Ok Vernon and Anita dancing is the highlight of my day! Loved that.

original release date: Friday, January 30, 2026 | writers: Sara A. Bibel, Cheryl L. Davis | director: Steven Williford

Thoughts:

• That is right, Evan. Assert yourself with your man. And show that bitch you are not one to be messed with.

• Madison is taking a leave of absence? For the remainder of 2026? That is interesting timing if I do say so myself.

• First Orphey Gene's and now the country club. Damn. Must be nice to have the fund and the power to pull these kind of moves off. I would be forgiving Vernon immediately if I were Anita, and judging by the look of lust in her eyes, I think she has.

• Hayley does brag a lot, and yet, her actions suggest she is not as smart as she believes herself to be.

• Nicole is feeling herself and I love this for her. How excellent and sexy.

• We love an attentive husband who listens to their spouse and buys them the jewelry they wanted. We love to see it.

• Well, it looks like Hayley's plan to superdrug Bill is about to meet its backfire, and I cannot wait.

• Oh no... not Anita's hair falling out. I know that is such a shock. Aw.

Notes:

• Love that we started January off with Davis and Williford, and they are two of the ones to end the month. Coincidental, I am sure.

• Clifton Davis (Vernon) and Tamara Tunie (Anita) seem to be having a genuine blast filming their scenes at the country club. And I love these kinds of free-spirited, natural moments, and that they are not reserved for what viewers would see as the "younger" cast.

• The use of music in today's episode is outstanding. And it's nice that it is not generic sex music. It is upbeat and funky fun!

• I have said it before and I will continue to say it: the sex scenes on Beyond the Gates are absolutely outstanding! From the lighting to the choreography, it all works so well!

• Daphnée Duplaix (Nicole) and Robert Christopher Riley (Carlton) have such strong chemistry together.

Kat is so messy and a hypocrite. She was describing herself to Izaiah. 😂

I also think that modeling is an organic way to create conflict between Izaiah and Eva, but so many beats have been missed. And he's way too laid back in all his scenes. I don't buy him as a bad boy. He and Eva just don't do it for me.

I could sympathize with Eva if she didn't act like Kat had no reason to hate her. Tit for tat.

Just now, CrazySexyQ said:

I also think that modeling is an organic way to create conflict between Izaiah and Eva, but so many beats have been missed. And he's way too laid back in all his scenes. I don't buy him as a bad boy. He and Eva just don't do it for me.

I could sympathize with Eva if she didn't act like Kat had no reason to hate her. Tit for tat.

They do play it too safe with him, and I agree about the double standard re: Eva. He needs to develop more of a visible edge as opposed to them just talking about it. He and Eva could have more heat, but they have kept the kid gloves on with both of them.

2 hours ago, Vee said:

They do play it too safe with him, and I agree about the double standard re: Eva. He needs to develop more of a visible edge as opposed to them just talking about it. He and Eva could have more heat, but they have kept the kid gloves on with both of them.

It does seem pretty weird that we don't see any hint of Izaiah having any kind of dark side if he's supposedly a reformed bad boy. Like he could be this show's black version of J.J. Deveraux and he and Eva could be this show's version of J.J. and Theresa Donovan. Maybe Izaiah should've come back with some sort of secret addiction to drugs or alcohol or involved in some sort of shady activity. Hell, maybe he's involved in the local drag racing scene and he secretly steals and fixes up cars. That could've made him a lot more interesting. I could actually see him as some sort of mechanic/car thief.

3 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Nicole is feeling herself and I love this for her. How excellent and sexy.

Go on Nicole with your bad self and get your groove back.

3 hours ago, Liberty City said:

I have said it before and I will continue to say it: the sex scenes on Beyond the Gates are absolutely outstanding! From the lighting to the choreography, it all works so well!

Not to mention the R&B slow jams in the background.

3 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Daphnée Duplaix (Nicole) and Robert Christopher Riley (Carlton) have such strong chemistry together.

That love scene today was off the charts heat generating, damn.

Seeing Anita and Vernon makes me happy. They have an easy chemistry.

Even as Nicole is in bed with Carlton, she is still weighing her options.🤣

Me, watching Eva and Izaiah fight over nothing, thinking "Where is pretty Laura Peterson at?" 🤔 Introduce them, please.

3 minutes ago, kalbir said:

Go on Nicole with your bad self and get your groove back.

Taking a page out of Stella's playbook.

4 minutes ago, kalbir said:

Not to mention the R&B slow jams in the background.

The music never misses on this soap. EVER. It just works at the right time without drowning out the scenes.

4 minutes ago, kalbir said:

That love scene today was off the charts heat generating, damn.

I agree. Felt like I was interrupting something I shouldn't have been allowed to see.

4 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I agree. Felt like I was interrupting something I shouldn't have been allowed to see.

Hahaha.

Once again BtG letting us all know its not grandma's stories from 1986.

Just now, kalbir said:

Hahaha.

Once again BtG letting us all know its not grandma's stories from 1986.

Absolutely; bringing back pre-Dynasty era storytelling, but matched with modern-day societal norms (a.k.a. steamy sex scenes, et al.).

-- Carlton and Izaiah are both good looking, but damn, they're boring. Neither one has personality or edge of any kind.

-- The conversations between Eva and Izaiah have yet to show me what they see in each other.

-- The bedroom scene with Nicole and Carlton was well done and well-directed. Still, I can't pretend that this was some daytime breakthrough. There was no pushing the envelope there.

-- Really good Vernon and Anita scenes. Fun, genuine, entertaining stuff from two strong actors.

-- Chelsea screaming her head off to Madison in the hospital -- ugh. Again, These public displays are too much. And Chelsea's "I'm just a girl standing in front of a girl...." was another ugh.

-- Chelsea wants to party and do drugs. She thinks that's part of who she is, and that is sad.

-- I wish the show handled Anita's hair loss differently. I can't be the only one who's always seen Anita as wearing wigs. Now we're supposed to think this is her real hair that she's losing? They're playing the beats here in a very inauthentic way.