Beyond the Gates Recap for Monday, March 24, 2025: Naomi asked Anita for advice and Joey's reach extended

Here's what happened on the March 24, 2025 episode of Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Anita greeted Elon Hawthorne, the chief of police (and Jacob's father). They discussed Jacob's mom, Darlene, and Jacob's brother, Luke, and how Jacob had been torn up about not apprehending Dani while she had a gun on Bill and Hayley at their wedding. Anita wanted to get involved with the station's Fallen Officer Fund and be hands-on; she told Elon that that type of work filled her soul.

Anita enthusiastically went over everything that would need to be done for a fundraiser, but her smile faded briefly when she brought up needing to get a musical act. After Elon received a text from Jacob and excused himself, Anita gazed longingly at a shot of herself and her girl group from the '70s. “I do like to fill up my days,” she wistfully told a coordinator on the phone.

When Elon arrived at the precinct, Jacob asked his dad about Marcel, complaining that Marcel would make Jacob his errand boy if Marcel had his way. Elon spoke of how Marcel had seen things on the beat that would make other officers quit and urged Jacob to give Marcel a chance. Jacob felt Marcel had turned a blind eye to corruption in the case of not acting on them seeing Joey accepting a payoff while on their stake-out. Elon felt Jacob should rely on facts instead of his bad feeling about Marcel and was sure the veteran detective knew which cases were worth pursuing. Elon wanted Jacob to give Marcel time to warm up to him.

Naomi brought Jacob food at the station. Jacob could tell Naomi had something on her mind; she was having misgivings about taking on the sexual harassment case against her father's firm. Naomi worried that, as the granddaughter of a Dupree, the media attention on her family would end up overshadowing the victims themselves. Jacob posited that spotlights shone both ways, and since Bill's firm clearly had something to hide, they deserved the exposure.

Naomi realized that if she turned down the case, the women Mike had mistreated wouldn't get their day in court – it was either Naomi or no one since no other lawyer in town wanted to be the one to challenge Bill. Jacob didn't know what choice Naomi should make, so he sent Naomi to seek out Anita for advice. Naomi explained the situation to her grandmother, who questioned if Naomi could even beat Bill. Naomi waned even further, but Anita admitted she was only holding a mirror up to Naomi's doubts. Anita was sure Naomi could be a formidable opponent for Bill since Naomi's “fire for justice” could make Thurgood Marshall stand back.

Naomi continued to hedge until Anita reminded her granddaughter that her potential clients had chosen her for a reason. It wasn't a question of whether Naomi could win over Bill – it was a matter of whether Naomi was ready to show the world what happened when a Dupree woman decided to move mountains.

Naomi sat next to Anita at the piano; Anita revealed that doing so reminded her of singing with the Articulettes. The act had toured 45 weeks out of the year and subsisted on fast food and soda while crammed into a station wagon, but Anita had loved every minute of it. Asked by Naomi what had made Anita quit, Anita said the time had come, even after a solo career and a stint in Hollywood, though it was hard for a Black actress to achieve success there in the '70s. Anita knew that the strength it had taken for her to hit the heights was also flowing through Naomi's veins, and she added that no one could dim the spotlight of a Dupree woman.

Anita seemed to drift away; Naomi wondered if Anita was reliving the glory days, but Anita insisted that “living in the past is for old farts who have nothing better to do in their present-day lives.” Anita said she was happy with herself and her numerous contributions to charity and community projects. Anita had no regrets and didn't think Naomi should, either.

Naomi thanked Anita for the guidance. Anita said she was there to provide wisdom “and look fabulous while doing it.” The topic of Anita's career still on her mind, Naomi wondered if her grams still had it. Anita scoffed that she'd forgotten more about performing than the kids today knew. The grand dame stood up and crowed that she'd learned some new tricks by studying female rappers, busting a rhyme about herself and how she started in 1973. Anita pulled Naomi up with her, but Naomi couldn't keep to the beat, and they had a good laugh about how Naomi needed to stay in the pocket and how TikTok was not Anita's friend.

At Orphey Gene's, Doug avoided a call from Randy, with Vanessa jokingly asking if he was being contacted by a side piece. Doug declared his devotion but lied that he had to take care of something at the hospital when Randy followed up with a text inviting Doug to the casino. After Doug left, Joey introduced himself to realtor Vanessa and claimed that he wanted to buy his declining mother a house.

The suspicious Vanessa softened and began to look into options for Joey. Doug, who had forgotten his hospital ID at the table, returned for it and became uncomfortable at the sight of Joey talking to Vanessa. Doug “met” Joey and implied that Vanessa wouldn't have time to take on another client, to which Joey reported Vanessa already had; Vanessa dispassionately handed Doug his badge and sent him on his way.

After going over particulars, Joey shook Vanessa's hand but held it a beat longer than was customary. Diego watched Joey leave and asked Vanessa what was up with the old guy. Vanessa insisted nothing was going on with Joey, but he did have a reputation, and she hadn't expected him to be so handsome. Vanessa shut down Diego's jealousy by stating they weren't exclusive and that she could see whomever she pleased. Did Vanessa want her husband, the old man, or him? Diego submitted. Vanessa responded by asking Diego if he was ready for another workout.

Diego escorted Vanessa to the country club gym, querying which exercises Vanessa wanted to do. Vanessa led the trainer into an alcove and kissed him. Diego mentioned that they were doing a lot of “this” lately; Vanessa purred, “Stick with it 'til you nail it.”

Randy tracked Doug to the hospital and got an earful about how Doug had seen Joey cozying up to Vanessa. Randy talked down the wary Doug, promising that he would have told Doug if Joey was up to something. Randy again pressed Doug to join him at the casino; Doug acquiesced but vowed to keep an eye on Joey.

