Beyond The Gates Kills Off Doug; Lauren Buglioli Pays Tribute To On-Screen Husband Jason Graham
Jason Graham and Lauren Buglioli have played husband and wife Doug and Vanessa McBride since Beyond The Gates premiered on February 24 of this year, but after the events of the September 25 episode, in which Vanessa learned that Doug died in a fiery car crash likely while drinking, that union — and Graham’s time on the new CBS soap — has come to an end. Buglioli marked the occasion by paying tribute to her former co-star.
Last Words
The actress posted a video to Instagram (which you can see below) that showed footage of Graham’s last day on set and captioned it, “I love you, husband ♾️ @jasongraham69@beyondthegatescbs 💔.” The video, taken by Buglioli, started with the cast and crew present that day giving the actor a standing ovation. Leading the charge was executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, who was holding his hand and saying, “We love you.”
Graham seemed overwhelmed by the attention as he stepped back to take it all in before saying, “I love you all.” Several in the crowd yelled back that they loved him, too. “This has been a great experience,” he continued, adding, “and you all are family — for life.”
As viewers know, gambling addict Doug’s death was no accident — it was orchestrated by Joey Armstrong, Vanessa’s lover and a casino owner. In Buglioli’s video, Joey’s portrayer, Jon Lindstrom, could be heard off-camera adding, “Like it or not.” Graham turned to him and laughed before he said, “Exactly.” That’s when Buglioli can be heard chiming in, “I love you, husband!” Graham looked right at her and blew her a kiss. Lindstrom also praised Graham in the comment section of Buglioli’s post, declaring, “One of the best I’ve ever had the honor to play with. Thank you @jasongraham69.”
While this camaraderie between the on-screen husband and wife — and the “other man” in their marriage — is endearing, their on-screen entanglement wasn’t quite so amiable. Doug and Vanessa’s marriage was rocky from the show’s debut, with the duo facing empty nest syndrome now that their twins had headed off to college. Doug turned a blind eye to Vanessa’s cheating while he fell into the gambling addiction — and its resulting debt — that caused her to get into bed with Joey, both metaphorically and literally. Doug wanted both of them out from under Joey’s thumb and had begun to make some threatening moves that put everything in jeopardy — and, it would seem, ultimately cost him his life.
But is this really the end of Doug? On the Instagram post, a fan commented, “Its a soap, no one is ever REALLY dead. Right?” Buglioli responded, “PINNING THIS 🙌🙌🙌🙌❤️❤️❤️❤️”
Do you think Doug is really and truly dead? Has Joey overplayed his hand this time? Let us know your theories in the comments below!
Conversation
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