Welcome back, Below Deck Mediterranean fans! Last week, Season 11 got off to a rocky start. Joe and Nathan are already fighting, as are Kayley and Gen, at least where Gen is concerned. But Joy nailed her role in the galley, so, for now, at least one department is drama-free. Speaking of drama, things are only deteriorating from here on the deck team, as seen on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11 Episode 2.
What happened in Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11 Episode 2?
Joe wants to prove himself, but Nathan is not having it. When Joe receives a devastating call from home, however, Nathan changes his tune, offering his former friend a shoulder to lean on. But life (and hotheads) move fast. One misunderstanding later, Nathan and Joe are back at odds.
Captain Sandy questions Nathan’s lead deckhand pick
Nathan needs a lead deckhand he “can trust,” so that rules out Joe. On the interior team, Gen knows she is “the most qualified to be the second stew,” because she has “years more experience than Kayley.” But Gen suspects Kayley is “vying for that second stew role by trying to be this happy little go-lucky cheerleader.” So, Gen does not “trust” Kayley.
Nathan assigns Cooper to his “first anchor watch, ever.” Cooper is “very nervous,” but as soon as the winds slightly pick up, he does exactly as Nathan instructed and wakes up Captain Sandy. “He’s so cute,” she laughs. She loves “that Cooper is this proactive.”
So is Joe. He woke up an hour early to take over the anchor watch. “Now I have to put you down an hour early,” Nathan says. He tells Joe, “Let’s just stick to our rosters.”
Then, Nathan heads to the wheelhouse. He wants Luke as his lead deckhand. Captain Sandy asks, “Why not Joe?” Nathan pauses, and then he says, “I trust Luke more than I can trust Joe.”
“You don’t even know Luke. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of your judgment when it comes to running the deck,” she clocks. Captain Sandy is “having a hard time” with his choice. She asks Nathan to wait until the second charter to make his decision.
A crashed tender and a disgruntled stew
Aesha asks Kayley to go ashore and set up a table for a picnic lunch. Kayley nails it. She returns to the yacht and tells Gen she “might do another vacuum.” Annoyed, Gen tells her, “It’s done,” so Kayley heads to the galley to help Joy decorate a cake instead.
But Kayley heard Gen’s tone. In her confessional, she admits, “Gen is giving kind of mean girl energy right now.” Making matters worse, next door, Gen starts making plans to up her assertive game toward Gen. “Don’t let it backfire, though,” Kat suggests.
Outside, Nathan’s plans are already backfiring. While assessing Luke, Luke crashes their tender. Looks like Captain Sandy was right, eh, Nathan? But shortly after, Cooper tells Nathan that Joe was complaining about him, which reminds Nathan that, while Joe might be the best equipped to handle the lead deckhand position, personally, that verdict remains out.
Regardless, that tiny crash made Luke hungry. Joy lets him have one of her extra steaks. But it wasn’t extra after all. And now, one of their guests has nothing to eat.
Luckily, Joy has another steak she can quickly whip up. But she still tells herself, moving forward, “It’s guests first. Lust after.” Also, “Don’t follow your boyfriend. Follow your dream.”
So far, I’m loving Joy. So is Aesha. But, Aesha jokes, Joy must have “a Ratatouille in her bun.” Her silly tone changes once Kayley pulls her aside, suggesting that Aesha move her to the cabins, to make Gen “happier.”
Aesha wants everyone to try their best, “wherever they are.” So if Gen’s already complaining, that’s not a good sign.
Giving fans a break from the drama, Cooper FaceTimes his grandma. He includes his bikini-clad guests, and one admits, “That just warmed my heart.”
Joe receives a devastating call
In the morning, the crosswinds pick up. Joe suggests a tip over the radio, but Nathan shuts him down. They almost crash, again, but thankfully, they don’t.
The first guests of Season 11 depart, praising Joy while leaving a solid tip of $25,000. Nathan asks if Gael Cameron and their son can come aboard. “Absolutely,” Captain Sandy says. “Auntie Aesha” squeals when they arrive, as does everyone else, minus Joe.
Joe quickly recovers. But then, he receives a note from home that absolutely shatters him. Karen, his mom, has breast cancer. In an emotional voice note, she tells her son that she will fight it, because “I’m your mom, and I aren’t going anywhere.”
Joe steps off to call his sister. Finally, something cracks in Nathan. He follows Joe and offers him his support.
Joe calls his mom. Their tears flow. Captain Sandy offers to connect Karen to a breast surgeon, and shortly after, this surgeon calls Joe and offers him her support.
The crew heads out for a drink. Luke and Joy flirt, which Gen, who also likes Luke, hates. At the table, Joe tells Kat that it was “crazy on deck,” seeing Nathan with his child, and also “Gael, who, me and Gael don’t really get along, I just went, ‘what the f*ck is life?’” Especially after that call from home, Joe says, which helped put things in perspective.
But all Nathan heard was Joe talking about Gael. And now, Nathan’s pissed, refusing to hear Joe out, ending Episode 2 on an unnecessarily tense note.
Below Deck Mediterranean continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo. It streams on Peacock.
TELL US – DID YOU WATCH BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN SEASON 11 EPISODE 2? THOUGHTS ON NATHAN’S LEADERSHIP? GOT ANY WORDS OF COMFORT FOR JOE? ARE GEN’S FRUSTRATIONS VALID?
