Below Deck has at least one episode that was the highest rated show on cable and higher than the episode of RHOA that ran that same week. So why are we still shoving this big cast into the stupid clubhouse instead of having the reunion in Fort Lauderdale or Miami? I just don’t get it.
Meanwhile, someone may be breaking into the house next door and I am not sure whether to waste one of my 911 calls on calling the police. Sigh. Just another night in the ghetto. I hope for their sake they don’t step foot on my property because I will go all David Eason on their ass.
I wonder who gives the yachts these strange TV names. My Seanna was such a dumb choice. Andy introduces everyone and tells us that Caroline and Chandler will not be joining them tonight. I haven’t checked in on Caroline and her crazy lately but if she is still on Twitter I can only imagine what is happening right now.
Andy asks if the bromance is still on with Ashton and Ross. Ashton says yes and he is just like a girlfriend if he doesn’t check in with Ross everyday he gets upset. Andy goes straight to Ross’s arrest. Wow, way to ease them into the deep end, Andrew. He says it was just him and a couple of mates having a guys night out. He can’t really discuss it except to say it was just a big misunderstanding. “It always is,” sez Andy.
Kate was asked if Crystal was her worst charter guest of the season. Kate said she was the worst guest of her entire life. Andy points out that when Ross did the show, Crystal was his date to the clubhouse. Ross says they hang out from time to time. Andy asks if they are friends with benefits. He says he would not say that…. Kate interrupts, “Just benefits?” “Just benefits,” Ross agrees. Andy inquires about Crystal being married. Ross says she is not married as far as she knows. Kate’s face is priceless with that lie.
It’s time to address all the third stew drama. Ashton and Rhylee both say that Caroline was having a lot of difficulty coping with the day to day stress of being on the boat. Andy says he talked to Caroline the day of filming and she pointed out that there has been a long string of stews that has not gotten along with Kate. That’s true. Kate’s a bitch and always has someone to pick on every season and usually it is the third stew. It’s like some sort of mean girl initiation with her. HOWEVER, this season Kate was…dare I say it?…. NICE. She was extremely accommodating of Caroline’s crazy in ways I have never seen Kate show kindness before! Her whole “I was tortured by mean Kate” defense of her crazy doesn’t fly. Not this season.
Laura tries to stick up for Caroline a bit. She says she felt bad for her watching the show. Captain Lee shines Kate’s halo and Banjo has the same reaction I do. He throws up on my brand new area rug. This episode has more interrupts than a cell phone call in the Rocky Mountains.
Caroline swears that the scene with the music blaring and Josiah or whoever it was tormenting her that was shown on TV was nothing like what they actually did to her. She points out if they were blaring music outside her door she could have easily opened the door and shut it off. But wasn’t that exactly what they were trying to provoke her to do? To leave her quarters and get to work?
Kate says that Caroline has a flair for the dramatic and that is an understatement when it comes to Caroline’s Twitter behavior. I was actually on Caroline’s side at first when she came out guns blaring on Twitter but it didn’t take long to realize that she is mentally ill and for that reason I stopped discussing her.
Andy plays a clip of Kate and Josiah’s nasty behavior where they are outside the door of Caroline’s quarters claiming she has herpes that has flared up and other infectious diseases. It’s really disgusting to watch again. Kate defends herself by saying that Caroline started it and Caroline is the bully. Now there is the real Kate we usually see. Where has she been? Captain Lee refuses to even come close to saying that Kate and Josiah’s horrific behavior was wrong. This annoys me to no end about Captain Lee.
Andy finally gets Kate to say she regrets her behavior. Ashton piles on the whole She Started It bandwagon. Captain Lee would not accept that kind of excuse from his children growing up, I don’t know why it is acceptable from two grown adults. The should both have said their behavior was disgusting and they were embarrassed to see themselves behave that way they regret their behavior. She started it, is unacceptable. Even Andy seems to understand it. A viewer says that in light of Josiah talking about the pain he experienced being bullied, how did he feel comfortable bullying Caroline? Again with the she started it but he at least prefaced it with saying he regrets his behavior before saying, but she started it.
