Comscore

Isabelle “Izzy” Wouters

Below Deck Reunion Recap: The Great Below Deck Roast

Below Deck Season 8 Reunion

It’s reunion time, yachties! And the Below Deck crew has gathered from (literally) the four corners of the globe for a virtual sit-down with Andy Cohen. Did this season of Below Deck really need a reunion? The answer is debatable depending on how much you think a phrase like “Eat my cooter” needs to be discussed ad nauseam. Though I suppose there were a number of strings left loose in a season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. So here we are. Anchors aweigh!

Personally, I love how Andy always insists on going fully in on the nautical wardrobe when he hosts these Below Deck reunions. Captain Lee Rosbach always dresses up in his finest. But the rest of the crew’s looks are…wildly disparate. Francesca Rubi and her feathered shoulders are coming all the way from Sydney. James Hough decided to put on a basic green shirt at home in the U.K. Elizabeth Frankini, meanwhile, is wearing a full rainbow gown in Florida. Sadly, though, we can only see maybe two colors of the rainbow since she’s stuck in a tiny box on Zoom.

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »

Below Deck Finale Recap: An Abrupt Goodbye

Captain Lee Rosbach Below Deck

Well. This was certainly not the way the Below Deck crew expected this season to end. Particularly Elizabeth Frankini, whose firing at the end of last week’s episode became, well, flagrantly unnecessary in hindsight. But it still happened. To say she’s shell-shocked by the decision would be…a bit of an understatement. But it’s clear Francesca Rubi is taking a kind of pleasure in forcing her off the yacht. Downstairs, Elizabeth bursts into tears, and decides the best thing to do is beg Francesca for her job back. If only the chief stew would stop and reconsider what she’s doing.

The majority of the crew seems equally dumbfounded, and doesn’t seem to agree that Elizabeth should’ve been fired. Especially considering that, while Francesca is using the guest cabin debacle as her last-straw excuse, Eddie Lucas isn’t firing James Hough. For the exact same thing! They hooked up in the guest cabin together! Rachel Hargrove is particularly upset. Ashling Lorger, meanwhile, gives her fellow stew a sympathetic hug — all while side-eyeing the cameras and later celebrating with Chess.

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »

Below Deck Recap: One Short Day In Stingray City

Below Deck Francesca Rubi Ashling Lorger

Will lying to a charter guest come back to haunt you? That’s the question on Ashling Lorger‘s mind as we set sail on another week of Below Deck. At the end of last week’s episode, the stew cut off the alcohol for the primary’s two sons. And now she’s worried she’s going to pay for it. In the form of putting the entire crew’s tip in jeopardy. One one hand, they tried to jump into the tender and almost went for a swim. On the other, one of the boys threw an alcohol-fueled tantrum at two in the morning. But what are the chances he’ll even remember the night before after half a bottle of Hennessy?

Turns out, chances are high. The next morning, the first thing he does is complain to anyone who will listen about the mean stew who lied about the hot tub and sent him to bed. Including Francesca Rubi, who’s baffled that Ashling would do anything to anger a rich, spoiled charter guest. However, when she hears Ashling’s side of the story, she naturally sides with her bestie. The teenager conveniently failed to mention trying to drunkenly board the tender. Or going out on the swim platform. Over breakfast, his parents also laugh off his complaining, and the issue is essentially dead in the water. Phew. Tip crisis averted.

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »

Captain Lee Rosbach Says Rob Phillips Is “Bitter” About Izzy Wouters’ Promotion; Izzy Slams Rob For Misogynist Behavior On Below Deck

Below Deck Captain Lee

Unfortunately, the sexism is rampant throughout the Below Deck franchise. Yes, that statement isn’t applicable to every single person on the boat. However, it’s an issue that the cast encounters practically every season.

Bosun Eddie Lucas promoted Izzy Wouters to the lead deckhand position with Captain Lee Rosbach’s blessing. Instead of congratulating Izzy on the promotion, acknowledging her hard work/aptitude, or just giving her any modicum of respect on deck, James Hough and Rob Phillips joked at her expense, making it clear that they didn’t take her seriously as leader.

