Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 5 Recap: Power Struggles Aboard
Welcome to the Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 5 recap! In this week’s episode, called “Caught Between a Dock and a Heart Place,” two stews fight over the same deckhand. One of them seems successful, causing war to break out between them. When Aesha goes to the hospital for medical treatment, Elena questions her role. Chef Jono is on thin ice with Captain Sandy, especially after the primary guest complains about his food. Will Sandy replace him? Here are some of the highlights from Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 5.
You snooze, you lose
Bri and Elena are competing over deckhand Joe. Following their night out, the inebriated crew returns to the boat and decides to take the party to the hot tub.
Elena elects to go to bed, saying, “I don’t want to do something I’ll regret … He needs to take me out for dinner, treat me like a lady.”
“This is a damn Lamborghini,” Ellie interviews, gesturing toward herself. “You don’t get to drive a Lamborghini for nothin’. Joe’s gonna have to put in the work, and then I might consider it.”
Meanwhile, Bri’s in her bikini, headed up to the hot tub. While Elena’s waiting for Joe to pursue her, Bri just may beat her to the finish line. When Aesha notices them giving each other “f*ck me” eyes, she decides it’s time to make her exit and heads off to bed.
“I’ll bet their clothes are off before my pajamas are on,” she says, as she heads to her cabin.
After everybody is gone, Joe and Bri make out. At one point, she removes her bikini top, but Bri doesn’t want to go too far, too fast. So they call it a night. Probably for the best.
In the meantime, Gael’s long-distance boyfriend is guilt-tripping her for not giving him enough attention. He’s immature and needy. Nathan looks better all the time.
“I know I should be putting my relationship first,” Gael confesses. “I just want him to have my back and support me. His actions are slowly just pushing me away, and it’s definitely making me realize Nathan’s just there for me.”
As Aesha says later, “Gael’s boyfriend making her upset when she’s got so much on her plate, it’s just quite selfish.”
Interior drama on Below Deck Mediterranean
The next morning, Bri tells Ellie, “I think I’m in trouble.” Ellie asks if they had sex, but Bri’s not sharing any details. Of course, Ellie assumes they did.
“I do feel a little bit snaked by Bri,” Ellie interviews. She told Bri that she thought she and Joe had “a vibe,” but Bri pursued him anyway.
When Ellie gives him the cold shoulder, Joe’s not deterred. “Me doors are open for Bri, me doors are open for Elle,” he confesses. “Me doors are even open for Captain Sandy.” Oh, those doors are definitely closed, Joe.
Meanwhile, Elena’s ignoring Bri. When Bri asks if everything’s cool, Ellie responds, “Hmmm, not 100% … I think I made it abundantly clear that I was interested in Joe, and you were, like, ‘F*ck that! I’m just gonna go do my own thing.’”
Then Ellie rants about all the time she’s spent training Bri. “After all of that,” she continues, “you give zero f*cks about me. It’s like breaking girl code over a random f*cking guy. That’s what I’m upset about.”
“If I’d known it would hurt you, I never would have done it,” Bri says. But Ellie insists it was a “snake move.” Come on. It’s not like Bri stole Ellie’s boyfriend. He’s just some random horny guy. Move on, girls.
Even though she promises not to “take advantage of my position or make you uncomfortable in any way … this has changed our relationship completely.”
Rather than spend any more time in the cabin with Ellie, Bri decides to sleep in the crew mess. Feeling sorry for her, Joe invites Bri to sleep on the floor of their cabin.
“I mean, I wasn’t expecting you to move in after a kiss,” Joe tells Bri with a laugh.
Reality TV celebrities onboard
Sandy calls Aesha, Johnathan, and Iain for a preference meeting for the next charter. The primary is former fashion model Brittany Brower. Her best friend and former roommate, Trishelle Cannatella, a reality TV veteran, is also coming along. Sandy warns them not to “fangirl out.”
Aesha responds, “I can’t fangirl if I don’t know them.” Aesha’s got no time for reality TV.
Sandy wraps up by saying, “No chicken this time, and no guests floating away from the boat.”
Remember a couple of charters ago when Aesha broke a glass and cut her thumb? Well, now it’s showing signs of infection, and she thinks there may still be a bit of glass in there. So Sandy sends her to the hospital to take care of it.
This situation is a little worrying since the deck team is still “finding their feet,” the chef has been struggling, and now – unbeknownst to Sandy – the interior crew is at war over a boy. Aesha had better hurry back, or things will go all to sh*t quickly.
As Aesha reminds her crew of all the things that need to be done, I get a sinking feeling. Though Ellie has a little more experience than Bri, they’re both fairly green in the yachting world. This could get ugly.
Aesha estimates the guests are arriving in about three hours. “That’s not much time to go to a Greek hospital, get it looked at, and get back to the boat.” As someone who’s had some recent experience with hospitals, that’s not even enough time to get to an American hospital and back.
