Do we think Sydney Zaruba and Alli Dore are going to argue over Gary King in every episode of Below Deck Sailing Yacht? Because that’s what it’s starting to feel like. Last week, Gary couldn’t believe the women were fighting over him. This week I can’t believe the fight is still going. When confronted by Alli, Sydney claims she doesn’t have “any tears in her soul” for either of the love birds…right before she bursts into tears over them. And despite all the drama, Alli still ends up in Gary’s bed for the night.
The next morning, things are looking up because it’s the crew’s day off! In every iteration of Below Deck, the crew usually gets only one full day off per season, so it needs to be taken advantage of when it happens. Dani Soares and Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux emerge from the master cabin in a hungover haze. Dani claims she doesn’t remember much of the night before. Including hooking up with Alli, which she chalks up to some drunken fun. And rather hilariously, Colin Macrae takes over the galley for the morning to teach Natasha De Bourg a thing or two about eggs. Hearing the chief engineer ask the chef if she knows what sunny side up is was easily the funniest line of the night.
Once the boat anchors in Split, it’s time to play! Captain Glenn Shephard‘s chartered a smaller boat for the crew to enjoy for the day. But all too quickly, the crew divides into the lovers on one side — JL and Dani, Gary and Alli — and the proverbial “haters” on the other. And the PDA on the lovers’ side is just…way, way too much. Both couples making out in front of everyone. In your face. Incredibly awkward. With no regard for anyone around them. Like Colin says, no one wants to see that! Seriously, get a cabin.
While the two pairs wander off to couple up, the rest of the crew stays on board for games and gossip. Now, remember a few weeks ago when Sydney joked to Gary that she’s “not here to destroy [his] life?” I’m starting to believe that’s not true. She proposes a question to the crew: if you could change one thing about the charter season, what would it be? All as the perfect excuse to reveal that she and Gary actually did have sex that first night on the boat. Daisy Kelliher is shocked by this admission. So it wasn’t just a kiss like Sydney and Gary have been claiming all season. According to Daisy, Alli‘s rightfully going to lose her mind when she finds out. This is also the second time Sydney’s casually dropped that bombshell to get back at Gary. If she’s one thing, the girl is utterly vindictive. Nothing like a deckhand scorned…
And Sydney‘s not done. Next, she drops the bomb that she’s been specifically instructed not to offer the interior any help. Yes, by Gary. Now, this isn’t technically true. He merely told her to go to bed at 11 p.m., even if there were more dishes to do. But it’s the perfect half-truth to get Daisy wound up. And plant one more seed in Sydney’s plan to turn everyone against Gary. It doesn’t help that 30 seconds later, Gary and Alli walk up to the group. And Gary immediately jokes that the one thing he’d change about charter is…Daisy. Like Colin tells Jean-Luc, get the popcorn.
After one more passive-aggressive tiff between Sydney and Alli over who’s crazy and who’s the victim, it’s time for dinner. And also time for Alli to declare that she’s officially done being friends with her roommate. I mean really, can you blame her? The girl is literally rubbing her hands together in glee like some evil Below Deck mastermind. The bad blood carries over into dinner, where Alli somehow ends up venting her frustrations to Jean-Luc, of all people. Of course, Sydney doesn’t take kindly to being talked about at the end of the table. Which leaves Daisy as mediator, telling Sydney not to react. And after a little more PDA from the couples, the crew’s day off comes to an end.
Back on Parsifal, Colin‘s quick to call out Gary for all the sloppy PDA. Not cool, bru. He also rather cheekily stirs the pot a little between Gary and Daisy by suggesting his bunkmate shack up in the girls’ cabin with Alli for the night. Or, you know, the rest of charter season. He also pokes at Sydney with the same suggestion. And it’s nothing short of hilarious watching him make her freak out. Like, she fully threatens to sleep in the bridge. Colin’s quite the charming little troublemaker, isn’t he?
