What does a ship do after it’s hit by a hurricane of hate? Sail on, apparently, if this week’s episode of Below Deck Mediterranean is any indication. I can’t be the only one who was shocked and downright confused by how quiet the aftermath of Lexi Wilson‘s late-night lashing out was…right? Especially considering watching the second stew shove Mzi Dempers across the galley at the end of last week’s episode wasn’t even the end of it. (And quick sidebar: how Captain Sandy Yawn managed to sleep through all the screaming and chaos is beyond me.)
Once Lexi pushes poor Mzi, David Pascoe steps in to put a stop to the madness. But that doesn’t mean Lexi’s finished. Instead, she launches into yet another ugly attack of whomever is in her line of sight. So now David is subjected to another verbal assault about his rank, his role as a deckhand and the fact that, apparently, the only thing he has going for himself is that he smells nice. Which I guess is a compliment, eh, David? Blessedly, the boyish Brit takes all of Lexi’s aggression with a healthy dose of humor. That is, until she starts toeing the line towards getting physical again.
At this point, Malia White is in tears. Lexi is openly daring Katie Flood to fire her. Courtney Veale is passed out drunk and missing the whole thing. And all poor Lloyd Spencer — the first person to experience Lexi’s wrath in the hot tub — is just trying to make his cup of tea. “How much noise do you want to make before you realize you’re wrong?” That’s the question David asks the raging stew, now in full-blown protective mode over his friends. Apparently, the answer is…a lot. Eventually, a slurring Lexi makes it to bed, still rambling about how she’s Satan. Katie wisely puts Malia up in a guest cabin for the night. And finally, finally, everything seems to calm down. Except wait! Only then does it dawn on the rest of the crew that their chef is still M.I.A. Where is Mathew Shea?
The next morning is thankfully a turnaround day. But no one knows what to do about Lexi. For her part, the second stew wakes up seeming…completely fine? She feigns ignorance of whatever it is that happened the night before. It was just a “little spat,” you know? But she doesn’t know what she should be apologizing for because she can’t remember what was said, OK? This is all news to Captain Sandy, as is her chief officer letting her know Mathew walked off the boat last night. And he’s still not back. So while Katie tries to fill her in privately about what went down before being interrupted by Lexi, Sandy isn’t super interested in the details. She’s more concerned about losing her chef.
To placate the situation, Sandy calls a crew meeting. She advises Lexi to listen to what the rest of the crew has to say, but instead the stew immediately gets defensive, laughing off their hurt feelings and acting like somehow she was the one who was wronged. I’m sorry. Has this show sailed into the Twilight Zone? On what planet does Miss Self-Proclaimed Satan not see herself as the toxic aggressor attacking everyone around her? And yes, that’s her new official pageant title. There’s not even a mention made of Lexi physically assaulting Mzi or bullying Lloyd. But Sandy just wants to force a kumbaya moment and move on. She calls for the rest of the crew to be compassionate and forgiving. To give Lexi another chance.
Sandy‘s move in this moment is so telling it’s almost laughable. Because you know who deserved compassion and understanding? Hannah Ferrier. Sweet Kiko Lorran. That’s who. It seems Sandy’s determined not to look bad again like she did last season, so she’s letting Lexi‘s behavior slide without actually listening to the rest of the crew about what really happened. About how they were hurt and bullied and both verbally and physically attacked. Not even what her favorite pet Malia has to say does any good, and the crew’s only recourse is to try to move on. So everybody’s totally cool now, right?
After the meeting, look who comes crawling back to Lady Michelle! Why it’s Chef Mathew, returning hat in hand (not literally) and tail between his legs. Mathew’s remorseful performance is actually kind of hilarious, because it’s immediately clear that he thinks his storyline is taking center stage. That the spotlight is on him and he’s soaking up his moment. Bro, you have no idea what you’ve missed. Your tantrum was a literal sideshow to the circus of crazy that happened after you stormed off the boat in a camera-slapping hissy fit.
Mathew‘s here to beg for his job back, but Sandy informs him she’s already got another chef waiting in the wings with two days left to quarantine. There are only so many times you can walk off a boat before it becomes clear you aren’t reliable and need to be replaced. That being said, the replacement chef won’t be cleared in time for the next charter, so Mathew can cook for one last group of guests and then he’s gone. He’s devastated at this hard line Sandy’s drawn in the sand, but what exactly did you expect? How many chances do you deserve to get after bailing over and over? And we’ve only finished two charters!
Later that evening, Lexi half-heartedly attempts to offer another non-apology to Malia in their cabin. However, the stew still won’t take any accountability for all the horrendous things that came out of her mouth, and even doubles down that the bosun was being fake about her dad’s death. Yikes. Also, it’s worth noting that the words “I’m sorry” never actually come out of her mouth. Not knowing what else to do, Malia puts the situation in Katie‘s hands. The chief stew tries to get through to Lexi, but the second stew is once again disrespectful, cold and dismissive. Cutting Katie off, she calls her mother mid-conversation to tell her she’s quitting. Now Katie’s retreating to her room in tears and Lexi’s made one more person cry.
Finally, the morning of charter number three arrives, but the mood on the boat has soured to an all-time low. Katie makes one more last-ditch appeal to Captain Sandy, but the latter once again brushes her off. In fact, Sandy even tells Katie it’s not her job to be worried about the whole boat. And instructs her to change Lexi‘s trajectory by investing in her. (Again, I could do nothing during this conversation but stew angrily about how Hannah and Kiko.) With no other choice, Katie hugs it out with Lexi while making it clear the stew has blown way past the line of her personal ethics and morals. She also forces Courtney and Lexi to switch cabins, putting herself in the position to room with the she-devil. Honestly, god bless Katie Flood.
The guests arrive, and frankly they’re a bit of an odd bunch. The primary bills herself as a “success coach” and she’s brought a number of clients on board with her for some sort of corporate retreat/reward. The one thing that becomes immediately evident is that she’s going to take demanding to the next level. Which is interesting considering her preference sheet didn’t contain any outlandish requests — just two cakes after dinner on the second night and a bunch of specifically-colored balloons. The primary’s determined to make Mathew‘s final charter as difficult as possible too. She sends him into a complete stress spiral by making vague requests about calamari. Except she wants other options too. And Croatian cuisine. But don’t tell her, just surprise her.
While the first lunch is relatively tame, dinner gets off to an odd start, to say the least. By 8:40 p.m., the primary and most of the guests are seated at the table, but two are missing. Typically, this means the interior will wait to start service until everyone has arrived. But the primary jumps the gun, asking for food to be served before the two people they’re waiting on are seated. It becomes even more clear that she has no patience when she asks for the food again exactly three minutes later.
The primary’s demands throw dinner service into a bit of a panic, with Mathew rushing to plate the first course before water and wine are even on the table. Then, after just four more minutes, she’s coming down the stairs into the galley asking why the food is running behind. Is this lady serious?? We’ll have to find out next week how many minutes it will take for her to start plating the food herself…
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED BY CAPTAIN SANDY’S REACTION TO THE DRAMA WITH LEXI? WAS SHE RIGHT TO BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT MATHEW? DID LEXI DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN SO QUICKLY?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
