Beyond the Gates Recap for January 23, 2026: Chemo came for Anita and Leslie came for Shanice

Here's what went down Friday, January 23, 2026 on Beyond the Gates when even Ashley got tired of Derek's deeds, Tomás got a promotion, and Izaiah got selected for the runway.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Leslie arrived at Eva's to talk strategy – what was Izaiah going to do for Eva for Valentine's Day? Eva announced that she and Izaiah “[didn't] need a manufactured holiday” to express their growing feelings, and that they were taking things slow, besides. When Eva asked if Leslie had plans with Marcel, Leslie cooed that she was simply keeping her options open with him – she and Ted had become friends, and it would only be a matter of time before they were walking down the aisle. Eva didn't think so, since Ted was dating.

Eva refused to tell Leslie who the woman was and encouraged her mom to let go of Ted, citing her own example of finding happiness with Izaiah after letting go of Tomás. Leslie wrote off Eva's thing for Tomás as infatuation and was determined not to “abandon [my] soulmate.” Not to mention, Leslie knew that “Nurse Ratched” Shanice had her eyes on Ted; Eva nearly begged Leslie not to accost Shanice, since surely that would surely taint Leslie's newfound friendship with her ex. Leslie promised Eva not to go to the hospital, and left.

At Garland Memorial, Ashley noticed Shanice's glow and learned that her date with Ted had lasted into the morning. Ashley winced when Shanice relayed how she and Ted had run into Nicole, but Shanice lauded Nicole for being “the picture of grace” and was delighted that Ted had been unfazed. Later, Shanice found Leslie in her face demanding for her to “keep [your] claws out of what's mine.”

Shanice ignored Leslie's “last reminder,” saying she didn't care about Leslie's threats before, and she didn't care about them now. Leslie fumed when Shanice relegated her relationship with Ted to something that had ended decades ago; Ms. Thomas snarled that she and Ted had made love mere months ago and had created a life in Eva regardless. Once Leslie warned that she would “drag you across this tile by your scalp,” Shanice calmly replied that she was ready to call security, who would take Leslie to the psych ward. Leslie vowed their conversation would continue when Shanice least expected it.

The Hawthornes breakfasted at Orphey Gene's, where Jacob remarked that Naomi had tossed and turned all night. He found this odd, since he'd expected she'd be mellow upon learning that she hadn't inherited her mother and grandmother's BRCA gene mutation. Naomi repeatedly started to tell Jacob that she did carry it, but she was interrupted either by him or the waitress. Jacob's ears finally perked up when Naomi suggested that they could discuss what she had to say with their counselor, but before he could get more details, Izaiah walked in, and Naomi tabled the subject.

Izaiah talked about his fulfillment in working at Banneker University, even though Elon didn't like it. Jacob sighed that being a cop didn't automatically earn Elon's approval and confided that he'd had to cajole the police chief into his newest assignment. Naomi felt that Elon making him work for it was just his way of showing the precinct that he wasn't giving his son special treatment; Izaiah added that Elon was just trying to keep Jacob safe. Jacob slipped that he would be working undercover, which alarmed Naomi.

Visiting Ashley at the hospital, Naomi confessed that she had tested positive for the BRCA gene variant. Ashley hugged her bestie and tried to reinforce that the mutation wasn't a definite sign of cancer, but Naomi had trouble accepting it. When Ashley asked how her family had taken the news, Naomi admitted that she'd kept it to herself between everyone worrying about Anita and Jacob needing to not be distracted during the increased danger of his work. Naomi shrugged that the revelation would just have to wait, and Ashley assured Naomi that her secret was safe.

Dani returned to Bill's office, prompting the lawyer to frown that his ex's frequent appearances were bad optics – especially since Tomás had seen them kissing the previous night. When Dani observed that, once again, Bill had a wife at home yet couldn't resist another woman (though the wives were reversed), Bill scoffed at Dani's “boy toy” of a husband. Dani said she adored Andre, a man with whom she shared understanding and respect; after Dani practically dared Bill to throw her out, Bill grabbed her, which led to yet another passionate kiss. Bill shoved his paperwork off his desk and began to mount her...

...when suddenly Tomás popped Bill out of his fantasy. Once Tomás finished presenting updates on his latest cases, Bill said he appreciated Tomás's dedication, plus the leadership his subordinate had shown when he was hospitalized with his stroke, and when Chelsea had been missing. Tomás vowed that he “had [Bill's] back” in and out of the courtroom, so Bill poured them a drink and toasted to Tomás now being a junior partner at the firm. Tomás was elated.

