We can always trust Captain Jason Chambers and Chief Stewardess Aesha Scott to deliver great TV.
The pair were the sole holdovers from Below Deck Down Under Season 1 on Below Deck Down Under Season 2 Episode 1, which focused on everyone trying to get the charter season off without a hitch.
It’s a shame Tumi Mhlongo wasn’t also kept because she was a breath of fresh air during the stellar freshman season.
It wouldn’t be Below Deck without some form of drama, and truthfully, things got wild quicker than most other seasons in franchise history.
That’s to be expected when you’re down two staff members.
We’ve witnessed the staff of these superyachts worked to the bone with minimal rest, but that has to be elevated somewhat when you’re down that many staff members.
If anything, the insanity that played out should have been a reason to pause the charter season until the appropriate staff had been found.
No. You’re under the influence and there’s no one watching you. It’s dark and we can’t see you. It’s like, a hard no.
Laura
Service is one thing, but health and safety must be paramount to any charter’s success.
Across the Below Deck franchise, we’ve witnessed the staff try to push themselves to extremes when they’re understaffed, but there was something about the obnoxious charter guests on Below Deck Season 2 Episode 1 that would cause even the calmest person on the boat to fly off the handle.
The moment Ashleigh, Brandon, and the rest of their party arrived on the boat, it was evident they had the potential to become one of the rowdiest groups of guests in Below Deck history.
I get it: You’re on vacation and want to over-indulge, but blatantly ignoring the request of someone telling you not to get in the water in the dead of night is a recipe for disaster.
Poor Laura was running on fumes after the stress of her day, and the last thing she needed was the backhanded “love that” from Brandon when she told him swimming at night while under the influence of alcohol was a hard no.
Jason put it the best when he opined about sharks looking for a meal, jellyfish, and everything else beneath the surface that could become hazardous to the drunk guests.
The most satisfying part of this scenario was how the two guests knew they did wrong but acted like everyone answered to them. Therefore, they could do what they wanted.
The gratification came in the form of Jason telling them if they broke the rules again, the charter would be over, only for them to basically laugh in his face and say that he answers to them.
In a word? Whoa. Jason telling them he would end the charter the following day was the perfect cliffhanger, but we must consider this from a health and safety angle.
The charter has to be over. RIGHT? I have a sneaking suspicion that Jason might give them another shot if he has an entire team.
Had someone been on the deck as they attempted to jump into the water, I doubt they’d have followed through with their plan to flout the rules.
Laura handled the incident like a pro by scolding them and involving the captain. What could have become an emergency became a teaching moment.
While Jason could also complain about the lack of a deckhand on the deck at the time of the incident, there wasn’t enough staff to have someone on there 24 hours a day.
We witnessed his difficult search for a replacement, so there’s a good chance we’ll meet the mysterious individual on Below Deck Down Under Season 2 Episode 2.
It’s a rarity for the tension to be this good so quickly on Below Deck, but the staff faced so many hurdles on the premiere that things can only improve, right?
It was hard not to feel for Tzarina. After losing her luggage, she was thrust into the deep end, so she was pulling double duty to get her bearings and impress the guests.
Having the calm and soothing Jason in the kitchen helping for the roughest part of the day was a big help, but it’s easy to understand why she was doubting herself.
Getting help on day one could be seen as someone buckling under pressure, but Tzarina has the potential to be one of the better chefs we’ve seen on the franchise.
Hopefully, Tzarina can put this down to a false start and will get her time to shine on upcoming episodes, you know, when the staff is at total capacity.
When you think about it, how can we accurately judge staff members when they’ve been thrown in at the deep end, understaffed, and facing the wildest guests to date?
My hope for the exterior team’s Luke, Harry, and Adam is that they don’t form an anti-interior alliance because, based on the first episode alone, we could have another Below Deck Season 7 on our hands.
I hope I’m wrong, but bro alliances on Below Deck tend to do more harm than good because they almost always stick together and tell the interior they’re the ones doing the bad job.
Beyond the above moments, the premiere was relatively flat.
The lack of staff impacted the dynamic the producers were going for, but the cliffhanger should lead to a shift.
There’s also the love-pentagon Aesha teases in the Below Deck Down Under Season 2 trailer to look forward to because relationship drama on reality TV tends to make for good TV.
What are your thoughts on the guests? Do you think they went too far and should be thrown off the boat without breakfast?
What’s your take on the new chef?
Do you think she got a false start due to the lack of luggage and all the tension on the boat?
Hit the comments.
Catch Below Deck Down Under on Mondays at 8 p.m., only on Bravo.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.