Trigger Warning: SA survivors should be wary of reading this recap, which includes descriptions of scenes which could be triggering for those who have shared experiences.
The end of the last episode of Below Deck Down Under was stomach-turning. Bosun Luke had climbed, fully nude, into the bed of a passed-out Margot. He didn’t have consent. When producers told him he must leave the room immediately, he slammed the door shut. He only left after more prodding from the production team. Here’s what happened in the aftermath, in our Below Deck Down Under Season 2, Episode 7 recap.
Aesha leaps into action
I was stunned. The women in my life? Not so much. And doesn’t that say it all? I’m not gonna sit here and mansplain how women must feel in this world. That’s not my story to tell. But I will say one thing: Laura seems set on pushing back women’s rights a good few decades, if not centuries. She immediately scurried to the guilty party’s side. “What did you do?” she asked. He claimed to be nowhere near her. Aesha climbed back into bed with Margot, and explained what had happened. She then filled Tzarina in on what just went down.
Meanwhile, Laura ran back to the jacuzzi. There, she was all over Adam. “We’re not sexual, right?” she prodded, while continuing to grab the deckhand. He looked genuinely pissed. Luke locked himself in his room, leaving Culver outside. Adam also tried to retire to bed, but Laura persisted. She offered a massage, and chased him down to his room. After climbing onto the top bunk, she complained it was too high. Production then also stepped in here. After rubbing a small amount of lotion into Adam’s back, she agreed to leave.
Knowing this was a dire situation, Aesha woke Captain Jason. She told him that Margot was “completely unconscious,” and that she felt Luke was “trying to take advantage.” Through tears, she recalled her own experience with sexual assault. “It was so f*cking wrong,” she said to Jason, and the two shared a hug. “I don’t know what would have happened … it actually makes my skin crawl.”
The monster is terminated
Captain Jason came to an instant decision. Luke would be fired. He retrieved one of the spare keys to the room, and got Luke out there and then. He was put up in a hotel for the night.
The next morning, Margot asked what had happened. She hardly remembered a thing. Tzarina wasn’t comfortable having Luke on the yacht anymore. Captain explained that there would be a crew meeting later that morning. Culver was called to the bridge, and given the deck plans for the morning. Aesha took Margot for a private chat with Tzarina, and broke down the events of the night before.
Margot seemed unsure in how she should act. She admitted feeling “stupid,” and started to blame herself for getting so drunk. “You are allowed to be drunk,” Tzarina told her. The women came together in a beautiful moment. This wasn’t ever Margot’s fault, and hopefully, she now knows that.
Laura shows just how vile she really can be
If there was a spokesperson for victim blaming, it should be Laura. As Captain Jason called the crew to their meeting, he explained that Luke would be terminated. “Our cabin is our safety zone, that door is our boundary.” Laura’s first question, was whether they would be allowed to say goodbye to Luke. That’s a hard no. Culver would become interim bosun.
Jason called Luke back to the yacht to pick up his things. Luke claimed he doesn’t remember what happened the night before. Some Below Deck Down Under viewers may question that. He accepted his firing, and is sent packing. “F*ck that kid,” Adam said in interview. “You’re a piece of sh*t to me.” He speaks for us all with that one, I’m sure.
Well, most of us. Laura was “so sad” Luke is gone. And who is she telling? Margot of all people. “What would’ve happened if no one had been there?” Margot said, trying to explain the gravity of the situation. “Poor Luke,” replied Laura, before suggesting he should have gone to her cabin in the nude so she could welcome him. She then suggested his firing was “karma” for sleeping with her, and then trying to get with Margot. “We all feel bad, but he feels the worst right now,” Laura said. Shocking behavior.
Aesha makes a stand
Having witnessed some of Laura’s behavior, Aesha spoke privately to Adam. She made sure he was doing okay, and told him she had his back. He didn’t want to get Laura in trouble, and questioned if he could be more assertive in his refusals. It’s odd to see the gender roles reversed here, but I’m glad editors showed it. This sort of thing can happen to both women and men. The levels are disproportionate, but it does happen.
Laura then questioned the severity of Luke’s actions with Aesha. In interview, Laura added: “It’s not fair, it’s not deserved, I don’t agree with it.” She is an utter horror show. To Margot in the laundry room, she made excuses for it. She said he was probably “just joking,” as he is a “sexual person.” It’s a disgusting tirade of remarks, and Margot immediately aired her upset with Aesha.
Aesha then went to Captain Jason, who couldn’t have been more furious. Everything Laura has done went against the meeting they had just had that morning. He spoke to Margot, and Adam, before terminating Laura’s employment. “I think it’s a mistake,” she told him. She was seriously questioning his judgment. Delusion at its highest level.
A weight is lifted
With Laura gone, Margot felt “so much relief … a weight has been lifted.” Adam initially felt bad, but doesn’t think he could have been nicer to Laura. Another meeting was called, and Captain Jason said the team is now one that respects and cares for one another. Margot felt lucky to have such good friends. Hopefully, the drama below deck from here on out will just be petty.
Below Deck Down Under continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo.
No means no. Every single time. National hotlines can help connect victims, survivors, and their support networks connect with local resources. For more information and resources, you can visit: https://victimconnect.org/resources/national-hotlines/
TELL US – WERE YOU SHOCKED BY LAURA’S REACTION TO THE FIRING? HOW HAPPY WERE YOU TO FINALLY SEE THE TWO TERMINATED? HOW PROUD OF THE PRODUCTION TEAM AND CREW ARE YOU AFTER WATCHING THE EPISODE? SEND MARGOT SOME LOVE!
