"Beyond the Gates" Week 13 Review

As I said a couple of weeks prior when I recapped the moment that Leslie decided to proverbial burn it down to the ground, it does feel like we are now in the early stages of a new series of angles. We see this in wrestling as well; angles that last about two or three months come to an end, and new angles begin. In this case, the last two weeks have dealt with the aftermath of that birthday celebration, and so far, it's been quite interesting.

So, without further ado, let's get to what stood out in this, the twelfth week of this amazing show:

May 19

Finally we see Leslie being grilled at a police station, and it's Jacob doing the grilling. Unfortunately, Leslie does a hell of a job throwing Eva under the bus, and honestly, it took a lot of restraint for this viewer to not scream something like, "Read between the lines, you fool!" Leslie and Eva aren't exactly a package deal, but it really did look like more of the suspicion was directed towards Eva than Leslie when it comes to Laura being run down. Other characters aren't putting anything past Leslie, but they can't just assume that Eva was behind it just because she's Leslie's daughter.

May 20

So at long last, after going back and forth between reluctance and excitement, we have an Articulettes reunion of sorts. The Tuesday episode saw Maria Howell appear as Tracy Taylor, one of Anita's co-horts in the R&B group back in the day, and it was mostly warm, but had it's share of drama, too. I mentioned this for a few reasons. For one, this is a clear homage to pretty much any and all of the R&B female groups, especially The Supremes. Secondly, while the Articulettes are fictional, it does remind me of my childhood where I heard a lot of the oldies played--either on the radio or via records and CDs.

May 21

The highlight for Wednesday's episode was Jacob talking to Eva, who knew full well that Leslie was working his ass off to throw her under the bus. Eva definitely seemed pissed off enough to really sell out Leslie, and I was really hoping she would. But I forget, this is a soap opera, and soaps--much like wrestling--like to have certain things play out for a bit longer. So Eva didn't spill the beans. Yet. I'd like to think she's saving that nugget for when she'll really need it. At least that's what I'm hoping.

May 22

I did enjoy seeing Nicole in the Thursday episode. Basically, this was Nicole back in her element, after two weeks of dealing with the aftermath of Ted's past coming back to haunt, well, everyone. I couldn't help but be slightly amused over Nicole telling Ted to do whatever it took to make sure Leslie doesn't plague them. I'd like to think that the translation was Nicole telling Ted to knock her off. Nicole doesn't have it in her, though. Or does she?

May 23

Speaking of Nicole... holy fuck, Leslie just keeps getting crazier and crazier. So after failing yet again to entice Ted, we see the second coming of Sheila Carter talking about her disguises and alter-egos before taking on another disguise: none other than Nicole herself. Yeah. I should have seen this coming. Villainesses this nuts usually obsess with wanting to be the very woman who is in their way, and this is a pure example of this. Leslie just continues to fall further down that proverbial rabbit hole.

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Week #13 definitely showed out, though that's no surprise; Beyond the Gates has been showing out ever since it began. I sense a lot of shocking and wild moments in the following week; I'm very amped!