Below Deck Season 11 Episode 2 recap: Barbie vs Cat

Below Deck Season 11 is underway and the brand-new crew is struggling to adjust to each other. Here is a brief recap of episode 2 titled ‘Pier Pressure’.

Below Deck Season 11 premiered on 5 February on Bravo TV and was made available to stream on Peacock a day after. Here are some of the highlights from Below Deck Season 11 episode 2.

The Season 11 crew is on their first charter and still settling into their team dynamics. The team is missing dedication and accountability which could disastrously lead to strained relationships.

The two stews, Barbie and Cat, are seen developing a Mean Girl dynamic. While the Chief Steward, Fraser Olender, looked stressed as he had trouble focusing on his tasks. The Bosun Jared and Lead Deckhand Ben continued to get in each other’s way.

The Below Deck season is starting to get steamy

Season 11 had an eventful premiere ending with the chef, Anthony Iracane, being more than an hour late in serving dinner during the first charter.

After a dessert of Poached Pears in Red Wine sauce, the guests moved on to relaxing in the hot tub. Anthony knew that he shouldn’t have been late but gave an excuse to the cameras saying: “I know I gotta work on my timing situation, but love [takes] time. And I’m making love in the plate.”

Things get steamy on deck as two guests left alone in the hot tub ask Barbie to ‘go to bed’ and clean up later.

“I’m pretty sure the primaries are f**king [in the hot tub],” Barbie says to Kyle the moment she sees him below deck. Kyle replies, “Would you not be, if you were on a yacht?”

Meanwhile, Kyle admitted to cameras that he would love to hook up with Barbie this season, and Barbie swore that she would never hook up on board St. David, especially with Kyle.

“Spoiled rich girls? I may have the charm. Just a long bit of charm, I’ve got,” Kyle said to the cameras.

More trouble on the Below Deck crew

Chief Steward Fraser sends off Stewerdess Xandi on a kayak excursion with the guests, which she is reluctant to go to. Later, Xandi gets herself in trouble with Captain Kerry by forgetting to take the drinks meant for the guests.

The Captain said, “As far as I’m concerned when there’s an excursion, the stewardess on the excursion, it’s their screw-up.”

Back on St. David, when Fraser finds out he blames himself for trusting Ben to do his job. He reflected and said, “I look like an Idiot because Ben didn’t do what I asked him to do. Stupidly, I trusted someone else to help me facilitate my own job. That’s not gonna happen again.”

Fraser confronts Ben about the missing water at the excursion, but Ben blames it on Jared who then says in a confessional, “I was diagnosed with ADHD. When stress comes, my attention is at a little bit of a deficit. Every once in a while, I’ll be like, ‘Squirrel,’ but then I’m right back to it.”

At the end of the charter, due to the crew’s neglect, Captain Kerry finds the ship in a possible docking disaster and is forced to maneuver it out himself. “In 20 years, I’ve never been in that situation. What the f**k?!” he angrily yells into the radio.

Ben’s involved with the Interior team again

Barbie continues to complain that Cat is not doing enough work and is too slow. Cat goes on to tell Fraser that she feels ‘disrespected’ by Barbie.

When Ben overhears Cat’s complaint he chooses to stir up drama by telling everything to Barbie. Fraser confronts Ben once more and says, “Please don’t get involved in interior drama. Because you riled [Barbie] up and now I’ve gotta deal with that. She’s fiery, as you know, which I’m sure you quite like.” 

As Cat and Barbie’s petty fights continue, Fraser is forced to give them a stern warning. He said, “You’re gonna be a good stew, and you’re gonna get along. And if you can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t f**kin’ help with that. You’ll both be gone.”

After February 5, 2024, Below Deck Season 11 episodes are set to air every Monday at 9 pm ET/PT on Bravo TV and Peacock.