Sometimes I wonder how the casting process works for the various Below Decks. There have been questionable people aboard the yachts over the years, but after two crew members were fired in the last episode, we get a new second officer immediately on The Northern Sun. He’s a familiar face, not only to those who watched every season of Below Deck Mediterranean, but to Chief Stew Aesha (and Chef Tzarina!). João Franco is back, and the people that know him aren’t exactly thrilled. So in this instance, the casting department either did a spectacular job, or an absolutely terrible one. Time will tell!

With all the yachties over the years and the ever-rotating casts (can we just keep some people between seasons?!), the only thing I remember about João is that he and fellow deckie Ashton were “brus” and did some misogynistic things back when they worked for Captain Sandy on Below Deck Med. Allegedly. Because who remembers, or knows what really went on? Aesha isn’t happy to see João, and we get flashbacks of him telling her former boatmance Jack that she looks like a hooker. #Ouch. Later we see a flashback of João telling Jack he’s doing things wrong, which in fairness, he probably was. After João meets Jason and the rest of the crew, Aesha tells him even though they didn’t end on great terms, she wants to start over and leave the past in the past. He jokes around, but agrees.

The same can’t be said for Chef Tzarina, who, upon hearing João’s voice immediately recognizes it, and looks quite unhappy. João goes into the galley and hugs her, and leaves; after, Tzarina tells Margot that João is a womanizer who really screwed her friend over after dating her. She tells Margot if she ever saw him again, she’d punch him, but that didn’t happen… yet. Later she texts her friend to tell her João is on the boat; even later she texts that she’s being nice for now.

Before João arrived, Jason had a preference sheet meeting with Aesha and Tzarina; the next guests are porn stars, and they apparently want to eat a meal off of one of their friends (apparently they didn’t watch Below Deck Sailing Yacht to see the “Gary + sushi = gross” dinner). Tzarina suggests she could paint the lady in question with chocolate; Jason says, “Sure, why not?” We’ll have to see how this all goes… The guests arrive and tour the boat as per usual; the primary guest, Laura, tells Harry she’s completely clean shaven while saying hello, shocking him – and this is probably going to be a wild ride.

João meets with the deck team and he’s not impressed. He says there is no structure and everyone’s new to yachting but that will change. With only herself and Margot, Aesha runs around doing everything for the guests; João and team get ready for a beach picnic, but not before Laura (the guest, not the fired stew) flirts with Culver. On the beach, the guests go topless, and then go swimming. Culver and Harry follow suit, while João and Adam watch them from the boat. The deckies play chicken with the guests: Laura on Culver’s shoulders, and guest Skyy on Harry’s. In a confessional, João says the deckies are being unprofessional, and he’s going to change the precedent of the “previous person.” I understand João’s point, but if the guests had asked Culver and Harry to participate – they didn’t, from what we saw – would he prefer they say they can’t? We’ve seen time and again captains tell the crew not to say no to the guests, so even though the deck team isn’t structured at all, he could lighten up about the beach stuff a little…

Jason gets a text that a new stew is on the way, and Tzarina prepares dinner. João, Margot and Adam go to the beach, and João swaps Harry and Culver for Margot and Adam. Back on the boat, Culver questions João, but João says they don’t all need to be out there. Later, João talks to Aesha about the deck crew, and she tells him there were no rules with Luke – they were all just “bros.” Harry and Culver complain to each other about João; in a confessional, Aesha can’t believe João is coming to her for advice – she wonders if he’s changed.

The guests get back to the boat and get ready for dinner; the crew does as well. The guests requested a glitz and glam dinner, and Aesha continues to say she’s not good at décor, but she and Margot impress the guests, aide from the “dollar store” door streamer. João tells Adam to help run plates, and Jason and Culver get in on the action as well. The guests love the food, edible gold paint (on everything) and all. João talks to Tzarina in the galley while Culver overhears; she asks Culver if he’s jealous after João leaves – Culver jokes and says he’ll break João’s knees if he sees him talking to Tzarina again! Margot cleans all the cabins and starts some laundry, to Aesha’s delight. The guests go to “bed,” and also to livestream, apparently… Aesha tells Harry he should ask Margot out on the crew day off, and then takes down all the decorations.

The next day the guests want a “big gay brunch” and the deck team, wearing speedos (among other things – I honestly have no clue what Culver was wearing; it was a lot), helps serve food that Tzarina plated suggestively. Jason sees the guys, laughs, and goes back inside. Later Harry tells Margot he’s going to ask to switch back to mornings so they can resume their coffee ritual; he then asks her if they can have a “sunset drinks” date on the sun deck before the crew goes out for the night. She agrees as Aesha listens to them from below; afterwards, Harry goes down and Aesha excitedly hugs him. Harry is just too sweet for this world, and he’s going to get wrecked by this girl, who clearly doesn’t want to be with him; even though she says in a confessional she likes that Harry doesn’t just want sex from her, she’s already proven too many times that she’s just not that into him. 

Jason calls Aesha to the bridge and shows her the resume of a new stewardess, Jamie; another former chief stew – what could possibly go wrong? Aesha’s not fazed; Jason says Jamie will be on the boat for dinner service. The guests go out and play with the water toys, and Jason asks João if he wants to take the guests kayaking – he does. Jason tells the deck crew they need to lift the tender to get it back aboard, and Culver takes the controls to the crane used to haul the tender up. The team attaches the ropes and starts the pull the tender upward, when – as the guests watch from the water – the tender starts to sway back and forth and hits into the guard rail on the top deck. Jason trips and falls as the deck team tries to get control of the small runaway boat, hanging from the crane, as “TO BE CONTINUED” flashes across the screen.

So João is our new second officer, Margot and Harry seem to be (very) slowly getting closer, Culver gets jealous, and the guests get a front row seat for what not to do while hoisting a boat up into the air. João wants to take charge and bring order to the chaos he’s seeing, and after the tender mishap, I think Jason will be fully on board with that plan – whether or not the deck bros will fall in line is anyone’s guess.

MxM