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Before we can get to the goings-on of this week’s episode, I would be remiss not to mention the news that has broken out this week about Nathan’s arrest on domestic violence charges. He was arrested in Sydney on December 27 last year and released on conditional bail. The victim’s name is protected in the police memo, but Rolling Stone reported that a corresponding court case, with a hearing on September 1, shows that an apprehended violence order (the equivalent of a restraining order in the U.S.) was filed on behalf of Gael. No quippy thoughts to offer here — just a wish that Gael and Kayden are safe, wherever they are.
So far, season 11’s workplace dynamic and charismatic crew have elevated it above the low standard set by consecutive middling seasons across the Below Deck franchise. But that doesn’t mean the show is cured of its worst instincts, like turning people’s very serious, consequential life problems into entertainment. These are the same instincts behind the distasteful editing of Max’s father’s situation into a cliffhanger and the encouragement of Nathan and Gael’s crumbling domestic scenario; they are the same instincts that fueled the drama surrounding Hannah Ferrier’s departure six years ago.
Hannah, the original Mediterranean chief stew, returns for Aesha’s bachelorette party this week. Sandy fired her in the middle of a dark season for having undeclared Valium and CBD on board; it was a huge deal. More surprising than seeing Hannah at all is the fact that her presence was requested by Sandy, who left things on a very sour note with her former chief stew. They tell us that they have since talked and hugged it out, and have been nurturing a budding friendship. Healing, folks — it’s possible!
Since we last saw her, Hannah has gotten married, bought a house, and had a daughter. She seems very far indeed from her days sauntering in the south of France, where she once crossed paths with Max. Younger than Hannah, Max, who loves a “boobie queen,” had a bit of a crush on her — for her part, Hannah speaks to him in the lovingly admonishing tone a teacher might use with a rowdy but beloved pupil. Hannah arrives in Croatia accompanied by former stew Anastasia Surmava, who made Below Deck history when she stepped up to replace a chef for a few charters in season four. Like Hannah, Anastasia has since then left yachting, taken a job in finance, gotten married, and had a kid.
But all of this joyful reuniting can only happen after the charter is over. Thankfully, dinner on the second evening is much better than the previous night’s disaster: Joy works hard to meet every guest’s demand, Aesha stays up to help handle the service, Kayley knocks it out of the park, and the guests are finally happy with their meal. “Hell has frozen over,” Joy jokes. To put the cherry on top of these much-improved vibes, Joy makes Bunny a cake that spells out “Econ Club” in celebration of their financial literacy business.
As the charter winds down, having to consider Nathan’s bribe nearly destroys Max’s “cortex prefrontal.” Oblivious Gen continues to flirt with Coop. “You smell so good,” she swoons, which reminded me that it hasn’t been that long since she was in high school — what’s next, stealing his hat? Despite his poor judgment about the secret-romance thing with Kat, I’m still on Coop’s side, and I’m glad he’s ignoring Gen’s advances. I worried when he said that rejecting Gen too openly might “set off some red flags” (meaning, expose his continuing involvement with Kat), but by the episode’s end, I was reassured. “I’m not interested in Gen,” he tells us. “To be honest, I’m a little scared of her.” At least, Coop and production finally stop pretending that Coop doesn’t know that production knows about the secret arrangement. After Aesha’s bachelorette party, Coop and Kat cuddle in bed and discuss post-season plans.
Sandy docks at a stunning new marina that takes them closer to the venue for Aesha’s bachelorette, which she organizes with Gael’s help. Aesha deserves the pampering –– she’s carrying this damn boat on her shoulders. When Nathan calls to let Sandy know that the doctor has cleared him to go back to work, she encourages him to find a sitter so he can come to the party, too. Sandy is still impressed enough with Joe’s work as a bosun that she teaches him some bridge-related things before docking. The two of them are in agreement that he is ready to be a bosun, but they interpret that truth differently. To Sandy, it means that time will reward his efforts; to Joe, it means that he should get Nathan’s job, ASAP.
