Grayson's anatomy: Beyond the Gates Two Scoops for the week of February 2, 2026

Anita Williams Dupree is the hair apparent of Beyond the Gates

Are y'all ready to go Beyond the Gates? This past week, Kial and Nicole got all kissy, Madison got the real tea, and Anita snatched Anastasia bald. Across the DMV, Chelsea moved faster than a flight to Denmark, Joey became a courier to the Max, and Grayson may have shown us his gray areas! Let's fill up those Two Scoops and find out what happened inside and outside the gates of Fairmont Crest!

PRODUCT PLACEMENT PLACARD:

TIDE: 1

Who's that thinkin' nasty thoughts?

First off, I have to say that I am loving the growing rivalry between Leslie and Shanice – mostly because Shanice is the only woman on the show so far who's proven she can stand up to Leslie, and without flinching. Not only is this consistent with her friendly-'til-you-F-with-me personality, but we got another glimpse at motivation when Ted brought up Leslie sneaking past Shanice as Nurse Lulu to poison Laura...something Shanice still feels bad about.

It's awesome when the show brings up moments like that to accentuate current story. And was Leslie wrong when she told Shanice that Ted couldn't be faithful? Because he...wasn't. Shanice didn't act rattled to Leslie's face, but clearly it bothered her. How hilarious was it, though, when Derek happened by and intervened in Leslie's increasingly menacing behavior?

Leslie squealed that she'd been under the impression Shanice liked dark coffee, as in Ted, but she seemed to be into milk as well. LMAO! Speaking of white guys, Nicole did her own shift from Carlton to Kial, not at all discouraging the orthopedic surgeon. Interesting that Mona was bothered by Nicole as “sexually liberated phoenix,” while Jan wanted to just let it be, like the Beatles.

And now, what was up with Mona's meeting with Randy? It's awesome that, almost a year in, we're still getting to see new combos of characters. But while she thanked Randy for saving Vanessa from Lance – and Randy aw-shucksed his way through it – was I the only one getting a gushy vibe from Miss Mona? Right after Jan told her to get back into life like Depends? That would be a most unusual pairing.

So yeah, Nicole is into her new hottie boomalotti era, and Kial was so into it, I'm surprised he didn't take her right there on a table at Uptown. We know next to zero about Dr. Rollins after two months, but I guess we can safely say he's a bit of a horndog. This is something that was not lost on Ted, and he was less than thrilled that Nicole wasn't just dating Carlton in the wake of their divorce.

That was the first part of Shanice's Very Bad Terrible Awful Night. It was bad enough for her that Ted couldn't avert his gaze from his hypersexualized ex-wife. But then when the new couple split to Ted's hotel room, Ted was just barely starting to convince Shanice not to put an end to their date when the apparently eagle-eyed nurses supervisor spotted Leslie's “tacky-ass panties,” as she put it, from halfway across the room.

Ms. Johnson certainly eats her carrots! Ted sputtered like a clogged faucet, finally getting Shanice to see that Leslie must have planted the “butt floss” there for Shanice to find. As I said in my last column, there was no guarantee Shanice was going to see them first; Ted could have discovered them, or Housekeeping. But Leslie got her desired effect; though Shanice believed Ted, she called their night over, not wanting to be Ted's consolation prize. Good on you, Niecy!

Meanwhile, Leslie was dining with Eva at the country club when Ted suddenly showed up and offered Leslie's drawers as a menu item. Leslie made no effort to deny ownership, and Eva facepalmed so hard they heard it in the lobby. Ted William Shatnered his declaration “I. Am. Not. Interested in you!” and told “Dana” to stay the hell out of Ted's room. Great, but why hasn't Ted gotten his own place like he told Shanice he was going to do? Is the Bowman's room service that good?

Eva ran to Izaiah to vent, but he had just gotten two earfuls of Kat trying to tell him what a skank her hated half-sister was. Izaiah had absolutely none of it, countering Kat's outrage of Eva's part in ruining her parents marriage with the perspective that it was Ted's own “trifling actions” that set the wheels in motion! Soo-WEE! Instant enemy for Kat.

