Below Deck Mediterranean Recap: Performance Evaluation

by

Joe’s journey to find love ended on a disappointing note. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to the drama happening among the crew! After the second night, Amy asked Joe to narrow things down to two women. He sent both Anna and Mariely home – Mariely actually felt Joe wasn’t wealthy enough for her anyway. Joe and Alicia shared a romantic moment on deck, and later, Alicia asked Kizzi to bring Joe to her after everyone else was asleep. The next morning, Cathy suspected Alicia had spent the night with Joe when she found makeup on his pillow.

Kizzi and Cathy are playfully discussing a recent drama involving Alicia and a crew member, joking that she was making her feelings clear. Just then, Ashleigh walks by, and unexpectedly, this turns out to be good for her screen time. The real issue, however, is Joe. After a romantic dinner, he tells both Ashleigh and another crew member that he wants to date them both. Neither is thrilled, and Ashleigh is especially upset, already bothered by his earlier comment about wanting ten children. She firmly tells him he can’t treat people like options and then texts a friend to coordinate dumping him. The next morning, she quietly slips away before anyone else wakes up – the perfect escape. The whole situation becomes juicy gossip among the crew. Kizzi, who witnessed the fallout during her shift, leaves a Post-it note in Aesha’s bathroom detailing everything for her to discover the next morning.

Joe awkwardly apologized to Alicia over breakfast for the weirdness of the night before. He was actually relieved Ashleigh left, as it allowed him to tell Alicia he wanted to continue seeing her without having to worry about hurting Ashleigh’s feelings. Seeing Alicia and Joe walk down the dock arm-in-arm was incredibly uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Amy seems completely baffled by how things played out. It’s hard to understand how she got her job—she doesn’t seem very skilled at it, but there she is, relaxing on a yacht with a burger and wine while everyone else is making a mess of things. I enjoy writing these recaps, but Amy definitely landed a great situation.

The crew is really enjoying the new, game-like approach to charters. A funny trend has emerged: they’re consistently losing guests, often ending the week with just four people remaining. Surprisingly, this actually makes the job easier for everyone. Sandy even asked the deck crew to skip setting up the water slide on the second day because the guests hadn’t shown any interest in water activities. Evening departures are going smoothly, and Nathan is pleased with his team’s progress. The relaxed atmosphere is so effective that the deck crew sometimes gets too comfortable.

Sandy spotted Max and Joe doing breathing exercises while they were dropping anchor, and it made her realize how much more enjoyable the deck has been since Joe joined the crew. She’d previously told Nathan that his biggest challenge as bosun would be building a solid, working team, but Nathan has been so focused on how much his team has improved that he’s let the usual order of things slip. For instance, the next morning, when Nathan sent Joe to get breakfast, Joe took a 45-minute break, leaving Nathan to cover his duties. When Joe finally returned, Nathan only got a 15-minute break himself. Joe then falsely claimed he’d been helping in the galley and cabins, when in reality he was enjoying leftover madeleines and chatting with the stews.

Nathan didn’t address Joe’s behavior immediately, simply saying it was okay. The situation worsened when Joe left the swim platform to check the deck, claiming there were no guests outside. This left the swim platform unattended for the rest of the charter, becoming a real problem. When Sandy realized no one was watching the platform, she tried to radio Nathan, but he was in the crew mess without his radio. Unable to reach him, Sandy went to find him, and discovered Nathan, Max, and Joe all together – a scene she described as something she “never wants to see again while working.” She emphasized that there should always be someone stationed on the swim platform, and the men looked like they’d been caught doing something wrong.

Nathan is upset with Joe for leaving, and Joe apologizes, explaining that he’s been coasting at work because his friend is his boss. While Joe recognizes this isn’t ideal, it remains to be seen if he’ll actually change his behavior – simply knowing you’re wrong doesn’t fix the problem. This pattern seems to be a recurring issue for Joe, and it’s also impacting his personal life. Ultimately, though, it’s Nathan who’s facing the consequences. Sandy pulls him aside and advises him to be more professional and less overly friendly. Nathan appears humbled and takes her feedback to heart.

Nathan needs to prepare the deck crew for leaving the dock, but they have to return due to bad weather – again. He asks Aesha for advice on leading the team, and she suggests he be more assertive, but still fair. Just then, Max contacts Nathan to say he’s on the swim platform. Nathan tells him to stay put, but Max immediately walks over to where Nathan and Aesha are talking, explaining he needs to use the restroom. Annoyed that Max is demonstrating the crew’s disrespect for his authority, Nathan sends him back to the swim platform, emphasizing that someone must always be there. Max reasonably points out he overheard Nathan talking upstairs and felt comfortable asking to switch duties in person instead of over the radio. Nathan seems to be overreacting, likely because he was already frustrated with this exact issue, and it appears he finds it easier to be critical of Max than of Joe.

