Beyond the Gates: Colby Nixon Says Kat Richardson Will Spar With Leslie Thomas Too, Not Just Eva Thomas

COLBY NIXON PUTS KAT RICHARDSON IN THE RING WITH LESLIE THOMAS

TL;DR: Colby Nixon says Kat Richardson spars with Leslie as well as Eva, and the screen backs her up. No preview puts the two in a room yet, so does Ted’s Christmas wedding become the next round?

Colby Nixon Gives Trisha Mann-Grant a Shout Out

It is confirmed, straight from the actress: Kat Richardson (Colby Nixon) has two sparring partners on Beyond the Gates, and the second one is Leslie Thomas (Trisha Mann-Grant). Nixon said it on the red carpet at the 53rd Daytime Emmys, in an interview published November 5.

Asked what it is like to play a woman who is always at somebody’s throat, she laughed it off. “I don’t know if I consider myself super fiery, and Kat is really fiery,” Nixon said. She praised her scene partner Ambyr Michelle, who plays Eva Thomas, then added, “I also have to give a shout out to Trisha Mann-Grant because I will spar with her too.”

“It’s just easy, because we just play off of each other so well,” she went on. Read it closely and Nixon is talking about the job, not handing out an air date. Nothing in the interview mentions the Christmas wedding of Ted Richardson (Keith D. Robinson) and Shanice Johnson (Ernestine Johnson). But the pairing she named has been running hot for weeks.

Who is Kat’s real enemy, Leslie or Eva? Write to the editor at amber@soapoperamagazine.com and tell us which fight you want next.

Kat Richardson and Leslie Have Already Gone Two Rounds

Round one aired October 16 at Uptown. Kat Richardson broke the news of Ted’s engagement to Leslie herself, and Leslie swore she had moved on with Marcel Malone (Darryl W. Handy). Then she carried a bouquet to Shanice, and nobody believed a petal of it.

Round two came October 29, and it involved a diaper cake. Leslie showed up with one, Kat assumed it meant Eva was pregnant, and she confronted Leslie at Uptown and grabbed the card. “You have got to be kidding!” Izaiah swore he was not about to be a father. By that night Kat was the one announcing Hayley Lawson (Marquita Goings) was expecting.

Since then Kat has fought Leslie from across the room. On November 3, when her brother Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) asked about inviting Eva, Kat agreed on one condition: “Mama Delulu is not invited!” On November 4 she told Izaiah Hawthorne (Lami) she can’t forgive what Eva and Leslie did to her mother.

Will Kat and Leslie Fight at Ted and Shanice’s Wedding on Beyond the Gates?

Nobody has said so. No preview for the week of November 9 puts Kat and Leslie in the same scene, and the wedding still has no date beyond Christmas. Leslie’s only scheduled beat, on Thursday, November 12, is an idea Hayley isn’t buying.

Here is what the spoilers do show. In the week’s promo, Eva sits at Orphey Gene’s with Shanice and Ashley Morgan (Jen Jacob) and says Kat is still struggling with the idea that it’s over between her father and Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson (Daphnee Duplaix). So the bombshell is about Nicole, not Leslie. Kat’s wound is her parents’ marriage, and Leslie is the woman she blames for it.

That is why this matters. Shanice bought peace on October 19 with a truce between the half-sisters, lasting until after the wedding. It has held, and the two even shared a laugh November 4. But we have argued Leslie blocking this wedding would do everyone a favor, and Leslie is already keeping score. On October 30 she sniffed that “Niecy” had better not move in before her own place is done.

What Comes Next for Kat and Leslie

On Thursday, November 12, Kat and Chelsea Hamilton (RhonniRose Mantilla) go to Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) for help, and the same day Tomas Navarro (Alex Alegria) leaves his lover spurned. On Friday, Nicole has tender words for her daughter.

My gut tells me Kat Richardson is the one who cracks first, not Leslie. Leslie has been on her best behavior since the Articulettes session, and that is exactly when she is most dangerous. Kat wears her heart on her sleeve. If Leslie needles her at the altar, don’t be surprised if Kat swings, Eva steps in, and Shanice’s dream Christmas turns into a family brawl.

If I know these writers, Nixon’s “I will spar with her too” is a promise they plan to keep.

Should Kat keep the peace for Shanice’s sake, or does Leslie have it coming? Tell us in the comments.

Want more Fairmont Crest drama? Catch every story in our Beyond the Gates coverage.

Kat Has the Fire and Leslie Has the Patience

Here is my take. Kat fights loud and Leslie fights long, and a wedding is the one stage where the long game wins. Kat already gave Eva part of her liver in June. Leslie still treats her like the enemy.

So pick a side. Does Kat owe Leslie a truce for Shanice’s big day, or is “Mama Delulu” finally getting what’s coming? Come fight it out with us on our Facebook page.