S10.E04: The Thunder From Down Under

[TexasGal]

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Camille's lack of work ethic starts to wear thin on the entire crew; having to choose between Alissa and Katie, Ross decides he wants to have his cake and eat it too; romance blossoms with Ben and Camille.

Airdate: 12.12.2022

[65mickey]

This show has become unwatchable for me.  I wish that the person or persons responsible for turning these below deck shows into trashy hookups with drunk attention seekers would be fired. I am not sure what is going on with CAptain Lee. Is his back situation from botched surgery or does he need surgery?

[Midwestern Lady]

The zoom in shots of the make-out sessions and all the T&A have crossed a line.  Maybe I am just a fuddy duddy.   I was excited to see Rachel's food this week and Fraser continues to be a terrible wimp of a chief stew.   Poor Captain Lee- that hurts to watch.  

[snarts]

I don't think much has changed over the years, there was a cum stained pillow from the Ben/Tiffany hookup in what season 2 or 3?  Rather, I think we're just getting tired of the formulaic casting and contrived drama. 

Feel bad for Captain Lee but he needs to take his health more seriously. He never should've agreed to film this season right after having spinal surgery. Just looking at him you can tell he wasn't ready. 

Ross masturbates up to 14 times a day?  Dude has issues. Run Katie, run. Let Alyssa have him, her desperation for male attention is exhausting all of us. 

Camille is lazy but gong back to point #1, what would a Below Deck season be without the obligatory slacker? 

[Bossa Nova]

So what's the over-under among us BD watchers, for Camile not making it through to the end of the season, i.e. fired ?

I say she gets fired.

[SunnyBeBe]

I stopped watching the show some time ago, but read about Captain Lee and came by to see what was wrong with him.  So, he didn’t say what the surgery was for?  

[cheewhiz]

When Fraser was not chief stew, he was watchable, as chief stew, not so much. He started complaining day 1 about how his time on the boat is hell, definitely not a Kate or Hannah. I sure hope he's not back next season. As for the rest of the cast, not terribly impressed. As the poster said upthread, the close-ups of the make out sessions are a bit much.

[iMonrey]

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As the poster said upthread, the close-ups of the make out sessions are a bit much.

Plus they just seem so prompted and performative. Ross and Katie were headed back to the yacht on the tender and out of nowhere they just started macking. It just seemed so out of the blue. WTF. Can't figure out whether or not Ross was exaggerating about his sex life. For his sake I hope so.

The situation with Camille is just so frustrating. Two people have complained to Fraser now, he's telling the camera how angry he is, and when he finally has a sit-down with Camille all he says is "talk to me before going to the Captain." That's it? Really? Nothing about how she's slacking off and talking back to people and deciding for herself what she's going to do and what she's not? 

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I stopped watching the show some time ago, but read about Captain Lee and came by to see what was wrong with him.  So, he didn’t say what the surgery was for?  

He said he had some kind of nerve damage. If I suddenly couldn't feel the left side of my body I'd think I had a stroke. That's scary. 

[Mr. Miner]

The bosun's a fucking creep!

[BusyOctober]

Ross looks reptilian to me.  His eyes get even more lizard like when he’s wasted. He is not attractive at all IMO. He may have had ‘polyamorous’ relationships before, but my guess is the women he is trying to bang on this boat have not.  

Camille may be the laziest, least self aware crew member on this boat, and I think she was cast for drama purposes only.  Alissa isn’t eligible for Employee of the Month either…and definitely not a good friend/coworker re. cutting in on Katie’s crush.  Ross gets most of the blame in that, but Alissa is snakey.  In fact, I think I only really like Rachel and Cattain Lee. Haley is OK I guess.  Fraser is not showing any leadership skills in the Chief Stew role.  Tony and Ben seem nice, but I have to give Ben the side eye for hooking up with Camille.
 

[howiveaddict]

11 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I stopped watching the show some time ago, but read about Captain Lee and came by to see what was wrong with him.  So, he didn’t say what the surgery was for?  

I thought he had back surgery and had problems after wards. A similar thing happened to my aunt after back surgery. She work up one morning, unable to walk. Was in a wheelchair for a while.

