Below Deck Down Under Recap: Thin Ice

From my perspective as a fan, I’m firmly on Alesia’s side in the ongoing tussle between Lara and Tzarina. Her ability to gracefully extricate herself from potentially tricky situations is truly commendable. If only everyone employed by Bravo possessed her composure, we wouldn’t have such a captivating slice of reality television! Even in matters of the heart, she demonstrates patience: She’s not rushing into anything with Nate, who, throughout this episode, seems to be drawn towards her galley an innumerable number of times, attempting to flirt. I can see his appeal (though I fear that may be my undoing). As he himself admitted, he’s “a sucker for a cute charm.” Frankly, there are far worse things to be smitten by!

I acknowledge that my comments might seem critical towards Nic, as I find the character he’s portraying lacks authenticity or artificiality, which are two extremes often seen in reality TV personalities. However, it should be noted that Nic and Marina make a sweet couple, and their affectionate moments this week were heartwarming, despite the ongoing boat drama. Marina appears to exhibit an impressive level of care-free attitude compared to Alesia and even Adair, as she navigates various situations with grace and poise, avoiding many potential conflicts. For instance, her reaction to Wihan leaving her was nonchalant, and she handled Lara’s attempts to undermine her yachting experience with ease. Overall, Marina is optimistic, cheerful, and deeply in love with Nic.

She’s doing an excellent job with her service duties. When we reconvene next week, the entire team will be pitching in to assist Lara in moving the circus decorations downstairs. After a hectic spell, they manage to arrange everything just six minutes before dinner. The captain, eager to lead the charge, puts on his ringmaster outfit, mirroring Rebecca’s. By then, the guests have been loosened up by the strong whiskey sours Marina served them, and everyone is feeling the excitement that comes with wearing a costume. One guest decides to go bare underneath his hot-dog vendor costume, but wisely switches to shorts for dinner.

For dinner entertainment, the crew will showcase their circus acts between courses. Notably, Tzarina stays in the kitchen, sporting a small hat, seeming displeased as everyone else enjoys themselves. Harry kicks off the performances, dressed as a giraffe guided by Bri after the deviled eggs. The term “dressed” is used loosely since his giraffe attributes are mostly described by Bri’s words about his elongated neck. A contortionist act follows by Marina, and Nic impresses with a muscle man routine. Prior to service, Lara mentioned that she would leave her radio behind the bar since Tzarina wasn’t wearing her earpiece – an odd, unexplained, and seemingly ineffective decision for someone so focused on efficiency. This lack of direct communication from within causes Tzarina distress and further detaches her from the evening’s events.

During Alesia and Adair’s pie-throwing rehearsal for their clown act, Tzarina inquires from Bri about how long it will take them to serve food so she can coordinate her plating timing properly. Bri estimates around five to seven minutes; however, they finish much sooner – under two minutes. Although Lara doesn’t seem bothered by the three additional minutes needed to transport the dishes upstairs, Tzarina feels overlooked by the chief stew, which, as we know, is her deepest fear. In a private moment, she voices her concerns saying theme nights are meant for collaboration between the chief stew and the chef. “It’s not just Lara’s show,” she sighs.

As the evening winds to a close, with Nate, the magician, and Lara, the rabbit, wrapping up their acts, one might wonder if something more could have been arranged for Tzarina, considering all the food has been served. Jason is overjoyed with how the night unfolded, and so is everyone else, yet the crew mess seems to be in a state of disarray. Knowing that Alesia had agreed to clean up the mess, Tzarina requests the sous-chef for a quick check, but Alesia reneges on her promise, stating she’s overwhelmed by piles of dishes in the gallery. By the time guests are retiring to their cabins, Alesia is still left with cleaning floors and sweeping. This situation presents an opportunity for Tzarina to challenge Lara’s authority and delegate the task to a stew – I’d be curious to see how that would play out – but Alesia demonstrates maturity beyond our expectations, opting instead to communicate directly with Lara about her inability to fulfill the commitment. Initially, Lara resists, but Alesia is skilled at setting boundaries, and she makes it clear: “I can’t do it.

