The tides are turning over in Below Deck land. We’ve replaced 50% of the interior crew since Captain Sandy Yawn joined the boat in Captain Lee’s stead!
When we picked up for this week’s episode, Alissa Humber was in the bridge with Ross McHarg as a witness. Never a good sign. Sandy was just finishing her lecture on insubordination and the hierarchy of yachting. Let’s get into it!
Alissa Transforms Back To A Play Pony
So yeah, Alissa is hanging up her hat as a “workhorse.” She was fired for calling Captain Sandy by her first name the day before. Ross is instructed to escort Alissa off the boat, and I guess this is the closest they’ll get to a first date. At least on camera.
After her lecture from Sandy, Alissa gives a curt “thank you” before walking out of the bridge and mumbling “that was so funny.” When she recounts the story to the rest of the crew, she tells them she was fired for “literally nothing.” Love that narrative for her.
Sandy gathers the remaining crew to assure them that the malicious gossip will no longer plague the boat. She then calls chef Rachel Hargrove to the bridge to have a secret u-rah-rah without all the little people. So long as we don’t have to endure another volleyball scene, I’ll take it.
LaQuish Is Here
The guests walk down the boardwalk in their full pageant gear, and I just know it’s going to be good. I didn’t expect it to be turkey-club-sandwich-in-a-cloche good, but I really am loving this messy, needy bunch.
As soon as the group of pageant queens set sail, LaQuish gets to work. LaQuish may be the only charter guest to get her own bolded name on this website this season, and she has earned it. Just before lunch is set to come out, LaQuish requests a club sandwich for only herself. The entire thing goes uneaten while she sits at the lunch table, banging her cutlery, literally yelling “luuuuuuuunch” into the Caribbean seascape. It’s very annoying but also hysterical. I can’t help but think, ‘What would Alissa say about this?’
Later in the evening, LaQuish has Tyler Walker tuck her into bed in the main salon. She has him fetch her a sheet to set up on the couch, and that’s where she sleeps. On a couch on a mega yacht. She’s roughing it because the rooms are too small and “creepy.” Totally makes sense. Later, she asks Rachel to make her a 24-karat gold-wrapped steak. She came to do it all.
Sandy Pitches In
Sandy has already put in a call for a new stew. In the meantime, she offers to help the interior with turndowns. Tyler is assigned to train Sandy, and I can feel his annoyance for having to explain starching, folding, and towel pick-up to a fill-in. This man with his obsession for perfection does not see cleaning cabins as a group project. Just get out of his way already!
The guests also have a lot of preferences for their food. One is gluten-free, another is on an anti-inflammation diet, and then there’s LaQuish. Fraser Olender is threatening to crack in his confessional, but he seems to be holding things together thus far. He admits that he feels better without Alissa on board. In his words, Sandy helped him drop the weights he didn’t know he was carrying. I’m actually just happy to have this entire dynamic resolved. Hopefully, some fresh drama is on the way!
But First, The Flimsy Couples
Yes, they’re still happening. Let’s start with Ross and Katie Glaser.
Ross had a moment of sadness when Alissa left the boat, which I found unexpected. He semi-acknowledged his fling with Alissa in his confessional. I felt like that was a rookie mistake for a nearly 40-year-old man who exploits his bosun status for the female gaze. We’ll relive this moment at the reunion. More predictably, Ross spends the rest of the episode commenting on Katie’s body in a bikini and overusing the word “hard.” Katie is making plans to break up with Ross after the charter, but let’s wait and see how that turns out. She’s tricked us before.
Now onto Ben Willoughby and Camille Lamb. Because yes, they are still a thing, too. Ben wasted no time in calling Camille to tell her the good word about Alissa’s firing. These two apparently have plans to meet up in the Dominican after the charter season is over. Again, let’s wait and see how that turns out. It’s only a matter of time before Ben’s ex-sext buddy joins the St. David cast and crew!
The Weekly Teasers
This week’s episode ended with two slight twists. For one thing, Captain Lee gave Sandy a ring and told her he’ll be back on the yacht in a couple of days. Wahoo!!
More hilariously, Hayley De Sola Pinto was caught gossiping about the pagent queens and rolling around on the beds by one of the charter guests! The secondhand embarrassment was so serious. As soon as she saw the guest walk in Hayley stood up straight, started fixing the duvet, and repeated how loved the intruder is. So good, and so bad. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK HAYLEY IS GOING TO BE SNITCHED ON FOR HER MOCKERY OF THE GUESTS AND THEIR CABINS? DO YOU HAVE ANY PARTING WORDS FOR SANDY BEFORE SHE LEAVES THE SEASON FOR GOOD?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]