I honestly didn’t expect Nathan to confront Joe until the following day. As the boat approached the dock, Nathan noticed Joe and V playfully flirting and gently reminded them to concentrate on the task at hand. Sandy commented that it was their best docking yet, suggesting spirits were lifting. However, later that afternoon, Max and Joe took a long break in the crew mess while V continued working. Joe realized they probably shouldn’t be relaxing together in that space, highlighting his tendency to be aware of issues but not take responsibility. When Max jokingly suggested they go to the swim platform – even though the boat was already docked – Joe just laughed and continued to relax. Nathan then addressed them over the radio, making sure Sandy could hear, and told them they needed to get back to work.

When Nathan finally finds Joe, he’s clearly angry and demands to know what they’ve been up to. Joe struggles to explain, and Nathan reminds him they need to report to the bosun first. Joe quickly backs down, but Max isn’t as easily intimidated. He predicts Nathan’s outburst, jokingly calling it a coming “storm.” This sudden shift in Nathan’s behavior is surprising – he’s trying to assert authority because he feels like he’s being taken advantage of, but it doesn’t quite feel genuine. He hasn’t yet learned to balance kindness with discipline like Aesha does. Aesha has a great rapport with her team, but subtly reminds them of her position by offering praise and gratitude, making them feel appreciated while still acknowledging the hierarchy. She manages to be both supportive and in charge.

During a crew meeting, Sandy expressed her disappointment with the team’s performance, but specifically excluded V from her criticism. The crew shared a $25,000 tip, earning each member $2,200. Aesha prepared extra food to celebrate Cathy receiving a promotion to second stew—it didn’t make sense for her to be a third stew given her experience, so now Cathy and Kizzi are both at that rank. While Kizzi can be difficult, she’s a team player. She handled Cathy’s promotion well, even though she was secretly upset. Kizzi recognized her jealousy and worked hard to keep it from impacting her job. Aesha was relieved by Kizzi’s positive reaction, and despite some personal struggles later in the night, Kizzi remained professional at work.

It’s frustrating to watch Joe struggle with his feelings for both V and Kizzi! He constantly talks about how devastated he’ll be if V gets hurt, acting like he has no control over the situation, and he doesn’t seem to consider that Kizzi could get hurt too. He’s behaving as if he’s obligated to be involved with both of them. If he finds it all so difficult, why doesn’t he just step back? He tried following Aesha’s advice and told V he doesn’t want a serious relationship, but he should have just been honest about wanting to be with Kizzi as well. V misinterpreted this as a warning, but still wants to pursue something with him – which is a bit much. Later, she even tells Kizzi she likes Joe! Joe then admits to his friends he’s scared of how strongly he feels for V, which is confusing. Why doesn’t he just date her? Seriously, what’s the hold-up?

This week’s romantic drama surprisingly focuses more on Max and the competition between Kizzi and Cathy for his attention. Kizzi’s competitive spirit towards Cathy definitely plays a role, but she and Max have clearly had a connection from the start. Max freely flirts with both women, seemingly unconcerned about causing any problems. He playfully teases Cathy about her appearance, even joking she was “made in China,” but then quickly checks to make sure she wasn’t upset. He’s considerate, but also openly admits to being attracted to Kizzi, particularly after she playfully jumped into his arms one morning.

Kizzi was overjoyed with the news and excitedly shared it with everyone on board. Cathy, however, was less enthusiastic, especially since she’d previously confided in Kizzi about wanting to kiss Max, and Kizzi had jokingly suggested a group encounter. Trying to smooth things over, Kizzi and Cathy decided to do face and foot masks together before going out, and they admitted to each other that they both had feelings for Max. But once they were at dinner, the competition began. Cathy made a clear effort to impress Max, even asking if he liked her hair. She then encouraged Kizzi to try to get together with Joe, knowing that V also liked him, suggesting it would make V less interested. It was a manipulative move, and Kizzi ended up kissing Max in the hot tub back on the Bravado, which wasn’t surprising considering Cathy’s behavior.

Okay, maybe I was a bit critical – she had a right to be annoyed, especially with that happening right in front of her! She vented to Aesha and then left the hot tub. Joe and V nearly kissed, but it didn’t happen. Nathan, who’s really focused now, skipped the hot tub and went to bed, probably thinking about Gael – he’d talked to him on FaceTime the night before for support. Honestly, Josh seems completely unfazed by everything. He’s just working and having fun, even stripping down to get in the hot tub! He didn’t have much pressure this trip, as the guests didn’t seem to care much about fancy food. Which makes me wonder… did he use all his free time to write that odd poem for Kizzi? I’m rooting for him and think it’s sweet he’s trying, but it feels like a long shot… unless Kizzi feels the same way.

Read More

2025-11-18 05:56