At the gaming club, Doug was winning hand over fist, which annoyed Joey; Joey didn't want Doug to be able to pay him back so easily. Randy attributed the streak to luck, but Joey barked that Doug would be free if he cleared his debt. “And free men don't make good puppets,” Armstrong went on, dismaying Randy. Joey decided to let Doug have his day, but tomorrow, Joey announced that Doug would lose his shirt.

Upon finishing up an exercise session at the country club, Chelsea posted a video to her followers, who had increased 30% since the clip of Dani's gunplay had gone viral. This prompted Kat to ask how Chelsea's audience felt about Chelsea wanting to start a purse line. Chelsea admitted she hadn't revealed it to them yet because Dani was living vicariously through her, and it was all Dani had left after the divorce from Bill and its subsequent humiliation. Kat understood that Chelsea didn't want to hurt her mom but encouraged Chelsea to spin the decision in a way that wouldn't make it emotional.

Perhaps, Kat thought, Chelsea could simply say that the spike in followers was enough to build a business on. Chelsea realized she could tell Dani that it wasn't about ditching Dani's vision, just leveling it up for the digital age. Chelsea loved the idea but fretted that Dani still might not go for it; Kat asserted that Dani, of all people, could groove on the idea of someone being true to themselves.

Once alone, Chelsea rehearsed revealing her plans to Dani, inserting the point that her news was nowhere near as bad as the news had been about Bill leaving Dani for Hayley. Jacob overheard Chelsea talking to herself; after some in-law banter about Jacob being stealthy and humorously branding Chelsea a shady perp, Chelsea asked Jacob for counsel. She felt they were in a similar situation since they both had parents for bosses – though Jacob corrected that his dad was boss over more than just him at the station, unlike Dani with Chelsea. Semantics over, Chelsea wished to know what Jacob did when a line needed to be drawn between parent and supervisor.

Jacob said he and the elder Hawthorne managed, but Jacob tended to defer to him since Elon had the experience. When Chelsea shared that she had something to say that Dani wasn't going to like, Jacob quipped, “Do I have to get a cell ready?” Chelsea sighed, realizing that she simply needed to get the confrontation over with.

Eva saw Tomás at the hospital and pretended to hurt herself, bumping into a medical cart so she could get his attention. Eva playfully sassed that Tomás must be there chasing ambulances and wondered how Kat would feel about Tomás saving a random girl. Tomás admitted he wasn't sure what he and Kat were and that they were just keeping things casual. Eva smiled that that was good to know.

Tomás had the “injured” Eva sit down; she asked for Tomás's card in case she wanted to discuss options for suing the hospital over dinner. Tomás didn't get the meaning and thought Eva sincerely wanted to become a potential client. “What planet are you from?” Eva asked, with Tomás announcing he was from Puerto Rico. His national pride gave him “the feels.” Eva was sure Kat would have the feels when Tomás “took” her; Tomás wanted to know why Eva kept bringing Kat up and inquired into whether Kat had said something to scare Eva off him. Eva harrumphed that Kat didn't need another reason to hate her, as Kat made up enough reasons on her own.

Eva readied to leave since she didn't want to risk getting fired from her job with Kat's mother over a guy she barely knew. Tomás thought talking wouldn't hurt; Eva replied that it depended on where it led. A spark flew as Eva deemed Tomás dangerous, though she decided Kat was a lucky girl as she left.

Kat phoned Tomás, amazed she hadn't had to leave him another voicemail. Tomás noted that, likewise, Kat hadn't answered his texts. He agreed to meet her at the diner, where he assured her he wasn't being distant. Kat admitted she couldn't be certain and asked Tomás if he thought she was weird for being a virgin. Tomás praised her for her discipline, but Kat wondered why Tomás wasn't at least kissing her. Tomás reiterated that he had tried to just kiss her cheek at the country club, but Kat had stopped him; Kat reminded him that had been because her family was watching. But no one was watching now, leading Kat and Tomás to share a sweet kiss.

Kat was glad she and Tomás had talked things out, and he concurred that the best way to be was straight up and honest – especially because his exes hadn't been. Tomás felt that he and Kat had the prospect of building something real. He offered Kat his arm and walked her to her car.

Back at the country club, Kat saw Chelsea and asked how Chelsea's talk with Dani had gone. Chelsea hadn't been able to reach Dani; she presumed her mother was “self-soothing.” The subject came around to Tomás, and while Kat confessed that there was something special about him, she also didn't seem particularly excited. Chelsea asked what the problem was, wondering if Tomás was pressuring the virtuous Kat into having sex. Kat relayed he hadn't been, but she'd been thinking about having her first time with the lawyer. Was Kat in love? Chelsea questioned. When Kat replied that she wasn't – yet – Chelsea noted that Kat had her answer; she didn't want Kat to lose her virginity in a way that Kat would regret later. Kat wasn't sure she'd know when she was ready to take that step. Chelsea reassured her cousin, predicting that when Kat was, she wouldn't need Chelsea to tell her.

Elon approached Marcel, who was surprised the police chief was communing with the common folk. When Marcel labeled Jacob “the golden child,” Elon said Marcel hadn't changed. The chief realized that when he and Marcel had begun on the force, hazing was a rite of passage, but Elon wanted Marcel to cut Jacob some slack. “We can't have Jacob asking questions about you that I can't answer,” Elon told Marcel clandestinely. Marcel gave Elon an attitude, but Elon warned that if anything happened to Jacob, “you won't have to come looking for me.”

Later, Joey took a call from Marcel, who was pissed that Joey had made a stupid mistake, like taking a payout in broad daylight. Marcel groused that he'd been paired with a rookie cop wanting to prove himself. “That's what I pay you for,” Joey clapped back. “Handle it.”

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