Below Deck

I so agree! I really felt for Delaney when she made the comment about "looks like I made friends with the wrong person on this yacht". It's sad when you see someone whose been taken advantage of, and thinks all along they're doing what they are doing for a friend.

I'd also love to see them send Lexi packing to save Delaney. I wonder if Matt understands how difficult he made that. If Katie were to tell her that based on her behavior she was being fired, Katie could come back saying her behavior wasn't any different from Matt, and she wouldn't be entirely wrong.

I also have to say, Matt is really pissing me off in how difficult he's making this whole thing for Katie. He doesn't seem to ever speak up when it could be constructive. Only after the fact does he say anything when it coudln't be acted on anymore. When Katie told him that Delaney was going and he responded by asking why she didn't fire Lexi instead, I would have smacked him. he did it to her last week with something too. He gets what he wants, and then he changes his demands to push just a little bit more. Irritating!

The one piece of the crew complaints about Delaney that I could undertand was the concern over tips being divided with an additional member. Whining about moving cabins is silly, but I can understand why they would take issue with getting less money - especially the deck crew and Matt who are doing the same amount of work and getting less pay for it. It's too bad that they didn't take that out on Lexi a little more since she truly was the cause of them getting less. And lets be honest, if anything is going to get through to Lexi, it would be realizing that her slacking is costing HER money.

Oh. I felt so awful for Lloyd. He is one of my favorites I love how the girls all have taken to him (minus Lexi, of course).

I agree with you acooker about getting less tips. I would have issue with that too. But again, deck crew has 4 members. Interior only has 3. Perhaps it SHOULD be more even.

It seems like it would actually have one crew member who is a deck/stew position. Have three exclusive to each deck abd interior and one who helps with docking when they do that and service for meals.
Why don’t they do that?

As much as I want Lexi gone, I do not want Delaney to stay. She is irritating to me and I guess I formed an opinion when I heard her say she amplified a speech impediment to get Cheerios as a child. I find her very off putting in many ways, albeit different than Lexi who is just vile and toxic. She may be ok in the 'laund' but in anything else, Katie (and even Courtney) will have to train her as she is SUPER green on interior. That would cause far stress and distraction, it is easier to just work out the last 2 charters on their own IMO.

As for the fight with Lexi and Mat, yeah both are to blame for the escalation that happened it is solely on Lexi for it starting to begin with, she took digs at him during David's speech when he was lightly roasting them, and she had to chime in with disparaging comments directed at Mat. Mat may not know when to let sleeping dogs lie... Lexi needs to know when to keep her big fat mouth shut. She should have been sacked when she laid hands on Zee, sexually assaulted Lloyd, and insulted/fought/got-in-the-face-of every other crew member. I do not understand how someone so intrusive and micromanaging as Capt. Sand-up-her-ass can be but still has NO flipping clue what a train wreck this person is. She can stand over poor Kiko and decide he isn't up to par as a chef in one meal but cannot see hat a plague on her boat Lexi is. ANY creditability she may have still had with me is gone after this season. If it were not for their next location I would seriously consider not watching Med's next season

On a lighter note however, BDA has finished filming their inaugural season! I cannot wait to see them in a cold destination, I wonder if there is any crew we may know.

You pretty much nailed everything, downsy! I agree 100%. With the addition of....I really think Katie should have brought Delaney back. Why not have an extra set of hands to run food, do laundry and clean rooms. I didn't understand that decision at all. It seems to me by the end of that charter Delaney at least had the hand of laundry which looks like could be a full time job. Let Courtney stick to the rooms and helping with service while you get to really focus on the guests. I guess we'll see but I disagreed with it.

Agree with everything that has been said, except for a little bit on David’s injury. Malia was questioning whether or not he could do things with the injury, which suggests that Capt Sandy should have known AND that he didn’t belong in the harness. I wonder if Malia had not given him that task if Sandy would have stepped in. There have been other things in the past (including Hannah) they’ve explained in terms of if there was an emergency could the person perform their duties. David’s mobility would have been impacted so I get why it was an issue. But yes Sandy had no business expressing that to Malia in front of David.

