Below Deck<\/a><\/p>\nPier Pressure<\/p>\n
\n Season 13<\/p>\n
Episode 2\n <\/p>\n
\n Editor\u2019s Rating<\/p>\n
3 stars<\/p>\n
***\n <\/p>\n
\n With the first charter underway, the crew makes quick first impressions on each other \u2014 some for the worse.
\n Photo: Bravo\n <\/p>\n
It\u2019s built into the dramatic structure of Below Deck that the crew hardly has time to get to know each other before the first charter, so that work can be as difficult as possible, as soon as possible. Save for Moe, who works by himself, every crewmember runs into some kind of adjustment problem this week. Actually, everyone save for Moe and James, who has yet to look alive. The most we get from him this week is a tale about his full-back Thai tattoo, which he got on one of his previous six trips to Thailand, a detail I\u2019m shocked to learn on episode two. Despite not talking much, James\u2019s good looks are enough to make at least one woman cry on the crew\u2019s first night out. Though, to be fair, that\u2019s not the only time Rosa cries this week.<\/p>\n
It would take very little to make me cry if there were cameras following me around hoping I mess up on my job, so I sympathize with Rosa. But, as Fraser tells Rainbeau when they\u2019re setting up the beach picnic, first impressions count, and Rosa has unfortunately cried herself into seeming whiny. Her first cry happens after the beach picnic. Kerry is overjoyed to take the guests to a private beach cove with beautiful, dramatic cliffs that remind Fraser of Jurassic Park, but the guests are underwhelmed at best. It doesn\u2019t help that Fraser and Rainbeau set the lunch table only on one side, presumably so the guests can look out at the view, but the effect is that they can\u2019t talk to each other. In fact, slight guest dissatisfaction starts to emerge, coupled with some rationalizations: \u201cI know we didn\u2019t, like, move anywhere since yesterday,\u201d primary Kenny remarks, \u201cbut we\u2019re in an epic spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the guests are on the beach, Rosa tells Kaylee that her first days on the job have felt like \u201cthe birth of something great, and birth is ugly.\u201d That\u2019s the mindset with which she receives instructions from Rainbeau upon the latter\u2019s return to the boat. Rosa ostensibly doesn\u2019t appreciate Rainbeau\u2019s lack of manners \u2014 she doesn\u2019t say please and thank you \u2014 but I imagine what\u2019s really going on is that Rainbeau\u2019s directions are annoying because Rainbeau, younger and less experienced, is the one giving them. Fraser catches Rosa crying. She tells him that she can take direction from \u201canyone,\u201d but not if they use that tone. Later, with Kaylee, the truth comes out: Rosa says that Rainbeau acts too much the chief stew when she\u2019s only the second.<\/p>\n
Kaylee herself has other things on her mind, namely: deckhand Matt, figuring out how to work the juicer (the next day, it takes her 40 minutes with Moe\u2019s help to manage a few glasses of green juice), and learning the difference between a plate and a \u201ccharger,\u201d the plate you put plates on. Her flirtationship with Matt begins when he tells Moe, the onboard matchmaker \u2014 \u201cpool is too young for me,\u201d Moe explains, \u201cif I can\u2019t swim, I\u2019ll make sure everybody is swimming\u201d \u2014 that he likes \u201cKatie\u201d (he means Kaylee). Moe relates the news, and when Kaylee sees Matt, she nearly drops a tray of drinks. Hearing her say that she is a \u201chopeless romantic\u201d made me want to press a huge red STOP button that would activate sirens and sprinklers on the Azul V. This is not the man, Kaylee. At different points in this episode, Matt tells us that he lost $80,000 trading cryptocurrency and that Rainbeau being taken \u201cdoesn\u2019t really mean anything\u201d (as in, he thinks she\u2019s not attractive). It\u2019s giving manosphere. Save yourself, dear girl.<\/p>\n
Also, and perhaps most importantly, Matt has an attitude on deck. James likes Alex\u2019s laissez-faire approach to leadership, but Matt thinks he\u2019s too chill; he likes Kerry better, though he admits he has often clashed with captains. It\u2019s an ominous admission, given that Kerry later identifies Matt\u2019s arrogance as a potential problem for the deck crew. Like James, Sen also admires Alex\u2019s approach, though there is more to it than professional respect; she thinks his air of mystery is sexy.<\/p>\n
As the second day of the charter winds down, the interior team continues to struggle. Hanging out on the swim platform, the guests ask for chips and dip \u2014 Fraser refuses to serve them in the sun because they\u2019ll get \u201ctoo gross,\u201d but promises to have them on standby once the guests come in. Apparently hungry for chips, they come in right away, like kids ready for their pool-day snack. But the chips never come. Eventually, one of the guests resigns to the fact that they\u2019ll eat dinner soon anyway. I always side with the crew and think guests should demand as little as possible, but if you\u2019re vacationing on a superyacht, you are entitled to have chips with your beer. I mean, it\u2019s only right. These people should speak up!<\/p>\n
Like Rosa, who finally speaks up when Rainbeau tries to micromanage her table-setting later that evening. When Rainbeau dismisses the need for gloves to handle cutlery, Rosa puts her foot down and grabs them anyway, \u201cbecause that\u2019s my standard.\u201d You\u2019d think those would be Rainbeau\u2019s standards, too. At least they manage to set the places all around the table so people can look at each other. Kerry joins for dinner and is gifted a shirt to match the guests\u2019, who have worn matching outfits every. single. day. Also thankfully, Moe nails dinner. His food \u2014 tomato and burrata salad; lamb chops with carrot puree; tiramisu \u2014 looks delicious, and apparently tastes great, too. When he comes up to talk to the guests, they applaud and cheer. The captain is pleased.<\/p>\n
