Bringing Aesha Scott home to star on Below Deck Mediterranean was a bold and “ahhhhhmaaaaaazzzzzinnnng” move made by Bravo. You see, Aesha last spoke about her bowel movements on BDM in Season 5. Following this, she received a promotion to the Chief Stew position. This saw her jumping ship yachts to star on Below Deck Down Under, where she has “lived” for the past (and only thus far) two seasons.
While leading the interior team on BDDU, Aesha’s bond with Captain Jason Chambers was so fun to take in. Honestly, it was one of the greatest things about this newer Below Deck spin-off. Even still, Aesha got snatched back. She’s now working again underneath her first Bravo boss, Captain Sandy Yawn.
I’ll admit that I am sad about Aesha and Captain Jason’s possible split. If she doesn’t return to BDDU, these two might just become two sexy ships, passing in the night. And also, this is what my husband and I call each other, whenever we both find ourselves rummaging through our pantry at 2 a.m. That said, after watching the first few episodes of Below Deck Med Season 9, it’s clear that Bravo made a great call, as Aesha is saving her former series in so many ways.
The numbers don’t lie
Boys might lie, but numbers (and Shakira’s hips) don’t. According to TV Deets, the numbers are up, as the BDM Season 9 premiere episode topped Season 8’s by a little over 200K viewers. As far as Episode 2 goes, this one surpassed Season 8’s count as well, by roughly 57K views. People are clearly tuning back in to watch this series, and Aesha’s return is likely why.
Aesha is bringing positivity back to Below Deck Med
Over the past several seasons, toxic crews have taken over Below Deck Med. Even the leadership has been ill-fitting. In turn, fighting, pettiness, and preconceived notions have all taken over, erasing any space for rational, calm, facts-related decisions being made onboard. Needless to say, this series has become rather difficult to watch, until Season 9 began to air, that is.
This is because Aesha has zero mean bones in her body. She leads fairly, and even when her feathers are ruffled, she stays calm. A leader like her is something that this series has been lacking for quite a while. And now that she’s back, BDM is once again easy to watch.
So far, Aesha has been able to find the good in her greener stews, even when issues have arisen. For example, when the charter guests alerted her to their missing clothing items and their long laundry turnaround times, Aesha remained calm. She then chose kindness in speaking to her stew about this matter. In addition, she handled the “never wake the Chef” storyline well, with fairness shown towards both parties.
Aesha also managed to talk their first charter guests down following a massive provisioning f*ck up. If you ask me, her honesty with them over her equally shared frustrations likely helped to soften their anger. Three cheers for newly-rekindled showings of positivity and all three of these belong to (1) Aesha (2) Jean (3) Scott. Her behaviors with the guests and the crews alike are already saving the future of BDM.
Aesha is also bringing back the fun
If you’ve been a fan of Aesha for as long as I have, then you’ve definitely seen her unfiltered, sometimes polar-opposite behaviors taking place. In one moment, she’s talking about anal sex and ball sacks, and in the next, she’s working extremely hard, doing everything possible to ensure that her guests onboard receive a 5-star vacation. This combination of a solid work ethic, alongside a general sense of WTF is she going to say next, is exactly what BDM needed. Already, Aesha scenes are bringing us such a breath of fresh saltwater-infused air.
We saw this after the charter guests departed in Episode 2. They were happy, but they did call out their frustrations over the provisioning blunders and the laundry room debacles. In turn, this entire crew was feeling a bit down and stressed. Cue Aesha, taking a massive poo and then running to tell everyone about its length and its girth.
Was this nast? Yes. But also, was it exactly what her team needed to help them all de-stress and laugh following their first bumpy charter? Well, that’s a yes as well.
In the trailer for this season, we also see Aesha twerking with Chef Johnathan Shillingford and joking about farting in her tights. Basically, she’s the literal definition of a hot mess. Yet, this is exactly what is needed to help secure the future of Below Deck Med.
TELL US – IS THE REHIRING OF AESHA GOING TO HELP SAVE BELOW DECK MED? HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT HER LEADERSHIP SO FAR ON BDM SEASON 9?