Andy asks Captain Lee if now that he has seen Kate’s bad behavior if he feels better about questioning her on the boat. Boy he can wiggle out of a question. It seemed he was saying he regrets questioning Kate’s role in the situation and ends by saying he could have handled it better. Kate and Josiah are both reasonably intelligent people and should have sussed out that Caroline had some psychiatric issues and needed to go home well before the terrorist tactics were used on her.
On to Laura and her bad behavior. Laura says she regrets her initial behavior when she first came on the ship. She never intended to come off the way she did. Captain Lee said if he had seen that, he would have fired her on the spot. I was surprised he didn’t and Laura has Kate to thank for that because she didn’t really give Captain Lee the full picture. Laura seem to be defending the behavior she just basically said she regretted and was embarrassed by. In the end they both are still open to working together.
Hang on I think Banjo is outside barking at the burglars. I’m back. Is it a full moon? The ghetto isn’t usually so rowdy at this time of night.
The hot seat moves over to Chef Adrian. In the bottom of the screen as Chef Adrian’s sexual jokes are played they show him in a tiny box laughing and then there is Captain Lee in the tiny box. I am half blind and can barely see him but he looks ready to beat the crap out of someone. This should be interesting.
A viewer asked why no one on the crew said anything about the sexual harassment. Kate jumps in to defend Adrian and say that he’s from Saint Martin and things are different there and Laura is from Canada where things are more ….conservative. Adrian blames editing. He says they didn’t show the dozens of fun conversations they had every day and the close relationship they had. Laura agrees and says it was easy to brush off. Alrighty then. Ross said if Laura was uncomfortable she should have addressed that situation straight away and not waited until they were leaving the boat. While I agree that I would have handled it the first or third time it happened, I understand why a young lady may not want to address it until she had an exit route because many times addressing the harasser will simply anger them and cause a whole new set of problems on a boat she could not get off of. So maybe Ross should have just kept his mouth shut like Captain Lee did. Andy points out that it is a work place and Adrian out ranked her. Andy Cohen is the voice of reason? This is shocking. Captain Lee just sits there looking irritated. He HATES reunions with a passion. That was probably the face I saw in the tiny box and nothing to do with the topic.
Captain Lee talks about Chandler’s firing. He says he was just overwhelmed by the responsibility of such a large boat. Ross agrees. Rhylee said it was more than his lack of management skills when it comes to her. She points out that Chandler was very rude and dismissive toward Rhylee. Ross and Adrian both have been in contact with Chandler and like him. Rhylee talks about how dismissive Chandler was toward her and the cameras go to Captain Lee staring at the ceiling thinking about sailing the seas far, far, away from this rinkydink set. He’s pretty dismissive of Rhylee himself.At another point in Rhylee’s time to speak Captain Lee is laughing and Ross and Ashton both seem dismissive and annoyed. It irritates me and I’m not Rhylee.
We come back from a break and we get the hot-tempered female deckhand reel. What they didn’t show are the behaviors by the other deckhands that caused her to speak up for herself. Rhylee has a temper, yes, but she begged the whole season to be taught how to do the things the guys were doing. They treated her like the dumb kid sister that the parents made them bring on the boat rather than and equal and that infuriated the fuck out of her and that fury escalated for the entire charter because she kept hoping that eventually there would be some sort of rhythm where she got to learn some skills beyond cleaning up the storage area and that never really happened.
Captain Lee is asked if he regrets not firing Rhylee after he saw her interaction with her superiors on the show. He says no. He says Chandler was basically a condescending prick. He says Ross should could have been a bit more firm. Rhylee says that Ross was a great bosun and she regrets her behaviors with him.
The Hookups
The common denominator of most of the hookups was Rhylee. Andy wants the current status of all the hookups. He starts with Ashton and Laura, Laura touches Ashton’s knee and says, “We’re dear friends.” Tyler grins at Rhylee and jokes “we’re dear friends” and Rhylee cracks up. Andy asks if Ashton and Laura are going to hook up after the reunion. Laura replies, “We’re dear friends.” And the both giggle. Andy turns to Rhylee to ask if they will get it on after the show and she says, “We’re dear Friends.” Tyler says they are going clubbing. The other deck hands laugh and ask them what they were doing last night. Clearly, they were hooking up. I wish one of them would ask Andy who he is fucking after the show and who he was with the night before. Why does he think it is normal to ask these questions? Laura tries to stop Ashton for admitting they hooked up on the boat at the end of the cruise before they went on their little honeymoon trip.
