Beyond the Gates Recap, April 17: Doug nearly confessed to Vanessa and the tide turned for Tyrell

Here's what went down Thursday, April 17, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Doug resisted the temptation to gamble, Kat found a way for Samantha to model, and Tyrell found unexpected support.

What happened on Beyond the Gates?

On Beyond the Gates, Ashley came upon Shanice at the hospital. The supervisor was concerned about how packed Doug's schedule was. Shanice told Ashley she had seen burnout happen with better doctors. Doug heard the women talking about him, but he was interrupted by an incoming trauma – a co-worker of Derek's. The firefighter explained to Ashley that he had switched assignments with the man, and if he hadn't...it would be him on the gurney. When Derek worried that the man had a little girl, Ashley assured him that he'd pull through.

Derek described how his fellow firefighter had gone back into a building thought to be clear of people, only to get hit with a wall of flame searching for a left-behind victim. Derek swore to Ashley that there weren't always so many serious injuries with his team and fretted that she might get fed up with being scared for him. Ashley comforted Derek, who saw Doug coming out of surgery and pelted him with questions the doc was obliged not to answer; however, Derek got a text saying his teammate was stable.

Doug asked Shanice to move up a surgery slated for the next day so that he could squeeze in yet another procedure. Shanice tried to warn Dr. McBride that such overwork could render him useless, but he dismissed the nurse's claim. Shanice told Ashley that having to have the station manned while Doug was in surgery now meant she would have to pull a double shift, and when Vanessa arrived for a dinner appointment with her husband, Shanice rubbed Vanessa the wrong way by calling Doug “the anointed one.” Vanessa did find it strange that Doug had taken on more work despite promising to meet her; Shanice asked if there were problems at home, as another doctor, Wilkes, overheard. Vanessa fumbled over her answer, then allowed that something more might be going on with Doug himself.

Wilkes caught Doug in between surgeries and passed on that he had won $5,000 in sports betting. He encouraged Doug to join him in it. Doug declined, but was ready to throw his phone when it kept going off. Wilkes recommended that Doug find a way to relieve the pressure – a hobby, or paying more attention to his wife. Doug flashed back to cutting out on the special evening he and Vanessa had been enjoying at Uptown weeks earlier, then to enjoying himself at the gambling tables.

Vanessa didn't think Doug looked well and let him know he'd forgotten about their plans. The realtor felt that Shanice's advice about lightening his workload was sound, but Doug resented the nurse's two cents. Vanessa realized that she and the distant Doug had grown apart and hoped he wasn't burying himself in work because of her and the failings of their marriage. Doug saw her dismay and said he should probably tell her the truth. Before Doug could elaborate, Vanessa launched into how it seemed true what people said about empty nesters drifting without the glue of their kids to hold them together. Their twins would be back, but would they be coming home to their parents' shell of a marriage? Was there somewhere else Doug would rather be?

Doug promised Vanessa he wasn't having an affair, but, while she recognized they weren't madly in love anymore, she knew something else was demanding his attention – he couldn't even make time for one dinner. “I'm sure you have your pick of suitable dinner partners,” Doug sniffed. Vanessa claimed she didn't know what Doug meant, but before the McBrides could go further, Shanice let him know that the OR was prepped for his next surgery. Vanessa wanted to know what Doug had been about to tell her, but he would only say that indeed his work was his passion, but he hadn't checked out where she was concerned. He was the happiest he'd been in a long time. Vanessa looked troubled.

Naomi met with her former clients at Uptown; they informed Naomi that they would take Bill's settlement if it gave them greater power than they were offered to clean the toxic culture at the firm. They also preferred Naomi over the new lawyer Naomi had teamed them with. Naomi felt the counteroffer would end up being a non-starter, but was willing to hear more. Once the ladies laid out how they planned to change hiring practices to include more women, Naomi deduced it wouldn't so much be an issue of changing the settlement, but making it a part of what was already there. Naomi offered to get things set up for the trio, but cautioned that afterwards, she'd have to separate herself from the case for good.

Bill came to Uptown after receiving a slew of Naomi's messages. Naomi explained that Mike's accusers would take the settlement with the addition of a rider, but received a shock when Bill asked, “What's in it for me?” Bill thought it was odd that Naomi was still involved after not wanting to sour their relationship; Naomi sassed that he wouldn't have to worry about that if he accepted the new stipulation. Bill refused to increase the monetary amount of the settlement, so Naomi informed him that the attorney who had replaced her had just won a different high-profile sexual harassment case. Bill came around and accepted the terms, deeming Naomi's gambit “well played.”

