There’s no amuse-bouche tonight; we are catapulted right back into Jason and Storm’s one on one. Jason admits he’s been censoring himself and just isn’t clicking with the rest of the crew. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that, little J! Then he confesses he did not initially plan on quitting tonight, and I was confused. Did he quit or not? I know he told Storm to replace him, but I want to watch the raw footage from this conversation. Storm seems to be confused as well and beelines to Captain Sandy to fill her in.
Storm tries to keep it vague and professional with Sandy, but she (rightfully) wants deets. He comes clean about his shite attitude, and I wonder if Sandy is pissed Storm didn’t come to her sooner. This is a classic example of Storm trying to handle everything on his own when the situation could have benefited from some external guidance. If she is pissed, though, she doesn’t show it. She takes the position that if someone says they don’t want to be onboard, she doesn’t want them onboard. At the same time, their next charter is starting in T-minus one hour, and it’s for only a night, so she’s going to try to get him to stay.
Captain Sandy calls Jason to the bridge and they have a great conversation, given the circumstances. Again, points for Sandy! She compliments Jason’s work ethic, validates his reasons for wanting to quit, requests he stay for the final charter, but also gives her blessing for him to leave after — on good terms. Jason agrees to stay for one more trip, which, in my opinion, is the only option this late in the game. The guests are arriving in 60 minutes!
Maybe it’s the light at the end of the tunnel, but Jason seems upbeat throughout this entire charter. His rapport with the guests seems better than usual — almost cheerful! — and he’s helpful and easygoing. It bums me out that we only got to see this side of him as he’s on his way out, but I’m glad he’s ending his Below Deck journey on a positive note.
My one critique (sorry, had to have one) is that it’s weird he never officially announces his departure to the crew? Storm tells Mzi, who tells Courtney, and I think the rest of the crew finds out through the grapevine. Unless the producers cut it out, he doesn’t even say an official good-bye during their tip meeting post-charter, and he doesn’t join the group for its final night out. When Natalya asks everyone how they’re feeling amid his departure, Courtney blurts out that he should have at least told them all! I agree! Maybe he was too anxious? Maybe seething with anger? Maybe he’s just simply over it and doesn’t care about being standoffish? Whatever the reason, he owes them all (and himself) a good-bye.
As I said, Jason is chatty with the guests during this charter, and though I want to give him credit where it’s due, these guests were the breath of fresh air we needed to buoy us through the past few episodes of sludge. I want to take a minute to acknowledge Myiesha Griffin & Co! I want to thank them for their time and energy! No other guests deserved a surprise performance from Eurovision’s very own Destiny like they did. I want a looping GIF of Myiesha reacting to her roasted rack of lamb! “I feel feverish!†she says! How divine. I want to bottle that excited squeal one of the girls lets out while she’s Jet Skiing with Courtney. That was unabashed glee, and I want to mainline it every morning. I want to like the shit out of Elizabeth’s Instagram. I want to have a long conversation with Deidra, the Gemini. I want to rewatch Whitley the vegan telling Mzi the Libra he’s a beautiful being who deserves to be admired over and over and over again. In fact, I wish she could have saged the outside of the boat. I wonder if that could have helped Jason …
I wanted to pause and express my gratitude for these guests because, on the other side of the coin, things are looking pretty bleak. Yes, I’m talking about Storm making the catastrophic decision to tell Courtney and Mzi about the lead deckhand role while out and about.
Where do we even begin? I am hardly a proponent of corporate America, but Storm really could have learned a thing or two from some sort of leadership seminar. Storm has been fretting over whom to promote for what feels like weeks and, after talking it through with Captain Sandy, decides to give the lead deckhand title to Courtney over Mzi. This is a problem for Storm because he feels emotionally obligated to Mzi as his friend. I am also confused because I was under the impression Mzi has much more experience than Courtney does, but Storm claims he’s deciding based on performance and experience.
While out with the crew, Storm scraps his plan to talk shop the next day and decides to break the news at dinner. He ungracefully pulls the two away from the table because, in his words, he must have this conversation tonight. I really don’t see why it couldn’t have waited until the morning, but Storm remains insistent that he absolutely had to rip the “plaster†off immediately. Mzi is visibly disappointed and confused by the decision and says as much in his confessional. Courtney is ecstatic but also a little concerned because Storm’s a bit drunk; she hopes he doesn’t change his mind in the morning.
Back at the table, Natalya slams Storm for this decision. The thing is, even though I completely agree with every single thing Natalya says, she really loses all bargaining power by bringing it up right then and there. Storm and his little above-ear beanie get predictably pissy, and he storms (sorry) off, telling Natalya to fuck herself or fuck off or something. I don’t like this side of Storm and, unfortunately, think we are only going to get even stormier (sorry again) skies ahead … Especially with the addition of a new deckie.
From the Galley
• I don’t want to dedicate any more real estate to Natasha’s shitty boyfriend, but her reveal at the top of the episode about being terrified at the idea of being alone and using Dave as an escape was … dark. Even darker? Her meltdown with Kyle, in which she admits to feeling lost and wanting to run away forever.
• On the flip side, Kyle’s motivational speech is flawless: “You’ve got a job to do. You’ve got eyes on you. That’s your main focus … No more tears left to cry, only happy penises.â€
• We also learn that the owner of home has a connection to Maltese superstar Destiny, and I simply want to know more. The owner is a billionaire named Harald McPike. Are the two good friends? Does Destiny get to use the yacht at her leisure if it’s not booked?
• Jason referring to his man bun as a party pony? Good-bye …