Game On! Eva Targets Tomás – As Joey Manipulates Vanessa Into a Corner!

We begin a new week of Beyond the Gates at Garland Memorial Hospital, where Eva spies Tomás visiting a client and seizes the opportunity to pounce. A fake knee injury gets Eva some personal attention from the hot lawyer, who explains that he and Kat are just keeping it casual — though he wonders why Eva keeps asking him about Kat.

“Did she say something to scare you away from me?” he asks. And right on cue, there’s Kat, calling to invite him for an interrogation — sorry, we mean lunch — at Orphie Jean’s.

She asks Tomás if he’s afraid to be physical with her because she’s still a virgin, which he denies, proving his affections with some post-meal PDA.

Chelsea later grills Kat for details on her date, prompting Kat to suggest that — even though she’s still committed to saving herself for a man she loves — Tomás is definitely giving her reason to question that plan. And we don’t blame her.

Joey Gets in Bed With Vanessa

As always, the McBrides are in way more trouble than they realize.

Just as Doug and Vanessa finish a nice meal at Orphie Jean’s, Joey comes along to ruin it, slithering from the shadows to sink his fangs into the McBride fortune. “Mrs. McBride, just the person I wanted to see,” he says, asking for help finding his aging mother her dream home. (Sure, Jan.)

Doug tries to keep Joey from getting in bed with his wife (so to speak), but since Doug can’t exactly tell Vanessa about his gambling debts, he pretty much just has to take the L on this one.

Little does Doug know, Joey is also scheming to make sure he remains in the casino’s debt for the foreseeable future. He tells Randy that Doug can win a little bit for now, “but tomorrow, he loses his shirt.”

Another person less-than-thrilled about Vanessa’s meeting with Joey is Diego, who somehow creeps out of the same shadows Joey came from earlier, just to judge Vanessa for “going from robbing the cradle to robbing the grave.” Clever. Rude, but clever.

Jacob’s Shady Partner Gets Even Shadier

Over at the precinct, Jacob confides in his father about what happened between Joey and Marcel, heavily implying that his new partner might be crooked.

Elon basically tells him not to worry about it and keep his nose clean, but his tone is considerably different when he goes to confront Marcel about the matter. This is clearly not the first time they’ve had to discuss such things.

Then it all comes full-circle: After being chewed out by Elon, Marcel calls Joey to tell him to be more careful about doing shady business in broad daylight. “That’s what I pay you for,” Joey tells Marcel. “Handle it.”

Geez, is anyone in this town not on Joey’s payroll?

Anita Owns Naomi in a Rap Battle

On a more positive note, Naomi turns to her grandmother for advice on how to proceed with the Bill situation. Is it really a good idea to take on a sexual harassment case against her own father?

Anita ultimately leaves the decision up to Naomi, but she reminds her that Dupree women don’t back down from a challenge, nor do they let anyone dim their spotlight.

Speaking of spotlights, their chat ends with an impromptu rap performance from Anita, proving she can hold her own against the “Cardi Z’s and Megan Thee Mustangs” of the world. Naomi, meanwhile, should probably stick to her day job.