![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/221abd5c0dcd766d22024aa2a42e6e716a-Below-Deck-Mediterranean.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
While there is no shortage of personal problems among the Bravado\u2019s crew this season \u2014 competition for and among the boys being the prime hurdle \u2014 they work well as a team to overcome that most quintessential of Below Deck challenges: entitled, demanding guests. When, at the end of a difficult charter that saw two full days on dock, the team racks up $40,000 in tips \u2014 $4,000 each, the most Aesha has ever taken home from a single charter \u2014 I felt a strange pride tugging on the old heartstrings, almost as if I\u2019d been part of it \u2026<\/p>\n
Though they are united on the work front, the crew\u2019s personal attachments are starting to fall apart. Kizzi pretends to be \u201cso confused\u201d about whether or not she wants to be in a long-distance relationship, but by the end of the episode, she\u2019ll have ended things with \u201cTommy boy,\u201d as V pointedly refers to him. She lets him down over an extremely awkward FaceTime call that should not have been televised, for Tommy\u2019s sake. He\u2019s the one who seems actually confused about being broken up with suddenly. \u201cWe\u2019re in a relationship, Kizzi!\u201d he cries out when she tells him she desperately wants to kiss someone.<\/p>\n
Kizzi\u2019s whole argument is that she craves the freedom of flirting guilt free, the last term being the operative distinction: It\u2019s not like she ever really held back on flirting. Alone with Nathan and Joe at one point, Aesha articulates Kizzi\u2019s dilemma: She\u2019s at a disadvantage compared to V \u2014 who also likes Joe \u2014\u00a0because she knows she has no right to compete for Joe\u2019s attention when she has a boyfriend. For his part, Joe is into V and Kizzi, but he doesn\u2019t want to repeat last season\u2019s mistakes and get involved with both of them. What is it about this guy that is so irresistible? Why does it work on V when he drunkenly tells her that while he likes Kizzi in a fun way, he likes V\u2019s \u201csoul\u201d?<\/p>\n
But all of that interpersonal drama can only surface after LaDonna\u2019s charter is over. When we pick up this week, Josh is so aggravated about Carlos\u2019s attitude toward dinner that he steps off the boat,\u00a0but in classic Below Deck red-herring fashion, he just needed a cigarette to recompose. Besides, everyone apart from Carlos loves the food; the guy just likes to complain. When another guest mentions that their afternoon excursion was amazing, he retorts that they were dropped off in \u201can undesirable neighborhood.\u201d Okay, Carlos! You are in a major European city! How about you make your own itinerary, and while you\u2019re at it, get some of your own food?!<\/p>\n
The next morning, the wind dies down enough for the Bravado to leave the dock and anchor out at sea. The stakes are high for the deck team; it\u2019s their \u201conly chance to give these guests the experience they paid for,\u201d according to Sandy. It\u2019s also V\u2019s debut on deck, so she feels the pressure to prove herself as they undock and anchor the boat. Unsurprisingly, she does an amazing job, showing more initiative and skill in the span of an hour than Christian and Tessa did in days. Aesha even tells Sandy that deck work seems to suit V more naturally than stew work.<\/p>\n
V proves herself able to handle the inherent chaos of the deck\/stew position: She turns up the master cabin while LaDonna has breakfast; then, when LaDonna wants to go for a Jet Ski ride, she jumps back on deck. On the platform, she does a knot that Joe doesn\u2019t know how to do. He asks her to teach him, which makes her very happy \u2014\u00a0not because her crush is crushing, but because it was Bon, her late boyfriend, who taught her how to do it. Bon was a veteran who served in Afghanistan, and he was strict when he trained her to work on boats. V feels like he\u2019d be proud of how well she\u2019s doing on deck. I\u2019m really rooting for her.<\/p>\n
Mercifully, breakfast goes by with no complaints. Just as things begin to improve, the wind picks up again. It becomes so strong that the deck team has to hustle to bring in all of the water toys. Max has a heroic moment when he jumps onto the tender just in time to stop it from floating away \u2014\u00a0by that point, the wind and swell are so strong that the clip that was holding it attached to the whip snapped. The guests think Max\u2019s performance is awesome, but they don\u2019t think it\u2019s so awesome when Sandy tells them it\u2019s too dangerous to stay out and they\u2019ll have to return to dock. At least, docking goes great. Nathan is over the moon with his new deckie. \u201cI\u2019ll take V working part-time any day over Christian and Tessa working full-time,\u201d he marvels. Sandy is similarly impressed.<\/p>\n
