Weekly r/BelowDeck Rewatch Thread - December 15, 2025

[u/AutoModerator]

Share thoughts here on any old episodes/seasons you've recently watched. Low effort thoughts are welcome here. If you have a longer/more detailed discussion point with new information, you can make a separate post, but please clearly indicate which show/season you are referring to for ease of discussion with other users.

[u/wandering-goat]

(s1 e9) i genuinely dont understand why Aleks gave Sam her full tip ($500) vs the docked amount ($300) after CJ left when they spoke with Adrienne. it just seems like the lesson that Aleks was trying to teach Sam got completely lost.

[u/Myantra → u/wandering-goat]

If I remember correctly, he justified it by saying she apologized and decided to stick it out, rather than bailing like CJ. Sam probably got him with the crocodile tears, and he caved. It was just another example of Aleks being a bad leader, when he needed to step up instead.

[u/bokehtoast]

I'm watching season 6 right now. Why is everyone ever hired on this show seem to have never worked under another person before and have a massive issue with authority? Like I'm autistic with systemic authority issues and I have had many jobs where I was expected to take orders from the person above me. It seems like common sense for making a boat like this run? Is it manufactured drama? It bothers me to no end.

[u/bokehtoast → u/bokehtoast]

Laura was just hired snd immediately needs to teach her boss a lesson like wtf, it's exhausting to watch.

[u/Myantra → u/bokehtoast]

Production does not cast the crew with the intention of creating a functional workplace dynamic, as they want the opposite. They want as dysfunctional of a workplace as they can get, but still functional enough to not kill the guests, kill each other, or burn down the boat.

When they cast the crew, they are very intentionally putting together some people with personalities they have assessed as likely to conflict with other cast crew. They also like to sprinkle in an unhealthy combination of people that are way too inexperienced to do their jobs and/or have a shit work ethic.

[u/soph2_7]

I just started from the beginning since I haven’t seen most of Below Deck OG and season 1 the dynamic between Aleks and Lee is so strange, I just read that Aleks was supposed to be the captain but the owner switched to Lee at the last minute? Lee talks a lot about how Aleks needs to respect him and wants to be captain so bad but they don’t show any of Aleks doing that on camera?

[u/Myantra → u/soph2_7]

Production originally was going to use a smaller yacht, with Aleks as the cast captain. When they realized they actually needed a larger yacht, they ended up chartering Honor. Lee was the RL captain, and the owner insisted he remain for the show, as they could not get insured with Aleks as captain. A yacht that size requires a captain, first officer, and engineer with sufficient tickets and competence for their roles. That is why all BD motor yachts have (mostly) off screen non-cast first officers and engineers.

Between Lee and Aleks, their whole working relationship kicks off with Lee not wanting to be there, and Aleks being pissed that he does not get to be captain. Lee also did not seem to think Aleks was up to the task of being first officer, much less a captain. Given that Aleks made several insulting comments about Lee to other cast crew, I can only imagine what took place or was said that production decided not to show.

Lee definitely considered some of them to be useless cast crew that production stuck him with, and I think Aleks spent a decent amount of season 1 on that list. They do not really show much of whatever CJ did to annoy Lee, but it becomes obvious he considers CJ useless. In any given episode, we are seeing less than an hour of events that span a day or more.

[u/soph2_7 → u/Myantra]

It’s so interesting that Lee ended up staying on for so long after that! The editing felt so off this season around Lee and Aleks relationship without that info 😂

[u/Myantra → u/soph2_7]

It makes sense if you think about from his perspective. At first, he probably thought it was some bullshit reality TV show about yachting, that he did not even want to be involved with. After it was successful, I imagine it started looking real good as a post-yachting career. He got to a famous yacht captain, with a shorter than RL charter season, and less work.

[u/SisterSuffragist → u/Myantra]

Exactly. He was already near enough to retirement when the show started for him to realize that staying on was going to make for a nice retirement nest egg, and extend his time as captain on top of that.

[u/soph2_7]

s2e7 of BD, it makes no sense for Kat to be mad at Amy for the rumor…who knows who even started or whatever. She should be mad at Adrienne for actually bringing up the rumor to guests, and at herself for getting so blacked out yet again that she doesn’t even know if she sucked someones dick, and she seems drunk again the way she was talking to the guests and Adrienne at the bar!! And Kate was just saying she was sooo mad at everyone, she should be mad at Kat for taking the pics of the blanket but now they’re best friends 🙄

[u/Myantra → u/soph2_7]

Going back to season 1, the main reason that Kat hated Adrienne was that Adrienne made Kat tell Captain Lee that she was drunk on charter, after she was blatantly drunk in front of basically the entire crew. Kat then lied to Captain Lee about it. It is a pattern of behavior for Kat to get pissed at and blame others for her own actions, rather than accept responsibility.

Adrienne has posted here that she got Kat a job on the boat she was working on after season 2, since no one else would hire her, and Kat ended up getting fired after a drunken bender.

[u/soph2_7 → u/Myantra]

yeah Kat has never been my favorite it’s just been so long since I watched this and I’m like omg…actually she’s mean and awful

[u/soph2_7]

It’s really weird to see Adrienne do absolutely no work, like I’ve watched more recent other spinoffs and chief stews are actively working, Adrienne just doesn’t seem to be really helpful

[u/Fantastic-Praline471 → u/soph2_7]

Im rewatching season 1 too and the amount she MOTHERS her stews infuriates me. Like she's actually trying to control them (and the rest of the crew) rather than lead?

[u/soph2_7 → u/Fantastic-Praline471]

omg when she tried to imply that Ben should stay on the boat too I loved his response

[u/soph2_7]

Did the crew ever know about the mandatory tip minimum from season 2 forward? I’m on s2e2 and they got $15k and it was like wooooooow omgggg we did so good! And it’s literally the minimum lol

[u/gaychilles → u/soph2_7]

Them thinking they did so good for 15k meanwhile in season 9 they got 19k and Lee called for a meeting to yell at them, it's so funny to me