This episode is bookended by two heated Tumi and Natalya arguments, and I’m already over it. Their high-school-level drama is simply too petty and dumb to be the focus of the season, especially since they’re both in the wrong. Tumi came in hot thinking that being unfriendly would be the best way to assert her authority, while Natalya was defensive about stepping down and was probably going to be rude regardless of who ended up being the actual chief stew. Natalya calling Tumi a “fucking bitch” and constantly complaining about her to everyone on the boat certainly isn’t going to help her case.
If it wasn’t already clear that Kyle played some part in this, Tumi texts him afterward about how she’ll lose her shit if Natalya doesn’t “stay in her lane,” to which Kyle responds that he cautioned her about Natalya’s past behavior. I hate the fact that Kyle was in Tumi’s ear before her arrival because her first meeting with Natalya may have gone differently otherwise.
Something else I couldn’t care less about is Natalya’s open relationship, which production is obviously going to drag out for God knows how long. She tells us again that she’s unsure of it since no rules have been established, which is a huge red flag. She adds that while she doesn’t see herself being monogamous, she doesn’t feel comfortable being with someone who’s sleeping with others. When she brings up her concerns over FaceTime, her boyfriend just dodges, giving me the vibe that he’s an asshole who doesn’t want to acknowledge her feelings and only cares about himself. But hey, at least she has Luka, who claims he’s newly single and ready to mingle, to keep her distracted.
The next morning, we’re greeted with the sight of Kyle strutting down the dock, ready to play both sides and wreak more havoc. He shares that he desperately wanted to be chief stew this season, which is laughable since he’s famously lazy. Natalya is thrilled to see him and jumps right into his arms as they express how excited they are to see each other. LOL. Meanwhile, Kyle has been gossiping about her to Tumi … awkward.
Also arriving before the next charter is our new deckie, Max, whose French accent is as sexy as it is unintelligible. The only thing I could make out from his mostly unsubtitled confessional is that he has four years of experience and thinks that yachts are like casinos. He also says that in order to make it through the pressures of the industry you need to “be a Godzilla,” a skill he claims he was born with. Cut to a photo of Godzilla wearing a beret, which is easily the best moment of this entire episode. Give the editor who made this masterful decision a raise!
At the interior’s team meeting, Tumi emphasizes the importance of a hierarchy and crowns Kyle second stew due to his people skills. Natalya is annoyed, not because she got bumped down to third but because Tumi said that Kyle was “obviously” going to be given that role, which she took as a dig at her. Meanwhile, Jessika is thrilled about being lowest on the totem pole because she thinks it’ll be less stressful and keep her away from the drama. She’ll soon find out that working with this group is bound to give you anxiety regardless of your rank.
In non-interior news, the deck team has been so low-key that the only problem is Haleigh’s constant pronunciation of Lara’s name as “Laura.” Haleigh also admits that she’s struggling with her yachting inexperience. She tells us that she doesn’t know what to do when the boat’s docked because she’s used to always being busy on tug boats and misses doing “cool boat shit.” I think she might be the first person to complain about not having enough work to do.
Our incoming charter guests include primary Mecca-Moore Henson, who’s the publisher of a magazine called Pynk. She’s joined by her husband and friends, one of whom is a vegan, because what would this show be without dietary restrictions that make the chef struggle? And to make matters worse, the weather is so bad they’ll have to stay on the dock. The guests are clearly fuming when they step out of their taxi, but at least they don’t take their frustrations out on the crew. To make up for it, Tumi hires a masseuse, who happens to be the perfect eye candy to keep the women distracted.
Kyle eventually blabs to Natalya about Tumi’s text in which she apparently told him she’d fire Natalya if she had to, which makes Natalya think that she can continue talking shit. She spends the entire day whining about how Tumi and her bad attitude ruined the “flow” she had established and that Jack, who told Nat to give Tumi a chance, will soon see how awful Tumi is. Girl, please get off your high horse because this isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Any hopes of Tumi and Jack having a good relationship after their successful meeting in the morning are quickly dismissed when the guests adamantly state that they want to skip his (rather depressing-looking) cheese plates and jump straight to lunch. Jack is stressed because he doesn’t like being rushed, even though the guests being hangry isn’t Tumi’s fault. When lunch is finally served, Adjua, the vegan, rates her food a six, and the primary tells Tumi that they were underwhelmed and expect to be served something more extravagant. Jack certainly has his work cut out for him.
In the midst of a rough first day for Tumi, she has a touching moment with guest Samantha, who tells her that it’s a big deal to see a Black woman in yachting. Tumi says that it’s difficult sometimes since she feels she isn’t “changing the world,” and Samantha kindly responds that Tumi makes an impact on everyone who steps onto the boat. In a confessional, Tumi tells us that the lack of diversity and people of color in leadership positions is often defended and that she’s here to show everyone that Black people can in fact make it to the top. Queen shit! In an episode full of such negativity, I’m glad to see acknowledgment of an issue that has loomed over the franchise since its inception.
Ahead of dinner, the guests asked Kyle to take note of their changes to Jack’s planned menu, such as lobster instead of wild boar. One guest in particular, Bobbi, requested lobster with her pasta instead of what was initially going to be served. The problem is that this gets communicated poorly, resulting in a disastrous evening. When dinner rolls around and the second course — yellowtail with steamed mussels — is served, Bobbi points out that it’s not what she asked for. It then becomes clear that she thought the lobster linguine starter was the entree and asked to have it again as her main. Jack, who’s already on edge thanks to the vegan element, gets pissed and takes his frustrations out on Tumi, even though she was never made aware of the initial changes. Tumi blames the mistake on the guests, which makes Jack angrier since he thinks she should take accountability like any good department head would do. They eventually settle things, but I’m sure this isn’t the last time we’ll see conflict in the galley. The silver lining in this whole mess? Jack’s vegan rating went up to a ten.
The next morning, Natalya and Tumi’s drama shows no signs of stopping as they enter round two. After Kyle went to bed at 3 a.m. without clearing the pajama-party decorations in the salon, Natalya wakes up to find the boat still a mess. She brings it up to Tumi, who says that she’d rather the stews go to bed earlier than stay up late cleaning. Natalya — who Tumi hilariously compares to a chihuahua because she’s “territorial, combative, speaks all the time” — disagrees because she believes it comes off as unprofessional. (I’m with her on this one; the decor shouldn’t be left out overnight.) They go back and forth, with Tumi arguing that Natalya has been attacking her since day one and Natalya countering that Tumi stepped on the boat with a poor attitude and lack of appreciation, which isn’t fully true since Tumi literally complimented her work. Ladies, get a fucking grip — I’m begging!
Next week, Tumi and Natalya’s feud will escalate to the point that Captain Sandy gets involved, which is never a good sign. If they don’t manage to work things out soon, then I can’t really see either of them making it through the rest of the season.
