Last week on Beyond the Gates, the show delivered a debutante ball that exceeded expectations. In this special Critic’s Review, we discuss the social event’s top six hits and misses.
Key Takeways
- BTG’s cotillion delivered memorable moments, standout entrances, and one of the show’s strongest visual events yet.
- Samantha’s Platinum Deb drama added intrigue, while Jessica’s parents finally made their long-awaited debut.
- Splitting focus between the cotillion and plasma ring bust kept both stories from reaching their full impact.
Top 6 Hits and Misses: BTG’s Cotillion
6. HIT: Meeting Jessica’s parents, Hal and Joyce. Jessica (Camryn Jade) has been talking about her parents for months, and we finally got to see them for ourselves. Their presence really lent some context to why Jessica is the way she is. She is independent, has very clear opinions about her likes and dislikes, and has a rebellious streak she leans into because it upsets her very proper parents, Hal (Dwight Hicks) and Joyce (Tarina Pouncy). Even though it was difficult to see her parents act so disappointed with their daughter, we appreciated this insight into Jessica.
5. MISS: The event could have encompassed more days. Samantha (Najah Jackson) had been gearing up for the cotillion for months. And the show pretty much squeezed every beat out of the topic. This included Samantha’s imposter syndrome. She was a Dupree by adoption, not by blood, and that fact provided Anastasia (Timeca Seretti) and Chessy (Madison Alsobrook) with plenty of material to exploit. Jessica wanted nothing to do with the cotillion. She rejected its privileged status and didn’t realize that being part of the tradition wasn’t just about that. And then when the ball started, it was over fairly quickly. As far as we’re concerned, it could have lasted another day or two.
4. HIT: The McBride siblings both have great entrances. First, Donnell (Alex Cheeks) was late, and Samantha had no idea where he was. But just when she needed him, he showed up. While she walked out to make her debut, Chessy stepped on her dress. And Donnell was suddenly there to keep Samantha from falling. Meanwhile, Deanna (Angela Fairley) made a surprise entrance as well. Anita (Tamara Tunie) introduced her as the former Platinum Deb, there to announce this year’s winner. Deanna walked in, surprising everyone, including her mother, Vanessa (Lauren Buglioli). And she looked stunning while giving everybody an unexpected moment.
3. MISS: More focus on the ball instead of interchanging it with the plasma ring bust. BTG gave viewers a great week of action with the plasma ring and tradition with the cotillion. But cutting from the Platinum Deb drama to the tragic happenings at the warehouse was a lot to do at once. Each deserved their own focus and their own time to shine.
2. HIT and MISS: Samantha wins Platinum Deb but not without drama. The drama surrounding the Platinum Deb announcement wasn’t over-the-top and added much-needed intrigue to the festivities. As soon as Deanna took out the card to announce the winner, she knew something was off. And it turned out that Nathan (Brennen Suttle) rigged it so that Chessy would win. It was great that the show didn’t have Anastasia and Chessy do it. But there also needed to be more context about why he did this for Chessy, since he didn’t seem all that interested in her. In the end, Samantha’s win was earned. Her family was there to witness this momentous occasion, including June (Jasmine Burke), who looked amazing. Speaking of which…
1. HIT: The beauty and the majesty of the cotillion. The biggest takeaway from the event is that the hair, makeup, set design, and dance choreography were wonderful. The cast looked amazing from head to toe. And while this was all happening in the present day, when the kids were dancing, we did get a bit of a Bridgerton vibe. Kudos to all the in-house departments that helped create this magical debutante ball. It was fresh, fascinating, and it made us feel good. We also loved the social media touches, like the special invitation and behind-the-scenes looks.