[Tanukisan]

Like someone who bought a Cert U ticket, only to be shown Cert X material (you must be over 40 and familiar with UK culture to get that joke), these comments are in the order of the episode scenes porncast…

I said this from Day One – having someone on the crew who is both a member of the deck and interior will serve neither.  Camille won’t respond to Alissa often because she’ll claim, “I’m a deck hand”.  But when on the beach with nothing to do, she’ll stand around and do nothing.  And I’m no fan of Alissa, who loves to whine and complain how she’s hard done by. 

Captain Lee, love you man, but to see you all crippled up and hobbling to/from the dinner table is crushing.  I wish you a speedy and thorough recovery, but you have no place as employee on a boat in that condition, much less as Captain.

So Ross and weasel Fraser bitch to each other about having someone who is both deck and interior?  Even weasel Fraser suggested Camille be one or the other, but Ross poo-poos the idea.  But… you both complain about it. 

Not buying this whole “Alissa likes Ross” thing.  I think Alissa likes Alissa.  And I’m not convinced Ross likes girls, either, much less Alissa or Katie.

And then we degenerate to Hot Tub Time Machine, which makes me wish we could go back in time to the beginning of the season and start over.  Completely.  With all different people.

They should rename this boat “Drunken Tomcat”, because that’s what most of these people are.  Ross, just when I don’t think I can dislike you any more than I do, you open your mouth and spew out more reasons to make it worse.

Finally, we get a cliffhanger that actually makes me care about what will happen next week.  Who will replace Captain Lee?  Will it be any one we know?  A fresh face?  Just say it’s not Captain Queeg!  Stay tuned, if you can scrape the ick off…

[Kiss my mutt]

Watching Captain Lee hobbling in pain without his usual vigor is like watching Aslan having his mane shorn. I hope he starts to improve soon. That must totally suck. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

I wish they would just give Camille to Rachel to assist her with galley work, fetching ingredients, washing dishes and serving meals.  She's contributing nothing to the deck, even though she is at the docking.  The interior uses her at all hours without giving her the required break time for sleeping- maybe they feel she gets enough of that during her "working" hours.  

[Jack Sampson]

Camille needs clear separation in her duties.  Either alternating days between deck and interior or set hours during the day that everyone knows in advance.

Does this boat have a slide?

[Lurk]

Capt Lee is looking really rough besides the back issue. I noticed in a couple of scenes that his hands look like he's getting arthritis in them. He just looks so much older this season. I hope that his back issue heals. It's hard to watch him this season.

[Jack Sampson]

Someone needs to find the voodoo doll Sandy's been using to force Lee out. 

[Zaffy]

The   "crew is making out"  thing has really got tiring and boring.
One reason is that most of the crew is so indifferent or/and lame that you really do not care who does what with who.
But even if you cared about the crew, when they keep shoving it in your face so much it looses any possible fun it might had in the first place.

It is so obvious the production encourages or even demands.. its like watching a cheap soft porn movie without the porn.  There is no class whatsoever.
The whole show is now about bickering between the crew during the charters and their boring making out dramas.
I doubt this is because they cannot cast more interesting people, it is just their formula.
I wonder if there are surveys that show the BD franchise it is mostly watched by horny teenagers or the productions thinks it will keep the interest of the audience with such a cliche way.

Maybe indeed they get bigger ratings with this approach.. 
Personally I do not enjoy it, which made me abandon the BDM this season and almost do the same with BDSY.
I can live just fine without the cheap and very fake erotica (lol). I really enjoyed the Deck Crew of BDM's 2021 season.
There are still crew members that keep me watching, Rachel is one and Aisha in BDDU.

I hope Captain Lee is ok. He was in the Bravo convention a few weeks ago, looked fine.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Zaffy

[Chatty Cake]

 It’s so odd to see Lee laying around in his cabin. He definitely should not have joined this season, 

The crew is dismal but I kind of like Fraser. I think he’s more professional than recent stews including Kyle from Below Deck Med. He’s got to develop better leadership which is basically just telling Camille to get her ass to work.

I think the bosun is gross and should be fired for sexual misconduct. I guess this is more acting than a real job because no way would that fly in todays climate.

[mytmo]

I'd like to see Capt. Jamie from Down Under take over.

