![\"Below](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/761f1478ac107964e03049c849cd4489db-Below-Deck-Mediterranean.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
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\n Gen\u2019s penchant for misreading the social dynamics on the yacht finally catches up to her.
\n Photo: Fred Jagueneau\/Bravo\n <\/p>\n
Another update on Nathan\u2019s domestic violence case, before we get to this week\u2019s episode: He has been convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentionally choking a person without consent, and common assault. He failed to appear at his court hearing in Sydney, and there\u2019s a warrant out for his arrest. It also appears that his victim, who was unnamed in the police report, is Gael; she hasn\u2019t responded publicly. Police in Sydney have encouraged those with any information on his whereabouts to alert the authorities, but not to approach Nathan. A Bravo spokesperson told<\/a> the New York Times that they do not \u201cplan on working with Nathan in the future,\u201d and also clarified<\/a>, to the Los Angeles Times, that they do not intend to remove Nathan from the current season.<\/p>\n The stale drama between Nathan and Joe was getting on my nerves before we learned of Nathan\u2019s crimes, but in that context, it\u2019s doubly relieving that this week\u2019s episode shifts the narrative focus away from their petty grievances. And to think that their friendship fell apart because Nathan, who \u201cwanted to be a better man\u201d for Gael, felt like Joe\u2019s immaturity was holding him back. In past seasons, Joe\u2019s immaturity was directed towards women; this time, it\u2019s channeled into his relationship with Nathan, who acts even more immaturely. Joe expects Nathan to recruit the new deckhand into his ranks; Nathan expects to do the same.<\/p>\n Our new deckhand is an Italian called Massi with 10 years of yachting experience. He has been a deckhand, bosun, and even a captain. \u201cI don\u2019t have blood in my veins,\u201d he tells us, \u201conly espresso, cigarettes, and stress.\u201d Love him immediately. Massi \u2014 with whom Joe feels Nathan is being too friendly \u2014 notices the tension between Joe and Nathan right away. He appears to have zero interest in it, which is another reason to love him immediately.<\/p>\n Gen readies herself to welcome Massi, though we know before she meets him that he\u2019s not her type. Despite being an apparently nice and hard-working person, Massi doesn\u2019t meet Gen\u2019s requirements, which, if you\u2019ll remember<\/a>, amount to \u201cConnor Storrie from that hockey show.\u201d Gen is the protagonist of this week\u2019s episode; it\u2019s tough to watch someone go through a teachable moment like this. I recently engaged in a minor argument with my little sister, who is Gen\u2019s age, that ended with her telling me: \u201cLet me make my own mistakes!\u201d Fair enough. Gen makes older sisters out of all of us.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve watched Gen back herself into a corner all season \u2014 unfortunately for her, she got here all by herself. She is so consumed by her unmet needs that she fails to see the context around her. For example, everyone on the boat and probably innocent citizens in Dubrovnik can tell that Kat and Cooper are still an item. Not only are they bad liars, but they are constantly giggling with and at each other. Besides, if you just ask them \u2014 like Aesha and Kayley do \u2014 they will say that they are \u201cjust friends\u201d with the biggest smile on their faces. Coop even admits to Aesha that they are \u201cmean\u201d to each other in front of other people so others won\u2019t suspect anything. If Gen just woke up to her surroundings for a moment, or dared speak with any crew member about Kat and Coop, she would find out that they never really broke up.<\/p>\n Instead, she tells Kat that she\u2019s \u201cglad things didn\u2019t work out\u201d between her and Coop, and rushes back to their cabin to say that she touched Coop\u2019s nipple in the laundry room. Kat, who is quickly reaching her limit, asks if she has to \u201cwatch out for\u201d Gen, which should set off Gen\u2019s alarm bells; but she retorts, simply: \u201cI thought you weren\u2019t into that anymore.\u201d Then, in a confessional, Gen says that she hasn\u2019t clicked with the crew, with the exception of Kat\u2026 and Coop. That makes her behavior all the more egregious. If she knows Kat is her only friend, why not be more considerate?<\/p>\n To make matters worse, Gen is slacking at her job. She still purports to have a sore wrist, but she refuses to wear her brace or get it checked. She also hasn\u2019t reported the issue to Aesha, or if she has, we haven\u2019t seen it. As the guests enjoy Joy\u2019s truffle gnocchi at their apocalyptic grunge\/Mad Max-themed dinner, Kayley radios Gen with a request to vacuum the primary cabin. Gen immediately passes the task onto Kat, citing wrist pain. Kat asks Gen to wear her brace and mentions that it\u2019s a problem for the team if one of the stews can\u2019t vacuum. When Kayley brings up the brace later, Gen says that she doesn\u2019t want to wear it because people will ask questions and she doesn\u2019t like \u201cfussing,\u201d a dog-ate-my-homework level excuse for getting off easy.<\/p>\n A DJ arrives after dinner to put on a dance party for the guests, who have a blast. Since being allowed to drive a Jet Ski, Jeff has been so seized with a lust for life that he cries while making a birthday speech for Kasandra \u2014 the same Kasandra he told to shut up on a rainy day. It\u2019s ironic that, in the first episode<\/a> of the season, Sandy and Nathan were cursing party boats, and now they are the party boat \u2014 by the time the guests go to bed, it\u2019s past 1 a.m. The boat is at anchor, so it\u2019s at a distance from other vessels, but even then, the police show up.<\/p>\n What a deflating reveal this was. The police come by to say that music is not allowed after 11 p.m. Gen and Massi are the only ones up, and Massi wakes the captain, who swears to the police officer, in a grade-school-like tone, that this will never happen again. The officer lets her off with a warning, and then everyone goes to bed. They\u2019ve been teasing this police incident for so long that I was expecting a much bigger deal. That said, between Max\u2019s ordeal and Nathan\u2019s conviction, I\u2019m glad this was just another Below Deck red herring. By the way: we hear from Max this week. He sends Sandy a video of himself with his father and a small dog driving through the desert. They made it! \u2026right?<\/p>\n