Beyond the Gates Recap, April 21, 2025: Anita rocked the house, and Joey rocked Doug

Here's what went down Monday, April 21, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Joey called in his marker, Leslie answered the call of fashion, and Anita rediscovered her calling.

What happened on Beyond the Gates?

On Beyond the Gates, Vanessa realized she was a hypocrite considering she was cheating on Doug, but she was still worried about her husband's overwork – and she sensed that Doug knew she was sleeping around. Nicole felt this meant that Vanessa was more invested in her marriage than she thought. Vanessa thought it wouldn't be as simple as reaching out to Doug; Nicole realized that rebuilding things with Doug would take hard work...if that was something Vanessa wanted.

Before Vanessa could answer, Ted bounded in wearing an open robe but hastily covered up when he saw that Nicole had company. After he made a hasty retreat, Vanessa commented on how obvious it was that Ted and Nicole were in love. Nicole noted that things were heating up ahead of their anniversary and advised Vanessa that it was possible for her and Doug as well. Vanessa wondered if getting there would mean being honest first. Nicole noted that Vanessa and Doug had once had a “vibrant” sex life, but that now Vanessa had separated her sexual needs from her emotional needs; the psychiatrist suggested it might be worth Vanessa finding out if Doug was still compatible with her desires.

In the hospital, Joey saw Doug's cast and berated the surgeon for not being able to work to pay him back. “If you can't make money,” Joey said coldly, “what can you do for me?” Doug didn't think his skills aligned with Joey's “line,” which offended Armstrong. Doug had thought Joey had given him the money to pay off his casino debt, but Joey informed the doctor that he had expected Doug to reimburse him. Realizing that Joey wanted his money immediately, Doug offered his tied-up investments as payment; Joey deemed that no good if Doug couldn't get the cash that day and wondered what he was supposed to do with the surgeon.

When Doug resolved to find a way to raise the funds, Joey suggested that Doug ask someone he knew for help – though it would mean Doug's debt would become that person's debt. Doug knew that approaching anyone would require him to be forthcoming about his gambling, and Joey attributed Doug's hesitation to pride. Doug became animated after Joey snarkily asked if the surgeon screwed up as many surgeries as he did poker hands and furiously told the casino owner to go to hell. Joey advised Doug to speak to him with more respect before he added an “ass tax” of $100,000.

Cowed, Doug indicated that he could go to Vanessa, whom Joey praised for being “ascending.” Doug denied that Vanessa would leave him over his gambling; Joey spat that Vanessa didn't even know Doug, which made Doug think Joey was threatening to tell her about it. As Joey replied that Doug needed to figure something out fast, Vanessa caught the men together. Joey lied that he had a friend in the facility and had wanted to check in on Doug after learning of his injury, labeling himself “an empathetic guy.” Vanessa bought it, and after Joey left the McBrides alone, Vanessa wanted to know how Doug had broken his wrist. Doug conveyed how he'd done it to himself after losing a patient, which had the troubled Vanessa wondering if he had been expressing frustration about their marriage.

The marrieds professed their love to one another, and Doug countered Vanessa's suggestion that he teach while his hand healed with the suggestion that they spend more time together. Vanessa approved. Doug cryptically added that he had just come back from a dark place – one he would never return to again. Meanwhile, Joey told someone on the phone that he had Doug right where he wanted him.

At the country club, Eva worked with the organizers of Chelsea's fashion show to create the Richardsons' anniversary party, but she inadvertently made them laugh with her commoner ideas. They suggested a theme based on where Ted and Nicole met and ran champagne and caviar brands by the clueless Eva, who replied, “Whatever's the most bougie.” Eva didn't want the unimpressed organizers to go to Kat; Eva admitted she wasn't from an upscale background, plus the fact that she wanted the night to be outstanding so she could keep her job and express her gratitude to her employers. The stuck-up planners conceded they hadn't grown up behind the gates, either, but “threatened” to destroy Eva if she let it slip out.

Eva saw Tomás, who wanted to buy her a drink. Eva only agreed if she could be sure Kat wasn't going to show. When Tomás divulged that Kat was at another family function, Eva cooed that maybe Kat wasn't all that serious about him. Upon hearing that Naomi had just tried to sue her own father, Eva deemed the development “beyond awkward” – still, Eva posited that it must have taken guts for Naomi to file the suit. “We don't know what happens between a father and daughter,” Eva said, suddenly stoic. She couldn't imagine trying to take down her own dad.