Kate said on the After Show of one of the episodes that Ross tried to kiss her. Kate says that Ross was drunk and she doesn’t think he had any idea who she was. Ross admits he gets a bit too lovey dovey when he drinks. Don’t we all, Ross. Don’t we all. Thank God we don’t have to have Andy Cohen interrogate us about our every drunken encounter. Ross admits he hooked up with Hannah. He thinks. He was drunk.
Andy begins a conversation with Rhylee and Tyler about their great chemistry. What kind of chemistry is Andy under for this show? Tyler responds to his questions by saying “her eyes” while making hand gestures simulating her breasts. Adrian is currently single and not in an open relationship.
Everyone tells their biggest regret and Josiah and Kate both say the way they dealt with Caroline at the end of her time there. They both seem now to be genuinely remorseful. Wow! Ashton is working for a family in Atlanta doing private training and security and managing the estate. My first thought was Cardi B and Offset. But honestly there are so many wealthy people here it could be any of several hundred families. Captain Lee says that his biggest regret was the way he handled the situation with Kate and Caroline. But I feel like he means he would have fired her sooner which would probably have been the best thing for Caroline. They need to do better with the psychological backgrounds on some of these people.
At the end of the show they brought out the cameraman who saved Ashton’s life. Ashton says he is his real life hero and he hopes he could do something with his life that will make Brent proud. Brent wants us to know that he did not do what he did all by himself. Rhylee was the first person to quickly call for help and without her quick, calm thinking Ashton would not have made it. Captain Lee took the boat out of gear. Ross helped with tying the lines. Captain Lee cannot handle this entire conversation. It’s a very painful subject for him and it is written all over his face. Brent goes into lots of detail and everyone is getting very emotional. Captain Lee pipes up to say if Rhylee had not said man overboard when she did, it would have been all over. Captain Lee says it was the worst thing that has happened in his 35 years. Andy asks Captain Lee what he wants to say to Brent. He says he has said it before to him, he’s a stud. Brent says Captain Lee is the real stud of the sea. Captain Lee gets up and hugs him and now I am emotional.
And thus ends the best Below Deck Season ever.
IMO I think Lee has a thing for Kate. I can feel it in the air and many times I have noticed that he’ll say something about his wife he’ll look quickly at Kate. I have seen it too many times. I have 15 minutes before it starts here. Thank you, TT
I think Capt. Lee and Kate are “dear friends” WITHOUT benefits. Other than the benefits of a friend who has your back. Mary Ann likes Kate and has said she is happy Capt. Lee has such a good “work wife” (my words).
Yeah, I think he’s just looking at the one person who also knows Mary Ann. They’ve taken her under their wing. Men who want to fuck younger women and are not pedophiles don’t call the young woman “kiddo”.
When Lee says “I shouldn’t have to babysit you” he absolutely means it. Kate is the one person who doesn’t discuss her underlings AT ALL, good or bad, season after season. This was probably the first time she has in my recollection – and she had reason to do it. She was hitting her limit.
I agree. I mean, from what I have seen of the other stews on the other shows, (head stews I mean) , it looks like there isn’t an abundance of good ones. Kate may be a hard ass, but she knows her stuff. The guests seem to like her and she gets the job done. There is always going to be conflict or there would be no show. I don’t care for the way she bullied Caroline at all and I hope that never gets repeated. I would want Kate running my boat over Hannah any day.
I always felt like Captain Lee just felt like she was like a daughter kind of person to him . I never got any vibes that there was anything else. He is CRAZY about his Mary Ann though.
Yeeees! Finally someone else says it! He does. Did you catch him giving her the once over as she turned around in their final scene? He has always had a little crush on her in my opinion. It’s slightly uncomfortable to watch.
