Welcome to Below Deck: The Musical. Or as close as we’ll ever get. We’ve got costumes. We’ve got refreshments. And like any cast of drama kids worth their show tunes, we have inter-cast drama in the lead up to closing night. Plus the incredible revelation that Eddie Lucas is really just a theater kid at heart. With a role as Toto in The Wizard of Oz on his resume! But first, we have to dim the lights and set the stage for the performance. Ready? Places, everybody!
It’s pickup day for the seventh and final charter of the season. And Eddie wakes up feeling worse than ever. After being guilted by Rayna Lindsey last week, the first officer is gutted at the thought that he hasn’t been a supportive boss. Or that one of his deckhands doesn’t trust him. So in an effort to rectify the issue, he pulls Rayna aside for yet another heart to heart. He’s apologetic and wants to do anything he can to earn back Rayna’s fractured trust. However, the junior deckhand couldn’t be less interested in Eddie brokering a peace summit with Heather Chase over the still-brewing n-word drama. Because of course she doesn’t want to resolve anything.
Next, Captain Lee Rosbach rounds up Eddie, Heather and Chef Rachel Hargrove for the very last preference sheet meeting. The primary is a realtor named Jennifer Yeo who’s bringing her husband and friends to the Caribbean all the way from Utah. Her dietary preferences are pretty specific. In that she doesn’t want to eat any type of cooked fish. Ever. Among their activities, the guests are requesting a white party, a jungle safari-themed beach picnic and a glitzy formal dinner for their final night. Simple enough, right?
After Eddie breaks out his macho boss persona to whip the deck team into high gear to get the yacht ready, the guests come strolling down the dock around midday. And this time, Captain Lee‘s letting Eddie helm M/Y Seanna for the entirety of the charter. Because of the swift turnaround time, the crew isn’t kicking off the charter on anchor with the slide and all the toys on display. Instead, the charter starts with a cart full of garbage somehow getting blown off the dock and into the marina by the wind. As Jake Foulger and Wes O’Dell rush to help the marina manager, they radio Eddie for assistance. And he leaps down to the dock, leaving the boat’s engines running with no one in the wheelhouse. Big mistake.
Once he returns to the bridge, Eddie finds a stone-faced Captain Lee, who’s very disappointed in his serious lapse of judgement. Anything could happen if you leave the motor running and no one at the controls of a super-yacht. It’s a big no-no. But rather than take his driving (piloting?) privileges away, Captain Lee uses Eddie’s mistake as a serious teaching moment. And still lets him take the yacht out of the marina headed for the Island of Nevis. Over their Mediterranean lunch (again with the mediterranean food? Do all these people not realize they’re on vacation in the Caribbean??) the guests couldn’t be more thrilled to be off the coast of Nevis. Turns out it’s the birthplace of one Alexander Hamilton. And (like a lot of people in Utah, actually) they’re huge Hamilton fans. They’re less thrilled, however, at Fraser Olender serving them “local water.”
While the guests get ready for their white party — a tacky and overdone theme in Fraser‘s estimation — the crew sits down for their own dinner. Yes, the whole crew. Which leaves not a single soul on service should the guests need anything. And of course they do. They want champagne to sip as they watch the sunset, but end up wandering the boat in search of a stew to provide the bubbly. Unfortunately for the crew, the only person the guests run into is Captain Lee, who’s fuming at the complete lack of service. He chews out the whole mortified table, warning them that such a rookie dropping of the proverbial ball had better never happen again. Or else.
For the white party, Chef Rachel‘s been instructed to serve up a “curated” meal featuring seven courses of different cuisines. But first, she serves chips and crackers for the guests to munch on. And neither Heather nor Kaylee Milligan bring the crackers to the table despite the chef’s multiple requests. This starts the meal off on a bit of an annoyed note in the galley. But things only get more irritating for Rachel as she sends up courses of Thai, Mexican and Italian food. At being served a plate of lobster ravioli, the primary is visibly displeased. Didn’t she say no cooked fish? As in (shell)fish? Never mind that you have to cook lobster. Or that no sane chef would ever conflate shellfish with a request for no cooked fish. It’s a mistake, and after three annoyingly picky charters in a row, Rachel’s sick of it. Let’s finish this season.
The next morning, it’s day two of the charter. And the morale on the boat can best be summed up as, well, exhausted and cranky. And somehow, Heather ends up receiving the brunt of everyone else’s grumpy moods. First Rachel snaps at her in the galley. Then Rayna refuses to acknowledge her as she sets up for breakfast. And even Captain Lee gets annoyed when she leaves a pirate costume strewn about the wheelhouse. (More on that in a minute.)
While the deck team sets up the guests’ beach picnic, she vents to Kaylee as the third stew braids her hair. And then, Fraser — who’s left on service by himself — gets caught in her crosshairs for coming downstairs to grab the guests’ lunch. Heather claims Fraser makes her leadership look bad when he refuses to follow a simple order. And in front of Captain Lee, as well. But not as bad as being called out by the captain for chewing gum.
All the pressure is riding on the beach picnic to turn things around for the crew. And at first it seems they’re succeeding, largely on the strength of Chef Rachel‘s food. The guests fawn over the conch salad served in individual coconuts. They love the wagyu beef entree. And their positively delighted when Eddie drives the tender onto the beach dressed as Alexander Hamilton to deliver their dessert of ice cream before heading off to King’s College. One person who’s not delighted, though, is Rachel. Because the guests aren’t finished eating and now the ice cream is going to melt in the hot Caribbean sun. Was there a mix-up in communication somewhere? She told Heather to radio Eddie to bring the ice cream in 10 minutes. Which is exactly what she did. But now the beach picnic could end in a melted, drippy mess. Next week, the season finale!
TELL US – SHOULD EDDIE FEEL GUILTY FOR RAYNA SAYING SHE DOESN’T TRUST HIM? SHOULD HE HAVE STILL BEEN ALLOWED TO DRIVE THE BOAT AFTER ABANDONING THE WHEELHOUSE? WHO WAS TO BLAME FOR THE SUNSET CHAMPAGNE DEBACLE? CAN THE CREW TURN IT AROUND BEFORE THE LAST CHARTER ENDS?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
