“He’s Captain Lee (Captain Lee, Captain Lee), when you crew for him, you’re working hard as can be. Fool around, you’ll scrub the decks till three. He’s rough. He’s tough. He’s alpha to a tee. Captain Lee…he’s the stud of the sea!” Can I get an “AMEN”?!?
We learned a lot of juicy little secrets on the final installment of the Below Deck reunion, didn’t we? Captain HAROLD Lee Rosbach? Respect! The reunion begins where last week’s left off…galley-gate! Raquel “Rocky” Dakota Bartlow is still accusing Kate Chastain of boozing on the clock when the fire started, and Captain Lee reminds her that former chef Leon “Beef Cheeks” Walker said she was and then admitted that she wasn’t. One way or another, he was lying. Amy Johnson skirts Andy Cohen’s direct question as to whether she’s ever seen Kate drinking on charter by responding that she thinks all of the finger pointing is petty. Andy drops the subject and moves onto my favorite Bravo promo in the history of television. Lee jokes that his wife “has gotten a lot of mileage” out of his “alpha to a tee” persona, and the crew reveals he’s a bit of a celebrity…and his first name is actually Harold, which Andy never knew. Lee’s plethora of colorful metaphors is revisited, with “when you get caught with your tit in the ringer” being everyone’s new favorite. Rocky accuses the Captain of showing support to his chief stew and head bosun, but Amy disagrees. She believes he is there for his entire crew, and Lee is quick to respond he’d lay the smack down on anyone–even Eddie Lucas–if he thought it was necessary.
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Andy highlights Connie Arias’ freshman season, from her tremendous work ethic to her penchant for nudity. He revisits her learning about her father’s death early in the season, and she admits that it was extremely difficult. She reveals that while working on the yacht after filming ended, she received the news that her grandmother, to whom she was incredibly close, had also passed. Connie recalls that reading such devastating news via text made it even harder to deal with reality when back on dry land and facing her family. Kate offers her friend support, chiming in that they all met Connie’s grandmother and she was a fantastic lady. Andy reminds Connie of the time Rocky cock-blocked, er clam-jammed (what? Love it!), her with Emile Kotze. Connie didn’t consider Rocky’s behavior to be a clam-jam. She just cites that she adores Emile as a friend, and he’s very fun to look at when he keeps his mouth shut. When asked who was the better worker, Eddie diplomatically replies that together Connie and Emile make the perfect deckhand.
Connie’s friendship with Rocky is highlighted, and Andy shares he thought they’d be the best of friends due to their quirky personalities. Connie agrees, claiming Rocky would be fun to hang out with until cameras were around, causing Rocky to become an attention seeking drama queen. Rocky counters that this statement is coming from someone who often sported peanut butter bikinis, and she seems hurt to have seen the footage of Connie saying she couldn’t stand her. Connie interjects that just because she found Rocky super annoying in close quarters didn’t mean they weren’t friends. Kate reminds Rocky that she stripped down while working a charter, but Rocky was only following orders…she wasn’t supposed to get her microphone wet, and she had to swan dive off the deck to escape after Leon quit. So there’s that.
Lee chastises Rocky for her poor choices and her total lack of remorse and ownership of her behavior. He finds her excuse-filled apology to be insincere, asserting that the fire and Leon’s departure didn’t just happen to her…it happened to all of them. Rocky sulks after making a dig about Lee holding onto his frustration with her forever. Is there a deck she can dive off of now so we can enjoy the remainder of the reunion without her horrible attitude? Rocky then attempts to apologize to Kate and Amy for not being a good stew. Both Amy and Kate respond that they thought Rocky’s personality and vivaciousness brought a lot to the table, and their frustration with her stemmed from her unwillingness to learn her job. Rocky offers a hug to a receptive Kate, and Kate offers to e-mail Rocky her coveted stewardess list. She’s earned it.
Ben Robinson joins the stage, stating he was super excited to get the call from Captain Lee after Leon’s premature exit. He tells Andy that there is reason for guest preference sheets and the health department, and Leon shunned both with his beef cheeks and filthy kitchen. Rocky admits she was initially concerned that Kate’s former flame was joining the crew, but she was relieved when Ben formed his own opinions of her. Ben thinks that Rocky has what it takes to be a yacht chef if she works hard. Andy inquires about Kate and Ben’s flirtatious bickering and they define their fling as “checking off a box” and convenient at the time. However, both agree they are better as friends, even when Ben teases Kate about hooking up after the reunion. I know some will disagree, but I think they are absolutely adorable together with their banter and blushing. Dave Bradbury arrives on set, and he is as cheery and upbeat as ever. Everyone concurs that he was a much needed addition mid-season.