Edited December 14, 2022 by mytmo
Got my boats mixed up again

[aghst]

So obvious there was going to be conflict over Camille's dual roles.  That was always the intent.

Yeah all this making out during charter seems to be crossing a new line.  They must have figured, why limit crew drama only to the nights out between charters?  Of course the producers are all in on it, otherwise they wouldn't feature it in the final cut that airs.

The night off, of course there's more drama, Ross doesn't even hide what a man whore he is.  The women call him on it, Haley spilling the beans, Camille calling him out.  But I believe the "coming this season" previews showed Katie and Ross fucking or her straddling him so casting for low self-esteem works as designed!

Fraser may not be laying down the law but the opposite of his managing style is Kate, who always leaned into conflict and would gang up with one stew and mean girl the third stew so I don't mind that Fraser wants to avoid confrontation.  Show is really not about actually running a yacht, it's about confrontations, so good for him for not giving Bravo what they want.

Captain Lee's situation, they probably agree he'd do a few episodes, then leave the boat, then make a triumphal return by the end of the season.  It's in the script!

[tvfanatic13]

If I didn't know (think?) better, I wouldn't put it past the editors to do a fake out with Lee saying he's leaving the boat... for one charter to get an mri or something, and then come back. Cuz that's how they roll...

[iMonrey]

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Captain Lee's situation, they probably agree he'd do a few episodes, then leave the boat, then make a triumphal return by the end of the season.  It's in the script!

I wouldn't put that past Bravo. But actually, I think he was really under the impression he'd be OK this season, per his doctor. He expected to improve as time went on but instead he's been getting worse.

To be honest I'm kind of over Captain Lee and his curmudgeonly attitude and silly bon mots and constant "Goddammits!" In fact I'm pretty sure Bravo has a WAV file of Lee yelling "Goddammit!" and just inserts it into the show whenever something is going wrong. Last week we got a "Goddammit! when they were docking the boat and another "Goddammit" when they were on the radio arguing about the coolers and it sounded exactly the same.

If he's being replaced I just pray it isn't Sandy. I can't stand her.

[aghst]

That's the other thing, Lee's cursing is part of his character on the show.

But why is he cursing out the crew over the PA, near the dock where there are passerbys?

They had him curse into a mic so he could be heard over PA speakers?

Why not curse on the radio, keep it between him and the crew?

It's so performative, in the worst sense of the word.

[MyMaui]

They should just let Camille go.  What good does she do on interior and deck really?   When you have all the department heads commenting on her that's just not good.  I'm sure if you stuck her with Rachelle she'd just complain and slack off.  I can hear the complaints of "i have to go get this, and I have to prep this, etc".  She  wants to play and party.  

Fraser is way above his head.  He was fine as a second but he is too frantic and just doesn't know how to lead.  You heard about Camille and did nothing.  You are too frantic.

The bosun is just gross, like really gross.  I thought he seemed strange before but that conversation with Fraser was eww.   I wouldn't want to room with him at all.  I really hope the gossip spreads to all the ladies on the boat about him.  

Sad to see about Lee.  I wonder if he will come back.  I kind of hope he will but I am more wondering who will replace him.  I don't want the one they had before on the show.  He was awful.  He seemed to want to be on camera and make it all about him with his whole persona.  

Rachelle seems back with her food and I am so glad.  So far she is the one that keeps me watching.

[gaPeach]

18 hours ago, Tanukisan said:

Not buying this whole “Alissa likes Ross” thing.  I think Alissa likes Alissa.  And I’m not convinced Ross likes girls, either, much less Alissa or Kati

I don't either.  I mean the part about Alissa liking Ross.  Did that just come out of nowhere?  I thought Alissa was going after whoever Camille liked.  That was last week's episode so I can remember who Camille liked and I am too lazy to go back and look.  

Ross really got creepy this episode and I wish Katie would steer clear of him but apparently that is asking too much.  And since Ross is Katie's boss, did he cross a line of management vs employee?  He is Katie's boss so isn't making out crossing that line?

[Tanukisan]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

In fact I'm pretty sure Bravo has a WAV file of Lee yelling "Goddammit!"

I think I've just found my new ringtone.  (:

[Chalby]

10 hours ago, aghst said:

So whom has the low self esteem? Katie for chasing Ross, or Ross for responding to being chased? I think there's no issues among boat staff as to who enjoys partying and who doesn't.