Guess no matter how many times her fam tries to get her to let go of her hatred toward Eva – and no matter how many times Kat seems like she might be willing to – the girl just can't help herself. Izaiah scoffed that Eva was with him for his money, because, for real, how much money could an academic advisor possibly make? It's one of the things I like about Eva and Izaiah together; their being just regular folks makes them a good match.

Oh, yeah. Before Eva saw Izaiah, she bumped into Tomas, who got Eva to see that maybe she wanted more from Sir Hawthorne that just “a good time.” But Tomas wasn't exactly thrilled to hear Eva's report that GF Kat had been flirting with Izaiah. Kat corrected the claim when she and Tomas got together, and Tomas believed her – in fact, he brought up the idea of them living together again. At least this time it didn't seem like a power move to get Bill's attention.

As for Izaiah and Eva, they talked about Kat's interference and Leslie's latest serving of crazy; Izaiah didn't feel threatened by Eva's mom being a few fries short of a Happy Meal. But this led to a strange exchange of dialogue. Izaiah suddenly asked if Eva would ever testify against Leslie. Why would he ask that? He doesn't know Leslie did anything illegal. Was that just from being raised in a family of cops?

Eva replied by saying outright that she wouldn't testify, which is something I don't know she should have said out loud. She and Izaiah made things up, and they decided to upgrade their status to boyfriend/girlfriend, but I'm still locked on this testifying thing. Could it be a hint that Leslie will soon be in court to be testified against? Joey does have that juicily incriminating flash drive about her, after all.

When I think of you

Bill was super grumpy to have to be checking in with Madison again. That grump must be why Bill couldn't wait to tell Mads and her replacement, a Dr. Martinez, that he would be all too happy to ditch that “damn tea” Hayley kept making him drink! “I was just trying to help,” Hayley stammered. See, girl? If you'd just poisoned his food instead instead of focusing so hard on tainting one particular beverage, Bill would have had nothing to complain about. Some scammer.

Both doctors felt that Bill's blood work was off enough that he should spend the night at Garland for observation, but Hayley talked him out of it, giving him some spiel about how she had pretty much gotten PTSD from his being laid up there during his stroke. Why does Bill keep falling for her bull? Her cleavage can't be that distracting. But Madison dropped a detail that had me wondering.

Apparently, she and Martinez wanted to connect Bill with lab tech Grayson...because the guy also ran something called a “concierge health service” outside of the hospital. I'm not even 100% sure what that means...or why GATES's credits list Grayson's last name as Phillips when Martinez said it was Perez. Pick one, y'all. Anyway, I'm not liking Grayson's extracurricular activity. Just made me wonder.

Andre didn't have to wonder – not after Dani came right out and told her Vegas hubby that she had kissed Bill. You'd have thought the shutterbug would have been more perturbed, given Vernon had just filled his ear with the facts of Bill admitting he'd made a mistake in divorcing Dani. Mrs. Dupree-Richardson swore that her lips colliding with Bill's had just been a form of goodbye, then she cried over all the humiliation and suffering that Bill had put her through.

It was hard not to think Dani was trying to pivot from her admission, but then, I'm a cynical bastard. Andre understood – and later confirmed for Pamela that he had run into an old friend of his, fashion designer Tatum Stewart, while on his recent assignment in New York. Apparently this Tatum wanted Dani to be the face of her new collection, and their sensibilities were in total sync.

The thing was, Pamela and Andre bought felt that Dani wouldn't take the gig if she knew it had been arranged for her (pride, I guess), so they did some maneuvering to steer Dani in that direction. Whatever, let's just get Dani modeling already; we've been talking about it the better part of a year. And why isn't Dupree-Curtis officially open? Also something that's been in development far too long.

Back at Bill's office, Hayley was so preoccupied with Bill's blood work (because that's not a tell at all) that he had to send her shopping. Like you usually have to ask her twice! But what Hayley really wanted to pick up was Izaiah; she ran into him at the mall food court and “accidentally” showed him a NSFW pic in between the images from WinterFest she'd insisted on pulling up.