As the situation unfolds, it’s Bri who finds herself in Tzarina’s embrace, sobbing about how the night proved too much for her. From the start of their service, when Lara informed her that she’d have to switch cabins during each course, Bri felt overwhelmed by the fast-paced nature of the evening. The strained state of their relationship becomes apparent as Bri assures Harry she’s okay before bedtime, but once she’s in a cabin with Tzarina – not her closest shipmate – she breaks down immediately. Tzarina offers comfort and encourages Bri to seek solace whenever needed, without pressuring or offering advice.

Among all the actions the Tzarina could have taken – such as interfering with Bri in the same intrusive manner that Lara did with Alesia, or undermining Lara regarding the crew matters, or even informing Lara that Bri was crying due to the chief stew’s mismanagement – what she actually does is quite inappropriate. The morning events in the galley alone are enough to make one doubt her mental stability.

To start off, an unusual event transpires as Lara queries Alesia if she’s managed to tidy up the crew mess area. It seems strange since just over 12 hours ago, Alesia informed Lara that she couldn’t handle this task. Tzarina comes to Alesia’s defense, asserting that she would have to relinquish all her breaks to clean up the mess. Yet, Lara persists, insisting it only requires 15 minutes to finish the job. In response, Tzarina suggests, “If it takes just 15 minutes, then someone from your team could handle it.” Eventually, they continue debating until Tzarina mentions she’ll discuss it with the captain at a later time.

The second unusual incident unfolds as Tzarina and Lara engage in a heated argument about the scalding bowls. This quarrel ignites when Tzarina persistently demands assistance, serving breakfast sporadically. Alesia retrieves the bowls using oven mitts, which for some reason aren’t provided to Bri and Lara. So, one might wonder, what exactly is in these bowls? Are they filled with breakfast soup? Eventually, Lara informs Tzarina that they can’t serve the bowls because the guests could burn their hands on them. The disagreement escalates into name-calling, with Tzarina referring to Lara as a vixen and Lara retaliating by calling Tzarina a jerk. As things deteriorate, Tzarina alleges that Lara is tardy for her shift, causing the service disarray. This unfounded accusation, aimed at hurting Lara, is completely false.

In a wicked fit of amusement, the Tsarina informs Alesia that Lara wasn’t truly late, but her intention was to provoke her. Unfulfilled by this revelation, the Tsarina further escalates the situation by requesting to communicate with Jason via radio, so Lara would be aware of their connection. Jason consents to mediate a discussion between them later that day following his drop-off. However, there are contrasting narratives about their previous boat journey: Lara alleges that the Tsarina was dismissed for poor relations with the captain, while the Tsarina counters by claiming she departed because Lara took her sous-chef to serve as a cook/stew. Despite my inclination to support the Tsarina, this statement seems peculiar in light of what she later reveals to Alesia: that she and Lara have been companions for years and she “never anticipated” their friendship would deteriorate so severely.

Jason’s proposed mediation falls flat: Upon requesting Lara and Tzarina to remain after the crew meeting, Lara expresses no desire to reconcile, rises, and departs – quite surprising conduct! The team netted $1,770 per member from a collective tip of $23,000, with the helmet being awarded to Harry, who struggled with the anchor yet again. Instead of designating someone to help him lift or lower the darn thing prior to execution, so they could work together seamlessly during action time, Harry continues to instruct people as they progress, while also neglecting to keep Jason informed via radio during the process. Clearly, Jason is far from pleased with Harry’s performance as lead deckhand thus far.

Following her departure, Jason pursues Lara to her cabin, finding her on the verge of panic. She vents her frustration to the captain over Tzarina’s accusation concerning her tardiness – a charge that is justified given her diligent efforts – and her concern about Alesia’s sudden affection for the chef a few days ago, which seems to have replaced her previous tears – a point that may be debatable, considering reconciliation can often occur. Jason advises her that superiors should avoid heated arguments in front of crew members, and encourages Lara to take pride in her solid work, using it as a shield against such confrontations.

The atmosphere in the vans en route to the restaurant slightly brightens when Lara and Tzarina are apart, but quickly turns tense as they dine together. Tzarina attempts humor with Lara, but it falls flat. Bri pulls Lara aside to confess that Tzarina’s claim of lateness was fabricated to hurt her feelings, information she had gathered from Alesia in their cabin prior to leaving. Harry then sits next to Tzarina, who begins to cry, recalling the bullying she experienced at school from popular girls. We urgently need a therapist like Esther Perel or Dr. Orna to help mediate this situation…

Read More

2025-05-06 04:55