A young, passionate group of individuals on expensive yachts, living and working and exploring the hidden corners of the world. This briefly describes the premise of the American reality show Below Deck. The show, produced by Mark Cronin, premiered on Bravo network on July 1st, 2013. It released its tenth season on November 21st, 2022.
The show follows a group of inexperienced young yachties who get an opportunity to replace the actual yacht crew and get an experience of life on a yacht. The show brings new, more expensive yachts with every season that is led by Captain Lee Rosbach, the only permanent cast on the show.
With every new season, a new group of yachties gets introduced on the show, and we see them adjust to life on a boat and how they manage to balance their work life with demanding and rude guests and personal life with all the tension and intimacy in the small space.
By the time the show ended its second season, it had found itself a solid fanbase and viewership, which led to the making of several different versions and spinoffs of the original series. With new guests for every new episode, the show maintains the excitement regarding the obstacles the yachties will face and manage. The show is available on Netflix for streaming purposes.
Below Deck Season 10 Episode 16 Storyline
The previous episode of the season saw trouble bubbling between the crew members along with Captain Lee’s return to the show. The episode also witnessed the addition of Leigh-Ann, who stirred up a romance line with Ben, who already had something going on with a former member of the crew.
The guests in the previous episode screamed nothing but trouble and were a shock even to the crew members. The entire episode had an underlying chilly tension that indicated troubles and misunderstandings for the future. Katie and Ross’s inability to decide if they wanted to be a thing or not was also part of the episode.
The recent episode sixteenth of the series, titled ” The Thunder From Down Under Part 2,” was released on march 13th, 2023. This episode explores further the chaos that was introduced in the previous episode. The episode brought an old guest back to the show, Angel, notorious for being a task to handle.
The only saving grace of dealing with such a headache of a guest is the forty thousand dollar tip the crew received at the end, which they deserved for putting up with her tactics. Captain Lee pranked Angel while he was asleep by letting him float away from the yacht, only to be later woken up by one of the crews.
This was a fun side of the Captain, but it just makes us worry for him because he looks so frail. Hayley seems to have adopted the crew members as we see her going around, sprinkling wise words and instilling courage in them.
She and Tyler share an intimate conversation where Tyler confesses he wants to come out to his family, but he is afraid. The entire conversation is pure and wholesome and is followed by another emotional moment between Hayley and Fraser, who has a fierce competitor in the game, Leigh-Ann.
Hayley is definitely the main star of this episode, as we see her involved in another deep conversation, this time Leigh-Ann herself. She talks to her about Camille and the kind of relationship she has with Ben. Upon finding that it was only a hookup and nothing definitive, Leigh-Ann’s resolve to sleep with Ben becomes even more determined.
Leigh-Ann is a problematic and unlikable character, and this conversation is proof of that. She thinks she is different and calls Camille dumb, indirectly, but still. She and Camille look basically like twins, so it is unknown what world she is living in. Ben is no saint either.
Where on the one hand, he knows he has something close to a spark with Camille, but he is also ready to start an unnecessary fire with Leigh-Ann on the other hand. He spends his weekend in Puerto Rico with Camille, keeping her in the dark, and comes back to St. David to play with Leigh-Ann.
A playboy at best and a manipulative cheater at worst. The episode moved forward with Ross and Katie’s thing that they have going on, which at this point is confusing not only for Katie but also for the audience.
Katie is upset she did not get a lot of time with Ross, but Ross clearly states that he does not intend to do anything with Katie. He flirts with random women, says he is trying his best, drags Katie around like a pup, and draws the line whenever he wants. The girl is not only whipped for him but also blind. Somebody tell her she deserves better.
Below Deck Season 10 Episode 16 Review
The reality show, Below Deck, created by Mark Cronin, has lasted for ten years in the industry with a fanbase that is genuinely interested in the show. This may be because, under the garb of a workplace reality show, Below Deck also brings to its viewer’s melodrama and relationship conflicts and rude, dramatic guests and conflicts due to hierarchy, and lastly, some of the best landscapes from around the world.
Every season brings interesting crew members, and fans of the series wait to learn the team dynamics and explore the chemistry among them. This season is no different, a group of young attractive, passionate people far away from land, under pressure to do their best for the guest, all the while being unable to keep their eyes off each other.
Some have called it the best season to date, and some call it scripted. Either way, the show manages to be fairly entertaining and dramatic. Obviously, the show is more about the life and work of the yacht crew members, but nobody is going to watch a show for just that. This season lacks interesting characters and dynamics, which is why the conflicts feel forced.
The recent episode of the show saw some really wholesome emotional moments, especially between Hayley, Tyler, and Fraser. It is interesting to see a reality show showing friendships between the genders instead of pushing the narrative that the crew members are just a bunch of horny individuals.
Tyler’s struggle of wanting to come out to his parents but still feeling scared of their reaction will feel relatable to many. Hayley, the mother hen, is the supportive friend we all want in our lives, and it is nice to see someone like her by Tyler’s side.
Hayley’s advice to Fraser regarding the pressure he was under and pushing him to do his best just further establishes the fact that Hayley is the mother of the group and that these three share some of the best dynamics with each other.
The episode also finally puts an end to Ross and Katie’s confusing business. Till the last episode, the two had some hope, but this episode confirmed Katie’s worst fear. Ross is not serious about her. Katie needs to be wrapped in a bubble and stored far away from Ross.
The man continues hovering all around her but is also afraid of a serious commitment. Ross and Katie’s ship will probably not sail, as said Ross himself. Another relationship that is blooming on the deck of St.David is that of Ben and Leigh-Ann. The boat is full of shady two-timers, and this is the proof.
Ben had something going on with Camille just at the beginning of this season, and now he is crossing all sorts of lines with Leigh-Ann. Leigh-Ann brought on the show just for a little bit of spice; it is all about creating drama. She is hell-bent on sleeping with Ben, and she admitted this while having a chat with Hayley, our social butterfly.
Our Verdict
The show, with its work-life concept, would clearly be boring, which is why it steers toward relationship drama all the time. This episode felt less about the guests and more about the crew members struggling with their love lives.
The crew by itself is not the most interesting and charming, making the show feel very mundane. Even so, the cliched format seems to be working for the show. With its sloppy characters and stereotypical attractive people problems, and obviously, nasty rich guests, the show manages to pull the viewers to it.
The show has reached its peak drama with the usual dramatic guests and petty wars and will be airing its last episode of this season on March 20th, 2023.
Our Rating: ⭐ (3.2/5).
Also Read: Below Deck Season 10 Episode 15 Review
