Serving Dessert (and Drama)

As deckie Adam so eloquently puts it at the start of the episode, “Guess we know who’s getting the disco ball” helmet from Captain Jason after this charter… Poor Culver lets the crane get the better of him, and causes a minor bit of damage to a railing on the side of The Northern Sun while hoisting a tender back onto the yacht. The guests continue to watch from the water, and in a confessional Jason says it’s embarrassing to operate like this in front of the guests, and Culver was lucky only a railing was damaged…

The deckies continue to complain about João, and Adam says he took off on that kayak the first chance he got. He’s wrong; Jason asked João to take the guests kayaking, continuing Adam’s know-it-all (but not actually) streak. The new stew Jamie Jaimee, is on the way, and Aesha shows Margot her resume. In a confessional, Margot half jokingly complains that Jaimee is gorgeous. The guests come back onto the boat and hop into the hot tub.

Tzarina explains to Margot that for dessert she’s going to paint the primary, Laura, in chocolate. She’s going to adorn Laura with cakes and strawberries, and she’s very excited for the experience. Later, Tzarina tests out chocolate painting on herself in the galley, and is figuring out how to keep the chocolate set. Jason explains to João and Harry what went wrong with the tender, and says “probably the wrong person” was at the controls. In a confessional João says when a captain has to get involved in things like that, it’s because the deck crew doesn’t know what they’re doing; he’s going to prove to Jason he can be trusted.

Jaimee, the new stewardess (another Aussie!), arrives via tender; she’s introduced to Aesha and Margot and they all go off to get Jaimee settled. Jaimee tells Aesha she was a chief stew for a year, and loves laundry and table décor, much to Aesha’s delight. Jaimee meets Tzarina, who calls her “stunning” when she leaves. Jaimee meets the rest of the crew, and in a confessional says she loves a good boatmance. In the crew mess, Harry meets Jaimee and they talk about where they’re from in front of Margot; she leaves, goes to the galley and jokes to Tzarina since Harry met Jaimee she’s going to jump ship. Tzarina tells Adam, who’s helping out, that if Culver looks at Jaimee… Aesha’s love pentagon is becoming a love octagon.

The stews seem to be getting along, and Jaimee slides right into service. Dinner service gets under way, and the guests are all dressed as wild animals – so lots of leopard print. Culver dresses as an Australian tour guide, I think, as Margot and Jaimee clean up the cabins. It’s dessert time, and primary guest Laura goes to her cabin to get undressed. She comes back to the table in a thong, lays down on said table, and Tzarina proceeds to paint her with chocolate and puts cakes and berries on top of her; the guests dig in as most of the crew watch. Jason misses things, but Tzarina tells him there’s loads left over and if she wants she can recreate things in his cabin… he smiles and gives here a hand wave. Adam hoses off Laura and has a grand old time.

Later, in the galley, João tells Tzarina that he is single but he was engaged, much to her surprise. Culver walks by the galley, but sees João and Tzarina and heads off. Later, Harry and Adam, thinking João has gone to bed a half hour early, complain that he does nothing; meanwhile João is inside, continuing to clean up. João goes to bed, while Harry and Adam clean up with Jaimee; Adam says Jaimee does more work than João. I’m sorry, not sorry, but Adam is just the worst. He just sort of makes things up in his head and runs with them, whether they’re true or not; also, João is your boss, my friend. It’s not at all your place to criticize him or the amount of work he does; maybe if you were in the industry for a bit longer you’d know what a bosun or second officer is supposed to be doing. You are a deckhand, so maybe just zip it and do your job?

The next morning is the final charter day; Tzarina makes breakfast and Aesha again helps Jason with his contacts. The deck team pulls up the anchor and The Northern Sun heads back to the dock. Jaimee tells Aesha the deck boys are so nice; Jaimee says she might be into Culver, but Aesha jokes that Culver is Tzarina’s. The boat arrives at the dock, the guests say their goodbyes, and Laura gives Jason a tip envelope. The crew starts cleaning up the boat, and while João is fixing a fender that’s crooked, the rest of the deck team continues to complain; when the new railing arrives and João asks for help, Adam asks if João is there “just to collect a paycheck.” In a confessional, Harry says some people lead by example, but João just likes delegating. Yeah, it’s called being a boss… he put in years of work so now he can just manage you clowns.

At the tip meeting Jason says he’s proud of the team, but the person who made him trip – Culver – gets the helmet. The tip is $20,000, and Jaimee graciously offers to split her money since she’s only just gotten there; Jason leaves that up to the crew and João says “not a chance.” Harry creates a cheese platter and sets up the sun deck for his date with Margot, and in a confessional says he’s very nervous. Harry and Margot get ready, and go up to the deck. Margot loves the seating and cheese board, and the two chat about their dating lives. Almost on cue, it starts to rain and they pack up and go inside. It’s a little awkward between them, and in a confessional Margot says the conversation isn’t flowing. On the boat, she kisses Harry, and the two rejoin the crew. Aesha asks Margot if she felt ‘fanny flutters’, but Margot said she did not. Clearly, because she wants to be into Harry, but really, really isn’t.

Before they leave, on a smoke break, Tzarina asks Adam if he likes João; Adam says he does not and João doesn’t do anything. The crew goes to the restaurant, and Tzarina plays nice with João, making a toast to welcome him and Jaimee. Aesha tells Tzarina she is all over João, and there’s a difference between playing nice and sucking his d***. Her point is just that Tzarina is overcompensating in trying to be nice; she tells Tzarina that João is manipulative and she’s worried Tzarina will sleep with him. Tzarina busts out laughing at the thought. The ladies get on the same page, and Tzarina tells Aesha she’s not f***ing dumb [enough to sleep with João]; she’s just trying to make him feel welcome.

Tzarina then tells João how Luke was “so hands on” – and the deck crew doesn’t think he’s doing anything. João says if they think he’s not working his ass off, it’s just immature; he says he’s not their friend, he’s their boss, and there’s a big difference. And I have to agree; you cannot manage people and be their friend – there needs to be a clear line, a separation between friendships and work relationships. João tells Tzarina that Culver is the laziest deckhand he’s ever worked with, and Adam hasn’t demonstrated any knowledge of how things should work. Tzarina feels bad for breaking Adam’s trust, but João tells her he won’t say anything to the deck team about what she told him. Maybe João has grown a bit since last we saw him…

The crew goes to the bar, where Jaimee tells Culver she’d love to kiss him but she doesn’t want to make Cheffy upset. She ends up kissing him anyway, as Tzarina looks on. She gets upset, and when João asks her what’s wrong, she says Jaimee is making out with Culver and goes to leave.

So we had naked desserts, new love triangles, and clueless yet complaining deckhands. I’m hoping João has a sit down with the deck crew to whip them into shape, but doubt that will stop them from complaining. With Luke, the team was getting the job done, but just barely; they were pretty much skating by. Different mangers manage differently, and João is taking a no nonsense approach. It’s bound to cause some whiplash, but at the end of the day, he’s the big kahuna and they need to get on his wave. MxM