Below Deck Mediterranean Recap: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

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Last week’s episode was pretty dull, but things definitely picked up in “Bubble Trouble” with some classic yachting drama! It seems like charters always fall apart right at the end. While some crew members, like Aesha, Josh, and especially Sandy, are stressed about finishing the season strong, others are just happily counting down the days until they’re done. A disagreement over chicken nuggets throws Cathy and Max off their game, and both are unusually negative – Cathy by complaining, and Max by deciding to take naps whenever he feels like it.

This week, Max is still upset that Cathy interrupted their serious conversation to deal with a problem involving chicken nuggets. Cathy responds by getting annoyed at his annoyance, effectively shutting down any chance of a productive discussion unless he backs down. However, Max is notorious for holding grudges – he’s still bothered about not being made lead deckhand, even though that happened a long time ago. The next morning, Cathy makes a weak attempt at making peace, but she refuses to see things from his perspective and remains defensive. As a result, they spend most of the first day of their last charter silently angry with each other. Max tells Cathy he needs her to be emotionally stable – meaning he wants her to focus on important conversations instead of running off to fix minor issues. Cathy hopes Max will take the lead in resolving their conflict and “be the bigger person.”

After all the drama with V and Kizzi, it’s easy to forget how Kizzi’s string of flings started. Remember when she and Tommy broke up, and she immediately kissed Max in the hot tub, upsetting Cathy? It’s scary to think what could have happened if Max and Kizzi had gotten together. Now, Max spends his time feeling sorry for himself and even tries meditating. He complains to Joe about the problems with getting emotionally involved, and the two have a truly bizarre conversation that left me reeling. Max confesses to Joe that he doesn’t want to be with Cathy anymore, and regrets ever asking her out because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by changing his mind. Joe, rightfully pointing out Max isn’t an expert on relationships, explains that figuring out compatibility is just part of dating – like how the more time he spent with V, the less interested he became. It’s hard to believe how both men seem to think they’re above rejection or accountability, and that their actions weren’t genuine to begin with.

It’s frustrating that Joe continues to handle the situation with V so immaturely. While he’s correct that they weren’t officially a couple, acknowledging that he shouldn’t have made promises he didn’t keep – especially kissing someone else while V was dealing with the loss of her boyfriend on her birthday – would help everyone move past this drama. Instead, he’s playing the victim, complaining about feeling “like I’m in prison,” which is really getting on Nathan’s nerves. Nathan feels he’s grown a lot as a bosun, both professionally and personally, and he needs to distance himself from Joe’s childish behavior if he wants Gael to take him seriously. The contrast in how they view relationships is clear when Nathan tells Joe that Gael is going on a surfing trip with friends. Joe immediately assumes it’s a test of her loyalty, which puzzles Nathan – they aren’t even dating, he doesn’t expect to be betrayed, and frankly, the suggestion is ridiculous.

Things were already hectic, but the arrival of primary charter guest Jen DiLandro and her friends really turned up the heat. This group of stylish, assertive women from New York – complete with designer accessories and a no-nonsense attitude – knew exactly what they wanted and weren’t afraid to demand it. When an approaching storm threatened to delay their departure, they expected Captain Glenn to simply change the weather! Sandy, frustrated by their insistence on leaving despite the conditions, sent Nathan and V to take them out on the smaller tender so they could experience the rough seas firsthand. She even told Nathan to intentionally hit a few waves – a delightfully petty move. The bumpy ride wasn’t entirely negative, though; Nathan used the opportunity to show V the ropes of operating the tender, which she gratefully accepted, as she could use any kindness right now.

Dealing with demanding guests is stressing Sandy out, and Josh is the one who ends up feeling her frustration. It’s a lesson many of us learn growing up: life isn’t always fair. Sandy had already put some pressure on the chef before the guests arrived, hoping the meals would make up for the fact they weren’t going anywhere exciting. Now, after being sharply criticized, she angrily goes to the galley to complain about the guests receiving another family-style lunch. Josh is surprised by her reaction and points out that family-style lunch is typical on yachts. It makes the captain look bad to push this issue now, especially since lunch has been served this way all season – it’s clear Sandy’s anger isn’t really about the lunch itself. Besides, why would Josh waste his limited time preparing an elaborate plated dinner, as the captain requested, just to plate a few salads and sandwiches? This question will come up again later, but for now, Aesha tries to calm the chef down.

