Beyond the Gates: Best of the Week ending 30th January, Joey does Gangster stuff 

Let’s look at what’s been turning heads and making noise this week on Beyond the Gates. A quick look at the highlights, best quotes, and gasp-worthy moments for the week ending 30th January, 2026

What happened on Beyond the Gates

This week was a lot to take in. Anita’s (Tamara Tunie) breast cancer diagnosis is the kind of storyline that makes you reach for the tissues, but Vernon’s (Clifton Davis) frantic search for a medical miracle is what really grounded the week. It feels so human because the fear is so real. Meanwhile, Bill (Timon Kyle Durett) is still playing checkers while Tomas (Alex Alegria) is playing Risk, and Hayley? (Marquita Goings) I genuinely have concerns that she’s going to turn Bill’s liver into an 8th grade science project with the amount of herbal tea she keeps pushing. With the amount of times she reaches into her bra to whip out the vial of poison and the amount of times she could have been caught because she is as subtle as a brick.

I think, Hayleys own stupidity mixed with her imapatience will be her undoing. And how much of this poison does she own? She'll need a 44 gallon drum at this rate.

The Absolute Best

But moving on to the actual best bit, the best of the week, I give you, Mr Joey Armstrong. Hands down my favorite character on this soap. Every scene he's in he makes it better with his presence and it feels like he gets whoever is in the scene with him to give their absolute best too.

Beyond the Gates' Scene of the Week? Seeing Joey (Jon Lindstrom) corner Lance (Kovar McClure) at the casino was exactly why I love this show. Joey isn't some B grade villain; he’s a man with a very specific set of skills (think Liam Neeson meets Scarface), and watching him do "gangster stuff" to keep Vanessa (Lauren Buglioli) safe was peak. He doesn't need to use a weapon; his presence is enough to suck the air out of the room. He has something that resonates, it's this quiet, lethal confidence that reminds everyone why you don't mess with his business or his woman. It wasn’t just a "soap opera" moment; it felt like a scene pulled from Goodfellas or The Sopranos.

That is exactly why that man also gave us the Quote of the Week. Joey leaned in close to Lance, close enough to smell the fear and expensive cologne, and delivered the line that I am still thinking about: "If you so much as think about Vanessa, I’ll know, and I'll kill you." No fluff, no "I'll make you regret it" nonsense. Just a plain, simple fact.

Then Friday rolled around, and Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) was still trying to talk sense into Kat (Colby Natasha Nixon), which is always a losing battle, you'd have more luck explaining the internal combustion engine to a neanderthal. With cancer treatment progressing and the family dramas afoot, next week looks great. We have the weekend ahead of us to hope that Lance won’t take the hint, and Joey will have to make good on that promise. I will see you back here on Monday, fingers crossed as I really like watching Joey being Joey.

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See you next week, Gates fans.

Watch full episodes of Beyond the Gates weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus

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