Y’all are so ridiculous.
It really was the best season ever! I would love for the whole crew to return.
Horrified by Kate & Josiah’s taunting Caroline with STD infection implication. I loved them both this season but those ugly slurs were very cruel. Unbecoming conduct by both of them.
I think they both would agree with that – but I don’t think they could gush with apologies because of Caroline’s current state and accusations.
I frankly probably would have lost my shit and done something wildly unprofessional before they lost their shit – I just would have done it in a different way (partially because I’m not as gifted as Kate with the quick snarky comebacks, and partially because I’ve gotten cold sores all my life – face only – and kept thinking, why would that prevent someone from working?) My breaking point would have been her telling me she was under doctor’s orders to stay off her foot and then coming back to the boat to find her wandering around. There would have been screaming (mine) and tears (hers) and a firing.
“Below Deck has at least one episode that was the highest rated show on cable and higher than the episode of RHOA that ran that same week.”
Ditto, and why don’t shows like MDL and Flipping Out get reunions? They have to cost almost nothing for Bravo to produce. And we’d all watch.
It just seems like a no-brained to have a reunion for ANY Bravo show that is popular. It gives us a bridge between the end of filming and the next season. And we get to hear what the casts thought about themselves and others after seeing the episodes air. How NIGGARDLY — notice the spelling, not racist — of Bravo not to give the casts and the viewers the respect of a reunion. Except for Summer House and “Summerhouse On the Sea.” Enough of them is too much.
Nope still racist. It’s ok you can find another word whose origin is not racist. Stingy miserly tight fisted ungenerous parsimonious. As Kate would say, try harder.
Someone actually needs more education.
Have you bothered to look the word up before passing judgment on its “racist” overtones/undertones???
In retrospect, I have a theory. Bravo is negligent and doesn’t really know the value of their franchises. And they let Andy have carte blanche with the reunions because they wouldn’t know how to handle them without his involvement (i.e. get someone else to host them). Like it or not, Andy is the “face” of Bravo and without his endorsement, the other franchises aren’t important.
I don’t watch Southern Charm, Shahs or Vanderpump Rules. Do they have real reunions like the Housewives? Or are the WWHL episodes too?
All of those shows have reunions like the housewives.
The last ones you mentioned. Sorry! 🙂
I also thought that Kate and Josiah’s actions regarding Caroline were awful. They definitely could have handled that way better and I do hope they learned a lesson from all this.
Regarding Caroline when you call people out for being bullies then it really does not help your cause to then proceed to call someone a drunken, cokehead and make a rambling IG story about Capt Lee and what a horrible reputation he has in the yachting community. She hailed Adrienne as some kind of hero when both of Adrienne’s stews on her season hated her. Adrienne also went around talking about an incident that Kat had regarding a boyfriend of Amy’s which was pretty tacky so I would not hold Adrienne up as some kind of saint. Another thing about Caroline, Kate and Josiah did say on an aftershow that Caroline not once turned a boat the whole time she was there, which I expect a lot of work has to be done to get the boat ready for the next charter. I will say that after having to carry someone’s weight and then having that person just up and quit and leave them once again in the weeds would probably make me nuts also. It was still an ugly incident and she should have left the boat when she started having problems with her foot.
Well said and so true. Ashton tried to point out what led up to Kate and Josiah going nuts. It is a consideration. Stay safe TT. Must be a warm night for the crazies being out.
And Ashton was the most sympathetic one to Caroline!!! I feel like if he were a different person, he would have said more. LIke “I’m surprised they didn’t crack sooner”
I also think that while Rylee’s behavior was AWFUL… I think Chandler probably did a lot of micro-aggressions that we didn’t catch. By the time he was fired, Rylee was rightfully so upset that I think Ross kind of inherited some of the heat that Chandler had caused with her.
Now, Ross, had he been firm, should have sat her down and said “LOOK, I AM NOT CHANDLER” and Rylee should have reigned in her temper and said that she understood that they were not Chandler, but that they shouldn’t keep punishing her based on her behavior and frustration with Chandler. Does that make sense?
