Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Are Carlton’s Dreams of Being With Nicole Dupree Turning Dangerous?
On Beyond the Gates, Dr. Nicole Dupree had a lifetime’s worth of heartbreak this year when her marriage fell apart. But she’s slowly coming to terms with being single, and has opened the door to new suitors.
But is her new love interest really who Nicole thinks he is?
Beyond the Gates Spoilers? Or Is Nicole Really Destined for Love?
When Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) and Ted Richardson’s (Keith D. Robinson) marriage ended — or at least, their communication — about a nanosecond went by before she had a suitor knocking at her door. Enter Dr. Carlton Fitzgerald (Robert Christopher Riley).
But Carlton wasn’t just any suitor. He’d known Nicole since they were in school, became friends with Ted when they were in med school, and after graduating, opened a cosmetic surgery practice together. That’s right, Carlton is (or was) Ted’s best friend and business partner for years.
Carlton Always Hinted He Was Waiting In the Wings
During those years, Carlton was a good friend of the couple, but always managed to get in a flirty comment or two to Nicole when he would see her. Ted and Nicole would laugh it off, but his comments were usually of the nature that if Nicole were available, he would scoop her up in a heartbeat.
Not only did Carlton immediately move in on Nicole, but he was also seemingly unfazed to throw away his friendship and partnership with Ted. It was almost like Carlton had been waiting for this day, knew the repercussions, and couldn’t have cared less as long as he won Nicole for his own. Healthy, right?
As a world-renowned psychiatrist, Nicole is trained to spot a “hero complex” from a mile away. In any other patient, she’d identify Carlton’s behavior as littered with red flags.
Yes, we were all for the Nicole-Carlton pairing for 2026, but on Beyond the Gates, storylines move quickly, and sometimes, if you blink too long, there’s been a plot twist. And now that we’ve seen today’s episode, we’ve used our perogative to change our minds on this couple…again.
Carlton’s Dream Was A Metaphor
With her sister Dani (Karla Mosley) in her ear about embracing her single life, Nicole is focused on retraining her brain to let go of her social rules and etiquette, and be a freer version of herself. Unfortunately, the need to be less of a critical thinker in her personal life might be really bad timing.
In today’s episode, Carlton told Nicole that he had dreamed of her, up on a balcony like it was a pedestal, looking like a perfect goddess without a single flaw. In his dream, he was in the running of the bulls, putting his life on the line to defend her and show her that he can be her savior if needed.
If Nicole’s ego hadn’t needed such serious repair from the bruising it got from Ted and Leslie’s (Trisha Mann-Grant) affair, her psychological instincts might have clued into Carlton’s dream really being more of a sign of an unhealthy obsession growing, rather than a compliment. But something tells us she might not clue in until it’s too late.Where does newcomer Dr. Kial Rollins (Greg Vaughan) fit in? If there is one thing that will trigger the nice facade to drop, it’s rejection. And you can bet if Carlton becomes a rebound, while yet another colleague is with his obsession down the hall from his office every day, we’ll see a dark side soon enough.
What do you think, Gatekeepers? Is Carlton just a hopeless romantic, or is Nicole in serious trouble?