It feels weird going back to recapping TV shows, today. I think we are all still in shock over the events of the last 24 hours. Shout out to all the people who went back to work tired and perhaps hungover and got things done. Let’s check on the Below Deck crew and see what’s new with them this episode. Perhaps someone can drop a bigger bombshell that an affinity for dating transgendered folks, but that will be hard to top.
Wait. Why is there store-bought hummus in this kitchen. Is Ben really too lazy to through some chick peas and tahini in a food process for thirty seconds? Last week Kyle came out as a guy with a thing for transgenders and dressing in drag and this week we just so happen to have guests coming on requesting a drag party. #SofaKingScripted We get a sweet story from Kyle about how is girlfriend Ashley made him feel like he fit in for the first time in his life. That would be sweet if he wasn’t pursuing Sierra so hardcore since he got on the boat.
Katie continues to spend all her time on the phone with Ro. If this was anyone else…. I’m just saying.
The two primaries are a gay male couple who are planning the drag party to surprise the other guests who I didn’t pay that much attention to…because, cut gay guys. They brought all kinds of wigs and gowns and coincidentally are looking for a crew member or two to get in to some drag. Katie explains all of this to Kyle while punctuating her comments in the air with a very large carrot. #SofaKingScripted
Katie isn’t even bitching about the beach setup. Because, cute gay guys. The script is getting to be so distracting I can’t pay attention to the scenery or anything else. There were simultaneous “corn-fed” jokes in two different scenes. Sigh.
As usual, beach picnic set up is a clusterfuck. It is Sierra’s fault by I predict the captain will blame the deck crew. Ultimately, it is Katie’s fault but she’s just hanging out on the beach waiting for everything to magically show up. Kelly tells Kyle to gather everyone up and get them on the boat. He does, but not before some back and forth with Sierra. Rejection is hard. I wonder how Ashley will feel about these scenes? Of course Kyle and Sierra are left alone on the beach to do clean up together and work out their issues. During their spat, Sierra calls Kyle a “queen.” This will result in a huge PC argument, I’m sure. Because Kyle won’t be a queen for a few more hours. I think Sierra was referring to a drama queen. Kyle feels like she would not have used that word if she didn’t know about his lifestyle, so he has taken offense.
Ben and Kyle have a conversation about uni, which is sea urchin, while Ben is in the kitchen. First let me say how weird it is that Ben is having the crew taste food in the first place. That’s not really like him. But he did spoon some uni into Kyle’s mouth and he seem to almost immediately got into anaphylactic shock. I hope this does cause him to miss his drag show! He was so excited and had already done a wardrobe fitting! He took some antihistamines that knocked him out so Katie is literally doing his drag makeup while he is passed out. She also ha as red bull and espresso on stand by. She acts like she is gluing on eyelashes with Elmer’s glue. I’m quite sure there is glue in the package. Once Katie revives him he checks out his drag look and says, ” I look like I’ve been bombed by a Care Bear!”
The show was actually kind of adorable and everyone seemed to love it. As happy Kyle wandered off to change he muttered, “The things you do for tips, guys.” Indeed.
Time for the crew meeting. The guests were over the moon about their experience. The captain felt as though an $1,100 tip for what appeared to be a one, possibly two, night cruise per person was “sub par.”
Ben’s brother James shows up to hang out on the crew’s night off. James is very attractive in the face, but his perfect posture makes it seem like he has an actual stick up his ass. The two brothers go out alone to drink copious amounts of wine while nibbling on appetizers and reminiscing about their childhood. James gives Ben his approval on Emily. Ben seems very serious about her.
Kyle asks Katie if he can sleep in the master bedroom that evening and she says sure. Kyle needs some privacy to choke his chicken. Apparently, he’s practically having a medical crisis in that regard. unfortunately, Lauren and Nico, who are high off of some huge cigars that James brought along come in and start trashing the room. They decide they need more shots. This is going to piss off Kate who said Kyle could sleep in there. She said nothing about a party where things are getting busted. Kyle is annoyed that his wank party is being delayed by them.
As Ben and James walk back to the boat, Ben inexplicably takes off his pants and leaves them on the pier. James holds up the back of his brother’s shirt to give the camera a nice shot of his ass. It’s a nice ass. Somehow Ben becomes involved in the frat party in the master and the do some major damage to a door or a wall or both. Kyle is furious because they are all in his bathroom and won’t leave and starts chugging fireball from the bottle. This will not end well. But it does end here this week.
Next week Dean Slover or whatever his name is, is back. He’s the token asshole charter guest that comes back every season. Kate loves him and everyone else hates him. Also, the captain confines Kyle, Ben, Nico and Lauren to quarters over the damage to the boat. It’s like when some kids act up and the whole class gets punishment. I think Ben was the actual one who did it. It wasn’t Kyle and they sort of deliberately edited it not to make it clear who did what.