After dinner, the crew puts on a talent show at the guests\u2019 request. Jessenia and Alex do some half cartwheels and backbends or something. Rainbeau yodels horribly (Moe: \u201cI never heard yodeling before and I never want to hear it again), and Matt pulls a condom through his nose and out of his mouth (Moe: \u201cwhat the fuck?\u201d). It\u2019s all disturbing enough to send the guests right to bed. Earlier, Fraser told Rainbeau to watch her tone with Rosa, who is \u201csensitive.\u201d He also said that he had an undepicted chat with Kaylee about \u201csense of urgency.\u201d At first, Rainbeau has no time for Rosa\u2019s \u201csensitive English girl feelings\u201d and would prefer Rosa to have come to her directly, but, later that night, she asks Rosa if she did anything to \u201cpiss [her] off.\u201d Rosa admits to feeling patronized, and Rainbeau tells her briefly about her horrendous experience last season. She apologizes, and they hug. It seems like everything is going to be fine. Rainbeau goes to bed, and Rosa flirts with James for the rest of her shift. James feels some chemistry between them, but then again, he says, he flirts with everyone.<\/p>\n
In the morning, Kerry is on edge about the first docking. The current at the marina is strong enough to make whirlpools, and the Azul V doesn\u2019t have a ton of horsepower, so they need to leave early to beat the tide swings. The night before, he makes sure to tell Alex this. Still, Alex only has himself and Sen up early. They need to bring in the NautiBuoys and haul the anchor, a big job for only two people. Though she appreciates his trust, Sen doesn\u2019t feel fully prepared to be in such a high-pressure position. She and Alex fight with the anchor chains long enough for Kerry to come out to the bow. He\u2019s irritated; not only are they behind schedule, but Alex has also gone radio-silent. Kerry fixes the problem in 30 seconds only to realize, once they\u2019re leaving, that Alex and Sen left the anchor ball up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before they get to the dock, Sen stops by the wheelhouse to apologize to Kerry for the delay; he doesn\u2019t blame her and even tells her she did great. But he\u2019s not as lenient with Alex, whom he instructs to come up with a better system. Kerry gathers the whole deck team to show them how they\u2019re going to dock the boat. Hoping to redeem himself, Alex goes over the process in painstaking detail with the crew; he even draws a diagram. As he\u2019s talking, Matt interjects and takes the pen from his hand. Still, the docking goes beautifully, with the help of Kaylee and Rosa (a former deck\/stew) on the fenders. After the guests leave, Kerry and Alex debrief. Kerry tells Alex that they need to communicate better, and that he needs to keep an eye on Matt\u2019s confidence, which verges on arrogance \u2014 the captain noticed Matt\u2019s interruption when they were going through the docking logistics. I\u2019m loving this shrewd, proactive side of Kerry. When Alex retorts that he is happy letting others \u201ctake initiative,\u201d Kerry warns him that taking initiative is not taking over; there\u2019s a hierarchy for a reason.<\/p>\n
There was nothing in the guests\u2019 manner to suggest they were anything but happy with their experience. At the very last second, Christina tells the crew that though they \u201cbring great energy into their jobs,\u201d it\u2019s clear that they have \u201cnever worked together before.\u201d Everyone looks stunned. \u201cThat being said, the food \u2014 no notes,\u201d she amends. They still leave a decent $25,000 tip, which comes out to $2,083 each, but amazingly, no one brings up Christina\u2019s comment at the tip meeting, not even Kerry. In fact, he congratulates his crew on a great first charter. Instead of discussing the feedback, Kerry has the crew pray for a good season at a Buddhist temple. \u201cI\u2019m praying for money, love, and everyone gets along,\u201d Kaylee says, sounding like Bubbles.<\/p>\n
At dinner, Moe continues to matchmake, encouraging Alex to go for it with Sen. Both of them want to tread carefully because of their power imbalance, but by the end of the night, they\u2019re making out in the tuk-tuk. Alex tells Rainbeau that his strategy is to let Sen set the tone. Everyone, including Fraser \u2014 who is always puzzlingly encouraging his stews to get involved with crew \u2014 pressures Kaylee and Matt to make out, which they do, happily. That\u2019s two Moe-engineered couples exchanging saliva; Moe did advise Rosa to take initiative with James, but she doesn\u2019t like to be the one leading the charge. As far as she\u2019s concerned, anyway, Rainbeau got in the way. She sits next to James at dinner and flirts a little \u2014 just because she has a boyfriend, Rainbeau says, it doesn\u2019t mean she can\u2019t flirt \u2014 which annoys Rosa. But the real hurt comes when they continue to flirt at the club, even after Rainbeau has encouraged Rosa to go for it in the bathroom.<\/p>\n
Rosa\u2019s frustration is understandable; less understandable is the fact that she and James ride back to the boat in a tuk-tuk by themselves and she doesn\u2019t say a word to him. In her cabin, she cries as she tells Sen that she made it \u201cabundantly clear\u201d that she liked him, and only wasted time and energy. Someone \u2014 Sen? \u2014 needs to gently tell her that she made nothing clear at all, at least not when the cameras were on. I want to be on Rosa\u2019s side, but she\u2019s making it difficult. Meanwhile, Kaylee and Matt are doing things behind the closed doors of a guest cabin. She tells him that they\u2019ll be exclusive for six weeks, which is definitely precocious. It makes me so nervous that this obviously good-spirited, gullible girl is going to put her feelings in the hands of a guy who, in response, can only say: \u201cI have that effect on women.\u201d I need that red button, stat!<\/p>\n
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