'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYH/8QAHxAAAgICAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAQMCBAARBRIGITGh/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQP/xAAaEQABBQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAEDESET/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDFBztrmLrl2Qsrh2ioCOisA/vzKOp4fdtVU2F2Kwg2EWREu2wCNjfrGMrHrvaJIx4iVbq//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Here's what went down Monday, January 5, 2026 on Beyond the Gates when Chelsea had to be the voice of reason, Ted gave Andre his tattered copy of How to Be A Dupree In-Law, and Madison plumbed further depths in regard to her conflict with Willow.
What happened on Beyond the Gates
On Beyond the Gates, Dani stopped by Nicole's office, wanting their blood to be taken quickly for the BRCA genetic screen because she wanted to be able to eat. Nicole laughed that one didn't need to fast for that kind of test and handed her sister some munchables she still had leftover from a stash of Ted's. Dani snarked that her former brother-in-law had the same taste in snacks than he did in side pieces, leading the women to discuss how they'd leaned on their exes in the wake of Anita's cancer diagnosis.
Though she was surprised to hear that Nicole had ended up in Ted's arms, Dani conceded that she'd be a hypocrite if she raised objections and very much expected the shrink to “read [her] for filth” for turning to Bill. Nicole felt it was only natural for her and Dani to look to their ex-husbands for support, and they assured each other that they had only done so for the sake of their children. When Nicole fretted about Kat not wanting to be tested for the mutation, Dani recalled that her decisions at Kat's age “weren't rooted in logic.” Still, Dani wasn't sure what she'd do if she came up positive for BRCA.
Nicole wanted to take a more practical approach, while Dani wanted to remain hopeful that she didn't actually carry the gene. Regardless, they agreed that Vernon would need to be able to lean on them since Anita's cancer wasn't in question. Nicole decried Kat not wanting to be informed; if Kat ever wanted to have children, Nicole said, she could have her eggs frozen while she was still perfectly healthy, even if BRCA was in her system.
At the country club, Andre admitted to Ted that, when Dani got scared, she tended to run toward the familiar: in most cases, Bill. The shutterbug relayed how Vernon had implored him to keep Dani from relying on her ex, but Andre wasn't sure how to accomplish that without seeming insensitive, since the potentially affected Naomi and Chelsea were also Bill's children. Ted knew firsthand that “the Duprees have their own ecosystem,” which for all intents and purposes included Bill, but that it was important not to let them run roughshod over Andre as an outsider Dupree. Andre was unsure of how to compete with Bill and Dani's history. “So don't,” Ted countered, warning his nephew to make sure he kept Bill in his lane.
Shanice flashed back to her New Year's Eve kiss with Ted, popped out of her bubble when Leslie returned the poinsettia Shanice had brought in for Peaches. Leslie snarled that Shanice had better not be “daydreaming about my TED-dee,” adding, “I got eyes.” “Right back at'cha, honey,” Shanice countered, not flinching. Relenting somewhat, Leslie expressed grudging appreciation that Shanice had cheered up Peaches' room with the flora – but she did wonder why Shanice seemed to know so much about Ted's schedule. Shanice smiled that Ted had told her of his day's whereabouts when he had stopped by to see her and walked away, plant in hand.
Shanice entered Nicole's office to administer the blood tests to Nicole and Dani personally. “Tapping us like maple trees to see if we've won the cancer jackpot?” Dani cracked. Nicole's mood was more somber, as she felt there was no going back after submitting for the test. Dani replied that that line had already been crossed with the revelation of Anita's genetic condition. “Drain me dry,” she smilingly instructed Shanice.
Jacob sat with Naomi at Orphey Gene's, but Naomi wasn't hungry between learning of Anita's cancer and the gene that might run in some or all of the family. Naomi assured Jacob that it was all right that he hadn't been able to be there when she got the news, as he'd had to work nights at the police station. Seeing the port installed in her grandmother's chest and driven the disease home for Naomi: Anita's body was going to be flooded with poisons in an attempt to heal her. “Make it make sense!” the lawyer wailed.
When Naomi wanted to take time off from work to make herself available to Anita 24-7, Jacob quickly got her to see that Anita would never ask that. Jacob did, however, want to be with Naomi when she got her own BRCA test results, should it be necessary for her to have the screen. As they talked, the Hawthornes noticed Leslie and Marcel in heavy conversation at the diner's counter.
Leslie turned multiple law enforcement related phrases into sexual innuendos and teased Marcel with a paper bag that had some sort of “treat” in it for the veteran detective. Marcel, having been ordered to guess what was inside, pondered the possibility of “illegal goods” or “stolen evidence”; as the seductiveness continued, Naomi, who had originally been of the opinion that Leslie had been calming down, had to concur with Jacob that what they were witnessing was “a few steps away from soft core.”
Marcel debunked Leslie's claim that he was “worried about [his] little brother in blue,” adding that Jacob was more like “daddy's favorite tattletale.” Leslie sauntered out, telling Marcel she'd be waiting for him at her hotel, giving Jacob a moment to confront Marcel about being so “comfy” with Leslie. Marcel implied that Jacob could be that way with his wife if he let himself – then Leslie reappeared for her paper bag, ratcheting up the flirtation just to get a rise out of Jacob. Marcel winked at Jacob while he followed Leslie out, after which Naomi asked Jacob what was going on between them. “I don't even think I wanna know,” Jacob offered, nauseated.
