Beyond the Gates sees Eva Thomas (Ambyr Michelle) versus Katherine “Kat” Richardson (Colby Muhammad) situation. We’re going to discuss who is the real bad girl on BTG between these two. Who’s the real she villain in this?
Beyond the Gates:
So, we all know Kat grew up with everything, including a really good mom and dad, Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson (Daphnee Duplaix) and Dr. Ted Richardson (Maurice Johnson). But let’s face it, when you grow up like that, you don’t always turn out as a humble person. Kat is a spoiled brat beyond a doubt. I don’t think that she’s ever gone without one thing that she’s ever needed.
I don’t think she’s ever gone without one thing she’s ever wanted. You know, lucky her. And this issue that’s cropped up with Ted and Nicole, and Dana “Leslie” Thomas (Trisha Mann-Grant), and then Eva coming into their lives. I think this is really the first time Kat’s had any hardship ever. She has led a very charmed life, and that’s nice for her.
Contrasting Upbringings: Kat Richardson’s Privileged Life vs. Eva Thomas’s Struggles
Let’s flip over and talk about her half-sister, though. Eva grew up with very little in her life by comparison. Money was really tight and she had an insane mom, Leslie, who fed her lies her whole entire life about her dad, Ted. Eva was told that Ted didn’t want her when in fact Leslie was lying and Ted never even knew about her.
You know, he thought that had all been water under the bridge. And yeah, absolutely Eva crossed lines as part of Leslie’s evil plan. Then again, Eva only did those things because her mom had thoroughly gaslit her. You know, Leslie told her horrible things about Ted not wanting her and Nicole being terrible and Kat having a dad where Eva did not.
I mean, bottom line, Leslie’s awful. The actress is so good, though. But she’s really awful. So once Eva realized that Leslie had been lying to her, you know, that broke her whole scheming vibe and really even before that, Eva had pretty much stopped as much as she could because once she got to know Nicole, she realized, okay, things are not as they seem. Things are not as I have been told. And she started to ask a lot of questions and that got Leslie really mad who just wanted Eva to be her minion.
Beyond the Gates: Massive Fallout for Eva
And yeah, once the fallout happened at Ted and Nicole’s anniversary party, Eva did still try and protect her mom to some extent, but she also doesn’t know all the horrible things, the murderous things that her mom has done. She doesn’t, I think, want to think about that too much that her mom’s a fully attempted murderer. And if you remember, also Leslie kicked Eva out right after that party, which was horrible. You know, she was basically living out of her car and then Ted helped her out.
Eva’s Journey of Self-Discovery and Kat’s Unyielding Spoiled Attitude
So, what I see is two young women from very different backgrounds. And I see that Eva is willing to re-evaluate what she’s been told about people. And that’s despite a whole lifetime of being gaslit and told these people were villains. Meanwhile, Kat can’t see beyond herself. Not as far as I can see. They’ve written her as the ultimate brat. She is very well written, but that is definitely her character.
I mean, prime example of that is Kat setting up her dad, Ted’s business to be at risk. She put livelihoods at risk, put her dad’s professional standing on the line, all to make Eva look bad. Kat didn’t even stop to think, should I be doing this? She just did it, and it was just blatantly wrong.
And bottom line, Kat was jealous that Eva got the job that Kat had quit. She walked away from it. She didn’t want it anymore. It was a really low move. And it kind of reminds me in Cinderella when she puts together a dress for some old junk that the stepsisters didn’t want and they ripped it off of her because they didn’t want her to have it. You know, that’s kind of the vibe.
Beyond the Gates: Eva Making an Effort
By comparison, Eva has gone over to Nicole’s office to help Lara out a lot. And Eva did it without agenda. She was truly being helpful. She didn’t even want Nicole to know she was helping out because she felt so guilty for what she’d done. And Eva was trying to make amends, even without Nicole knowing that was happening.