Though Eva apologized for oversharing, Tomás stressed that friends unburdened themselves with each other and gently prevailed on Eva to open up about her father. Maintaining the ruse that she had been taken in by Leslie after her real mother died, Eva was honest about the stepfather who hadn't been pleased to have an instant daughter, and about how much she had wanted a real father. Tomás acknowledged Eva's pain and faulted Alan for avoiding a meaningful relationship with her. Tears streamed down Eva's face as she confided how seeing Ted and Kat together had made her long-unfulfilled need for a dad even worse.

Mona and Jan discussed Laura at Orphey Gene's; the girl was on antibiotics, but her post-heart attack infection was hanging on. Mona relayed how the Richardson family loved having Eva as Laura's fill-in, but laughed that Kat was the one holdout. Kat hadn't given attitude to Laura, Mona added. Leslie joined them – they saw she had been shopping and went through her purchases, holding up a new wig and a fancy dress. Jan and Mona wondered how Leslie could afford such finery – when Leslie humorously attributed her magic hands to earning that kind of cash, Jan hoped her hands hadn't been involved in happy endings.

Leslie reported to her friends that she had gotten lucky on the slot machines sequestered in the back room of the Lakeview Casino. Mona moaned that folks like them didn't experience windfalls like that every day. Leslie championed the idea of going somewhere glamorous, looking gorgeous, and she likened her wig purchase to celebrities frequently changing up their looks. When Mona couldn't believe there wasn't a man in Leslie's life, Leslie smirked that she had been getting reacquainted with her ex – but wouldn't go into the details her friends wanted her to dish about.

The only particular Leslie would dole out was that her new wardrobe was meant to be a kind of vision board she wanted to use to picture what her life would be with her former lover. Mona and Jan grooved on the idea of “wishful shopping”; Jan knew Leslie had been hurting since her husband died, and was glad there was someone in Leslie's life. Leslie didn't want to jinx anything, but purred that everyone would know should the reunion work out.

Anita, with Dani and Naomi in tow, arrived at Uptown to discover it was karaoke night. Anita, who decided she only wanted to participate as a spectator, had her misgivings, but Dani asked, “If y'all want me to turn a new page, doesn't that mean trying something new?” As Duprees and Richardsons piled in, Dani ordered a bottle of the establishment's best champagne. Vernon was approached by an admiring woman who had gotten into politics because of him, while Anita reported to the Richardsons that Dani seemed just fine.

Chelsea asked Dani how things were going with the new charity; the smiling Dani revealed she had more selfish pursuits in mind but wouldn't elaborate, citing Chelsea having kept her purse line a secret at first. Dani just wanted to soak up her family and effected a conference with Nicole, who wanted to know how Anita had been convinced to come to karaoke. Dani whispered to her sister that their mother thought she was there to prevent “another Dani meltdown.” Nicole giggled when she found out the real reason for the soirée.

Kat was surprised that Chelsea hadn't offered Dani the CMO position yet. Chelsea watched Dani from afar and groaned that her mom took up all the space in every room she was in. Kat surmised that Dani might have had to learn to, since in her day “there weren't a lot of models that looked like us.” Chelsea still wasn't sure that the quickly growing “ChelseaKat” needed Dani. Elsewhere, Smitty and Martin told Vernon about Tyrell being trolled because of his underwear pic, so the former senator asked Chelsea, an influencer, for her advice. Chelsea suggested that Tyrell flood his feed with images of him living his best life and to just ignore the naysayers. Smitty hated that his son was enduring this ordeal, as he'd had plenty of experience not fitting in himself. Vernon felt that Tyrell was more resilient than he was being given credit for.

After various family members finished making conversation, Naomi admitted she had brought everyone together under false pretenses: she just really wanted to sing. Naomi flubbed her song and determined she should have a backup singer – Dani. But when Dani took the stage, she proclaimed that they needed Anita to round out the act. While her loved ones tried to persuade her with cheers and chants, Anita worriedly told Vernon under her breath that Anita Dupree only performed once prepared – which she wasn't. Vernon assured his beloved that the number was just for family, but Anita was afraid an outside spectator might film it...and her voice wasn't what it once was. Despite the encouragement, she stubbornly refused.

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It was only after Vernon finally wore Anita down that she grudgingly rose from her chair, causing jubilant applause. Anita only half-jokingly told her daughter and granddaughter that she would never forgive them; after she took the mic and the track started, she froze up. But Vernon nodded, Anita had the KJ start over, and Anita got into her routine with Naomi and Dani, bringing the house down.

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

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