Ellie’s frustration boils over into a full-blown tantrum that threatens the galley for the rest of the season.
Photo: Bravo
What came first, Ben’s poor management style or Ellie’s ungovernable temper? This week’s episode, which picks up on Ellie storming off the galley right before dinner service, is mainly concerned with this chicken-or-the-egg dilemma. Daisy can see the conflict from both sides: Something is clearly wrong with Ben’s leadership, since this is the second person within the month to reach a breaking point, but Ellie’s outburst is impossible to justify. Only 15 minutes before dinner is to be served to the guests, she sets out to obliterate everything in her path. Slightly out of breath from stomping up the stairs, past the guests — who, as Daisy will tell Jason later, noticed something was up — Ellie tells Jason that Ben’s time mismanagement is setting her up to fail. More than that, the mention of the pet-name problem nearly brings her to tears. Jason reassures Ellie that he will deal with Ben; in the meantime, he tells her to get back in the galley, set her boundaries, and get through dinner.
No one, not even Jason — who is baffled at the galley’s sudden collapse — is more surprised at Ellie’s outburst than Ben. He is taken aback not only by her tone but by the fact that she exploded, minutes before service, “with no prior inklings of unhappiness.” It seems like Ben’s stress about getting dinner out on time –– an aspect he has been trying to improve –– rubbed off on Ellie, whose need for structure is not wholly unreasonable. Even then, it would have been one thing if Ellie’s blow-up had been a one-and-done kind of thing or led to a productive conversation about how they can better manage their time and dynamic. But when she gets back in the galley, she is still reeling. When Ben says, weakly, that he’s not sure he can “work with that energy,” she tells him to “get over it” and “quit whining.” Daisy comes into the galley and is shocked that anyone would speak to their manager like that.
I’m not convinced Ellie really sees Ben as a manager, or even as an authority figure. It’s starting to seem like she only thinks of Ben as her boss when it suits her. His use of pet names makes her feel demeaned because he’s her superior, which is a fair complaint, and also why no one else in the crew minds Ben’s rampant use of the word “darling.” But when it’s time to come to blows, Ellie faces Ben like an equal, unafraid to go against his authority and judgment. For a few episodes before exploding, Ellie had mentioned that she felt like she was the one managing Ben’s chaos. Maybe this impression hardened into a full-on rage she felt entitled to express.
As dinner miraculously gets out, the tension in the galley spills over into the crew mess, where João, Jason, and Eddy sit in an uneasy silence. Ben gets a second thought about how to plate dessert while Ellie does the dishes. He asks João for a hand resetting the plates, but Ellie barks at Ben that it is her job, which she intends to do. Later, as Ben takes a much-needed breather, Alesia validates Ellie by telling her that Ben’s demeanor is why she couldn’t last in the galley. I started to feel for the guy, especially because he puts in an honest effort to de-escalate the tension with Ellie. He tries to explain his earlier edginess by admitting that he was in his head about falling behind on dinner, even more so because Ellie was focused on other, also important tasks. So, he takes responsibility for his part in the rift. But when he asks Ellie to reflect on her own reaction, she literally yells at him that she was standing up for herself. Noticing that their conversation can go nowhere productive, Ben asks her to go to bed, but she challenges him again: “Do not tell me to get out of here,” she says, before repeatedly warning him not to “try her.” When Daisy shows up to try and help the situation, Ellie accuses Ben of abusing her (?). Ben is so shocked and rattled, he’s nearly speechless — and that’s something. Ellie finally leaves after Daisy orders her back to the cabin. “I may have lost control of my galley,” Ben laments. May have?
While that circus unfolds, Mike white-knuckles through cabins with Alesia. “You’ll be a stewardess in no time,” she jokes with him, after reminding him to keep an eye on toilet paper (which, earlier that day, she forgot to restock in one of the cabins) and side cabinets. Mike hates it when Alesia delegates tasks to him, and she does sound delusional when she says in a confessional that she thinks delegating is part of her job. “Mike needs management,” she declares. “I’m management.” Before Alesia’s big talk can make defending Mike too easy, though, he reminds us why he’s always on the verge of sending Jenna into a conniption. Marc and Clay requested red wine, champagne, and chocolates in their room after dinner. As they’re finishing the cabins, Alesia asks Mike to take that stuff up to the primaries’ room. He doesn’t think he needs a checklist and gets almost immediately sidetracked (“I’m so thirsty,” he reflects, then goes to look for water). When Clay and Marc get to their room, none of the stuff is there, and Clay has to check with Jenna about their request. “This must be done before he gets into his room,” Jenna explains wearily to Mike. Exasperated, she tells Daisy that it took Mike 20 minutes to find an ice bucket. It’s a good thing Clay is so nice.
