Beyond the Gates Recap, April 10: Anita bore her fangs and the Hamiltons trolled Dani

Here is your Beyond the Gates recap for Thursday, April 10, 2025.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Anita showed Vernon photos from the fashion show; Vernon lauded three generations of Dupree women on the runway. The grandfather was happy that his granddaughter's final experience modeling had been positive. And, Anita noted, Dani had handled Chelsea's finale well. Vernon agreed that Dani having so much to do had kept her mind occupied. Vernon believed that service to others benefitted oneself as well, and that Dani would be able to move on from Bill by keeping busy.

Samantha reminded Smitty how he and Martin had always encouraged her and Tyrell to pursue their passions once they found one – then told Smitty that she was going to be a model, and no one was going to stop her. Smitty realized, from watching his daughter on the catwalk, that she had a natural ability; Samantha knew that Smitty and understood and wondered how they'd get Martin on board with her plan. After all, Smitty hadn't said no to her career choice outright; Samantha deemed Smitty the reasonable parent who was willing to listen.

Smitty knew Samantha was trying to butter him up and held that the family made important decisions together. Samantha complained that Martin would only listen to her once Smitty convinced him to and asked Smitty to speak to Martin on her behalf. Smitty didn't feel comfortable with Samantha flying around the world on her own, as he and Martin couldn't just leave their jobs to be with her. Upstairs, Martin wanted to know why Tyrell had asked to speak to him privately, but Tyrell clammed up about himself, suggesting that Samantha had just needed to talk to Smitty alone.

Samantha came clean about her ambitions once Martin and Tyrell joined her and Smitty. The teenager felt modeling was a Dupree family business, “like politics, only way more fun.” Martin impressed upon Samantha that modeling wasn't just about fun and looking pretty; the competition and repeated rejection were intense. Martin didn't want Samantha dropping out of school like Dani had, so Samantha vowed to finish high school — and attend college once she was too old to model. Martin refused to let Samantha throw away her future on “some childish whim,” prompting Samantha to declare that she was going into modeling with or without Martin's approval.

Later, alone with Tyrell, Samantha griped that Martin lived to crush her dreams. Tyrell felt that his sister's dream had come on rather suddenly, to which Samantha objected. Tyrell found the idea of having his picture taken all the time hellish and wished that his underwear photo and all its associated comments could be erased forever, just like he wished he could erase all the memories of their high school.

Martin was sure Smitty thought he had been too hard on their daughter. Smitty surmised that any success Samantha might have wouldn't come immediately; they could let her take a few local gigs and veto any questionable assignment. Plus, Smitty added, Chelsea would be mentoring Samantha and keeping an eye on her. Smitty wondered if Martin was concerned that Samantha taking on such a public career would reflect badly on Martin should he run for president; Martin denied it and found Smitty's views on Samantha's decision naïve. Smitty proffered that they could make Samantha getting good grades a condition for modeling and urged Martin to say yes. After Smitty had excused himself, Martin made a call to arrange a discussion.

Samantha grumbled to Smitty that Martin had overreacted, as usual. Smitty encouraged Samantha to see that everything they did was subject to scrutiny because of Martin's position in Congress. Samantha didn't care if the public knew she was a model, whereas Smitty's observation was that Martin wasn't fond of change, giving the example of how resistant Martin had been at first to Smitty returning to work. Tyrell jumped in and declared that Smitty and Samantha shouldn't have to walk on eggshells so Martin would be comfortable.

Smitty relayed the importance of being able to see the other's point of view in a relationship, but Samantha argued that, with Martin, it was “it's all [his] point of view all the time.” And, she went on, it hurt that Martin had a habit of nixing whatever she wanted to do.

Bill needed to clear his head after trying to develop a strategy to beat Naomi in court and offered to take Hayley to lunch — at the country club, where Hayley had been shunned by everybody. His being there with her would be a first step toward wearing them down and getting them to show Hayley respect. Bill crowed that he had as much power at the establishment as Dani.

At the club, Dani met with a woman from the Dupree Heritage Foundation's First-Gen Grant board, only to discover she had been removed from it. To make her humiliation complete, Dani saw her ex and his new wife enter and kiss. Bill exchanged defiant glances with Dani, then admonished a server for taking his order but not Hayley's. Bill promised Hayley that she would soon feel at home at the club. Hayley was less certain and felt that public displays of affection there would probably not be a good look, though Bill said if they got kicked out for being lovey-dovey, it would be worth it. The newlyweds kissed again as Dani looked on.

The board representative acknowledged Dani's hard work but stressed that there was a de facto morals clause that Dani's unstable behavior at Bill and Hayley's wedding had violated. Bill and Hayley overheard as Dani demanded to know why she was being cut now, when the incident had happened weeks earlier; she scoffed upon hearing that the board had wanted to let Dani finish her work on the fashion show before taking the step. Dani was furious that they had used her while having her on the chopping block. The Hamiltons watched, not unimpressed, as Dani gave the board representative a dressing down.

