I’m not sure where to start with this episode except to say that the yacht I’m currently cooking on doesn’t have the Golf Channel which usually puts me to sleep immediately, and this season of Below Deck is quickly becoming my tranquilizer of choice. This episode brought us lots of step aerobics, Shane tying his career in knots, messy guests complaining, and the dreaded caviar/crab conundrums.

Let’s get into it...

The major theme of this episode is that every crew member (Izzy and Ash excluded) needs to throw on a Suzanne Somers-style Spandex unitard and step up their game. The general message during Lee’s last meeting was basically, “Everybody is sucking. Fix it. Oh, yeah, and does anyone want to bitch about their coworkers in a round table fashion?” No takers. But I’ll bite since no one else did.

Let's start with Francesca and Elizabeth. I have to say that while I appreciate general optimism, I think we’ve passed the point of wishful thinking that Elizabeth will own her second stripe and take the initiative to make the interior team’s lives easier and more organized. The second stew position is very much a support role; her job is really to run back up for whatever the chief stew needs, no matter how futile she thinks the tasks are. She doesn’t seem to get that, and Francesca doesn’t seem to be trying too hard to find ways to motivate her.