Finally, Andy gets to the good stuff…laundry. When asked who began their dirty dalliance, Eddie concedes to sending the first text message…but only after Rocky put out the vibe that she needed some sexual healing. It certainly takes two to tango, so Eddie isn’t getting off so easily (no pun intended). Rocky regales in flirty exchanges and stolen kisses that built up over time to the spin cycle. Eddie retorts he remembers just doing dirty laundry, defining their dynamic as a fling, friends with benefits at best. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. You should have taken the high road and acted like a gentleman. Even with that cute beard, he sounds like a giant douche by dismissing his relationship with Rocky. It’s juvenile, and Rocky is clearly hurt by his words. Rocky quips that usually friends with benefits actually act like friends. Eddie dumbly declares he thought their trysts would never be discovered. Those cameras? They are filming you for a show, asshat! Amy thought it was uncool of Rocky to confide in Emile after he’s been so clearly into her. Emile tries to explain to Rocky that he felt a bit used, but Rocky maintains he was the only friend she could confide in about it. Ben praises Eddie’s sneakiness, and Connie was floored to find out the gossip was true after hearing Eddie talk so much crap about the ceiling lover. Again, keeping it classy, Eddie! Eddie is called out for his poor treatment of Rocky once their hook-ups ended. He didn’t consider his actions as ignoring Rocky, but rather returning to a state of semi-professionalism. Sure, buddy. Please just own up to being a total jackhole!
Eddie cites the last straw with his attraction to Rocky occurred following her swan dive off the Eros in a fit of crazy, and he wanted nothing more to do with her afterwards. Oh really? Rocky finds this information interesting and wonders why they have been together twice since filming ended. Ooooh. Juicy! Jaws drop, and Eddie looks dumbfounded. Rocky reminds him that they were together the night filming ended as well as another time when they were promoting the show. Eddie sheepishly denies these accusations, and Andy states that Eddie is the only one who has a reason to lie since he’s reconciled with his girlfriend. Rocky assures Andy that Eddie and his girlfriend were broken up for these extra meetings, but Eddie hangs his head and sticks with his weak denial. The viewers are treated to footage of Eddie lying to his crew mates regarding their hook-ups, and he admits to being ashamed for getting caught his deceitful behavior. Lee expresses deep disappointment in Eddie for both his decisions and his cover-up, and Kate and Amy sympathize with Rocky because she was definitely mistreated by Eddie despite her insane demeanor. Rocky seems truly hurt by the revelation that Eddie is so ashamed to have had a fling with her (she definitely had true feelings for him and he’s acting like she’s gum on the bottom of his Sperrys), and she doubts he would have admitted his indiscretions to his girlfriend had he not gotten caught. I tend to agree. Eddie, it was a rocky season for you, and sadly, you showed your douche colors.
I don’t know about y’all, but one of the highlight’s of last night’s reunion was when Andy had Lee and crew read the housewives’ tag-lines that Kate had written for them. Hilarious! As the show draws to a close, Andy catches up with the Eros crew. Lee is always looking forward to his next charter season, and Kate can’t wait until she can take her job to intergalactic heights. Dave will start planning his wedding to Trevor once he graduates from college, Rocky will continue both cooking and stewing, and Amy’s got a new man, y’all! Emile wants to travel the world, and Connie declares that she’ll be a bosun as soon as Emile works under her. It shocks no one when Andy remarks, “Who wouldn’t want Emile working under them?” Emile smirks uncomfortably. Eddie announces his retirement from yachting to focus on a career in commercial maritime. Ben describes his most recent charter as a tough one, and thankfully we’ll get to see it as he’ll be one of the stars of Bravo’s upcoming Below Deck: Mediterranean. After a teaser, I will definitely be setting my DVR! The Eros crew concludes the intense chat session with a round of shots and a toast from the Captain.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE REUNION’S CONCLUSION? DID YOU FEEL SYMPATHETIC FOR ROCKY AFTER SEEING HOW EDDIE BEHAVED?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