Back to the stuff with Ted’s office. Eva cleaned up the mess Kat made that she had done intentionally. And although Eva threatened to tell Ted what Kat did, she didn’t. She did not throw Kat under the bus even though Kat was totally trash-talking Eva to Ted.
Complex Relationships and Emotional Conflicts Between Eva, Kat, and Tomas
And with all that happening, I think it was fair to ask, okay, is Eva going after Tomas “Tom” Navarro (Alex Alegria) to punish Kat, get some payback? Thing is, Tomas had already tapped the brakes with Kat because she was making him uncomfortable at times. One thing that really bothered Tomas was just the nasty behavior. The way that Kat was treating her sister, the things that she was saying about her.
You know, more than one person told Kat, “Don’t be this way. Eva is also a victim of Leslie’s.” Ted and Nicole have both warned Kat and asked Kat to ease off, but you know, she didn’t and she’s not. And both of these young women have been written to me very well. Eva is giving off that wrong side of the tracks vibe of somebody who wants a better life and is willing to work hard. And Kat, of course, is spoiled. She doesn’t care about anybody but herself and her immediate family and what she wants.
Beyond the Gates: Tomas Wants Eva
Back to Tomas, you know, he was into Kat. That was clear. And vice versa. They had a lot of shared common interest, a genuine friendship. Meanwhile, for Kat, I kind of feel like Tomas just checked boxes for her. He’s hot, he’s a lawyer. He’s on a path to success and he’s a nice guy. I’m not entirely sure that Kat likes Tomas or if Kat likes the idea of Tomas on Beyond the Gates.
And to be fair, Eva sat on Kat framing her until Tomas pressed and then she spilled the beans to him about Kat doing her dirty. And let’s also be clear, Eva could have had Tomas in her bed this week, you know, stripped off doing the deed. He was ready to do with her what he did not do with Kat. But I was actually really glad that Eva stopped it. She told Tomas she’s not going to be a side piece. She saw how badly that went for Leslie. I mean, her mom’s a psycho, but still, she’s also a cautionary tale.
Beyond the Gates: Eva Sends Tomas Packing
Tomas insisted that he and Kat aren’t exclusive. But I don’t remember that conversation, first of all. You know, I don’t remember them laying that out. And as much as Eva likes Tomas, I was cheering when she told him she deserves better than being a pickme and gave him the book and then showed him the door.
And of course, Kat’s gonna run back to Daddy Ted and tell him, “Eva stole my man.” What I kind of would like is for Kat to find out is Eva could have had her man, but turned him down, which would kind of double sting since Kat tried to give Tomas her Vcard and he turned her down.
Who Is the Real Villain? Analyzing the Morality of Eva and Kat on Beyond the Gates
As to who’s in the wrong, it’s interesting. You know, initially with Eva doing Leslie’s dirty work, she was 100% in the wrong. Eva admitted to Kat that she had been right about her. You know, I do think that Kat, though, is wrong to not give Eva the chance to do better. But also, I don’t think Kat’s ever going to give her a chance. I can’t think what Eva could do at this point to get Kat to treat her like anything but poop under her shoe.
I’m sure Ted’s going to keep trying to get Kat to be decent to Eva. I also think Kat’s going to keep trying to get Ted to turn his back on Eva, but I don’t think he’s going to do it. He’s a decent guy and he knows he’s got decades to make up for missing out on Eva’s life through no fault of his own. I think Ted because of that guilt is always going to give Eva the benefit of the doubt. That’s going to drive Kat crazy.
Beyond the Gates: Who’s the Problem?
She went from being daddy’s girl, you know, his only girl to one of two. And as Eva said, Kat is brimming with main character energy. She can’t share the stage. She doesn’t want to share her dad. I don’t blame her for not wanting to share her man. I’m just not entirely sure that Tomas is her man.
What’s interesting to me, deep down, without Leslie’s influence, Eva’s pretty nice, even though she’s had a rough life and lots of reasons to be hard. Meanwhile, Kat’s got every advantage and no reason to be mean, but that’s her default mode.