10 hours ago, aghst said:

So obvious there was going to be conflict over Camille's dual roles.  That was always the intent.

Yeah all this making out during charter seems to be crossing a new line.  They must have figured, why limit crew drama only to the nights out between charters?  Of course the producers are all in on it, otherwise they wouldn't feature it in the final cut that airs.

The night off, of course there's more drama, Ross doesn't even hide what a man whore he is.  The women call him on it, Haley spilling the beans, Camille calling him out.  But I believe the "coming this season" previews showed Katie and Ross fucking or her straddling him so casting for low self-esteem works as designed!

Fraser may not be laying down the law but the opposite of his managing style is Kate, who always leaned into conflict and would gang up with one stew and mean girl the third stew so I don't mind that Fraser wants to avoid confrontation.  Show is really not about actually running a yacht, it's about confrontations, so good for him for not giving Bravo what they want.

Captain Lee's situation, they probably agree he'd do a few episodes, then leave the boat, then make a triumphal return by the end of the season.  It's in the script!

So whom has the low self esteem? Katie for chasing Ross, or Ross for responding to being chased? I think there's no issues among boat staff as to who enjoys partying and who doesn't.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Chalby

[SemiCharmedLife]

This show is going through the stage where the crew are simply wanna be reality celebs who are acting out a successful character they have witnessed in past seasons or on another version:

* Ross is trying to one-up Gary from BDSY, who was the well liked horn dog who couldn't keep it in his pants, no matter how hard he tried.

* Camille is attempting to out-twerk Courtney from BDM.  "if twerking, as a personality trait, worked for her..."

Feel free to add to the list...

[rur]

42 minutes ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

This show is going through the stage where the crew are simply wanna be reality celebs who are acting out a successful character they have witnessed in past seasons or on another version:

* Ross is trying to one-up Gary from BDSY, who was the well liked horn dog who couldn't keep it in his pants, no matter how hard he tried.

You're probably on to something, and that got me thinking. For example, Gary was/is definitely a horn dog, but he also demonstrated that he's  a decent person -- we saw instances where he was concerned for he other people on the boat --  and he also had a sense of humor. Most of the crew that we're seeing now seem much more one-dimensional, and that might be why so many of us are thinking the show is becoming more and more lackluster.  

[Mr. Miner]

I can't get the picture of Ross jerking off while giving docking directions out of my head. Fourteen times a day is probably going to interfere with your job right?

[Jack Sampson]

1 hour ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

This show is going through the stage where the crew are simply wanna be reality celebs who are acting out a successful character they have witnessed in past seasons or on another version:

* Ross is trying to one-up Gary from BDSY, who was the well liked horn dog who couldn't keep it in his pants, no matter how hard he tried.

* Camille is attempting to out-twerk Courtney from BDM.  "if twerking, as a personality trait, worked for her..."

Feel free to add to the list...

The women seem to gravitate to Onlyfans, it's pushing half at this point.  Even the girls who aren't on OF (yet), like Ashling, have sisters who are.

I'm sure we can add Camille to that OF list a few weeks after the season ends.

[pasdetrois]

Yeah, the BD franchise is a gateway to the more lucrative social media opportunities. It's like a season-long audition. Does Bravo get 10% of the OF earnings?

[Jobiska]

Uh....cute cat (if a little beat up looking, but all cats are cute) near the restaurant on the night out?

That's all I got.  Well, the guests were nice enough though I didn't get the "slowly lowering their rear ends down in front of the sunset" photo shoot.  Just don't have it in me to talk about the crew.  Too much of the same ol' same ol'.

[moonchild81]

did anyone see the recent podcast with nas and hannah where they mention captain lee, what rumors are they talking about? some of it was posted on instagram

[RoseAllDay]

* I’m speechless at Ross and Katie. Totally inappropriate. If I were the captain, I’d be down to a skeleton crew with all the people I’d fire. (I’m including Camille here, who is out-Rockying Rocky in her suckitude. Hell, Rocky would be an improvement over Camille.) Alissa’s now flirting with Ross? What is it with that man? I don’t see it. He is just gross — especially after his confessional with Fraser.

