In the Thursday, July 31 episode of Beyond the Gates, sisters Nicole and Dani pulled out all the stops to get Martin and his estranged husband Smitty to say yes. It was imperative that all the Duprees showed up to support Anita and the Articulettes for their comeback concert. Meanwhile, Vernon had an unexpected run-in with Andre.
Nicole and Dani Divide and Conquer
When Martin (Brandon Claybon) initially told Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) and Dani (Karla Mosley) that he wouldn’t be attending the Articulettes concert, the sisters started scheming. They would do whatever it took to get Martin and Smitty (Mike Manning) to that venue to watch Anita’s highly anticipated comeback performance.
Nicole and Smitty Share Deep and Relatable Conversation
Nicole was the obvious choice to talk to Smitty. The two of them are going through similar situations—not the same, but similar. Their husbands both chose to lie to them for a long time, although Ted (Keith D. Robinson) has Martin beat by a bunch of years.
She expertly listened to Smitty as he expressed his pain over Martin not turning to Smitty after this horrific event. But the lies kept coming even after things started hitting too close to home. Plus, he couldn’t quite understand the magnitude of the cover-up and the fact that it included unsavory characters like a crooked cop and Joey Armstrong (Jon Lindstrom). As a journalist, Smitty knew that things like that tended to blow up in one’s face, and it could have a negative impact on their family unit.
Nicole empathized with Smitty and shared how she could have more empathy for her son than her husband. In the end, Smitty decided he would attend the concert. After all, this was Anita (Tamara Tunie). Everybody loved Anita.
READ THIS: Here’s what’s happening next on BTG.
Dani Tells Her Nephew Like It Is
With Dani and Martin, it wasn’t so much an exchange of emotions, thoughts, and opinions. It didn’t take much, but Dani had to get tough with Martin for him to receive the wake-up call he needed to get off of his you-know-what and get his butt into one of the seats at the theatre.
Dani basically told Martin to stop being selfish and suck it up for two hours. It’s the least he could do for someone who’s done so much for him. As a congressman, he regularly shows up for his constituents, and she wanted to know why he couldn’t do the same for his family. They’re not asking much of him except for his support. Dani’s tough love worked. Martin decided to attend.
Martin and Smitty Talk First
Smitty’s condition for going was that he wanted to talk this over with Martin. When they did, they were able to be the mature husbands that they strive to be and told each other they were going to the concert. They knew they could put aside their differences and their broken bond to be there for Anita Dupree.
It was really sad at the same time. There was a longing, but there was also the knowledge that too much had gone on, and those things needed to be processed before anything else could happen.
READ THIS: Why fans feel like BTG’s Ashley and Andre are missing the mark.
Vernon Puts Andre on the Spot
In what was a fun moment, Andre (Sean Freeman) ran into Vernon (Clifton Davis) at Orphey Gene’s. Vernon asked Andre to join him at the counter and then proceeded to put the photographer on the spot. He wanted to know Andre’s intentions with his daughter. After the initial shock, Andre gave good and worthy responses.
However, it’s becoming clear that Andre is somehow torn between Dani and Ashley (Jen Jacob). He and Dani are now calling themselves a transitional relationship, which means they will eventually move on to other people.
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But what if Andre and Dani are the pairing that needs to stick around?
Let us know your thoughts on the episode in the comments.
