Beyond the Gates hit the air with a front-burner story about Dani’s fury that husband Bill dumped her for their daughter’s best friend, Hayley, and now the adulterous couple is getting married at the Dupree family country club — well, they tried, anyway, and they pulled it off eventually; after a little gun snafu — and moving into a house smack in the middle of Fairmont Crest. Dani is angry. Dani has every right to be angry. Dani is betrayed. Dani has every right to feel betrayed. But she’s not the only one. And we commend the show for remembering that.
First One Down
Dani (Karla Mosley) and Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett ) were married for 30 years. (Did they exchange vows in elementary school? Ah…soap time.) They raised two daughters together, and Dani’s dad, Vernon (Clifton Davis), helped Bill build his high-falutin law practice. (Of course, Bill also seems to have covered up a litany of Dupree family crimes, most notably, Martin’s [Brandon Calybon], so it appears the favors go both ways, there.)
When Bill took up with Hayley (Marquita Goings), Dani had every right to throw coffee mugs, sweep desks with golf clubs, and, yeah, bring a gun to a wedding and hold the bride and groom hostage. The show did right by her there.
MORE: Find out what happens next week on BTG.
Secondary Smoke
But we commend BTG for remembering another victim here, who was just as horribly betrayed. Hayley first ended up in Bill’s orbit because her best friend, Naomi (Arielle Prepetit), brought Little Orphan Hayley home and made her part of the family.
Hayley didn’t just break Dani’s heart; she broke Naomi’s, too. Naomi didn’t just lose her dad. She lost her BFF, too. Soaps so often focus on romantic relationships that they forget that friends sometimes predate the loves of our lives — and even outlast them. We appreciate the reminder that Bill didn’t just hurt his wife. He hurt his daughter, too.
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