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Below Deck Down Under Season-Premiere Recap: Rough Start

Season 2 Episode 1 Editor’s Rating4 stars ****Photo: Bravo Below Deck Down Under is finally back, under the leadership of ultimate DILF Captain Jason, this time cruising around Cairns, Australia, a.k.a. the place where Jason famously crashed a boat in 2019. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again! We’re aboard Northern Sun, a 1977 Japanese shipping vessel that was converted to a superyacht (more on her later). After having several returning players in the recent season of Sailing Yacht, I’m looking forward to having a crew that’s filled with newbies.

Chief Stew Aesha is also back, and I couldn’t be happier. Ever since she first appeared on Mediterranean, her bubbly and infectious personality has solidified her as a perfect reality-TV character. This season, Aesha’s determined not to let her stews walk all over her. “I’m gonna be a tough bitch … Well, a tougher bitch,” she says. “I’m gonna be direct because it’s not quite in me to be a bitch.” How could you not love her?

Also in the interior is a second stew, Laura from Latvia, who enjoys doing table settings and party décor, which is great as long as she doesn’t have tacky taste. She also has experience as a chief stew. Here’s hoping this doesn’t lead to her and Aesha clashing. Starting off on a rough note, the third stew is still working on a different boat, so we won’t be meeting her this week, leaving the interior understaffed for now.

Also, down a man is the deckhand crew since the third deckhand’s visa was rejected, according to a text to Captain Jason. Our bosun is Luke, a self-described “massive flirt” and “sleep-naked type guy.” I fear he may be the fuckboy of the season. I also predict he and Laura will eventually hook up since they’ve already started flirting. Next we meet deckhand Adam, a New Yorker who’s worked on commercial boats and later reveals that he gets seasick, is afraid of water, and can’t really swim well. I’m sure that’ll work out great! There’s also Harry, who’s very tall and hopes to captain an adventure boat (I reckon he’d be a good fit for Below Deck Adventure, then). I like Adam and Harry so far, but Luke has weird vibes.

In the galley is Chef Tzarina, who’s “30, flirty, [and] thriving.” Her luggage has been lost, leaving her without clothes and, more importantly, knives. To add to the stress, she soon discovers that the galley isn’t very spacious. The refrigerator’s tiny as hell, the appliances are old, and there’s no service area, which will undoubtedly make her job much harder. Regardless, it can’t get worse than last season’s villainous Chef Ryan.

Now let’s talk about Northern Sun real quick: She’s a new beast for Captain Jason, who says he’s fully up for the challenge. Unlike most motor yachts, this older boat only has one propeller and isn’t electronic, making departures and dockings more difficult. The interior, though remodeled, has dated furnishings and, as I mentioned before, a small kitchen. But hey, at least the crew cabins are large compared to their usual cramped spaces. You win some, you lose some!

After everyone gets settled, Captain Jason calls for a crew meeting, where we meet the engineers and first officer who’ll likely never be seen again. Jason then gives everyone a rundown of his rules and expectations, like no drinking on charter. Then at the deckhand meeting, Luke tells the guys he isn’t a bossy person but rather an “active leader” who likes being hands on. I have a feeling he’s going to be an annoying boss as the season progresses. Meanwhile, Aesha tells Laura not to take any of her potential feedback personally, and Laura seems excited to work with her. Aesha tells us she’s been “graced with” what appears to be a strong second. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, girlie.

The next morning, Captain Jason asks Aesha to help put in his new eye contacts, and she’s so excited you’d think she was just given a massive raise. Then after Aesha rips her skort moments before the guests arrive, we meet our first primary, Carmen, a retired Air Force veteran and PR-firm founder who’s on vacation with her rich friends. Carmen seems nice, but the same can’t be said about her pal Kristyl. Her preference sheet notes that she’s sober, but Aesha predicts she won’t stick to it once she steps onto the boat. Lo and behold, she’s right! Kristyl immediately demands that alcohol be added to her mocktail because she’s given up sobriety and then whines when her drink doesn’t arrive within the blink of an eye. She seems like a handful. After Aesha’s tour of the boat, Tzarina presents the guests with two gorgeous charcuterie boards that look straight out of Pinterest. Then, barely a few hours into the trip, the guests start putting the interior through the wringer by constantly putting in drink orders that Aesha can barely keep up with.

