Below Deck Sailing Yacht Recap: Winky Cousins
This week’s episode revolves around Daisy focusing on the chief stew’s rough day at work and then a night out where not one, not two, but three of her co-workers would like to kiss her. Whatever charm or magnetic effect she has on them, it does not work on the guests. As primaries Jillian and Sharie leave, they pull Glenn aside to critique the crew. They say the guys went above and beyond, but the girls weren’t as attentive. Calling the exterior/interior out by gender feels icky, but they’re not wrong that the interior was rolling their eyes and irritated behind their backs. Glenn apologizes, and everyone fakes nice to say good-bye.
The conversation with Glenn was just a dress rehearsal, because the primaries reiterate the same critique to everyone as they hand over the tip. They call out the “tension between the girls,” which definitely exists, but when the worst person is right, you don’t want to hear it. Daisy largely dismisses the feedback because the guests were so hostile, but she does admit she feels guilty and responsible that they could tell the crew didn’t like them. It is literally their job to be nice to guests, so it’s a failure of professionalism.
Danni piles on to the criticism by asking to talk with Daisy and blames the chief stew for losing her passion and motivation. She dares to say she’s also speaking on behalf of Diana to complain that Daisy snaps at them and doesn’t give them enough direction. Daisy gives her an “I’m sorry if you feel that way” non-apology and puts it back on Danni, who needs to ask if she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be doing. Daisy won’t cop to her sometimes-bad attitude: “I actually think I’m a very pleasant crew member.” She again dismisses the feedback, this time because she sees it as her Gen-Z inferior overstepping. It’s as if Danni magically heard this comment, because her going-out outfit and hairstyle later is practically a Gen-Z parody. Anyway, neither stew leaves the conversation with a changed point of view. You know how so many POV videos misunderstand what POV means? I can see Danni making such a video like, “POV: Your boss hates you” that’s just her preening for the camera.
Daisy then has demoralizing chat No. 2 with Glenn, where she finally takes some responsibility for the bad vibes but still points to the guests’ stonewalling. Glenn reminds her that she sets the tone for her department, and they need to behave better if they get similarly negative guests again. Daisy, getting emotional over “this fucking day,” has to take a minute to walk around the marina before finishing the review session. Glenn reassures her that he knows she can do it. Daisy’s showing some improvement over past seasons by not completely breaking down in the face of criticism, but it also feels like Glenn is tiptoeing to not set her off, so is it really growth?
Meanwhile, Danni fills in Diana, who’s shocked that Danni was so bold to their boss. Danni thinks it’s hard to work for someone who (she thinks) doesn’t give a fuck. Diana disagrees; Daisy is comprehensive and not the worst chief stew she’s worked for. Diana tells us that Danni’s priority is flirting with guys, so it seems like what she’s really mad about is Daisy getting in the way of that. Danni: “This is so mind-game-y, and I don’t do mind games.” Danni proceeds to fan the flames of the mind games she started by telling Chase and Gary about her issues with Daisy too. She may be sleeping with Chase, but expecting Gary, a guy who’s known Daisy literally 90 times longer than her and her bestie of many years, to take her side is delusional.
After all the fuss, the tip is actually $15,000, which is not bad at all for one night. Daisy’s on the verge of tears in the meeting, but looking forward to the night out with Keith cheers her up. They jokingly bond over Danni trying to assassinate both of their characters. She wants to get over the “worst charter she’s ever done.”
The crew’s night out isn’t as dramatic as the telenovela Glenn’s watching in bed, but there is some intrigue. Chase and Danni are still paired off, while Gary asks Keith what’s going on with him and Daisy. Keith doesn’t want to ruin his friendship or boss-employee relationship with Gary, who gives his blessing for them to hook up. Gary, unconvincingly lying through his teeth: “I’m all for it.” It’s also notably not a blessing to start a serious relationship, which he still only wants Daisy to have with him.
