All About Eve" playbook of manipulation and opportunism. She spins a sob story about her struggles and acts like a pitiful, lonely orphan. Once she gets taken in by the sympathetic rich folks, she starts leeching her way deeper into their lives and home. Naomi opened the door, everyone else greeted her, but she ended up in Bill's bed. 

Now she’ll push her scheme even further. What’s her endgame? Who knows... If done right, these characters are layered and complex. They’re not just one-dimensional villains. Way more than Leslie and her shtick. I just hope they stick to the long game. 

P.S. I give them credit for taking their time with this. From day one, it was clear to me that Hayley was one of the most crucial characters. She was the ultimate wannabe, a dark cloud coming into town, triggering chaos and destruction. Positioning her in centre of drama in the first five episodes signaled to me that MVJ has a VERY big plan for her. That's why I was beginning to get restless in waiting. But they didn’t let me down.