It must be a full moon if T is tossing out the compliments to both Kate AND Andy!
Sorry, but Rhylee’s behavior was abhorrent. She had a problem with EVERYONE at some point or another, and if you are the one who has a problem with everyone, then the problem is probably you. Everything she said had and edge to it. The only time she was nice was when she was making porn the night before.
Caroline was a nightmare person. Causing problems and making her craziness everyone else’s problem. I really like Riley. She is tough and has spunk. I like Kate, yeah she’s kind of mean at times but also funny. I also liked Laura. Until I read this blog, I didn’t know they weren’t really working (other than the chef) or that they were but there is also others on the boat working. I have to say, I found the reunion really underwhelming and rather boring.
I never meant to give the impression that they weren’t working. They are working. But there are other people on the ship that are also working. And Production plans all the off shore events months ahead of arrival. There is no way to throw a luau by the waterfall without proper permits and much planning and hiring of entertainment, etc.
So they work, but Kate doesn’t do all of the parties and dinners that is all planned in advance based on production desires and food is ordered from the preference sheets to be delivered well in advance of the crew arrival. That’s just the necessities of filming, not meant as a slam to the televised crew.
Damn. It’s over 😢
I listened to a podcast with Caroline and she recounted the herpes taunting by Kate and Josiah. I was surprised they showed that unseen footage, but maybe it was best to address it. Caroline must have signed some sort of waiver that prevents her from suing the cast/production company because that footage was downright nasty. Kate should have been fired.
Maybe Caroline is mentally unstable, but why go after someone who is so fragile like that? Heartless. I’ve always liked Kate, but not so much any more. What a biatch. And Lee is a pussy.
Her mouth wrote a check her ass couldn’t cash….best line ever!
Great recap. I appreciate your take on Rhylee because I agree that she was being shuffled to the side. I thought Ross would have gotten further with her when he said I trust you and I need you to do this because you know how to do it, but she was so angry at that point.
I am so in love with Ashton. Beyond being hot, he is always in a good mood, is loyal and thoughtful, and takes good care of people. I bet he’s great at his new job.
I don’t know if the ratings bear this out, but I have a theory that VPR, Southern Charm, and Below Deck do better than the Housewives because they include a mix of men & women. I thought NJ was way better in the early days when it included the husbands. The Joes are idiots, but they made good TV. I’d much rather see a mix of women interacting with their spouses and their friends than just arguing with their friends over petty stuff. Maybe it’s the scenery and the water, but Below Deck is refreshing compared to all the other shows.
Amen to this!
I agree with you about preferring the shows with a mix of men and women. I also think that a big part of Below Deck’s appeal is that it shows people interacting as they are doing real jobs. I’m tired of the Housewife shows where they are just going on all these staged charity or faux business events. They are just always going on dinners or overnights somewhere, and it feels fake. Over and over some Housewife says, “I think the girls need to get away on a girls trip” as if it is the most novel idea ever, but they are all getting away more than they are staying put. I like seeing the behind-the-scenes running of the boat more than watching a bunch of drunk women argue over petty things in some restaurant.
Married to Medicine too!
Great recap… I have a question. You were wondering whether you should waste one of your 911 calls…do you get a certain number a month? ;0
Not really, but I feel like they don’t care about this neighborhood and that my 911 calls don’t always get responded to. I try to only call if I see the body or if the gunfire is really close.
Sounds like my neighborhood lol! In San Jose, the police won’t even come unless they think there is a murder or armed robbery. We have so many firecrackers going off all of the time that most people can’t tell the difference between firecrackers and gunshots. Despite all of this we are in the top ten safest cities in the US. I just happen to live on the bad edge of a very wealthy neighborhood.
This was a great crew but I don’t know if I could handle another season of Rhylee. They have to keep putting in her place because she acts as though she knows more than she actually does. Remember, she’s a boat captain in Alaska. There is a way to go about learning how to do more things to further your position at your job. Whining, complaining, and screaming at your superiors is not how it’s done.
Rhylee had some issues with her temperament. She chose to be very open about her sexuality in a situation that will cause backlash for her despite there being none for her male counterparts. She made some season one rookie mistakes.
