I have to say, if the first four episodes are any indication, Below Deck Down Under is off to a great start. The show truly hit the ground running — Thalassa being stuck at the dock with no engine thrusters notwithstanding — and this week’s episode only continued that solid trajectory.
Surprise! Benny Crawley doesn’t actually quit. Though I personally wouldn’t blame him if an overflowing toilet in a tiny cabin on a superyacht had sent him over the edge. But instead, Captain Jason Chambers talks him off the proverbial ledge. And even goes above and beyond to help clean up the mess, bonding with the deckhand in the process. By the end of the night, the two are genuine pals and Benny seems to have had something of a breakthrough in terms of his attitude on the job.
The next morning, Captain Jason continues his hands-on leadership style, much to the dismay of Jamie Sayed. Who’s really in charge of the deck team here? Definitely not the bosun, it would seem. The cap also extends his oversight to the interior, calling out Magda Ziomeck‘s disastrously messy laundry room. The only department he leaves untouched is the galley. Where Chef Ryan McKeown is determined to do the bare minimum to serve breakfast for the guests. The cocky chef’s “me-first” attitude is still baffling to Aesha Scott. But “just get by” seems to be his mantra for every meal.
After the simplistic breakfast, the guests are ready for a morning of snorkeling diving. And Culver Bradbury is ready to provide, appointing himself Thalassa’s unofficial “entertainment officer” to show the guests a good time. Magda also gets in on the fun once the guests arrive back at the boat by teaching them traditional Polish dancing while serving cocktails. However, the minimal effort continues in the galley, with Chef Ryan refusing to plate a single thing ahead of the planned beach BBQ.
The chef is confident his way is the best (and only) way, despite what Aesha may think. But the chief stew quickly gets validation when Ryan completely forgets the brisket for his beachside tacos back on the yacht. You know, like, the main ingredient. Particularly when tacos are the only thing you’re serving for lunch. Too bad his mess-up comes at the expense of the guests’ experience…At least everything on the beach was set up ahead of time, unlike some other franchises as of late…
For dinner their final night, the guests have requested a totally chic and not-at-all tacky pirate-themed party. And despite their initial apprehensions about it, the crew go all out and turn the boat into a veritable Jolly Roger. Thanks to Aesha and Tumi Mhlongo, there are all kinds of pirate costumes. Fake parrots. Gold booty. And even a guest who can’t help but flirt with Captain Jason once she sees him decked out in his pirate bandana. However, the real star of the party is Culver, who transforms himself into some kind of shirtless stripper-pirate hybrid for the pleasure of the guests. There’s a whip and some light bondage involved. He’s wearing a blonde mullet straight out of Kyle Cooke‘s collection. Needless to say, it’s a major hit.
High on their dose of the yacht life (and more than a little champagne), the guests keep the party going late into the night. And that’s when things get slightly questionable. After midnight, the co-primary and her friend coax Culver into joining them in the hot tub. He’s supposed to be working the late shift. And jumping in a jacuzzi with guests definitely seems like crossing a line. Yet he makes the situation even worse by asking Tumi to take photos of him with the guests. The overworked second stew is unimpressed. And now she has photographic evidence on her phone to use against Culver whenever she wants.
The next morning it’s departure day. And Tumi immediately sets the boat’s gossip machine into high gear by going directly to Brittini Burton with the story about Culver. Brittini in turn spill the tea to Jamie and Benny. And though the bosun is a bit more lenient about the issue than expected, he does vow to get to the bottom of what happened in the hot tub. Meanwhile, Aesha and Chef Ryan are suffering through yet another debate about the latter’s need to be flexible when his breakfast offerings leave a lot to be desired in the chief stew’s estimation.
Despite having all morning to prep, the deck team find themselves woefully underprepared for docking. And basically flounder through the entire process as if they’ve never done it before. Captain Jason is both embarrassed and disappointed, and his feelings spill out over the radio steeped in sarcasm. There’s going to be hell to pay down the road, that’s for sure. But the guests depart happy, so at least there’s that silver lining.
Captain Jason calls a tip meeting, where he criticizes the lack of preparation in both the laundry and the galley. However, the guests left a decently sizable tip of $22,000 Australian, which translates to $16,920 U.S. You could argue the crew deserves more for literally throwing together a surprise vow renewal and a pirate party with Culver as the main attraction. But a little over $1,400 per person isn’t anything to be mad about.
That doesn’t mean the captain’s forgotten about the deck team’s ineptitude, though. After the tip meeting, he gathers Jamie, Brittini, Culver and Benny together for a separate dressing down. He didn’t want to chew them out in front of the rest of the crew. But now that they’re alone, he has no problem spelling out exactly how disappointed he was in the terrible docking. And points the finger squarely at Jamie for not stepping up to effectively lead his team better. We’ll have to see next week just how well the bosun takes that criticism after being micromanaged for the last two charters.
TELL US – WILL CHEF RYAN’S LAZY ATTITUDE COME BACK TO BITE HIM? SHOULD CULVER HAVE BEEN PUNISHED FOR GETTING IN THE HOT TUB? OR WAS HE JUST DOING HIS JOB? SHOULD JAMIE BE DOING MORE TO LEAD HIS TEAM AS THE BOSUN?
[Photo Credit: Peacock]