* Lee. I know he’s doing better, but this is difficult to watch.

* Again, can we get more Hayley? She seems like a trip. Rather see her over that entitled Camille. Could it be that maybe — maybe — Fraser is thinking about cutting Camille loose? Working long hours is part of the job, sweetie, as is respecting your boss. Camille’s confused about where to goof off — interior or deck? Someone please tell her! Her tone at the tip meeting was slap-worthy.

* What, exactly, did Camille do during docking that she HAD to have so much rest for the night before, besides making snartass comments while everyone else was busting theirs trying to keep the boat from hitting the dock?  LOL at Ross for just watching, too. 

* This has to be the most unlikeable bunch of people put in one place EVER. I was hoping for more guest drama with the docs.
 

[Me from ME]

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To be honest I'm kind of over Captain Lee and his curmudgeonly attitude and silly bon mots and constant "Goddammits!" In fact I'm pretty sure Bravo has a WAV file of Lee yelling "Goddammit!" and just inserts it into the show whenever something is going wrong. Last week we got a "Goddammit! when they were docking the boat and another "Goddammit" when they were on the radio arguing about the coolers and it sounded exactly the same.

I couldn't agree more. He seems to have bought into the shtick of being the "stud of the sea". I've posted before that his folksy aphorisms were getting on my nerves and had ceased to be funny or shocking.

That said, he has no business captaining a mega yacht. He doesn't look well. His eyes are dead and he looks depressed and in discomfort. Barking "God damn it " doesn't equate with being a leader.

[65mickey]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:40 AM, moonchild81 said:

did anyone see the recent podcast with nas and hannah where they mention captain lee, what rumors are they talking about? some of it was posted on instagram

Who is nas?

[SemiCharmedLife]

1 hour ago, 65mickey said:

Who is nas?

Anastasia from BDM.

[RoseAllDay]

On 12/14/2022 at 12:44 PM, iMonrey said:

I wouldn't put that past Bravo. But actually, I think he was really under the impression he'd be OK this season, per his doctor. He expected to improve as time went on but instead he's been getting worse.

To be honest I'm kind of over Captain Lee and his curmudgeonly attitude and silly bon mots and constant "Goddammits!" In fact I'm pretty sure Bravo has a WAV file of Lee yelling "Goddammit!" and just inserts it into the show whenever something is going wrong. Last week we got a "Goddammit! when they were docking the boat and another "Goddammit" when they were on the radio arguing about the coolers and it sounded exactly the same.

If he's being replaced I just pray it isn't Sandy. I can't stand her.

Lee was in excruciating pain so I’m kind of cutting him some slack here with his saltiness. I have lived with a person who has similar issues, and when it’s bad, it’s REALLY bad. Also, he was doing his damndest to keep doing his job until it was clear that he couldn’t.

It finally came down to the safety of the boat, crew, and guests over Lee’s desire/ego/pride (take your pick) to continue. I give him credit for making the hard — and right — decision to leave. (Also, the more he was trying to move around, probably the greater his chances of paralysis.)

If it’s Sandy, it’s been nice knowing y’all. Not sticking around to see her infest BD. I’ll take that clown who filled in for Lee a few seasons back over her, any day.

[RoseAllDay]

On 12/13/2022 at 11:52 PM, SemiCharmedLife said:

I wish they would just give Camille to Rachel to assist her with galley work, fetching ingredients, washing dishes and serving meals.  She's contributing nothing to the deck, even though she is at the docking.  The interior uses her at all hours without giving her the required break time for sleeping- maybe they feel she gets enough of that during her "working" hours.  

She’s contributing nothing — period full stop. She’d just get in Rachel’s way and Rachel would lose it.

I think she’s made it clear that she thinks yachting is a vacation and play time, and to be asked to do anything is an insult. Fraser needs to do something, but if Sandy is really coming on the boat, it may be too late. I can see Sandy making all kinds of excuses for Camille and telling Fraser to “mentor” her (see Kasey and Hannah, but Kasey actually worked out in the end).

Camille is deadwood and should be cut loose. 

[KingJim]

Did anyone else see the toes that aren’t attached to a foot or a body that scrunch up on the floor at 03:52 on season 10, episode 04 when Fraser & Rachel are talking in the laundry room?