But to say she thought she knew everything is false. She was constantly trying to learn new skills and constantly being sent to the storage room to tidy up equipment away from the rest of the deck crew. She wasn’t allowed to drop anchor, or help with the toys or any of the many other things she asked to be taught how to do.
Rhylee is not perfect. She’s not particularly likeable in some ways to some people. But she was a hard worker who was begging to learn.
I saw a women working twice as hard as some man only to be considered half as good. Rhylee can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Hook, line and sinker.
Thank you for saying that. She kept telling everyone or the audience that she knew how to run a ship. Yet a camera man saved her co worker
Rhylee kept complaining she was not given more responsibilities like dropping the anchor, etc–but whenever anyone tried to show her how something should be done, she wouldn’t listen and learn. She always responded, “I got it. I said I got it.” Her attitude prevented her from being teachable, and so she was preventing herself from opportunities.
If she knew so much, she would have started uncleating the line Ashton was trapped on. She was standing right next to it.
I wanted to hear what happened between Toss and his baby mama Allison. He was tearing up every time he mentioned her in the last couple of episodes. No go I guess.
We heard from her around the time they went to jail. She’s not interested in reconciling but maintains a good coparenting relationship. It’s clear from what we learned of Ross this season he can’t keep his dick in his pants and has a drinking problem.
Poor Josiah, I don’t think he has a mean bone in his body. And he hasn’t ever bullied or heckled anyone, obviously! He was just going along with whatever Kate said. “ya, we don’t have herpes, but you do”, “so there!” haha.. etc…He’s so endearing. And, I think Kate might have something over on Lee. He is very, very protective of her. I’m not suggesting anything, but you know that the incidence of infidelity is much higher among spouses who travel for their jobs. And those that travel far away, for long periods of time? The statistics are much higher because the temptation is that much greater. Lee has quite a bit of free time on his hands when they are docked, and I presume he sleeps out in town while the crew is partying between charters, etc…I’m just saying that maybe Kate knows something that Lee doesn’t want anyone to find out about. Just a theory, and I don’t want it to be true, as I love Capt Lee, but he sure is very protective of Kate. Contrary to what someone above said about Kate going to the Captain only because she hit her breaking point, I actually was surprised during the season when Kate was going to him about her problems with the staff, as he always tells the bosuns that if he has to deal with problems with their staff, then why does he have them? So, I thought he should have told Kate the same thing.
I live in Ft. Lauderdale and have met Captain Lee a few times and have seen him out and about with his wife and at events together. He is a stand up guy, and she is his sun, moon and stars. Captain Lee and Kate are a team, they have deep respect for each other.
OMG, and I was thinking that maybe Ashton is working for Kim and Kroy!! I can totally see that. And Brielle will be trying to get in his pants the whole time on the next season of “don’t be tardy”…ha!
Please don’t let that be so. Except maybe. we could see him more
Best show on Bravo. Whyyyy does it have to end?! Thanks for the wonderful season, ya’ll!
I’m a huge fan of Kate’s–I think she is so funny–but the herpes comments to Caroline were beyond awful. I was really shocked and disappointed to see that. I’m glad both she and Josiah said they regretted that at the end, but it dinged my opinion of her.
I’m sad for this season to end!
I didn’t like the taunting outside Caroline’s door.
Inappropriate and childish.
Yet, Caroline had avoided doing any work and on the last day she skipped out again, so,
it was time for her to leave. Still, I don’t think it was right to do what Kate & Josiah did to her.
I agree with TT, Caroline ain’t right.
I thought Tyler was disrespectful of Rhylee with his hand gestures.
He seemed to be bombed out of his mind.
Not very impressive to be on national tv as a sloppy, stupid, drunk.
I was very happy to see/meet the camera man who saved Ashton’s life.
Brent seemed very humble, but it was his quick action that made all the difference.
Sad to see this season come to an end.
Ashton said he’s working for…. and he gave the name of someone who had been a guest on the yacht. I don’t have a dvr though so I wasn’t able to rewind and catch it. It was a woman’s name though.