Outside of Beyond the Gates’ Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant), who is clearly not above trying to kill someone, the biggest villain in Fairmont Crest is the ever-so-smug Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett).
As if it weren’t bad enough that he cheated on his wife with his daughter’s best friend, he then opted to marry Hayley (Marquita Goings) in the country club where Dani (Karla Mosley) and the Duprees are staple members. Plus, we can’t forget that he is taking things a step further by moving Hayley into a house in the same neighborhood as his ex.
Adding to Bill’s villainous allure is his hubris to think that despite the Duprees wanting nothing left to do with him, he can still have the family and their prestige in his back pocket. Yes, he has a secret about Martin (Brandon Claybon), which he used to blackmail the Duprees into attending his wedding. However, Dupree patriarch Vernon (Clifton Davis) hinted after the trainwreck press conference that his family was officially done with Bill. But we have a feeling that Bill often gets what he wants.
If the blackmail on Martin isn’t enough to get the Duprees to play ball (which it could be given Martin wants to run for president), then perhaps Bill may recruit a reluctant ally for assistance. Enter Doug McBride (Jason Graham).
During the Beyond the Gates episode that aired on March 5, viewers get a proper introduction to Doug and his gambling problem. The doctor appears to be in some serious debt but is keeping it a secret from his wife Vanessa (Lauren Buglioli). And Vanessa of course is the great friend of Dani and Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix).
We can imagine a scenario in which a strapped-for-cash Doug gets desperate for money, and smelling the desperation, Bill comes around and offers the money in exchange for his help. Bill could force Doug to use Vanessa’s relationship with the Duprees to gather some intel on the family. Perhaps a new secret he can use to force the Duprees' hand.
It’s also not hard to picture Doug being so pressed for cash to feed his gambling habit and pay off his debts that he illegally sells prescription meds from the hospital or just writes faulty prescriptions. However, when someone catches onto what he’s doing, Doug tells Vanessa and the duo turns to Bill, a powerful defense attorney, for help to keep the scandal from going public and Doug out of prison. That’s the kind of favor that Bill would certainly want to collect on, so he may require Vanessa directly to spy on the Duprees and feed Bill information.
If either theory proves correct, we suspect the Duprees will become livid with the McBride family. Even if the first scenario plays out, Vanessa may still find herself ostracized by the family and an enemy of the Duprees. Something tells us the Duprees are dangerous and have a long memory when scorned.
New episodes of Beyond the Gates air weekdays on CBS, and become available to stream the day after on Paramount Plus.
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