It’s never good when someone goes to the captain in the “Below Deck” franschise, and chief stew Fraser Olender has had it with new stew Barbie Pascual. During “Below Deck” Season 11’s tail end of Episode 3, fans saw Fraser go to Captain Kerry Titheradge in the wheelhouse to vent about Barbie.
Episode 4 opens up with the “Below Deck” alum telling the captain, “Barbie thinks that we’re all now against her and I said, ‘That’s certainly not the case, however, you have been vile to me.'” Captain Kerry asked how the housekeeping situation was going, to which Fraser acknowledged that subpar work was their “first charter issue.”
Captain Kerry is not so quick to let people go and he asks what Barbie’s strengths are. Fraser reluctantly admits that she’s good at service and can be helpful to the interior if she stops with her janky attitude. Fraser promises to talk to her calmly. He should draw upon his English upbringing and use his stiff upper lip.
Barbie Pascual is used to being coddled
Meanwhile, in the cabins, Barbie tells deckhand Sunny Marquis, “I’m having some issues. Everyone on my team f***ing hates me.” She continues, “I feel so underappreciated. Like, I’m doing such a good job and all the guests f***ing love me.”
Viewers then get an insight as to why Barbie is Barbie. “I grew up with a father that just applauds me 24/7,” she says in a confessional. “Like, that’s what my dad does. ‘Barbie, Barbie, Barbie, Barbie.’ And there’s nothing that makes Fraser be like, ‘Barbie, good job.’ All I know how to do now is shut down.” She shows some self-awareness when she tells Sunny, “I just am not like, sweet and like, fluffy.”
Sunny is still salty over Ben Willoughby calling her out over the radio about not wearing a life vest while on a jet ski in the prior episode. “I got some past issues with men,” she says in a confessional. Like, who doesn’t?
Chef Anthony Iracane is preparing a meal for the charter guests. He tastes a bit of wasabi and immediately starts to cry, which is funny from a viewer’s standpoint.
Barbie Pascual likes Jared Woodin
Barbie reveals to Ben that she thinks bosun Jared Woodin is hot, despite alluding to the fact that she doesn’t think he’s good-looking. “I mean, all of my ex-boyfriends, sorry to say, look pretty bad. Like, I don’t really, I don’t think I go for looks, right? Not that he’s ugly. Jared’s fine.” Ouch. “Didn’t see that coming,” Ben says.
Ben, who’s totally not a gossip, tells Kyle Stillie, who also likes Barbie, what she told him. The deckhand tries to play it off with, “There’s no competition here. I mean, I’ve seen how Jared is. I don’t think she’s the type of girl to be blown away by cheesy pickup lines. We’ve definitely got a connection, me and Barbie. I’ve already won. She just needs to see that, you know what I mean?” That’s not the definition of winning, Kyle.
The crew gets ready for the charter guests’ vow renewal and marriage by a gorgeous waterfall. Barbie pretend-asks Jared to marry her, to which he responds with, “Woah, that’s moving quick.” Barbie needs to read the room. They both laugh awkwardly.
The guests arrive at the location and are pretty impressed. Captain Kerry officiates the ceremony and there are tears, but not from wasabi.
“I love seeing love, and I love seeing people so deeply in love after so many years of being together,” Fraser tells the camera, proving he’s not so jaded. “If I were to ever get married, I want a very small intimate group of family and friends on a beach wearing linen,” he says. Hopefully, there will be a stew on hand to iron out the wrinkles, because we all know what happens to linen in humidity. Fraser should know that.
Chef Anthony Icracane steps it up
After getting told he doesn’t make enough food for the crew, Anthony makes a “boofay” of food for them. “Oui, oui, oui,” he says, as he’s running to sustain their appetites.
The outing is successful and everyone is happy, including the crew. “Can I just say I really like you guys and I’m happy to be here,” Jared tells Fraser and Barbie. She responds, “Aww. Jared. You’re my favorite on the boat” in front of her boss, not passive-aggressively. Barbie goes to hug Jared and almost falls off her chair and they all laugh hysterically/awkwardly.
Anthony reveals that he has had a tough time with love after a woman he was with ended up going for his uncle. “You know, it was kind of pretty sh***y. So for the moment, I’m really in love with my cat.”
Cat Baugh is terrible at service
Speaking of cats, Fraser decides to put green stew Cat Baugh on service for the night, which Barbie is already foreseeing issues with. It’s apparent early on that Cat has no clue how to serve a five-star meal. As she’s carrying plates of food on a tray, Fraser tells her, “Put the tray down first. Always put the tray down and then you can grab your plates.” It’s obvious she never watched “Downton Abbey.” Mr. Carson would have had a conniption fit.
Cat fumbles through the dinner by dropping cutlery on the floor and awkwardly pouring Captain Kerry wine. “Quite honestly, this is a Cat-astrophe,” Fraser punnily tells the cameras. At least the chef is killing it with the food and the guests look happy.
The crew dishes out the wedding cake and Cat still fails to serve (pun intended). “It appears to me that she has not been trained well enough to be doing service tonight,” Captain Kerry says in a confessional. Captain Kerry and Fraser talk about Cat’s failings and they both agree she just needs some “polishing.”
After the disastrous docking in the last episode, the crew is sweating trying to dock St. David. Jared seems to have learned his distances and nothing dire happens, despite the ominous background music.
Jared Woodin has a daughter
In a heartfelt moment, Jared reveals that he’s a dad to a child he’s never met. “She said she didn’t particularly want me to be a part of things.”
“I haven’t met my daughter yet because, at the time that I found out that she was pregnant, it was a shell shock to me. I didn’t handle it properly, and I’m trying like hell to correct that. Like, I want her to get to know me. I want to get to know her. But it’s hard to sew back together a wound without leaving a scar behind.”
After their first charter, the crew made $22,500 total, which amounted to $1,730 per cast member. They’re getting ready to spend their hard-earned money on a night out and Captain Kerry is there to join them. Jared breaks a glass and then goes to the bar to order a shot of tequila.
“My last words are, ‘Be good or be God damn good at it,” Kerry tells the group. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hit with Jared, who starts getting sloppy drunk.
Ben and Sunny don’t know whether to flirt or fight. When she tells him that calling her out on the radio isn’t “cheeky” but more of a “dick” move, he attempts to tell her that he’s “Aussie, it’s charismatic.” Sunny responds, “Gaslight me all you want.” They eventually make up to flirt with each other.
Fraser Olender comforts Cat Baugh
In a confessional, Cat shares that growing up in a foster family has made her feel like she never fits in and always worries about whether she’s good enough.
On the island, Cat starts to break down and cry. “I’m sad and tired and insecure about my personality. I just hope I’m not, like, bland.”
Fraser gives Cat a show of loving sympathy and just like out of “The Help,” he tells her, “You are beautiful. You are fun. You are everything we need.” He adds, “You are my most precious stew on the interior.”
Too bad his convo didn’t go so well with Barbie, who told him, “You have a whole attitude yourself.” She must not know that the British have a hierarchy and she overstepped the boundaries. He tells her that if things aren’t done correctly, he’s going to get big-mad. “And I’m not yes-siring, no-siring, that’s bulls***,” she responds.
Fraser is not going to take the insubordination lightly and warns her, “You want to go against me, it’s going to be s***. So f***ing bring it or go home.” Ruh-roh, it looks like Captain Kerry’s advice didn’t hit home with Fraser.