Chelsea tried to teach Kat a dance routine for a viral challenge, but Kat couldn't catch on. Kat preferred to be behind the scenes, but Chelsea emphasized the need for more content to keep the buzz about the purse line going. Samantha came in and busted her own dubious moves for the challenge, with Kat wondering how Samantha could be there so soon after school let out. Samantha announced that she had quit school and was going to pursue modeling full-time. The cousins were opposed, but Samantha smiled, saying that she was only kidding; she had merely bailed on a last-period assembly.

Kat and Chelsea insisted that Samantha be responsible; Kat added that Martin rescind his support of Samantha's modeling dreams if he were to find out Samantha ditched school. Samantha admitted that Martin hadn't greenlit her plans after all. Chelsea agreed with Smitty's contention that Samantha was a natural, but Kat, despite Samantha's determination, said the girl had no choice but to defer to her father until she turned eighteen. The young women reminded the teen about the pitfalls of modeling, which Samantha felt she could handle – her life before being adopted by Smitty and Martin hadn't always been easy. She had felt a need to protect the more sensitive Tyrell, even though he was older, and had come with its trials.

After assuring Samantha of her abilities, Kat proposed letting Samantha be an apprentice model in their company and help them produce content, which would both let Samantha develop herself and keep her insulated from the outside modeling world. This, Kat reasoned, could be something Martin might go for. Samantha labeled her aunt Kat a genius. Samantha was further psyched when Chelsea wanted her input on some of her brand-new designs.

As Martin argued with a fellow lawmaker on the phone about an infrastructure proposal, Smitty readied to leave to follow a new lead in his influencer story. The marrieds discussed the ups and downs of social media and pivoted to whether Tyrell had a better day at school as a result of Martin going to Tyrell's principal. Tyrell arrived, mortified that the assembly Samantha had spoken of was on the topic of cyberbullying, which warned the students of consequences; though Tyrell wasn't named, everyone still knew he was the cause of the crackdown. Kids had come up to Tyrell afterwards, taunting him for being “babied by his congressman daddy.”

Martin talked over the unhappy teen, but Smitty got Martin to back off. Because of Martin's interference, Tyrell's sitch at school was worse. Martin said Tyrell wasn't the first teenager to be ostracized – it had happened to him, being a gay Dupree growing up in Fairmont Crest. Martin had been left longing to be included when the other D.C. kids had ignored him. As Tyrell asked how Martin had handled it, Martin said he'd decided not to let being an outsider change his view of himself. Tyrell was adamant he had been following that exact course of action, but Martin had only kept the ordeal going by inserting himself into it and trying to control everything.

Tyrell revealed that some of the kids remembered him and Samantha “from before” and that, while he and his sister had always taken flak for moving up to the Dupree world, they had handled it. Martin jumping in when Tyrell had asked him not to made Tyrell feel disrespected. After Tyrell told Martin he could help by staying out of his life, Smitty thought that Martin should have understood how a reputation could make or break a person. He knew Martin wanted to protect Tyrell, but another way of doing that would have been to let Tyrell stand on his own.

After Smitty returned unsuccessfully in his search for Tyrell, Martin suggested transferring Tyrell to a different school. Martin admitted it wasn't the best idea, but wasn't sure how else to proceed. Smitty left it on the table and stressed that any change had to be Tyrell's call. Martin concurred that they'd let Tyrell choose between the options...one which might be Tyrell rejecting all of them and giving his folks the silent treatment instead.

At Orphey Gene's, Tyrell was visited by Jessica, the girl whose boyfriend – now ex-boyfriend – had punched him. Tyrell assumed she was there to add to his drama, but Jessica apologized for what the jock had done; she knew Tyrell wouldn't have sent the underwear picture himself. Jessica had noticed Tyrell playing online chess in class; after he relayed his international recognition, she called it “fire.” Jessica herself relayed that she had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to get her friends to stop sharing Tyrell's photo and commenting on it, which she'd felt had been wrong.

Tyrell was surprised that Jessica admired him for how well he had endured the trolling. He confessed that he'd only been trying to act tough, but Jessica was of the opinion that even that took courage. Jessica kept complimenting Tyrell, who appreciated Jessica mixing a Shakespeare quote with a chess term. Tyrell did his best to be chill when Jessica hoped they'd see each other around, but he couldn't stop grinning after she left.

As Smitty and Martin folded laundry – alongside a bottle of Tide – they noticed Tyrell's marked improvement in mood the minute he came in. Tyrell floored them by apologizing for freaking out, after which his parents presented their idea about Tyrell changing schools. Tyrell declared that wasn't the move – he was going to let the haters do their thing, and he was going to do him. Besides, Tyrell noted, Martin hadn't run when things had gotten difficult for him. “Duprees don't run from anything, right?” This was something Martin couldn't deny.

Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.