Martin Finally Tells His Story on the July 16 Beyond the Gates — Will It Save His Marriage?

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Well, that lived up to the hype. After cancelling the press conference, Martin questioned everything about Kenneth’s death. He’ll have feelings on that later. First, he needed to get home to his family. In the Wednesday, July 16 episode of Beyond the Gates, Martin and Smitty finally had the talk they should have had months ago. The story was what we all suspected. But to hear the firsthand account was compelling and painful.

Facing His Family

Martin (Brandon Claybon) walked into his home, and he immediately saw the bags that Smitty (Mike Manning) had packed for him. Yes, he was super close to being thrown out of the house because of his lies and his subterfuge.

But he told Smitty he was ready to tell the truth. And what a truth that was. The scenes where Martin told Smitty the story of two years ago were emotional, enlightening, and tragic.

The Story

After a political event, Martin and Vernon (Clifton Davis) drove home. They were happy and not a fleeting kind of happy. They were happy in a pure way. They didn’t have anything heavy weighing on them. They were happy like we hadn’t seen Martin since BTG started almost five months ago.

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But then their car blew a tire, and they had to pull over in some dark, creepy area of the city. And that’s when things went haywire. While Martin got out to change the tire, he grabbed the tire iron when two men interrupted them. They were menacing and clearly wanted to be a source of trouble. They said they’d help them change the tire, but wanted to know how much money they had.

The exchange quickly turned violent, and Martin and Vernon had to defend themselves. Martin especially took it upon himself to protect his grandfather. He hit one of them over the head with the tire iron and then started pounding on the one we would subsequently know as Kenneth. He demolished his face while Kenneth’s brother died.

READ THIS: Here’s what’s coming up next on BTG.

The Cover Up

Vernon took over and called the players we now know were part of the cover-up. Malone (Darryl W. Handy) was there, so was Chief Hawthorne (Malachi Malik), who took Martin home. The cover-up began with Ted (Keith D. Robinson) working his plastic surgery magic to restore Kenneth’s face. Kenneth was paid a nice sum to leave the country. Malone was given a hefty sum for his services. Even Joey Armstrong (Jon Lindstrom) was brought in, probably to get rid of the body.

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This was to protect Martin’s career. He defended himself and probably could have gone free on a self-defense argument. But they couldn’t take any chances. Sometimes things don’t happen the way they’re supposed to happen in America.

READ THIS: Got a can’t-miss theory? Send it [email protected]!

The Reaction

Smitty heard the story and Martin’s pain, and he was super empathetic. He understood why Martin snapped like that back then. And he understood why his husband didn’t tell him the truth initially. He admitted that he wouldn’t have gone along with the cover-up. And he even understood why Martin stayed quiet so long.

What he didn’t understand was why Martin didn’t tell him when it was clear that Kenneth would pose a problem to Martin’s and his family’s safety. And he was so right. Ever since Kenneth (Jason Vendryes), the bigoted busboy, revealed who he was, Martin should have told Smitty. Instead, he let it go and tried to fix it himself, and with the others who originally covered up the incident.

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And what happened? Kenneth got close to Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) and Samantha (Najah Jackson). Heck, Smitty even had a run-in with him. None of Martin’s family was equipped with the knowledge that Kenneth was dangerous, although they should have guessed something. The man oozed creepy vibes.

Martin finally had to tell Smitty the final piece of the puzzle. And we don’t know his reaction to this element just yet. It’s the fact that they no longer need to worry about Kenneth because he’s dead.

So, do you think Martin and Smitty will make it now that the truth is out? What did you think about the story? Did it live up to the hype? Should they tell Tyrell and Samantha the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Let us know in the comments.