Deckhand Gael Cameron is continuing her meltdown over her doubts about how much Nathan Gallagher really likes her. Chief Stew Aesha Scott tries to reassure her and Gael slurs, “I’m oKaY. We cAn gO to bEd~~”
Aesha escorts her to Nathan’s bunk and he tells her that he can’t wait to travel with her after the charter season ends. “I love you more and more,” he whispers. Could this boatmance really work?
The next morning, Gael acts like everything’s normal but she tells the cameras that she’s having doubts about Nathan because her last relationship ended literally five charters ago. “Everything happened so fast. I question whether my feelings are real,” she says.
Aesha gives the stews a little pep talk and praises Bri Muller for finally getting the laundry right. She tells Elena Dubaich that she’s been her table decorations have been amazing. Hooray for the interior!
Then, she says that the cleaning has been slow as of late and the new floater stew Carrie O’Neill knocked out the pantry in seconds. Elena’s eye starts twitching in fury.
Later, she helps Bri with the cabins instead of doing what she was asked to, which is to clean the stairs. “Just do what I’ve said,” Aesha says. After inspecting the boat, she sees fingerprints on the doors and tells Elena to clean them. However, the second stew goofs off with the crew in the mess and Aesha is done with the slacking. “For f*ck’s sake,” she mutters.
Jono Shillingford’s redemption charter
“Below Deck Mediterranean” Season 9 is almost over and past guest Stacey has returned with his group of gay pals.
Cooking for an LGBTQ+ group means a lot for Chef Jono Shillingford because he’s gay and a minority, so he wants to show them some extra love via his food. “Having a group of guests that are all queer, it’s really important to me to kind of feel that energy. And you know, these people are part of my community and there’s nothing I want more than to make sure that they’re extra happy,” he tells the cameras.
He comes out to check on the guests and they rave about the food. After Jono almost poisoned a charter guest by serving her raw seafood that she is allergic to, this is the win that he needs. Okurrrr!
Elena Dubaich fights for her second stew role
Aesha tells Elena to see if Carrie needs help in the laundry while Bri is on a break. Carrie tells her that she’s got it under control and doesn’t want Elena to mess up Bri’s color system. Elena has no one to boss around so she’s a bit lost.
While the guests are eating dinner, Aesha asks Carrie to sort out the pantry. Seconds later, Elena radios Carrie and Bri to help her with the decor. Aesha tells Elena that she literally just told Carrie to clean the pantry. “Copy, copy,” Elena chirps.
At this point, Aesha is annoyed as hell and she thinks Elena is pushing her second stew role as a power trip. “I think she’s doing it to try to show Carrie, ‘Hey, b*tch, I do have a little bit of power here.’ But guess what, Ellie. I’m going to swoop in and I’m going to put out your candle.”
While decorating for dinner the next day, Elena orders Carrie and Bri around. She tells them where to put the tasseled curtains, how to gather the balloons, and what to do with all the dangly things. “She’d be a great dictator,” Carrie jokes.
Bri is blowing up balloons and over the radio, Elena tells Carrie to help Bri. She seems to have forgotten that there’s a chief stew on board and it isn’t her.
Aesha Scott lays down the law
On the last night, the guests are having a Greek-themed dinner and everyone’s in their finest togas. Jono smashes it with some elevated cuisine and there’s to be a drag queen show. What can go wrong?
Miscommunication, of course! Aesha tells Jono over the radio that she’s clearing the dinner plates. After she does so, Elena radios Jono that she’s clearing so he’s obviously confused. Aesha tells Elena that she already told Jono that she’s clearing and the second stew says, “Oh, I didn’t hear. Yeah, I apologize.”
“She has not once the whole season said that we’re clearing on the radio. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. It’s too much,” Aesha says in a confessional.
Aesha has a talk with Elena who has no idea she’s been overstepping. “The job as the second is to delegate when I’m not around. But if I’m on the floor, it’s like, you’re not delegating,” Aesha tells her.
Elena looks confused and says, “That was unintentional … I would never disrespect you like that.” Flashback to all the times she bossed Bri around and held her second stew title over her head.
“It’s just really frustrating and it can’t happen,” Aesha continues. For once, Elena is stunned into silence. If a lack of self-awareness was a person, it’d be her.