Below Deck
Continue Reading »

Below Deck Recap: A Hostile Work Environment

Below Deck Captain Lee Rosbach

Never sleep in a guest cabin. That was the takeaway from last week’s episode of Below Deck. Though if you think Francesca Rubi is done berating Elizabeth Frankini over it, you thought wrong. In fact, this week’s Below Deck picks up smack dab in the middle of their cliffhanger argument. In the crew mess. In front of all their other co-workers. Now, call me crazy, but that’s not the most professional way of handling workplace conflict. Right?

Yes, Elizabeth was wrong. But she’s also the one who has to extract herself from the situation and go cry in her room. She also finds a solution by calling her energy healer Godfrey for support. And a major cleansing. Which apparently involves virtually lifting away her “first, second, third and fourth dimensional gray, black, dark matter.” This is the perfect time for Captain Lee Rosbach to walk in on the conversation. He has no idea what’s going on, but shrugs it off with a “different strokes for different folks” mentality. C’est la vie, energy healing!

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »

Below Deck Recap: Life’s Short, Eat The Cannoli

Below Deck Francesca Rubi

Welcome back to Below Deck. Where, yep, you guessed it, everyone is still sick. My Seanna has basically become a floating infirmary at this point. And the worst part is that we’re still smack dab in the middle of a charter. The other worst part? That James Hough and Elizabeth Frankini‘s boat-mance seems to be sinking faster than the Titanic itself. In fact, maybe the only good part is that the boat has become a safe haven a world away from the pandemic that’s taking over America. (At this point during filming, we’ve reached March 8, 2020.) So sure, Rachel Hargrove may be having serious G.I. issues, but at least it’s not coronavirus?

Eddie Lucas brings a doctor on board to start doling out medicine for the under-the-weather crew. Antibiotics for Elizabeth! IV therapy for Rachel! And nothing but a flirty charter guest for Ashling Lorger. Because, even though she’s come down with the same illness as the chef, she’d rather power through and show Francesca Rubi how tough she is. Is refusing medical treatment some sort of weird power play to get promoted to second stew? (Also, just so we’re clear, no Elizabeth, UTIs are not contagious.)

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »

Below Deck Recap: Dropping Like Flies Over UTIs

Below Deck Elizabeth Frankini

Welcome back to Below Deck, where Hurricane Hargrove has made landfall in Antigua. That’s right, Chef Rachel Hargrove‘s drunken rampage on the crew’s day off isn’t over yet. At the end of last week’s episode, the polarizing chef was last seen demanding the house band bust out their best Patsy Cline. Well, that or some “nasty ass music.” Needless to say, the entire crew is mortified. And not even Francesca Rubi‘s prodding can get her off the stage.

Eddie Lucas is so embarrassed that he simply walks away. As in physically removes himself from the situation to not be associated with his least favorite co-worker. Eventually, Izzy Wouters joins Francesca, and the two manage to coax Rachel back to the audience. Where she promptly crashes, falling asleep without a care in the world. But the damage is done. Rachel’s off-charter behavior is way past being a problem. And it’s about to get worse.

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »

Below Deck Recap: The Last Stand Of Delores DILLIGAF And Hurricane Hargrove

Below Deck Eddie Lucas

How much trouble can one pint-sized charter guest cause on Below Deck? If her name is Delores, it turns out the answer is, well, quite a lot. So much, in fact, that this episode is super-sized! In the immediate aftermath of last week’s nighttime swim, Captain Lee Rosbach is fuming. Like, he’s so angry that you can practically see steam coming out of his ears. Delores is finally out of the water, wrapped up in a towel but still not sorry for disobeying his direct orders. As far as Cap is concerned the charter is over, and they’ll be heading back to the dock in the morning.

In the meantime, they have to get through the night without Delores deciding to go for another dip in the dark ocean. So Lee asks the crew to take turns playing prison guard. Which means standing in front of her cabin door all night in shifts. Naturally, this affects the entire crew and no one is particularly happy about getting their night’s sleep ruined. When Chef Rachel Hargrove finds out what’s happened up on deck, she labels Delores’ behavior “DILLIGAF.” (This stands for “Does it look like I give a f–k?” and…accurate.)

Below Deck,Recaps
Continue Reading »