At the same time, Aesha tells Laura to take a quick five-minute break to change uniforms. Instead, over 15 minutes pass and Laura’s still taking her sweet time getting dressed and retouching her makeup as an overwhelmed Aesha keeps radioing her. When Aesha rightfully calls her out for taking too long, Laura says in a confessional that “looking good for the job is important.” She adds that Latvia places importance on beauty and that if it takes long to make it happen, so be it. She won’t make it far if this becomes a pattern.

Tzarina makes a good first impression at lunch with an assortment of salads and things like mahi-mahi. Sometime during the meal, Carmen points out that Kristyl has something on her face, which pisses Kristyl off for no reason other than Carmen apparently acting like the “queen of the universe.” Everyone’s confused by Kristyl’s desire to pick a fight, but it’s quickly apparent that she just wants to be the center of attention. Why do charter guests always invite people they seem to hate being around?

Following lunch, Luke and Harry take the guests to a nearby island for their helmet-ping excursion. They suit up and hop on a boat to the ping location and have what looks to be a super-fun experience getting to explore Australia’s beautiful sea life. Luke, who also gets to take part in it, tells us that this type of stuff is up his alley since he loves “chasing the next bit of excitement.” I’m just happy Carmen and Kristyl made it through without another argument.

Back on the boat, Tzarina’s frazzled in the galley, feeling the pressure of wanting to deliver a memorable seafood extravaganza they request. I’m sure the fact that her luggage is still lost isn’t helping her get in a positive mind-set. Captain Jason notices, so he becomes her temporary sous chef. Hot! Earlier, Tzarina told us that due to her severe dyslexia, she spends extra time studying preference sheets so as to make everything perfect. And her effort really shines. Despite having to adapt to a small workspace, Tzarina wows the guests with an incredible seafood feast. It made my mouth water, and I don’t even eat seafood. Yet she still feels “terrible” since she needed help. Girl, it’s only day one, stop being so hard on yourself!

Then Captain Jason and Luke chat about the importance of developing a schedule for the deckhands to ensure they get enough rest. Captain Jason also makes it clear that a deckhand should always be up to help out the stew working the night shift, and Luke seems to agree. In a confessional, Captain Jason expresses — perhaps prematurely — how impressed he is with Luke’s ability to take “ownership of the deck” and be a proactive listener. Later in the evening, Luke disregards Captain Jason’s request to have a deckhand stay awake at night because he wants to be “strategic.” It seems like Luke’s the type of bosun who thinks he knows better than his boss. This ultimately backfires, so the joke is on him.

While most of the guests head to bed, the guest named Brandon shows up in his swimsuit, asking Aesha for champagne. And just as Aesha thinks he’s finally gone, Brandon returns demanding a cocktail. Laura tells her to go to bed because she’ll handle it. But to make things worse, Kristyl finally emerges from her room. Brandon asks Laura if he and Kristyl can go for a night swim and she says no because they’re hammered and it’s, y’know, dangerous to swim at night when there are sharks and jellyfish around. Brandon and Kristyl, who make for a deeply unpleasant yet entertaining pair, jump into the ocean anyway, forcing Laura to wake Captain Jason up. When she informs him that they went swimming against her orders, he asks if a deckhand is awake and then radios Luke, who’s fast asleep. Not a good look! I’m looking forward to seeing Luke hopefully get reprimanded for this.

Captain Jason confronts the drunk guests, telling them that if they go swimming again, he’ll take them back to the marina. Kristyl then says the episode’s funniest line, “On my vacation, I’m the captain of this ship. You’ll learn it tomorrow.” Bold of her to say this — to the actual captain no less — when she’s only here because her friend invited her.

In store for us this season: Captain Jason in a Speedo, a love pentagon, and an incident involving Aesha and what appears to be a male crew member. By the looks of it, this season’s going to be a banger.

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