I do have to say because I slam her so often I was impressed with Malias leadership in this episode. I was impressed that she rode in the van with Lexi after the dinner and tried to explain why she was more of an issue than Matt. I was also impressed with the way she talked with Katie the next morning instead of drumming up gossip with other crew members.

Also totally agree that Katie was a bit bone headed not bringing back Delaney! If she came back and it turned out she was a distraction and that the only way she did anything was with Lexis oversight, Katie could tell her to stay in her cabin and out of the way. But not having her gives you nothing! I actually kind of wondered if producers didn’t want her because of her speech impediment.

Well that is because we may have had to see her admit this was already addressed by the 1st officer (and likely production) when it happened, lol.  As much as I do not like Malia I do not see her in the wrong here.  She was not there was the incident happened, if I recall correctly, ad it would also be fair to say it would be on David as well to report it to either Malia or the First Officer.  The First Officer would then be the one to fill out the report.  Sandy likes to be all high and mighty when it suits her, or gets her and her capris more camera time.  No matter who is at fault, no she NEVER should have scolded Malia like a 4 year old in front of her subordinate. Just another drop in the Capt. Sand-in-her-pants is a piss-poor leader bucket.  

That all being said, there are parts I do agree with when it comes to this situation and Sandy's views vrs. Malia's.  It may have been off hours, and not work related but it WAS boat related and the owners CAN be liable.  Malia never let this factor in to her reasoning when making her excuses for why she did not report it.  

With respect to Lexi, Mat, and Sandy.. No, I don't think she was more upset over his ultimatum than the incident overall.  I think she was just pissed she had to deal with the childish antics happening in her crew of grown adults.  When it comes to Mat, he may be odd and pesky but he can also be likeable.  He showed genuine remorse for his earlier acts, Lexi did not.. making the choice to say she 'did not remember' what she did that first fight. Mat CAN BE likeable, Lexi was not... ever really.  Lexi is simply reprehensible Mat can be creepy but he is only at his worst when you add in booze.. Lexi only needs to be vertical and awake to have her bad behaviour on display. 

As we have seen throughout the season, Mat only wants approval and validation he's done well whereas Lexi only wants people to respect her for the job she snacks and naps her way through. Sandbag is always going to gravitate towards the brown-nosers, and that is what Lexi was.  She knew who to suck up to... Mat made mistakes early on but, I don't know why it is, Chefs always get a pass or 20 because the good ones are always temperamental in this industry.  In the end Lexi was a liability and she needed to go.  Her bad behavour, not excusing or ignoring Mat's but her was worse, at dinner was deplorable.  Telling someone he should have been aborted, using the 'R word' with malice (and then on IG trying to say its not a slur in the Caribbean.. BS!).. Mat may have egged her on most of the day but it was her that poked at him first during David's speech.

I may be in the minority but I am glad Delaney is gone, she rubbed me the wrong way with her manipulative and fake personality.  She had already caused much contention within the crew for tip sharing, room moving, etc. Given Katie's anxiety and how it was impacting her  I honestly feel NOT asking Delaney to come back was best for her, the interior, and the boat.  However, now with David and his injury being front and center in Sand-for-brains mind, she may have her come back anyway to help deck. Then again, only one more charter left and she didn't come across all that stellar on deck either.  

It may have been caused by the fact Sandy forced her on Katie, and Katie reluctantly took her for one charter.. but her being there did cause contention.  Several crew expressed their lack of desire to move, and the tip issue was discussed openly among the crew.  Would these issues still be a factor were she asked back, no not really, but there is also the position Katie would be in as her supervisor or Court as he co-worker.  It is the last charter, why spend the time and effort to train someone on their duties?  She could just stay in laundry but that is not fair either. So then you are still doing the bulk of the work, and sharing tips with her, not to mention the fact that Katie was in the position to cut her tenure on My Michelle short.. it can make it slightly awkward too.  I still think it is the best move to move forward without adding her back to the crew. 

