This week’s Below Deck Mediterranean is all about vibes. Some good. Some bad. And some downright sick. As in the bad way, not the cool, now-retro way everyone talked in the ’90s. (And probably the way some people on this crew talk, if we’re being honest. You can totally envision Mathew Shea describing things as “totally sick,” right?) As this week’s episode kicks off, the vibes aboard Lady Michelle are at a definite low. Docking is nothing short of chaotic, with the deck crew dropping the ball at every opportunity. Mzi Dempers drops a heaving line, which essentially messes up the entire process. The docking is honestly so messy, you’d think Delaney Evans was back on board…
Malia White‘s about at the end of her rope with the amount of amateur mistakes the deck team is making. However, the point is to just get the guests off the boat, so eventually it’s mission accomplished. And one they’re gone, the interior is celebrating making it through the charter. Katie Flood marks the end of the charter by promoting Courtney Veale to second stew. Officially. And no, before you ask, it’s not because there are only two stews left on the whole boat. Courtney’s grown tremendously in her skillset this season. And according to Katie, she definitely deserves that second stripe on her epaulets.
Captain Sandy Yawn calls the crew together for their latest tip meeting, Even with undemanding guests, she compliments the interior, lavishing praise on Katie for proving that voluntarily operating a stew down wasn’t a massive mistake. However, a huge part of the reason interior even pulled it off was thanks to the help from the deck team. And being pulled in two directions definitely showed. Sandy cites the deck crew’s need to work on logistics and focus, neither of which are very fun to to hear coming off of your sixth charter of the season. But at $15,000, the tip was great — particularly for a shorter, two-day charter.
After the tip meeting, though, Malia holds a meeting of her own for the deck team. And it’s far less fun. Putting on her bosun hat, she reprimands the guys for all the mess-ups. After six charters, Mzi can’t use the excuse that he’s green anymore — he should know what to do by now. And she takes David Pascoe to task as the one who usually sets the example for Lloyd Spencer and Mzi. Which isn’t really fair considering he’s injured and was specifically instructed to do less this charter because of his leg. Everyone’s left feeling like they’ve disappointed the boss and vows to better for the last charter.
Speaking of charter number seven, it’s time for the final preference sheet meeting. And they’ve saved the most difficult group of guests for last. Or at least the most marginally famous. The last primaries are Ian Wallace and Jemele Hill, who are celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary. Jemele happens to be a journalist who’s most recently known in the Bravoverse for feuding on Twitter with Candiace Dillard over old RHOP drama. Among the friends they’re bringing to the yacht is ESPN anchor Michael Eaves, a big-time entertainment lawyer, and more. So while they’re requesting a beach picnic and crew talent show, they’ll likely be pretty demanding.
However, the final charter doesn’t start until the following day. So it’s time for the crew’s night out, and Sandy surprises them by revealing they’re spending it at a winery. As the group contemplates the end of the season over goblets of reds and whites, Chef Mathew suggests they all take a trip somewhere once the charter wraps. Just to spend a last few days together without working, and everyone readily agrees. Courtney then gives a sweet toast, shouting out Katie for being the best boss and thanking the deck team for helping interior so much, The good vibes are back, ya’ll.
Well, until the topic of Lexi Wilson rears its ugly head at the dinner table, that is. What a way to ruin the vibe. The ghost of the former stew is summoned by Mathew, who just can’t help himself from getting another dig in. But Lexi is the last thing anyone else wants to talk about. And surprisingly, many of the other crew members actually jump to her defense. Because Mathew needs a reminder that, despite all her character flaws, his nemesis is still a human being. However, the argument sets poor Courtney off, and she promptly dissolves into tears amid the bickering.
Mathew‘s callousness is particularly triggering for David. And the deckhand reminds him that if he were to judge Mathew the way he’s judging Lexi, he would’ve written him off after the very first charter. So maybe cool it with the judgements and be grateful anyone on board gave you a second chance, hmm? Via confessional, David also opens up about his suicide attempt from when he was younger and struggling with his mental health. He worries that Lexi may be in a similarly bad headspace after how her time on the boat (and in front of Bravo’s cameras) played out.
On the drive back to Lady Michelle, the vibe has dropped. Significantly. Malia presses David about what’s bothering him, and eventually he admits he didn’t like being chastised during the deck meeting earlier. In his words, it felt like he was “being condescended” to during the bosun’s lecture. Malia responds by telling him it’s just because she holds him to a higher standard than Mzi or Lloyd. She expects more from him, that’s all. So tell me again why David hasn’t been made lead deckhand all season?
After a full night of partying (complete with Mzi falling into bushes in the style of a certain Housewife), the crew wakes up the next day hung over and hurting. But no one’s worse off than Lloyd. But it’s not because of a hangover. The deckhand is making all kinds of mistakes, moving slowly and letting the anchor drop far too quickly. Malia notices something is clearly wrong and Lloyd admits he woke up having chest pains and feeling just…off. Once he starts throwing up off the side of the swim platform, Captain Sandy takes his blood pressure and it’s sky-high. Lloyd has to go to the hospital. But we won’t find out what happens until next week…
TELL US – DID COURTNEY DESERVE HER PROMOTION TO SECOND STEW? WERE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE SO MANY OF THE CREW DEFEND LEXI? IS IT FAIR THAT MALIA HOLDS DAVID TO A HIGHER STANDARD?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