As the crew gets ready for bed, Daisy and Ellie discuss the galley blow-out while João and Ben do the same. Daisy cautions Ellie that losing her temper won’t help anything, while João reminds Ben that if Ellie is so uncomfortable, she’s welcome to leave. But Ben worries that he’s creating a “hostile environment,” and texts Jason that he’s at a loss for how to deal with Ellie. In a confessional, he seems hurt about the whole thing and insists that he would’ve stopped using the pet names if Ellie had mentioned her discomfort. It’s easier said than done, though; earlier, during dinner, he had to correct himself from calling her “honey.” It’s almost like a verbal tic.
In the morning, Jason gets the scoop from Daisy, whose read on the situation is that Ellie definitely crossed a line, even if there’s something off about Ben’s management. Next, Jason talks to Ben to make sure he can get through the rest of the charter with Ellie, and instructs him to stop addressing her by pet names. As for the future of the galley, they will reassess in another couple of days. A little bit later, Jason calls Ellie up to the bridge. He is firm, if compassionate: her feelings are valid, but she has “an obligation to deal with [them] in a professional manner.” There are complaint procedures in place for exactly this purpose: she should have gone through the official channels instead of losing her mind, or, to use the technical yachting term, going overboard. Just as he asked Ben, Jason asks Ellie to get through the charter as best she can. They have a vow renewal to pull off, and Jason needs everyone to be at the top of their game.
But if it’s hard for Ben to focus even when things are going well, he’s even more distracted when things are a mess. Both Alex and Neshea send back their eggs during breakfast, complaining that they were too “watery.” They did look watery, especially the veggie omelette, but it’s also annoying that Neshea complains about her soft scramble, only to claim to be too full when Ben offers to make her a new plate. Why complain if you weren’t going to eat them anyway? Ben’s strategy for the day is to interact with Ellie as little as possible and put her out of sight by asking her to clean the freezer. “You can’t be offended if I don’t talk to you,” he reasons.
Life outside the galley, meanwhile, goes on. Alesia joins Betul on the beach excursion, which João plans to make as fun and long as possible to give the interior team time to set up the vow renewal. Daisy hopes that this special moment will redeem the interior’s mistakes — the panty liner, the toilet paper shortage, the delay on the champagne — and Jenna works hard at the sundeck set-up while Mike terrorizes her, cracking unfunny jokes about her decorations and generally being unhelpful. Jenna is frustrated at his lack of seriousness, and Daisy wishes her department would stop bickering for once. At least, the tension between Jenna and Eddy is dissipating. She begins to soften toward him again, and even jokes that one day, she’ll be setting up their own wedding. Daisy and João also get to test-drive the altar when Jason teasingly uses them to practice his officiant’s duties.
Ultimately, the crew gets it all done on time. Clay and Marc exchange touching, emotional vows, and Jason makes a nice speech. Everyone cries. The captain joins the guests for dinner, which goes well. Ben spends the afternoon buttering up Ellie and praising her cake-icing skills, and even gives her the task of decorating the wedding cake. By the end of the night, they’re congratulating each other on a job well done. The next morning, Ben aces the egg orders, docking goes smoothly with Eddy calling distances, and the guests leave tearfully and gratefully. The longer the season goes on, the more impressed I am at João’s reformed personality. He has addressed every mistake by the deck team gracefully and swiftly, and we have heard zero complaints from the deckhands about his management style. The deck team operates like a well-oiled machine.
Not the same can be said for the other departments. As Daisy is placing the feedback cards in the cabins before the guests leave, she finds a cleaning cloth in a nightstand drawer. Alesia is quick to blame Mike, but the editors show us evidence of Alesia wiping the nightstands with that same cloth only 20 minutes prior. Alesia and Mike’s constant absent-mindedness frustrates Jenna and Daisy. Ben and Ellie, meanwhile, sit down for a post-mortem. Jason is so concerned about the galley problem that he calls Ben and Ellie to the bridge before the tip meeting. He reminds them he’s not afraid to make changes if needed, but wants them to find common ground and learn how to talk to each other. So, he leaves Ben and Ellie alone on the bridge to figure it out. It’s a tactic I recognize from growing up: You won’t leave this room until you’re friends again. It worked for my sisters and me, with one glaring difference: I love them. I don’t think we can say the same for Ben and Ellie.
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