Power trippin’ on Below Deck Mediterranean
When provisions arrive, Bri asks Joe to take the wine to the sundeck bar for storage. Elena takes offense and says, “Could you please let me make decisions [about] where things go?”
Later, Bri runs into Ellie in the laundry, and the second stew continues, “This whole overriding me stuff needs to stop.” Bri apologizes, even though she never meant to overstep.
“Certain things are not your place to do,” Elena adds. “It’s disrespectful.”
Bri understands Ellie is thinking of the “hierarchy of the boat,” but Bri just wants to do her job and get along with everyone.
Next, Elena tries to assign Bri a job sorting fruit in the galley, but Bri is focused on laundry and says, “That’s not a priority for me right now.”
When Ellie looks shocked, Bri adds, “Aesha [told me] to stick down in laundry and get everything cleared, so that’s what I’m going to do right now.”
Elena says she’s amazed “that Bri is feeling this empowered to speak this way to me. Her job … is to support me.” Perhaps, but Chief Stew overrides second!
Bri complains to Chef Jono about Elena’s “unnecessary drama.” He says Ellie was just there telling him all about it. Bri jokes that from now on, she’s going to be “passively/aggressively spicy” in her dealings with Elena. Unfortunately, Sandy overhears her comment and asks her to clarify.
“I’m just upset with this unnecessary drama,” Bri answers, starting to cry.
Sandy doesn’t like to see her upset, so she gives Bri a quick pep talk. “You’re gonna be okay,” she says. Even though she’s concerned, Sandy admits, “I don’t have details … I respect that she wants to go to Aesha. It’s not my business until it’s made my business.”
Mama will make it better
Aesha’s back! That was fast. Apparently, the American healthcare system could learn a thing or two from Greece. When she checks in with the captain, Sandy says she needs to talk to Bri. “I caught her in a moment.”
Aesha rushes off to find Bri and invites her to speak privately in her cabin. Bri explains what happened between her and Elena over the wine, and Aesha asks, “Do you feel like she’s power-tripping a little bit?”
Aesha clarifies that Elena is “here to guide you, but she shouldn’t be bossing you around in a way that’s making you feel upset.”
Aesha offers to speak to Ellie, but Bri says she’ll handle it. “I need to learn how to deal with these things,” she says.
When Bri asks Ellie if they can talk, Ellie defensively says, “You just don’t tell someone who’s in a higher position what to do.”
“I just feel like you’re having a bit of a power trip,” Bri counters.
“I don’t need to be on a power trip, darling,” Ellie says condescendingly. “You’re just playing the victim … Your moods are upside down right now.”
I think we need to involve Aesha in this situation. Luckily, Aesha notices Ellie’s mood and asks what’s up.
Ellie says, “Bri’s attitude, I don’t know where it’s coming from. She’s starting to get a little disrespectful.” As the guests are arriving at any minute, Aesha says she’ll address the issue after the charter is over.
“It’s really, really important for me to stay neutral with the girls,” Aesha interviews. “I don’t actually know what has happened, so my place as a leader is to stay professional and treat them both the same.”
Two steps forward, one step back on Below Deck Mediterranean
After a lovely sushi lunch which the guests loved (score one for Jono!), the crew anchors the boat in a cove and gets out all the water toys. After enjoying the water, it’s time to get ready for guest Marsha’s renewal of her wedding vows.
Marsha is a three-time breast cancer survivor, so she’s celebrating life, as well as her marriage. Brittany says that whenever Marsha and her husband, “Big Dean,” go somewhere fun, they get married again. This is their ninth wedding. Everyone wears togas and laurel crowns in honor of being in Greece. What a great tradition.
At the steak and lobster dinner, the primary reports that her steak is “dry.” Aesha offers to replace it, but she says no. When Aesha urges her to be honest, she says, “It’s just not good.” Everyone else is happy, though. Meanwhile, Sandy’s texting poor Norma to see if the other chef is still available.
Belittled
As things are still tense with Ellie, Bri asks if she can sleep in the boys’ cabin again.
“Oh, my God,” Ellie confesses. “It’s making me look like I’m this horrible person who’s abusing her that she cannot even sleep in the same cabin as me.”
The next morning, Bri again apologizes to Ellie, admitting she’s not perfect either. She also apologizes for sleeping in the boys’ cabin. “I don’t know if that’s made you feel weird,” Bri finishes.
“You can do anything you want,” Ellie says.
“You’ve been teaching me so well,” Bri continues. “But in some ways, it’s kind of belittling.” She means the way Ellie speaks to her, not her teaching.
“Belittling?!” Ellie repeats. “Whoa! That’s a strong word … I’m not engaging in that at all … ‘Belittling.’ Are you kidding me?”
Ellie thinks Bri is playing the victim card, while Bri feels she’s entitled to her feelings. Aesha needs to step in and settle this.