When Anita arrived at the club, a steaming Dani was sure that her mother had known she was about to be rejected from the board; Anita was just as surprised as Dani had been that the board had kept Dani on long enough for her to make them a fortune from the fashion show. Anita saw red and pointed out that if Dani's actions at the wedding had been such a problem, the board should have axed Dani immediately. Anita was ready to make phone calls, but Dani stopped her. She didn't want to work with people who would so readily dismiss her. “I'm getting used to folks not deserving me,” Dani whimpered, eyeing Bill.

Hayley couldn't believe Dani had been booted from the board in public and took comfort in not being the only outcast at the club anymore. The newly minted Mrs. Hamilton no longer cared what its members thought and kissed Bill again. They saw the serious Martin entering – Bill cracked that Martin was always in a bad mood, and Hayley wondered how many more Duprees would be holding court with Dani, the ex-queen. Bill hoped every Dupree would stop by because he wanted them to see how happy he and Hayley were to enjoy their country club membership.

Martin told Dani how enamored Samantha had become with modeling after her single experience on stage and described how the teen now wanted to base a career on it. Dani knew first-hand that modeling could be very difficult but also very fulfilling with the right team assembled. Martin agreed that would be true for an adult, but not a minor; Dani countered that both she and Chelsea were 17 when they got started. Martin feared not only men preying on Samantha but the infamous parties. Dani stressed the importance of a good manager who could see that nothing inappropriate happened on shoots...one who would work with Samantha's parents to ensure her well-being.

Dani flipped things and asked how old Martin had been when he decided to go into politics; Martin felt the situations were different, but Dani averred that politicians were just as much under the microscope as models were. Not to mention, lawmakers may not have to fit into beauty standards, but they did have to function within voters' expectations. Martin couldn't deny the logic but recalled that he'd had time to grow into those parameters. Dani smiled that that time had been afforded to him because his parents and grandparents had given him the opportunity to explore his goals. Now, Martin was learning how they must have felt when they did so.

Martin went home and told Samantha he didn't like how they had left things. Samantha was hopeful when Martin detailed how he had spoken to Dani, but Martin, more gently, was still of the opinion that he couldn't let Samantha model. Disheartened, the girl wailed that Martin never let her do anything, including date — yet Tyrell was allowed to do whatever he wanted. Was it because Samantha was a girl? Martin protested that Tyrell did innocuous things like joining the chess club – perhaps Samantha could apply her powers of persuasion to the debate team. “Treating me trying to stand up for myself as a joke shows just how little you respect me,” Samantha sulked.

Martin replied that he trusted Samantha, but not everyone was worthy of that trust. “Even people who seem nice have a dark side,” the congressman said knowingly. “Very dark.” He just didn't want Samantha to potentially place herself in harm's way. “I understand,” she conceded sullenly, walking away. Smitty, who had heard the interaction, was troubled by the idea of Samantha rebelling if they kept saying no to her. Upstairs, Samantha called Chelsea and told her that, since her parents hadn't forbade her from modeling, she wanted to start right away, getting Chelsea to agree to manage her. Tyrell watched, unsettled.

“Somebody chip one of your new nails?” Vernon jested when Anita came home and slammed the door. But when Anita explained how Dani had been done dirty by the board, he exclaimed, “This stinks to high heavens.” He worried that the snub might undo the progress Dani had been making. Anita was concerned that people would want to know why she was no longer a board member and that it might even prompt other organizations Dani was involved with to eject her as well. When Vernon fretted that such a move could push Dani back into being a loose cannon, Anita announced that she had a plan to prevent it.

Anita had the board woman over and flamed her for dismissing Dani. The woman looked to Vernon for support, but he held with Anita in her decision for the Dupree Heritage Foundation to pull its funding from the First-Gen program and begin its own scholarship-awarding initiative...which would make the woman's charity organization obsolete. Anita added that Dani would chair the new non-profit, and if the woman's association went under, she could beg Dani for a job.

Bill and Hayley approached Dani and admitted that they had overheard Dani's dismissal; Dani's ex sneered that he knew how much “little socialite activities” filled her days and wondered how Dani would spend her time now that she could no longer live vicariously through Chelsea. Bill hoped Dani's new hobby wouldn't involve firearms.

Hayley chimed in that openly being ditched by the board must have stung for Dani, considering how Dani liked to lord being a Dupree over everyone. When Hayley suggested that they now had being ostracized at the club in common, Dani declared Hayley's brain broken. Hayley pressed on, knowing Dani would now feel as insecure as she had, wondering if country club members were talking about her behind her back. Dani smirked that Hayley had to cling to Bill to avoid being a pariah — Dani, as a Dupree, didn't have to cling to anyone. And, Dani promised, she already had a plan to get back to the top.

Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.