Martin Richardson has a deep, dark family secret on Beyond the Gates. His grandparents were willing to give into Bill’s blackmail in order to keep it under wraps. And Martin keeps have dreams where something violent happened, and he was somehow involved. Fans have floated theories that Martin either killed Andre’s parents, or Tyrell and Samantha’s parents. Which would make sense, if our suspicions about him come true.
It’s All About Control
No one could have missed what a control freak Martin (Brandon Clayborn) is. He told his husband, Smitty (Mike Manning), that Smitty wasn’t allowed to go back to work. His job was to stay home, keep house, raise the children, and use as much TIDE as possible.
Even though Smitty is the one who, as he said, “sits on three PTA committees,” when Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) was having problems at school, Martin was the one who stomped down there, started issuing demands, and made things worse. Martin told Samantha (Nejah Jackson) she couldn’t model — or date. And when the truth came out about Ted’s (Maurice Johnson) affair with Leslie/Dana (Trisha Mann-Grant), Martin managed to make it all about himself, and even physically attacked his dad.
MORE: Find out what happens next on Beyond The Gates.
Connect the Dots
Martin is controlling. Martin is violent. Martin demands that his husband and kids play the roles he set out for them. Martin wants to run for president and, for that, he needs the perfect family. That describes our Congressman Richardson, doesn’t it? You know who else it describes? A family annihilator.
Checklist
According to National Institutes of Health, a family annihilator is “self-righteous, disappointed, anomic and paranoid. Self-righteous perpetrators viewed the breakdown of the family unit as intolerable, and sought to punish the instigators. An additional two types were also identified. These were: disappointed (in which the perpetrator has lost control of the family and kills to regain control) and paranoid (in which the perpetrator perceives an external threat to the well-being of their children and the status of their families).”
Hey, who does that sound like? Run, Smitty, run! And take the children with you!