The pajama-party dinner actually makes things worse for everyone. Several guests seem to forget that the Bravado only has one chef, not a full kitchen crew. When Marissa asks for clams casino, Jen firmly tells her they’ll be having beetroot tartar with caviar and oysters – she can get clams casino back on land. Annalise, who’s proving to be the most unpleasant guest since Carlos, complains that her pasta doesn’t have truffles (which aren’t in season). To top it off, nobody likes the beautiful tarte tatin. Aesha hears all the complaints but tells Josh to ignore them, figuring the guests are just trying to be difficult. The biggest example of this is when Annalise asks for king crab legs for the next day before bed, even though Josh used them all for dinner, and she isn’t even the primary guest – it’s always someone other than the primary who complains. Annalise’s friend looks mortified.

Dinner service was pretty chaotic. The problems actually started before dinner even began, when Jen called Aesha to help with a bubbly mess in the bathroom. Jen had used way too many bath bubbles, filling the tub with foam everywhere, which the crew found hilarious. They didn’t mind the mess until they had to scrub off streaks of spray tan from the tub. Then, during dinner service, Cathy and others were goofing around in the kitchen, distracting Josh, who was trying to concentrate. He asked them to be quiet, and later snapped at them, explaining that their noise was bothering him. Cathy started to protest, but Aesha quickly told her to stop arguing.

The crew seemed preoccupied with their own things, which was likely why they were distracting Josh. Max and Cathy couldn’t find a moment to talk privately, and Kizzi and Joe were constantly flirting. Earlier, Kizzi had jokingly told everyone about a pact she and Joe made to get married if they were still single by a certain age – V happened to overhear this conversation. Feeling like she needed a distraction, V offered to help with turndown service. The guests were particularly demanding, so Captain Sandy asked the deck crew to assist the interior team. When Max asked Nathan to finish his shift while the guests were eating, Nathan was so frustrated that he simply agreed and let him go.

I feel so bad for Kizzi! She stubbed her toe really badly on the trash can and was in pain all day, and it’s gotten so swollen overnight. What’s really upsetting her is that the whole crew is going out tonight, and it’s her last shot to maybe connect with Joe – you know, for the show. Thankfully, Sandy is making her get an X-ray. Meanwhile, it looks like Cathy and Max are starting to fix things. Max finally apologized for overreacting, and they had a hug, but honestly, I’m not sure what that means for their relationship. Are they back together, or is this the end?

Josh starts work incredibly early, and he’s relieved when the yacht finally departs with guests enjoying a beach picnic. He hopes this will give him enough time to prepare dinner. However, when he asks Cathy to dress the salad at the beach, she’s surprised and upset, wanting him to handle it personally to ensure it’s done right. It seems unreasonable – dressing a salad isn’t complicated, and she could easily go five minutes early to do it. The author feels Cathy is being unfair, especially since it’s the end of the season and Josh is already working hard. Despite her initial reluctance, the picnic lunch goes well enough – it’s simple food like sandwiches and salad. Back on board, Cathy explains she was stressed about handling the salad and service, particularly because she’s been covering extra work while Kizzi is away. Josh points out that he also doesn’t get much rest, and the author wholeheartedly agrees with him.

While the guests enjoy the beach, Max decides to take a nap. V asks if Nathan sent him, but Max doesn’t respond. Later, V tells Nathan about this while picking everyone up, and Nathan gets annoyed. He’s even more frustrated when Joe admits that being told he and Kizzi aren’t allowed to be together actually makes him want to be with her even more. This comes after Kizzi texts Joe, worried they won’t get one last night together. The episode preview suggests Kizzi and Joe will give in to their impulses, meaning the show’s hopeful tone might depend on Sandy being reunited with her wife, Leah, who is arriving for the final night.

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2026-01-20 05:56