Leslie and Marcel ripped each other's clothes off once they met up at her hotel room, with the telltale paper bad slipping to the floor along with the articles. She breathlessly told her she'd better leave her wanting more, or their first time would be their last; he growled that he loved the way she made him work for everything, “Even though we both know you all mine.”
After their inaugural romp, Leslie smirked that Marcel seemed to be rating her as if he were giving a performance review at the precinct. He explained that he had expected Leslie to be a tigress but was surprised to find himself with a honey badger. Speaking of Marcel's wife, Leslie wanted to know why sexy, strong men always seemed to end up with prudish women. Marcel said he was only hanging on to his marriage long enough to grab what he could of his pension, since his soon-to-be-ex would be making off with half of it.
Tomás brought a grumpy, hungover Kat a remedy in the form of a smoothie. “What died in here?” Kat grimaced, smelling the concoction. She held her nose to drink it and soon noted its apparent effectiveness, thanking Tomás for it, and for delivering her home the previous evening. Kat stiffened when Tomás reasoned that her binge had had to do with her fear of carrying BRCA – and that he had gotten the information from Bill. Tomás clarified that his boss had only mentioned the prospect of his daughters having the mutation; he had reached the conclusion about Kat's worry by process of elimination.
Kat apologized for being secretive and said she just hadn't wanted Tomás to “go all lawyer on me” in an attempt to make a case for her getting screened – which Tomás was shocked she didn't want to do. He wanted her to feel like she could confide in him, but she insisted that she needed time alone to mull things over: “that's how I process things,” Kat said matter-of-factly. Tomás understood and promised he'd be there when she was ready to talk about it.
Tomás ran into Jacob at the club and shared the difficulty he was having in being Kat's boyfriend. Jacob knew Tomás's story, affirming that all the Dupree women were independent enough that they almost didn't seem to need support. Plus, Jacob noted, Naomi had largely gone quiet in her reaction to Anita's cancer – which to him meant she was about to do something he wouldn't like.
Chelsea approached Madison at the hospital, wanting her opinion as a doctor, not as a girlfriend. It bothered Madison that Chelsea had noticed she'd snuck out of bed to research about cancer online; Chelsea rejected the idea of being coddled and asked Madison to “doctorsplain” Anita's disease in straightforward terms. As a neurologist, Madison didn't have many answers, but she did emphasize that Black women were at higher risk for breast or ovarian cancer owing to the BRCA gene, and that even men who carried it could still develop prostate or pancreatic cancer.
Madison told the unnerved Chelsea that genes weren't sure things that got handed down like family heirlooms – DNA tended to be a lot more random, and that meant that, even if both Dani and Nicole tested positive for BRCA, it didn't harbinger that Chelsea would. Early detection, Madison reported, was key; further describing the rift between herself and her mother, Willow, Madison told Chelsea about her Aunt Alicia – Willow's sister – who had listened to Willow's anti-medicine screeds instead of an oncologist when she had been stricken with cancer. Subsequently, Alicia had died.
After Madison offered for her and Chelsea to get tested together, where they could wear matching outfits and rate the waiting room magazines. Chelsea laughed, but as soon as she was alone, Chelsea texted Kat, Naomi, and Martin to arrange for an immediate meeting.
At Chelsea and Kat's guest house, where Naomi had met them, discussion was had about Martin's absence, which he attributed to having to take care of congressional issues; Kat said that probably meant her brother was “binge eating in a bougie restaurant” to deal with the sudden health scares. Kat confessed that she hadn't been able to open up to Tomás about it, with Naomi saying she'd been having a similar issue talking to Jacob. But when Chelsea and Naomi casually brought up the genetic testing, Kat threatened to “have a breakdown” if she heard anything more about it.
Chelsea stood firm that they couldn't just stick their heads in the sand and told Kat about how Madison having lost her aunt had made her need to be vigilant all the more pronounced. Kat resisted, and Chelsea observed that not thinking about it took up as much energy as actually dealing with it. “It's called being an adult,” Chelsea groused. “Yeah, well, have fun with that,” Kat clapped back. Naomi had nothing to add, though all three of the women's phones lit up with notifications that Dani and Nicole's blood samples had been sent to the lab. There was nothing to do now but wait.
Trending
Ted converged on Shanice, calling her the most beautiful sight on that floor of the hospital. After they laughed over whether or not Ted had rehearsed the line in the elevator, Shanice told Ted that Nicole was “going through it” and could use his support. Visiting Nicole, Ted said he hadn't pressed Kat or Martin about getting the BRCA screen, as it wasn't his place. Yet, he wanted to be there for both of them, and Nicole, even though they weren't married anymore. As he noted that they seemed to be entering a new phase of friendship, Nicole heard Ted's stomach grumbling and handed him one of his snacks, which made him smile.
Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.
Reply