Izaiah only got a reprieve from Hayley's come-ons – and trying to get him off of Eva by snickering that she was Ted's love child – from Chelsea of all people, who came down on her sister's former bestie for apparently already trying to replace their father. Of course Hayley denied doing any such thing, then moved on to news of Bill's blood work, which factored in to Cheslea's story in a way we'll get to in a bit.

Dani arrived at Bill's office, having just learned that Bill had given his birthday girl assistant Caroline a Mercedes instead of a Macy's gift card or something. The ex-Mrs. Hamilton scoffed that it was payment for Caroline always covering up Bill's affairs – then told Bill, off her discussion with Andre – that their kissing bug stuff had to stop. They could only interact if it had something to do with Naomi and/or Chelsea.

Bill rightly called it when he flamed Dani for already having drawn that line, only to sprint across it like FloJo at the 1988 Olympics. Dani said she was in a stronger place now and could maintain her new resolve, wondering if Bill could. That remains to be seen, I guess. I dunno...I get that the Bill/Dani connection is supposed to be a main driver of the show, but it comes off as filler to me. I'm much more interested in other storylines than theirs!

When you get the chance just take control

La Dupree found herself with a new problem once she discovered that chemo was already making her famed luxurious locks fall out after just two treatments. Though Dani had to drag that fact out of her, she and Anita decided to nip that in the bud right off by effecting a massive makeover on the matriarch. (God, I love alliteration.) It was as much to stave off gossip about any hair loss as it was beating chemo to the punch.

Anita took the stiff upper lip route, determining to make the first cut herself, though she was near tears doing it. Once the clip was made and there was no going back, Dani did her styling magic and gave her mom a new cropped coif. Question: as a white guy I admit to not having a range of knowledge regarding the hair of Black women, but why was Anita's short hair curly when her long hair was bone straight?

It also felt off when Anita called Andre over for a photo shoot featuring her new look...and Anita sported a variety of hairstyles, some longer than others. Obviously they were wigs...but wasn't the whole reason Anita wanted the pictures was so she could emphasize her sassy new cut and play it off as a regular reinvention? If that was so, why the wigs and the other styles? I just felt like it undercut the message Anita was trying to send.

But at the country club, there was no need to hide the sharp objects, because Anita proved to be one herself. She was holding court over debutante hopefuls Samantha and Jessica, the latter of which was still harrumphing about how elitist and snobby it all was. Anita had just about gotten Jessica to see how the cotillion could provide young Black women with opportunities they might otherwise not get...

...when that elitist and snobby Anastasia sidled up and tried it, tried it, tried it. There was no chance in hell that Jessica – or Samantha, who wasn't even a Dupree; heaven forbid! – was going to come away with the vaunted crown because it belonged on the head of her granddaughter. Anita immediately chastised Ana for acting like she was Denise Richards in Drop Dead Gorgeous with her unnecessary positioning.

There had been mention before of country club patrons staring at Anita because of her new hair, but for some reason, Anastasia never brought that up. What she did hurl at Anita was how Vernon had saved her from her life as a gyrating hustler, and that she'd otherwise never be allowed into the exclusive community that Vernon's father had built!

Anita was like, girl, I've got an Emmy, a Grammy, and Oscar, and a Tony – and you ain't fresh you ain't fresh! Anastasia was unmoved until it looked like Anita was raising her hand to slap a bitch – but psyche, she was only running her fingers through her equally fiery new 'do. “I don't dabble, I dominate,” Anita clapped back, letting Ana know that if it was gonna be a battle of the matriarch, the bell had just rung, sucka!

So, Anastasia went from snarky gossip to prissy “queen of mean” (not Anita's best lyric) in one scene. Not unexpected, though I don't know that I need to see these country club ladies squabbling over cotillions. Thankfully, GATES didn't forget Anita's main story – after she nearly ripped Anastasia's twist right off her head, her own head got light, a result of her diminished energy and immune system. Good call.

