At the end of last weekâs Below Deck Mediterranean, we didnât even know if the primary guestsâ upcoming wedding was even going to happen. Quick recap: the entire charter had been one disaster after another. The crew was operating on pure adrenaline while still getting their sea legs under them. The whole first charter was leading up to one thing: a Mediterranean wedding officiated by Captain Sandy Yawn. And the crew did get things more under control by the second day. But then the soon-to-be bride and groom started fighting. The argument escalated to the point that the groom called off the wedding, storming out of the cabin and leaving and eavesdropping Katie Flood scampering for cover.
The fight carries into the rest of the night. (Though itâs unclear whether the bride ever made good on her threat to call her fiancĂŠâs mother. I need to know.) Lexi Wilson is left to eavesdrop on the argument during the late shift. And by the time everyone heads to bed, itâs unclear what will happen the following day. Holy matrimony is officially up in the air, people. Bright and early the next morning, the mood has quieted to an angry simmer. The tension during breakfast is palpable. The groom is overcompensating with jokes while the bride sits silently, brooding over her eggs Benedict. Finally, Katieâs forced to break the ice and ask if the crewâs planning a wedding. The couple tersely agrees to a sunset ceremony.
However, the signs immediately point to catastrophe looming over the day. Lightning strikes meters away from the boat during breakfast. On the way to their anchorage in Srima, the boat is up against 25 knots of wind. Captain Sandy warns the crew theyâre definitely going to feel the waves. I mean, choppy is an understatement. The guests are literally being tossed around the jacuzzi like rag dolls. Soon enough, Sandy gets word that going ashore for the wedding will be impossible on account of the bad weather. Rather than atop an ancient Croatian fortress, the ceremony will have to take place on board Lady Michelle.
As the deck crew assembles wedding decor in the laz, Malia White asks how long everyoneâs been single. Mzi Dempersâ reply? Basically his entire life. Then David Pascoe recounts the epic betrayal of his last boatmance a year and a half ago. Apparently he was dating a girl working on the same boat. And she proceeded to cheat on him with another crew memberâŚin the middle of the charter season. So there David was, forced to endure two to three months of sharing a floating home and work space with his ex-girlfriend and the guy she cheated on him with. The poor deckhand chalks it up to the old ânice guys finish lastâ adage. His ex said she thought he was so nice, she could just do anything she wanted and get away with it. Wow. And Malia thought she had it bad with Tom Checketts.
Meanwhile, tension starts heating up between Chef Mathew Shea and Lexi in the galley. He doesnât take kindly to her barking orders like sheâs, oh, I donât know, the chief stew. (Put a pin in that simmering pot; itâll boil over soon enough.) Courtney Veale is left to make awkward small talk about the weather with the bride down on the swim platform. And minutes before the wedding, the actual chief stew proceeds to eat it and fall down the stairs in front of the entire wedding party. Thankfully, Katieâs not injured and manages to brush the fall off. In fact, it wasnât even captured in full on camera. Mostly her prideâs just wounded. But letâs get this wedding rolling!
Somehow we make it to the actual wedding ceremony. Thereâs no music playing, but the bride marches up the stairs with Courtney carrying her train. The groom is gushing; the fight from the night before altogether forgotten. Captain Sandyâs visibly nervous but manages to read her script as officiant off her iPhone. (Apparently, in all her years as a captain, this is Sandyâs first wedding.) âI now pronounce you husband and wife,â she pronounces, and boom, theyâre married.
The once bickering couple kissâŚand kiss some more. The level of public affection gets a little uncomfortable for national television. But hey, like I said, theyâre married now. They cry and thank Jesus for sending the rainbow that appears in the sky over the boat. A psychic once told the brideâs mom that her grandma would appear at the wedding in the form of a rainbow. So that part is genuinely sweet.