Pamela met Dani at Uptown, overjoyed that the BRCA gene abnormality hadn't been passed down to either of Dani's daughters. But Pamela noticed that Dani was being evasive about how she'd spent her evening and was unhappy to learn that Dani had gone to see Bill. Dani countered that she had never known Bill to be so supportive as he had been since she'd learned she was carrying the gene; despite her pure intentions in visiting Bill, Dani said, she had gotten caught up and kissed him.

Worrying that Dani was falling back into her “usual dysfunctional pattern” with her ex, Pamela laid the blame on “philandering dog” Bill, who had gotten everything he wanted in divorcing Dani to marry Hayley and still wanted more. Dani swore she had no more romantic leanings toward Bill and that, by leaving her, he had actually given her the freedom to find Andre, the man she had deserved all along. “Then don't ruin it,” Pamela beseeched.

Shifting to agency business, Dani and Pamela talked over a certain account for which they needed a male model who bore unique features. That moment, Izaiah walked in, and Pamela was certain that he was perfect for what they had in mind. Dani, who knew Izaiah was her son-in-law's brother, was about to approach the younger Hawthorne when she noticed he was with Eva; she smirked that she would offer Izaiah the gig “when his tongue [isn't] busy.”

Grayson stopped by the nurses station, asking Ashley to take a break with him. Though it wasn't Ashley's scheduled time, the lighthearted Shanice let Ashley off. Once they got to Orphey Gene's, Grayson was telling Ashley about his cat, Darcy, when Derek suddenly appeared and seated himself at their table. Derek spoke about his stronger legs and asked Ashley what she was up to for the weekend; Ashley confidently discussed movie plans with Grayson. After Grayson realized they needed to get back to the hospital, Ashley asked for a moment with her ex first. “What the hell, Derek?” Ashley asked in disbelief. She accused him of trying to ruin her date and put it together that Derek had blabbed to Jan about Grayson. Derek claimed he thought Jan already knew about the new man in Ashley's life, but Ashley quickly left him sitting alone.

Mona was out with Jan, who complained that she didn't recognize her daughter. It wasn't like Ashley to not tell her who she was dating; that she had kept relative stranger Grayson a secret meant that Ashley knew Jan wouldn't approve of him, Jan said. Mona's opinion was that Jan needed to let Ashley learn through experience – but when Jan explained how Derek had informed her about Grayson, Mona wondered what business it was of Derek's in the first place.

When Jan continued to fret that Ashley barely knew Grayson, Mona pointed out that Jan was all gung-ho about Owen, whom she'd just met. Jan waved off the comparison, saying she been around enough to know when she saw something special, whereas Ashley was too young to know what she wanted. Turning things around, Jan asked Mona about the “sexy Santa” she had met at WinterFest; Mona sighed that things had fizzled with the man. It just hadn't been meant to be.

Having returned to the hospital, Ashley groused to Shanice, unable to fathom how Derek could be actively interfering in her new romance with Grayson. Shanice huffed, reminding Ashley that Derek had certainly been capable of lying about his paralysis. Ashley thought that Derek would benefit from seeing someone new himself and asked Shanice to encourage him to date his fellow firefighter, Sheryl, since Sheryl was into him. Shanice only agreed because she was in such a good mood.

At the Dupree manse, construction started anew across the street, and Anita was glad to be leaving for chemo so she wouldn't have to listen to it. Vernon was ready to accompany his wife, but Anita revealed that she had already arranged to spend the time with Sharon. Vernon was glad that Anita would have one of her best friends at her side, but he privately asked Sharon to call him if anything came up.

While Anita sat with the chemotherapy drugs feeding into her through her port, Sharon knitted and smiled that the end result could end up in Anita's Christmas stocking. “If I get through this,” Anita replied. Sharon didn't want to hear such negative talk and stated that “life is in the power of the tongue,” but Anita wanted to get real, since she couldn't do that with Vernon or the rest of the family.

Anita divulged that she had been researching estate planners after Vernon had gone to sleep – and was intrigued by the idea of becoming a living memorial, where one's remains were used to nourish a seed that became a tree. Sharon saw the arrangement as poetic but wondered how Vernon would feel, knowing Anita was making final plans behind his back. Anita conceded that she hadn't realized how intertwined she was with Vernon until she'd left him on his own to rehearse for The Articulettes reunion out-of-state.

The matriarch was aware how often one partner would pass away, only for the other to pass not long after. Sharon was convinced that Anita and Vernon's connection transcended space and time, and that none of her loved ones would let Vernon slip away. Sharon let Anita rest and sang a hymn as she dozed off.

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Sharon brought Anita home, where Vernon was pleased that Anita had been treated to a “private Articulettes concert.” Anita was just starting to tell Vernon how nice it was when she suddenly slurred her words and fell into a faint on the couch. Vernon and Sharon stared at the inanimate Anita helplessly.

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

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