Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Smitty Smith Packs for Mexico as Martin Richardson’s Election Unravels

SMITTY SMITH’S BAG IS PACKED AND MARTIN’S CAMPAIGN IS ON THE CLOCK

TL;DR: Smitty Smith packed for Mexico to chase a lead on Max the minute Naomi told him to stay put. He is charged with drug-induced homicide, and Martin faces voters on November 3. Does he go?

Smitty Packed a Bag the Minute Naomi Left

Smitty Smith has a bag packed for Mexico and a congressman husband five days from Election Day. On the Wednesday, October 28 episode of Beyond the Gates, Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne brought word of a new lead on Max, or at least on his cousin. Smitty wanted to join the search in Mexico himself. His lawyer told him to stay put. About two seconds after she walked out, he started packing.

That is the gamble at the heart of this week’s Beyond the Gates spoilers. Smitty is charged with drug-induced homicide and has been out on bail since October 13, and the case against him rests on footage of Max handing him a purple pouch. Martin Richardson tried to talk sense into him. Smitty insisted he could do it without getting caught, which tells you he knows exactly what he is risking.

Max is not just any witness. He was Smitty’s informant on the plasma ring, a source who was supposed to be in witness protection, and the one man who could swear the Uptown handoff never happened. Smitty left him messages on October 21 begging him to come out of hiding, the same week Jacob Hawthorne doubted Smitty’s innocence to Naomi’s face. Max never answered. Now there is a lead, and a man staring at prison wants to chase it himself.

Should Smitty stay home or go find Max himself? Write to the editor at amber@soapoperamagazine.com and tell us which way you would go.

The Promise Smitty Smith Asked Samantha to Keep

Before Naomi ever knocked, Smitty had a talk with his daughter that sounded a lot like a goodbye. Samantha Richardson, back home on October 28, told him she fears he will soon be in prison. He told her he is innocent. She shot back, “Innocent people go to jail all the time.”

Then he asked her to promise that if the worst comes to pass, she will keep Tyrell and Martin on track. That is not a man planning to sit still and wait for a jury. He is putting his house in order, and my gut tells me that speech is the tell.

Martin’s Campaign Has No Room for a Fugitive

The timing could not be worse for Martin. He has been slipping in the polls since at least October 21, when a voter told him she could not trust him, and his October 15 press conference was derailed by a reporter Heather Armstrong fed questions. On October 27 he confided that he could live with losing. What scares him is Smitty Smith going to jail.

On Wednesday, Vernon Dupree shut down his grandson’s pity party, and by the time Shonda arrived the men had a plan. On Thursday, October 29, Martin and Smitty prepare for a big event with Vernon. Nobody has said what the event is, but with Election Day on Tuesday, November 3, it is a safe bet the campaign is involved, and Smitty is on that schedule beside his husband.

Is Smitty Leaving Town to Find Max in Mexico on Beyond the Gates?

Not yet. As of the October 28 episode, Smitty has packed but has not left, and nothing announced for Thursday or Friday puts him on a plane. Nothing has been posted yet for the week of November 2. No exit has been announced for Mike Manning either, who is up for a Daytime Emmy against his costar Timon Kyle Durrett on Friday, October 30.

Here is the wrinkle worth knowing. The show has never told us Smitty’s bail terms. No amount, no surrendered passport, no travel ban and no next court date has aired since October 13, so whether a trip to Mexico would technically skip bail is still an open question on screen. In the real world, a defendant who runs while charged risks a warrant, a revoked release and a jury hearing that he fled.

Why Smitty Smith Running Would Hurt Everyone Who Loves Him

If I know these writers, Thursday’s event is where this boils over. Picture Smitty beside Martin with a bag in the trunk, or an empty spot where he should be. Either way Naomi is stuck. She is an officer of the court who told her client to stay put, and her husband is the detective on his case.

Running would also hand Heather and every reporter in Fairmont Crest a fugitive story five days before the vote, and it would make Naomi’s deepfake defense look like a cover story. Smitty has said all along that The Impaler set him up. Don’t be surprised if Max, or that convenient cousin, turns out to be bait.

Would you pack that bag if you were Smitty? Tell us in the comments whether he should stay or go.

Election week is coming fast, so catch every twist in the full two-week Beyond the Gates preview.

Smitty Should Stay Home and Let Naomi Find Max

Smitty has every reason to want Max in a courtroom and no good reason to be the one who flies south to get him. A man charged with drug-induced homicide who leaves the country hands the prosecution its best argument. He would take Martin’s last good week down with him.

Team Stay says Naomi has this and Martin needs his husband at that podium. Team Go says nobody will ever fight for Smitty the way Smitty will. Pick your side and bring it to our Facebook page.