Bosun Nathan Gallagher is back for another season of Below Deck Mediterranean. But this season, Nathan is not coming across well, to the point where fans are suggesting he might be the new villain of Season 11.
We are only two episodes into Season 11, yet Nathan is already making decisions that have viewers second-guessing his leadership abilities. Most of his choices so far have centered around his ongoing feud with Joe Bradley, which fans suggest makes things personal rather than professional. But on the professional side, Nathan is not exactly faring well there either.
During Episode 1, while running a practice docking ahead of their first charter, a loud party was happening on a nearby yacht. As a result, Captain Sandy Yawn could not hear Nathan over their radios, but she kept backing in nonetheless, and the yacht crashed. Thankfully, the damages were minimal, and since this mistake involved multiple people, herself included, Captain Sandy showed Nathan grace instead of the door. So, on this, fans are mostly showing Nathan grace as well.
But personally speaking, that’s a whole other story. And if Nathan continues to behave as he is, his personal issues could soon bleed into his professional life as well.
Nathan Gallagher came into Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11 with a grudge
Nathan and Joe used to be close. But that all changed in Season 10, after Joe got involved in a love triangle with a vulnerable stew. Not helping matters, Nathan was trying to make things work with Gael Cameron during Season 10. Meanwhile, Gael and Joe had their own beefs to contend with, so that made it even harder for Nathan to support Joe.
As a result, Nathan came into Season 11 with a grudge. In the first episode, he explained, “Coming toward the end of last season, the way he was treating women was f*cked. I haven’t talked to [Joe] since.” Shortly after, Nathan spotted Joe walking down the pier, but instead of waiting to greet him, Nathan went inside, only to later give Joe a semi-cold shoulder once they finally came face-to-face.
For fairness’s sake, Joe has already made several cheeky comments that would likely set anyone off. He wants to be the bosun one day, so he is clocking every mistake Nathan makes. That said, Joe does know his stuff. Professionally speaking, in the years we have known Joe, his mistakes have been minimal, but even still, Nathan’s grudge is strong enough to overlook this fact, and in turn, things are starting to fall apart for the Season 11 deck team.
The bosun’s attitude is already causing concern on Below Deck Med
This season, Nathan has Joe and two green deckhands rounding out his team. The way these men tower over Nathan and Joe is comedy at its finest. Joe also clocked this once they were all standing together on the deck. However, the not-so-funny part quickly followed, once Nathan started placing his feelings above the safety of the boat.
In Episode 2, Nathan noted his need for a lead deckhand that he could “trust.” Joe is the most capable person for the job. So, when Nathan told Captain Sandy about his decision to choose Luke Brumer instead, she took a shocked beat. And then she asked, “Why not Joe?”
Nathan paused before admitting, “I trust Luke more than I can trust Joe.” But as Captain Sandy pointed out, Nathan does not “even know Luke.” She pleaded, “Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of your judgment when it comes to running the deck.”
Captain Sandy further noted that she was “having a hard time” with his choice. She asked Nathan to wait until the second charter to make his decision. Nathan thankfully obliged her request.
Several beats later, Luke crashed their tender, and Nathan realized she was right. But on top of this misguided decision, Nathan is also refusing to hear Joe out. Instead of listening to his experienced colleague, Nathan is taking everything Joe says or does as a personal attack, which could cause another crash, as it almost did when Joe twice radioed for fenders on the starboard during another docking. His defensive responses are starting to make Nathan appear as the villain of his team, especially when you look at what happened during the tail end of the last episode.
Nathan jumped to conclusions about Joe Bradley even after the latter’s bad news
Midway through Episode 2, Joe received devastating news. Karen, his mom, had breast cancer. Needing space, Joe walked off the yacht to play her voicemail.
In her message, Karen told her son that she was going to fight. “I’m your mom, and I aren’t going anywhere,” she bravely said. Joe called his mum, and together, they cried. Then, for a brief, full-circle moment, Nathan laid down his swords and comforted his former friend.
Sadly, only a few hours later, Nathan once again jumped to conclusions about Joe. During a night out, Joe told another yachtie that it was “crazy on deck” that day, 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 stressed, which helped put things in perspective.
But all Nathan heard was Joe talking about Gael. He blew up, and the fans hated it. On Reddit, viewers are now calling Nathan out for his “serious maturity issues.”
In their own words, Nathan’s “level of animosity on display seems a bit extreme.” Therefore, “Nathan sucks more than Joe at this point.”
Below Deck Mediterranean is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – IS NATHAN THE EMERGING VILLAIN OF BELOW DECK MED SEASON 11? CAN HE STILL TURN THINGS AROUND, IF SO?