Wasn’t charter guest Liza on another bravo show about New Jersey. Can’t remember the name of it
It was Secrets and Wives about some rich bitches on Long Island.
I knew she looked familiar and I couldn’t for the life of me place her (here I am thinking she some kind of actress or something lol). Bravo to your memory! Do we know if Bravo pays the tips or the other bravolebrities getting a free charter have to?
I believe that sometimes the Bravo people are called in when there are no takers on a particular cruise. The filming schedule is set up for the show and then the cruises are put up for sale. The cruises are still VERY expensive. There is only about a 20% discount. Plus the film crew is a giant headache. The guests are confined to quarters at time for filming. Some time exterior shots of the boat are taken and they have to stay inside for that. They are told to do and say certain things, often about the food or service. So people going on these trips are doing it because it is being filmed. I do not think Bravo pays the tip for the regular people, although that is a bit murky. As for the trips with Bravolebs, I don’t think they pay for anything and Bravo pays for the trip, and the tip. It is sometimes hard for production to book the trips because they are for a set time and a steep price. There is no flexibility. So when they have a spot they can’t fill, that is when the Bravo people show up. I’ve posted about this before. There was a particular season when the guests were all humiliated on the show by the crew and the Captain. That season the guests were all freaking out and sending me horror stories. Thankfully, the horrible attitude toward the guests only lasted for one season.
Would you be willing to share more about the guests that felt they weren’t treated well? Sounds juicy!
I think its weird that they bring past bravo people on as guests and then don’t explore it. Do they think we wont notice? Maybe rich people don’t want to be filmed? If they need guests I’d do it if the tip is fake.
How many people share the tip, does anyone know? Once in a while they will show a “First Mate” — I think last season his name was Dan, and believe Capt. Lee or Eddie or someone said during a reunion that he didn’t want to be on camera. Does he get a share? Anyway, does that mean the total for this tip, that seems to be a two-nighter, was $10,000, 11,000 or more like nine thousand? Just now it appears on the show that Capt. Lee, Kate, Emily, Sierra, Ben, Kelly, Nico, Kyle and Lauren share the tips since they are all in the room when the captain hands it out…is that right? Also online somewhere a few years back, or maybe it was when Cynthia, Claudia and gang were on a charter, I read that Bravo and/or other sponsors “throw in” on the tips so as to help the kitty…can anyone confirm? And Tamara, YOUR BLOG IS AT THE TOP of my list as it is always timely and I know if I miss an episode of housewives or Below Deck, which in my opinion, the best part about Below Deck is Ben’s food — I know can get the BEST scoop, as well as some FUN snark, right here, as soon as possible. As a fellow journalist, albeit a freelancer at this time, I know how it is to try to conjure up fresh brainpower anywhere near election time or any other time when you feel under the weather or are just churning out piece after piece. In fact, I have NO idea how you can do all you do not only for the housewives franchise and Below Deck, but also shows like The Walking Dead, The Voice, ETC. add in “real life” as in the election, and the things that happen in your life like that pharmacy nightmare a few weeks back….which I can relate to and have a similar story some other time… I need to share that I do believe you do yourself a disservice when you get names of various cast members wrong…just an admiring reader and fellow writer passing along some feedback…thanks for all that you do though, as in my humble opinion, you do a GREAT JOB.
Fifteen percent of the cost of the charter boat is a standard tip. More if you have exemplary service. At the end of the charter the guest gives the tip to the captain and he divides it among the crew as he chooses, just as is shown on the show.
Example of guests ‘not being treated well’…
When Kate made a penis arrangement on the main charters’ bed.
She also kept calling it a rocket ship.
That was Dean Slover, her charter guest soulmate, who is the primary next week. Clearly not her best moment. She did make a hilarious YouTube video showing how to make a penis rocket ship.
Thanks for the recap Tamara! First thing I had fun reading all day.
Ben took his pants off because they felt and looked funny–as he told Emily earlier. Oh, what a couple of drinks will do. He and Kate really make this show fun.
Why in the fuck was Kate spending so much time facetiming that beast while she clearly should have been working when her crew was struggling? But yet she can do no wrong by the Captian.
Why do you keep calling her Katie?!
I dunno! Brain fart I guess. It happens.
Tamara thank you for your blogs. It’s the only thing I look forward to reading. I pull it up a few times a day hoping for new posts. You Rock It! Love you !
Saved watching this until now – I needed 48 hours of British pre-war costume drama therapy. Is it just me, or is it harder to watch this because of the election? The excruciating interrogation of Kyle as to his significant other’s anatomy, and exterior crew’s continued WTF OMG reaction to the new about his attraction to trans women, topped with Sierra’s flare of hostility and invective, unless she just got the trans-phobic edit this week – it all felt so ignorant and backward in a week where LGBT people (among others) are coming to grips with the many setbacks likely to come. I’m sad. Sorry to be a buzzkill. Going away now.