My point regarding David's injury was that it wasn't putting him in danger. If he had a rugby/hockey/soccer game, he'd most likely play. It was a nasty bruise. If it was anything more he would have woken up the morning after with massive swelling. That first morning, Malia asked him if he needed a doctor and he brushed it off pretty quick. David was also quick to volunteer for the harness, he wasn't worried at all. He was limping and it was stiff but if he needed to move quick I don't see anything that would have hampered him. Malia (who I don't like) was on top of it and asked the important questions. I think Sandy over-reacted to deflect from her having to fire Lexi...she didn't want to do that on TV. Matt didn't report his burnt fingers...Sandy came into the galley and saw it. I don't remember Sandy flipping out about him not reporting it.

I rate Katie has a solid leader, what do you do with Lexi when you report her behaviour to the Cpt and the Leadership Guru (thank you Beerbelly) does not endorse your assessment that Lexi has to go? Katie then had to deal with Lexi knowing Sandy wants her to stay? Lexi has brought up the Caribbean roots several times but I only hear American. Do parts of the Caribbean have American accents?

Another observation...the crew looked pretty much over Cpt Sandy when she had the "team" meeting in the galley.  I think Sandy's fake "you're all special" speech fell very flat.  Malia and Katie lead the applause because...well...we've all been there haven't we?  Certain leaders need that.

Matt did report his burnt fingers to Capt Sandy.  The reason she came to the galley and saw them was because he called her on the radio and asked her to come to the galley.  I remember because I was annoyed that Malia heard the call and scrambled to get to the galley too - always one to put herself in the middle of everything.

I totally agree with you on the point of Katie being stuck with Lexi because Sandy would not act when she should have.  Katie absolutely has some great leadership qualities.  But she's also got some weak spots, and her desire to be liked and to have everyone happy with her is one of them. She's the type of leader who will put hardships on herself to avoid people complaining about her.  That can be a great thing when done in a "I won't ask you to do anything I won't do myself" - Capt Glen displays that a lot when he does things like helping out with luggage.  But when it's done to appease people not doing their jobs, it's a problem.  Katie allowed herself to be swayed several times based on the feelings of other crew members.

downsey, I noticed that too that the crew just looked like they were just done with Sandy! I thought that was so funny.

I bet Katie would flourish under a captain that supported her and helped her. I think that having to work with such a combative person like Lexi made her seem like she was trying to be too nice, but she was walking on eggshells so as not to set Lexi off which would, in turn, affect the rest of the crew and their charter. If Sandy gave Lexi a warning on her behavior, it would have given Katie more agency, instead, she was told to 'woman up' and essentially twist in the wind. And I can see why she might not have Delaney on board, managing someone, especially someone who has never had that position before, takes time and effort. Scheduling breaks, and checking up on Delaney's work might not have been worth it. We will see....

So Sandy has a long history through the seasons of over reacting anytime a guest complains about the food. One critical comment and you'd think the boat could sink. But tonight, the guests complain but because Sandy liked her meal, it's all fine? Exactly who is the staff serving Sandy???

I thought it was cool to see how many of the crew are planning on renting a house together when the season is over - shows just how close they have all become. Normally after being stuck together for so long they're all running for their freedom. I wonder how much they owe to Lexi for unifying all of them.

Lastly - Delaney was in the audience for WWHL last night and they talked briefly to her. She was full of grace in saying she thought she should have been kept on but understood that it was Katie's decision and had no hard feelings. I think it meant a lot to her that both Sandy and Katie also admitted she should have been kept on.

Agree!  Malia is really bad at criticizing other people in hopes of making herself look better. She doesn't seem to understand that by keeping quiet when she could make a difference, her criticism makes her look bad. During the time Katie was deciding whether or not to call back Delaney, Malia would have been totally justified to have a conversation with her leader to leader to see what Katie was thinking. That would have been a great time to ask what Katie's plan was if anyone else went down. But Malia stays quiet in those moments when she could make a difference and then tries to portray herself as the genius who has 20/20 hindsight.