For the reception, the deck crew begins circulating Mathewâs canapĂŠs while the stews are serving drinks. Everyoneâs happy and drunk (well, the guests, anyway). Everyone except Malia, who gets an unexpected phone call from Tom on her break. Yes, that Tom. Heâs curious to hear how the new crew is doing. (Read: how filming the new season is going). Oh, and also he misses her. But the bosun is less than thrilled to hear from her cheating ex and shakes him off as quickly as possible. Sorry, Tom, you already helped ruin one season of Below Deck Med. We donât need you trying to take another one down, too. Meanwhile, Lexiâs subtly arguing with Katie over table settings and Mathew drops the (store-bought) wedding cake. Everythingâs fine.
During dinner service, a miscommunication between Lexi and Mathew screws up the chefâs first course of scallops topped with truffle popcorn. By the time rack of lamb is served as the main course, the two are sniping at each other and the heat on that simmering pot is ratcheted up a few degrees. Things donât boil over, though, until the guests request extra lamb. Lexi walks down to the galley to relay the message and proceeds to step â multiple times, mind you â into the tiny dirt piles Mathew has swept up while cleaning the kitchen. This sets him off, but all Lexi can bother to do is grab two lamb pops for herself and chow down. (Did anyone else notice she didnât even bother saying so much as a thank you?) She tries to downplay Mathewâs anger about the dirt piles. But that only makes him more angry.
The chef snaps, laying down the law about whoâs in charge of the galley. Hint: itâs not you, Lexi.The situation is made ever worse when the guests ask again for more lamb. But guess what? Itâs all gone. Because Lexi ate the leftovers before dinner was even finished. Talk about unprofessional. In fact, Iâm shocked she wasnât reprimanded over it, but maybe thatâs coming somewhere down the line.
Mathew serves the cake he didnât bake, and then itâs time for round two. He tries to confront Lexi over her bad attitude, but â surprise, surprise â that only breeds more bad attitude from the second stew. Lexiâs personality and problem with authority is clearly going to be an issue this season. Eventually both the chef and the stew chalk their fight up to being tired and overworked. But thereâs definitely bad blood brewing between the two. Remember just last week when Lexi was sucking up to Mathew to get free food? Ah, such innocent timesâŚ
The next day is, blessedly, drop off day. And after a slightly tricky docking involving giant concrete dolphins and Mziâs inexperience with the heaving line, the guests depart the boat and the first charter is over. And suddenly, Terez â the most vocal and negative of all the guests â is suddenly full of compliments. What happened to the woman who was storming around her cabin throwing a tantrum about the chef? Or the one refusing to eat any sort of âpetâ during dinner the night before? Evidently, sheâs gone the same way as Chef Mathewâs mysteriously disappearing limp. At the tip meeting, Captain Sandy reveals the crew made $25, 850. Thatâ s $1,718 per person, even if Mathew doesnât necessarily deserve his entire cut. (Meanwhile, Lloyd Spencerâs entire tip is hilariously going straight to his parents, who paid for his yachtmaster certification.)
Mzi reveals his 26th birthday is the following day, so the crewâs first night out turns into an impromptu birthday celebration for the greenest deckhand of them all. They head to a swanky resort in Sibenik for a private sit-down dinner at Art Restaurant and Bar. And randomly, the table divides into boys on one side, girls on the other. David, Mzi and Lloyd may all have crushes across the table, but the girls are much more interested in enjoying their single status. Well, except Courtneyâs more than happy to teasingly refer to Mzi as âdaddy,â much to the birthday boyâs delight.
Meanwhile, Mathew âwhom the girls all privately agree is giving off âcreepy uncleâ vibes â is feeling picked on for having to pay the tab on the groupâs first round of drinks. I say that hardly makes up for bailing on the entire first day of the charter, but sure Mathew, feel bad for yourself a little more. And the animosity between him and Lexi is far from over. They rehash their dust pile drama for the entire crew, and get into a snippy back and forth over whether they would ever talk to each other in real life (i.e. not stuck together on a yacht). Mathew comes right out and says Lexiâs not his cup of tea, and just like that, the episode ends before the drama can boil over yet againâŚ
TELL US â ARE YOU SURPRISED THE CREW PULLED OFF THE WEDDING? ARE YOU TEAM LEXI OR TEAM MATHEW? DOES LEXI HAVE AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM OR IS MATHEW TOO SENSITIVE? ARE YOU SURPRISED MALIAâS STILL TALKING TO TOM?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]