Aesha, meanwhile, worries about the state of the charter. The guests abscond to their rooms after docking, once again raising the point that they are in a major European city with a vibrant cultural scene and world-renowned nightlife. Go outside? Anyway, the dinner theme is high tea, and the guests have requested to \u201cend the night with a group dance led by the yacht crew.\u201d It\u2019s a good thing that Kizzi used to be a competitive dancer, and even better for her flirting strategies that she can use Joe as a dance partner. She comes up with the routine, which is as suggestive as you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n
For dinner, Josh follows the previous night\u2019s plan, which is to present the guests with three protein and salad options and 8,000 sides. Nobody thanks him after he goes up to the table to explain what each thing is, and Carlos doesn\u2019t miss the chance to complain that his breaded mushrooms are greasy. But Josh blows them all away with dessert, which he serves in a coconut bowl. It\u2019s a coconut puree with fresh pineapple, coconut and almond crumble and passion fruit sorbet, covered by a honey tuile (just typing this activates my tropical-bred taste buds). Josh tells the guests that he made the dessert for \u201ca competition\u201d the previous year. Another reality show? Where can I see this?<\/p>\n
The night continues to score points with the group dance led by Kizzi and Joe, who bring in Aesha and Josh to dance with the guests. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve seen a smile on half of these guests\u2019 faces,\u201d Aesha says. In short, the wind seems to have blown away any doubts about this charter\u2019s success, but while the boys gush about how good it is to have V on deck, Kizzi tells Aesha that she was ticked off when something wasn\u2019t done by V in the cabins earlier. She admits that the stress of the heavier workload is affecting her mood, but doesn\u2019t make a big deal out of it. Aesha promises they\u2019ll get more help soon. As soon as next week\u2019s episode, it turns out: Sandy gets a new stew lined up to join before the next charter.<\/p>\n
The morning of drop-off, Aesha and LaDonna have a sweet moment looking for a headband that LaDonna had left on her bed. It belonged to her late daughter, who passed away at just 18 years old in 2022. Aesha gives her a big hug and finds the headband in no time. Aesha\u2019s superpower as a chief stew will always come down to her ability to connect with people. When you Google the definition of \u201cpeople person,\u201d a picture of her should come up.<\/p>\n
After the guests leave, Sandy meets with Nathan and Aesha to discuss the V situation. As much as Aesha loved having her on her team, they all agreed that V seems happier and better suited for the exterior team. When they give her the news that she\u2019s switching permanently, V can barely contain her excitement. She even cries when she tells Kizzi, who seems genuinely happy for her. The high of a job well done only gets higher with that astounding tip, and by the time Josh is putting on his eyeliner for the night out, being $4,000 richer tastes like freedom. Kizzi tells Nathan that she is so excited \u201cto be a slut on a night out,\u201d and he asks her to let him know once she\u2019s broken up with her boyfriend.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t imagine the relationship between Kizzi and V won\u2019t strain over Joe, but at least so far, there\u2019s no hostility between them. Over dinner, Kizzi tells Josh that she met Tommy at an inconvenient time, because she\u2019s not made for long distance. Joe, meanwhile, summarizes his feelings toward Kizzi eloquently: \u201cWhen she smiles, my balls tingle.\u201d I felt for Max, whose standing in Kizzi\u2019s estimation sustained a significant blow after Joe came into the picture. \u201cNormally I\u2019m the exotic French guy,\u201d he laments, \u201cbut now he just come and snatch.\u201d Get it together, Max! What happened to being Napoleon?<\/p>\n
At the club, Nathan tells V that her work ethic reminds him of Gael. She spends most of the night dancing and talking closely with Joe, whose signature move \u2014 in a throwback to 11th-grade classes everywhere \u2014 is to pick girls up. Joe tells V that he\u2019s sorry about Bon. When she asks why he\u2019s bringing up her past, he tells her that he wants to say it before things go further; that he doesn\u2019t want to be the guy who \u201ccomes in, then ciao.\u201d Then he picks her up again. I\u2019m puzzled by this interaction. Is this his way of telling her that he means to split after getting involved? V tells us that since Bon\u2019s passing, guys don\u2019t really know how to handle her grief. \u201cI\u2019m not broken,\u201d she says. The question for us as we head into next week\u2019s Bachelor-style charter is: Can this bachelor learn anything from Joe?<\/p>\n
VULTURE NEWSLETTER<\/p>\n
Keep up with all the drama of your favorite shows!<\/p>\n
Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n