At the tip meeting, Sandy announces Nathan’s imminent return to deck and Aesha’s prompt return to the interior. Each crew member pockets $1,616 from a $21,000 tip. Sandy tells Joe, in front of everyone, that he might have “some things to show Nathan,” which is plain irresponsible given the precarity of the relationship between the two men. After the meeting, Joe hangs back with Max and Coop to list all of the several ways in which he is better than Nathan. He worries that Nathan will undo his new organizational systems, in which case he will “flip [his] lid.” Meanwhile, Nathan texts Max: “See you tonight, lad! Lots to talk about.” It’s unbelievable that Nathan would be sucking up to Max like this when it’s only been a few months since he was calling him a “little prick.”
If the deck team’s provisional arrangements have exacerbated their problems, in the interior, things are exactly as Aesha left them –– however mighty, Gen’s attitude is not enough to throw off the whole team, especially not when she’s busy trying to seduce her friend’s situationship. Kayley’s response to her temporary leadership role couldn’t be further from Joe’s: She doesn’t feel ready to be chief stew quite yet. Still, Aesha tells her she should feel proud of herself — things can’t go perfectly every time, and she held her own.
Aesha instructs everyone to wear all-white to her bachelorette party, which was shocking to this recapper of American bridal experience. Sandy goes ahead to meet Nathan and Gael, who decorate the table with cardboard fans with Aesha’s face (and Cup Noodles!) on them. Sandy shows Nathan pictures of the newly reorganized lazarette, the storage room in the stern. Amazingly, Nathan tells her that he had himself requested it to be organized in that manner. Honestly, it boggles the mind.
In the meantime, a party bus picks up Aesha, her maracas, and the crew. Aesha nearly explodes in excitement when she gets to the restaurant and sees Hannah and Anastasia waiting for her. Max and Nathan also have a cute reunion, but when Max brings up the bribe, Nathan tells him they’ll talk about it later. For now, Nathan resurrects his argument about not “trusting” Joe. When he first expressed this feeling at the beginning of the season, he sounded paranoid; now, he has a real reason to fear Joe will steal his job. Even then, his irrationality becomes all too clear when he says that Joe is no longer qualified to be lead deckhand. Were we all collectively hallucinating, or did we not just witness Joe spend a week proving himself very capable on deck? What exactly is Nathan’s plan? Demote Joe after Sandy has become googly-eyed at his skills, and promote Max, who hasn’t been onboard a whole week?
Aesha continues to shriek when the servers bring out noodles in personalized cups for everyone at the table. The crew, plus Hannah and Anastasia, go to the club, while Sandy returns to the boat and Gael and Nathan go home to Kayden. “Typical,” Joe scoffs, before going inappropriately berserk with the stuffed animals in the bus, and then with the inflatable dolls on the dance floor. Okay, to be fair, everyone goes a little cuckoo with the inflatable dolls on the dance floor. On the way back to the Akira One, Joe again wonders why Nathan is never with them on a night out. “Because he has a child and a wife,” Kayley responds.
Given that she can be so reasonable, the only explanation for why Kayley feels compelled to keep this situationship going with Joe is good ol’ horniness. They stay up until nearly 5 a.m. making out in the hot tub, and by 7:30 a.m., they’re up, showered, and working, all of which made me feel old. By that time, Nathan is already back onboard. He gathers the deck team to reset: On doctor’s orders, he’ll have to ease up on the physical labor and delegate more. Joe briefly tells him about their new inflation and deflation system, which Nathan seems to receive well, or as well as possible. It’s not crazy for Joe to expect Nathan to reject his ideas — the bosun isn’t exactly known for his openness — but he’s way overplaying his hand. Rather than walk Nathan through the improvements he made, Joe keeps them close to his chest. All he’d have to do is wait for Nathan to prove him right, but instead, Joe gives him reason to be paranoid. Despite his big talk, Joe has always shied away from confronting Nathan in any real way. The two of them have been locked into this game of chicken for two seasons; enough is enough!
Incoming on the next charter is luxury realtor Cassandra with her “thrill-seeking” husband Jeff and their friends, to celebrate Cassandra’s birthday. She makes sure to specify on her preference sheet that she has “intricate demands for service,” which is how we know she’s going to be awesome, particularly when Sandy isn’t sure whether potential rain will keep them from leaving the dock.
