There was a bit of a theme during the Wednesday, September 24 episode of Beyond the Gates. Wedding and engagement rings were at the heart of the drama, and that didn’t always mean something good.
Vanessa and Doug
This marriage is running on empty. Vanessa (Lauren Buglioli) is in Puerto Rico with Joey Armstrong (Jon Lindstrom). Doug (Jason Graham) is at Joey’s casino, gambling for his life and drinking his feelings simultaneously. He’s alone and has nothing else going for him.
In a call to Vanessa, Doug realized that things between him and his wife had irreparably changed. He had nothing much to live for, so why not gamble everything? His bad luck finally turned into good luck at the blackjack table. But ultimately, with Marcel (Darryl W. Handy) around, we don’t think that good luck will last.
As Doug twisted his wedding ring while gambling, he didn’t take it off at all, unlike his wife. On a high-pressure vacation with Joey, he urged Vanessa to remove Doug’s ring. He didn’t want Doug in the room at all because, for the moment, it felt like Doug’s presence was there.
Vanessa was reluctant, but eventually, after that dire phone call between husband and wife, she did it. She took off the ring, which pretty much cemented the end of their marriage.
Also, Vanessa refused to believe that Joey purposely sabotaged that phone call by cluing Doug into the fact that Vanessa was with him.
At the casino, Marcel at one point started making Doug’s drinks, and by the end of the evening, he was even more wasted. Marcel started taking Doug’s earnings back and told him that where he was going, he didn’t need money.
Where is Doug going? What did Marcel do to him?
Naomi and Jacob
While the teasers said that Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) would suffer a heartbreaking loss, it was only for a minute. She lost her wedding and engagement rings, and she really took it hard. Jacob (Jibre Hordges) assured her that they would either find the rings or they’d get new ones, which didn’t sit well with her.
Thankfully, June (Jasmine Burke) came to the rescue when she found the rings in the bathroom at Orphey Gene’s. She realized they were Naomi’s and returned them to her.
Naomi and Jacob were beyond happy, and they got a little frisky (pink handcuffs, anybody?). However, we can’t help but think that almost losing her rings is a sign that this solid couple may experience trouble in the future.
Ted
Before June remembered that those rings were Naomi’s, she and Ted (Keith D. Robinson) had a little bit of a flirtation, but also an interesting conversation about wedding rings and marriages. Ted kept twisting his ring, too, but he couldn’t bring himself to take it off even though he knew he should. His marriage to Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) is over, but he still keeps holding onto something.
What will it take for Ted to take off his ring?
Ashley and Derek
A ring played a part in Ashley (Jen Jacob) and Derek’s story, too. Naomi and Jacob were gone, leaving Derek (Ben Gavin) to try to figure out the perfect time to give Ashley the ring to solidify their engagement.
Finally, when Ashley left to help a neighbor, Derek had the ring and dropped it. Because of his injuries, he couldn’t quite get out of his wheelchair to pick it up (or he didn’t want to get out and have Ashley accidentally catch him using his legs). When she returned, she spotted the ring on the floor and was happy to see it.
So, the engagement ring is now on her finger, but it’s all based on the lie that Derek is keeping from her. He has feelings in his legs, and if he were just to tell her, he could spin it in a way that would make Ashley happy for Derek. The longer he keeps quiet, the worse things are for himself and for Ashley.
So that engagement of theirs is shaky at best.
What are your thoughts on what happened in Wednesday’s episode? Let us know in the comments.
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