Across the deck, Jean-Luc cuddles up with Dani for the millionth time that day. Earlier on the beach, she admitted she’s starting to take the relationship more seriously than just a boat hook-up. And now, he opens up to her about his struggles as a teen with being overweight. And how it made him feel about being unattractive. But now he’s lost 90 pounds and thinking he’s maybe ready for a relationship. Of course, during this conversation, all I can think of is the fact that right at this moment, Dani’s pregnant. Well, that and how I’ll never get over how hideous JL’s tattoos are…
The next morning, it’s time for charter number six! But first, there’s a little problem with the boat’s air handler units, which requires Colin to go ashore for some necessary supplies. And also, it’s the perfect time for Daisy to spill the tea to Alli that Gary and Sydney slept together. Of course, this news rocks Alli’s world. Now it all makes sense. This fight for Gary goes much, much deeper on Sydney’s part than she ever realized. And now she feels terrible for being a part of a much bigger problem. However, Daisy ends up giving Alli the exact same advice she gave her nemesis the night before: the more you react, the worse the drama will get. But she also tells Alli point blank to end things with Gary.
With charter pick-up hours away, Captain Glenn calls a preference sheet meeting with Gary, Daisy and Natasha. And surprise, surprise, we have a bit of a reality TV crossover! The next primary is Erica Rose of The Bachelor fame. (I don’t even watch The Bachelor and knew enough to recognize her. After a quick Google search, she competed on Prince Lorenzo Borghese‘s season back in 2006. Followed by appearances on Seasons 2 and 3 of Bachelor Pad. Which I guess was the precursor to Bachelor in Paradise? I just remember she wore a little tiara at one point. Right?) Anyway, she’s coming with an entourage of high-maintenance girlfriends with a long list of demands. Should be fun!
Suddenly, the wind starts picking up and disaster strikes. The port anchor starts dragging, causing the boat come way too far to the starboard side. And it quickly spirals into an all hands on deck emergency. Except with Colin off the boat, the deck crew is one man down. As Gary, Sydney and Jean-Luc dash around with fenders, Captain Glenn tries to start up the boat. But not before Parsifal’s stern starts rubbing on the dock. This is officially bad. And to make matters worse, the boat has no thrusters. The ship is dead with no power, no generators, no steering…and no engineer on board. But Glenn has no choice but to get everyone on board, release the lines and try to get away from the dock.
Gary races furiously to the engine room where, by some miracle, he manages to get a generator working. In the dark. By the light of his phone. But even with generators on line, the boat is still dragging the anchors. Gary jumps in the tender just in time for Colin to arrive via water taxi. And all he sees is chaos on board. The stern is all scraped up. Rope lines literally melted due to the tension. But thankfully the crew gets the anchors up and a worse crisis seems to have been averted. For now. Even Glenn inspects the damage and is pleasantly surprised it isn’t worse. He’s embarrassed it happened, but anything worse could’ve ended their season. Well, don’t hold your breath Cap…
Despite the emergency, the crew still has charter pick-up. So it’s quickly back to business as usual, prepping the boat for guest arrival. Dani laments that Jean-Luc only fits in the master guest cabin bed. Gary (smartly) puts Sydney on nights for this charter. And Alli‘s still stewing over the love triangle situation. She doesn’t know how to navigate moving forward now that she knows Sydney and Gary slept together. But when it comes time to anchor, the wind once again starts blowing the boat into the dock. In fact, the wind’s so bad that the bow and stern thrusters can’t off-set the force. As Captain Glenn backs the boat into the dock, something goes wrong with the engine. And just as the episode ends, crash! Parsifal smashes into the dock as the screen cuts to black.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK ALLI WILL END THINGS WITH GARY NOW THAT SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH? IS COLIN SECRETLY THE POT-STIRRER OF THE CREW? ARE YOU IMPRESSED GARY SAVED THE DAY? WILL THE CRASH END THE SEASON EARLY?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
