Since the start of the show, it’s been clear the Duprees aren’t an ideal family.

They have money and power, but it’s the reading of values — theirs or others — that helped then attain so much wealth and power.

A former senator and a former singer are a storybook type of story, but as we’ve seen they’re on the reality side of the fairy tale.

What we find funny is Anita could be more of a politician than Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis).

‘Beyond the Gates’ Spoilers: Playing Kat and Eva against each other?

‘Beyond the Gates’ Spoilers have noticed the Dupree women all act like their stuff doesn’t stink.

Anita lost a lot of our respect when she did her best to comfort Kat Richardson (Colby Muhammad).

She encouraged Kat to be a selfish brat by insinuating half brothers and sisters don’t count. They’re not real blood relations.

This gave Kat the validation she wanted to be as nasty and mean girl spirited as she wished.

Telling Eva Thomas (Ambyr Michelle) she wished her mom aborted her was way over the line.

Seemingly to comfort Eva, Anita told her she understands she was lied to and conditioned by Leslie Thomas (Trisha Mann-Grant) her whole life.

That is was important she saw what was real and tried to make things right.

Would the real Anita please stand up?

‘Beyond the Gates’Spoilers: Setting Eva up or survival of the fittest?

There’s a chance Anita is trying to set Eva up. So, when Kat breaks her down she’ll come to Anita to be tossed aside.

That seems overly cruel, but they are Dupree women and it tracks.

But there’s another possibility, and it’s that Anita is pushing a survival of the fittest scenario.

This way, she may hope Eva breaks Kat down to see her own cruel and selfish hubris.

And for Kat to show Eva one doesn’t betray the Dupree’s without paying several pounds of flesh.

She could be looking to help them work through their animosity and become sisters.

If that’s the case, then Anita is playing Kat like a fiddle.

Or maybe Anita is just a mean girl at heart. Look at her history with the Articulettes.

Everything Anita does now is to make up for a lifetime of mean girl actions, and that means she still has that spark.

Maybe this is her way of ‘playing with her food’ because she knows she’ll be forgiven?