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Below Deck Down Under Recap: Adam Heads to Shore

Season 2 Episode 13 Editor’s Rating3 stars ***

Photo: Bravo The time has finally arrived for Adam’s departure, and I can’t help but be a little sad over it. After ensuring a replacement was lined up and mulling it over with João, who desperately tried to convince Captain Jason to keep Adam, Jason decides that he will ultimately let Adam go. After the tip meeting (more on that later), Jason asks João and Adam to stay back and breaks the news. Adam’s clearly gutted over it but leaves with his head held high, appreciative of the experience he’s had. It’s apparent that the rest of the crew loved working with him, too, and he gets a sweet group hug from Aesha, Margot, Tzarina, and Jaimee before leaving, which probably made his day.

Adam certainly lasted longer than I thought he would, but who would’ve thought that his downfall would end up being his inexperience rather than his discomfort around water? In all honesty, I know I’ve given Adam shit for being annoying, but my heart breaks for him! In a season full of shitty men, Adam seemed like a genuinely nice dude with good intentions and a kind heart. It’s understandable why Jason decided to give him the boot, but he and his Brooklyn accent will be missed regardless.

Now that we’ve covered the Adam of it all, let me briefly backtrack to the guests’ departure. I take back what I said in last week’s recap about them being possible nightmares; they proved me wrong and were nice and chill. We’ve been lucky with charter guests being wonderfully unproblematic recently, so I think some chaos might be in store for us soon. Emily & Co. left a $15,000 tip, which is good even though we’ve certainly seen better. Also, at the tip meeting, Jason awards Aesha with the disco helmet since she managed to convince him to wear Budgy Smugglers. Thank you for your service, Aesha.

Meanwhile, João won’t let Adam’s departure take away from the fact that he can’t stand Culver and his bad work ethic. In the galley, he tells Culver that it was a toss-up between him and Adam to get fired and that there’s pressure on him to work his ass off. The editors then craft a perfect montage of their dueling confessionals, with João laughing about how dumb Culver is while Culver expresses how little he cares about João’s (pronounced “J-Woww”) threats. Give these editors an Emmy!

After Captain Jason confronts Culver about his laziness, Culver tells us that he’s mad because João went directly to Jason about something that is merely a “miscommunication thing.” Is he delusional? Culver needs to stop downplaying this because his laziness has grown into something bigger than a miscommunication issue, especially when João’s been clear about his expectations, while Culver has disregarded all directions in favor of prioritizing his stomach and goofing off. I’m convinced that he’d thrive as a stew. Jason thinks bringing in an experienced lead deckhand will push Culver to work harder. João doesn’t agree, and neither do I, since Culver’s behavior this season is something we’ve already seen before.

Aesha, meanwhile, has decided to give Margot a chance at taking on the role of second stew for the next charter. Jaimee’s a bit annoyed that she’s been temporarily demoted but says she’ll “make the most out of it” for now. As much as she’s playing nice with the interior so far, I’m getting the sense that there will eventually be tension between Jaimee and Aesha, which is great since I feel like we’re due for some petty stew drama.

The crew night out isn’t anything special, with everyone drinking, dancing, and whining about their jobs as usual. When Aesha notices that Culver is sulking, he vents to her about how he doesn’t have a reason to be energetic when he has just gotten (rightfully) called out by his superiors. The conversation eventually leads to the topic of Jaimee, whom Culver says he’s “internally” calling his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Jaimee’s only interested in having a boat fling. It’s wild how the concept of relationships gets warped on these boats after only knowing each other for a week or so.

When they return to the boat, Culver FaceTimes his mom, Kim, and fills her in on his issues with João. Then, Jaimee sits on his lap and introduces herself to Kim, which gives me déjà vu since we practically witnessed this exact scenario earlier in the season with Tzarina. (Side note: Culver being such a mama’s boy gives me the ick.) Speaking of, Tzarina and João cuddle in her cabin while she tells us that João is currently her “happy place.” She adds that there’s an angel on her shoulder telling her that João’s sweet and a devil on the other reminding her that he sucks, while her “vagina puppet” is telling her to feed it. They might have good chemistry, but that still doesn’t mean I’m onboard with this pairing.

Our new lead deckhand arrives the next morning, and he happens to be someone Aesha knows, which seems to be a trend this season. He’s Luka, an experienced deckhand and engineer who everyone agrees is incredibly good-looking. He also used to hook up with Aesha’s sister, Courtney, and more interestingly, dated Magda from Down Under season one, which makes me question his taste. It’ll be interesting to see how he fits in with the rest of the crew, but Harry already thinks he’s the perfect new roomie since Luka shares his passion for Budgy Smugglers.

The next guests are a bunch of rich property developers having a lads’ holiday. It initially sounds like a nightmare, but thankfully, they mostly just seem interested in drinking. Not to speak too soon, but it could be worse. After downing some cocktails, João takes a few of the guests snorkeling, which has been happening so much on the show that it’s starting to give Below Deck Adventure a run for its money.

Later, down in the crew area, Culver tells Jaimee more about the Mediterranean yacht job, telling her that he thought she’d be perfect for it since she mentioned she’d never been to Europe. After thinking it over — though clearly not too much — Jaimee agrees to take it even though she knows it’s not a good idea to move a boatmance from one boat to another. I doubt the plan came to fruition, given that the last time Culver made postseason plans with a woman he met on the show (a van trip with Brittini), it flopped.

Before dinner, the guests spin a wheel on their phone to decide which cocktails each should have. Margot, who’s been dying for the opportunity to prove herself to Aesha but is nervous about messing up (remember, she lacks self-confidence), hates this idea because it means she’ll have to make eight separate drinks. Sure, it’s a hassle, but their demands could worsen. After she successfully makes them, Margot pours herself a drink as a reward, which is a massive mistake given that it isn’t the first time we’ve seen her drink on charter. It’s only a matter of time until it gets out of control.

Then, just as we thought the night was going well during the first course of the marine-life-themed Asian dinner party, the episode concludes with one guest, Josh — who earlier had mentioned not feeling good — suddenly choking and collapsing as everyone rushes to help him. The final moments descend into utter chaos as Aesha calls the medic, and Jason grabs the medical kit to help Josh. We’ve seen dozens of guest injuries on the franchise, but rarely do serious medical emergencies like this occur.

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