Blissfully unaware of the building connection between Daisy and Keith, Cloyce still has his eyes on Daisy. He tells us about dating a 23-year-old he met at the swing club when he was 17. There’s so much to unpack there. Perhaps decades from now, in therapy, Cloyce will have a breakthrough about what wanting to grow up so fast cost him. At the non-swing bar, Cloyce has less luck when he tries to hit on Daisy. She writes him off with a “You’re very endearing.”
When Daisy and Keith go outside for a cigarette, he confesses he’s very into her and wants to see her after the season. They kiss as Gary looks on from afar, failing to play his disappointment off as lighthearted heckling. In the car, Cloyce is crushed to learn about the kiss. Back on the boat, Daisy’s worried that Gary’s not really okay with her and Keith, but Keith’s emotional security wins her over. They kiss a bit more in her bed before saying good night. It seems like Gary’s finally getting the message that Daisy’s uninterested. He still wants to be friends with her, and it’s a well-behaved night for him.
Danni and Chase sleep in the master, which Daisy explains is a privilege the stews are allowed because they’re the ones who clean it. Yet she’s considering taking that perk away to put Danni in her place. Gary suggests Daisy take Danni for an ice cream to talk it out. Daisy: “Absolutely not.” Instead, in the morning, she passively asks if the stews need directions to turn over the boat.
Later, she does have a follow-up with Danni. Daisy starts positively by thanking Danni for the feedback and complimenting her work but then pushes back — it’s not her job to create passion. This is debatable: It’s definitely a manager’s job to motivate their team. Daisy says Danni claiming that only the junior stews’ initiative was getting them through charters undermined her. She impresses upon Danni to understand her rank and reflect on her position. Danni doesn’t actually do this — she still thinks Daisy hates her because she’s a threat to her position — but realizes she needs to suck it up and apologize in the moment. They hug it out.
Whether Daisy and Keith will be doing more hugging and smooching is to be determined. Chase warns Keith that Gary historically doesn’t mean what he says when giving a go-ahead, and we get a flashback to him telling Colin to go for it with Daisy last season. Keith isn’t rocked by this: “We’re all just winky cousins at the end of the day.”
The next primary is Detox, a Chicago drag queen and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, who’s bringing fellow drag queen Lola LeCroix, her sister, and three friends, one of whom is a porn director with titles ranging from “Sweet Meat” to “Urine.” They sound like the perfect match for the Sailing Yacht crew’s sensibility. As they line up to greet the guests, Chase pulls down Danni’s skirt for her, and I hate to say this, but the casual intimacy of it is kinda hot. Within minutes, the vibe is miles better than last charter. These guests are cracking jokes, making fun of themselves, and enjoying sailing. Jason, hilariously deadpan: “I get sailing now.” They also want to go out with some of the crew, particularly Daisy, promising an interesting next episode.
There’s a slight hiccup when the fresh fruit tastes like onions because Cloyce cut it on the same board, but he quickly cuts up some new fruit with a fresh board and knife, and Danni handles it well with the guests. The mistake sets a tone where the guests don’t really respect “the 12-year-old” chef. At dinner, everyone’s into his croquettas except Lola, who calls it a cheese stick in ball form. Daisy passes the feedback onto Cloyce. They’re pleased with the next course, arugula salad with brûléed goat cheese. I may not be able to taste it, but so far, I’m not wowed. For wowing, Cloyce is yet again going back to his same playbook and using smoke. Is smoke Cloyce’s beef cheeks? Unfortunately, the smoker battery runs out, and the course is 13 minutes late. Lola’s impatient and goes down to her room. It’s a cliffhanger of how late Cloyce will get the dishes out. In an interview, Glenn delivers a scripted-sounding threat about needing someone he can depend on “at this point in the season.” This makes no sense because there’s only one charter left. It’s not worth replacing Cloyce unless the smoke is so disastrous that his tenure burns up in flames. A girl can dream.
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