Funny how time flies (when you're having fun)

I can basically break down Chelsea's five-day arc in just a few sentences. Oh, don't go to Copenhagen. Oh, we're both going to Copenhagen. Oh, now only you're going to Copenhagen. There. Readers Digested it for ya. As part of the LGBTQ+ community (though I'm not a fan of that umbrella term), I'm jazzed to see the gender fluid Chelsea in a loving relationship with lesbian Madison. It's just that their latest twists feel forced to me.

After being in a bit of screen time limbo, Chelsea decided after her brush with BRCA that she needed to feel free and gulp party drugs, which Madison did not groove on. So Chelsea suddenly proposes to keep Madison from bailing on her, which made things worse. Then Madison hits Expedia to go work in Denmark without telling Chelsea...but wait, Mads had applied for the fellowship before they'd even met.

But now I really need a whiplash collar because these two...! Madison and Chelsea patched things up and ultimately decided that they'd move to Copenhagen together. Okay, cool – but I didn't for a moment think contract player RhonniRose Mantilla (Chelsea) was suddenly going off the canvas. Accordingly, Chelsea found out from Hayley (see above) that Bill was having a health concern, which changed her mind...

That on top of Kat's Kat-erwauling (see what I did there) about her beloved cuz and business partner splitting down. Once again, Kat had to make it all about her, which is consistent, but she's really doing her best to alienate her entire family. Interestingly, both Kat and Anita cautioned Chels not to suddenly give everything up for Madison...but that never played into her telling Madison it wasn't the time to switch countries.

The ladies decided to give the long-distance relationship thing a try...but before we could get used to that, Chelsea threw Madison an early Valentine's Day to-do, which ended with Chels proposing yet again. At least this time her rationale wasn't desperation, and this time Madison accepted Chelsea's ring. But dang! They packed about three months of relationship trajectory into one week, and now my head hurts.

He doesn't know I'm alive

Something's changed in GATESWorld, because we're suddenly being treated to a plethora of new sets. First the Hawthornes get a living room to go along with the bedroom, then Nicole and the Shamiltons get their own bedrooms – and now Joey gets a house! Not that I'm complaining! And not that I don't understand that even the biggest studio can only house so many sets. GATES must be doing pretty good to be able to expand the show's universe like they're doing now.

But Vanessa! Oy! Is enough ever that for this woman? No sooner does Joey bring her to his home for the first time and she marvels over his warm yet masculine décor than dis bish wanna move in! Frankly, I don't know how Joey puts up with her. He tried to put her off calling U-Haul by (rightly) saying that her cohabitating with him would only make them vulnerable to his enemies, but do you think she heard him? I think not.

I wonder how many of those enemies happen to be in this illegal blood plasma ring that Jacob is trying to bust. We got some more information on how it works this past week, courtesy of Smitty: apparently the thugs steal plasma (the liquid part of blood that carries cells through our bodies) right out of hospitals. Hmm. Now who do we know who works with blood in a hospital? Who?

But we'll get to that. The other component here is that this plasma, which is earmarked for kids and seniors and others in need of the life-saving fluid, is denied these patients so it can instead be sold for millions of dollars on the black market. So its theft is some serious stuff. Equally serious were the repercussions for even suspected snitching within the crime syndicate itself, as Smitty learned.

His contact, Max, had to watch as another courier, Carl, was beaten so severely for just possibly being a leak that Max didn't know if the guy was alive or dead when Team Impaler dumped his lifeless form in front of the hospital. That's some serious ish, and Max was ready to bolt while he still had all his body parts. But Smitty felt that Max would reveal himself as the mole and make himself a target if he split now.

Can't deny that logic. Over at Smitty's brownstone, Martin and Naomi – who themselves don't get enough scenes together – were commiserating over how they each had a spouse engaged in dangerous activity for their jobs. The congressman liked it better when his reporter hubby wrote superficial junk instead. And Naomi, herself keeping her BRCA diagnosis a secret, sighed over Jacob's secret assignment. This from the woman who never told Jacob that “Kenneth” was the John Doe found in the park!

Jacob was told about Max leaning more into the flight than fight part of the phrase, and he wasn't happy. Elon was ready to pull him out of the whole investigation, and Max, as their only connection to the crime ring itself, was supposed to plant Jacob in there as a courier. Without that, Jacob had nothing and it was back to riding a desk. Thankfully for him, Max came through, and Jacob got his in. Thankfully for us, we'll actually see Jacob on the case this coming week!

What have you done for me lately

Derek was still understandably upset about being cut loose from the fire station, and from the vocation as a whole, because of his spinal injury. (Well, ya dummy, if you hadn't ridden a bicycle like it was a bucking bronco because you were boo-hoo over Ashley, you wouldn't have borked your back, but that's another story.) Shanice wasn't having his self-pity though, and gave him one of her world-famous pep talks.

Afterwards, Derek could see that he did have transferrable skills – he was still an emergency medical technician, he could certainly do dispatch (which Ashley already told you a week ago, you goob), and he could even drive a truck. Or mayyyybeee...he could work at a free clinic! He doesn't know about that yet, but Vanessa began pressuring Leslie to staff the facility, so the door is open.

Especially because Jan jimmied it on Derek's behalf once Ashley gave Leslie her response of “no way no day.” By the way – Anita said that Samantha could mark her inception of the clinic on her debutante stuff. Is she even still tied to it? You think Leslie is going to let anyone know she didn't come up with the idea? Anyway, you watch...Derek will be on staff faster than you can say “Derek's got suspicions about Grayson.”

Yup. And they kinda came out of nowhere. Ashley was so torqued over Derek's trash talk that she pretty much put their friendship on ice – and Shanice was with Ashley in thinking that Derek was simply jealous of Ashley's new boo. But Derek was suddenly convinced that “slick” and “shady.” Will the real Slick Shady please stand up? Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

GATES doesn't usually telegraph stuff that pays off later the same episode (that's B&B territory), but they certainly did that here, having Derek suddenly cast aspersions on a man he knows next to nothing about...only for Grayson to suddenly start acting all sus before the credits even rolled. Grayson finished taking one of those magazine compatibility quizzes with Ashley (nice throwback to her doing that with Derek), but the real info didn't come from the quiz.

No, Grayson Phillips or Perez or whoever he is decided to impart that he's “not always a good guy.” If he's got something to hide, as Derek says, why would Grayson even begin to touch on it? Ashley seemed to love it, though, since was tired of being a good girl (I'm tellin' y'all, she's two steps away from being a Heart Attach ho), and she proceeded to show Grayson her bra.

Before that could come off, though, the amorous Grayson got c*ckblocked by his own phone, which flashed a bunch of texts that made him put a stop to the festivities. Nope, he had to go, and he couldn't get into why. He cryptically thanked Ashley “for everything,” which only made her flash back to Derek's cautions before his smoke cloud from rushing out the door had even faded.

Where we stand, I am currently of a mind that Grayson is up to his exposed nipples in this blood plasma ring! I mean, dude – the guy takes blood for a living, and also tests it. He may not be “The Impaler” (some of you think it's Carlton – for real!), but right now the evidence suggests that he's all up in obtaining this lucrative liquid for the syndicate.

However...to hear my Soap Central accomplice Leigh tell it...Grayson's sketchy behavior could simply be a device meant to trick us into thinking he's involved in any of it. And that could certainly be! It wouldn't be the first time GATES faked us out, and I love that they do that. I'm a 40-year soap watcher and I can usually see everything coming, so that this show can mislead me is a compliment and not a complaint!

Still – what's this “concierge health service” that Grayson supposedly runs separate from Garland's canvas? Could easily be a front to slip blood plasma out to the ring. What do you guys think? Is Grayson in on the bloody mess, or is it someone else? Kial is not in the clear, either, just by virtue of the fact that we know squat about guy except that he likes to kiss. But I told you, leave my boy Carlton alone!

This brings us to the end of another Two Scoops, D.C. Edition. I am very much interested in your thoughts on our soap as we careen toward its one-year anniversary (they grow up so fast!), so enter them all into the comments below. And until next we meet, Scoopers, live your life beyond!

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