Aesha Scott is the saving grace ofBelow Deck Mediterraneanseason 9, and she’s certainly made up for the poor performance allegations against some crew members. Before she became a Chief Stew, she starred in seasons 4 and 5 of the reality yachting series as one of Hannah Ferrier’s stews. After a strong introduction to the franchise, Aesha debuted as the head of the interior department onBelow Deck Down Under. She worked withCaptain Jason Chamberson the spin-off’s first two seasons andmade her shocking return toBelow Deck Medin season 9.
It’s safe to saythe Mediterranean-based series was drowning before Aeshajoined its cast. Since Hannah’s infamous firing in season 5, the show’s circulated through new Chief Stews every season. Bugsy Drake, Katie Flood, Natasha Webb, and Tumi Mhlongo stepped into the leadership role for one season, but didn’t impressthe changing Captain Sandy Yawn, or the show’s audience enough to retain the role. However,Below Deck Medmay have finally found itspermanent Chief Stew in Aesha. She breathed new life into the series and made the show entertaining. Without Aesha, the crew of season 9 would have sunk.
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Aesha Is The Only Seasoned Below Deck Yachtie On Season 9
Before Season 9, Aesha Appeared On Four Different Below Deck Seasons
The Chief Stew joined the crew of season 9 as the only franchise yachtie. Elena “Ellie” Dubaich worked on one charter during season 7 as Kyle Viljoen’s fill-in, though she didn’t remain on the series. Aside from Captain Sandy, Aesha was the only crew member who had appeared onBelow Deckbefore the ninth installment. Sheknew how demanding it would be to juggle the stressors of yachting with filming the reality TV show, a feat the rest of the cast quickly learned. Aesha’s knowledge of how the show worked aided her among the freshman yachties.
Chef Jono Made A Near-Fatal Mistake
Chef Jono May Have Been Faking His Poor Performance
Chef Johnathan “Jono” Shillingford seemed like he might be faking his poor performance in the galley all season song. Whenhe notoriously served Captain Sandy’s friends chicken and deconstructed sponge cakeduring the second charter, he disappointed the guests, the captain, and the Chief Stew. Many viewers believed he was putting on an act for the cameras, but he proved he wasn’t when he had anear-fatal accidentduring one of the final trips of the yachting season.
Chef Jono infamously served a guest with iron overload a platter of raw seafood, which she explained could lead to her death.
Captain Sandy was disappointed in the chef’s skills before the treacherous mistake. However, when she heard thatChef Jono served a dish that could potentially kill a guest, she was furious. To no one else’s knowledge, Captain Sandy requested his replacement immediately after speaking with him about the ordeal. He was incredibly remorseful for his actions, thoughChef Jono’s reputation will likely be permanently damagedbecause of the mistake. While he struggled to adhere to preference sheets, Aesha was there to entertain the guests and the crew ended up taking home their largest tip of the season at the time.
Iain Maclean wasn’t the best Bosun during his run in season 9. Captain Sandy wasn’t impressed that he named Joe Bradley the lead deckhand of the deck team before consulting her first and seeing how he worked. She pointed out in her confessionals that deckhand Nathan Gallagher would’ve been better suited for the position due to his experience in the yachting industry. Nonetheless, she let Iain make his own decisions, but still questioned him. At the beginning of the season,he infamously lost sight of Nathan and a guest while they were paddleboarding.
Luckily, a neighboring catamaran rescued Nathan and the guest when they drifted too far away from the Mustique. Iain failed to delegate the task of watching over the guests, which led to their disappearance. Captain Sandy was furious about the paddleboarding incident but was reluctant to fire him. Joe also let the captain down when being tasked with watching over the boat’s bow while docking. Captain Sandy grew tired of the lead deckhand’s lack of experience andreassigned Nathan to watch over the bow because she trusted him.
Aside from obvious mistakes, there have been many times throughout season 9 when Nathan and Gael Cameron seemed more knowledgeable than their leaders. Iain made silly calls when docking andGael always paid attention to the captain’s ordersand called out the Bosun’s faults.Joe let his personal feelings about the crewseep into his working style and grew somewhat vindictive towards his co-workers. As the leading exterior department crew members, Captain Sandy should’ve been able to trust Ian and Joe the same way she trusted Aesha.
Bri & Ellie Were Too Busy Fighting With Each Other To Succeed As Stews
They Fought Over A Man Who Didn’t Care About Either Of Them
Most of the drama inBelow Deck Medseason 9 was fueled byBri Muller and Ellie’s season-long feud over Joe. They started friends, with the second stew serving somewhat as a mentor to Bri. After Ellie revealed she was interested in the lead deckhand, they were destined for disaster. Bri disregarded her feelings and hooked up with Joe at the first opportunity. While neither of them had dated Joe nor knew him at that point,Ellie grew resentful and took out her frustrations on the third stewwhile they worked on the Mustique.
They were reluctant to get along with one another, putting a lot of stress on Aesha as the Chief Stew. After each attempt to dissolve their conflict, they kept fighting and made no progress. Captain Sandy had to step in between them and let them know they’d both be fired if they couldn’t sort through their differences. Bri and Ellie finally settled their beef afterthe second stew caught Joe singing about not choosing to date either one of them.Nonetheless, their truce didn’t reverse the rocky charter season they endured.
WhileAesha prioritized catering to the guests, Bri and Ellie worried about themselves. Bri struggled with laundry during the entire season, while Ellie’s service wasn’t the best. They finally brought in anadditional stew, Carrie O’Neill, at the end of the season with merely two charters left. If Carrie had been present the entire season, Aesha wouldn’t have had as much weight on her back, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Aesha Pulled The Weight Of The Crew All Season Long
Aesha Was The Most Professional & Positive Crew Member Under A Lot Of Stress
Throughout all the ups and downs ofBelow Deck Medseason 9, Aesha has been a constant beam of positivity. Not only is shegreat at her job as a Chief Stew, but she’s entertaining. Aesha has a certain charm that encourages the people around her to open up and trust her. She’s navigated difficult situations throughout the season, mostly including Bri and Ellie’s conflict. However, through it all,she remained professional and didn’t lose her spark. Without Aesha, the season would have looked entirely different.
Below Deck Medseason 9 would have been a trainwreck without its Chief Stew. Aesha came into the charter season as a well-established franchise yachtie, but she didn’t let her status as a reality star hold her back from her job. She’s one of the best Chief StewsBelow Deckhas ever known, and the crew of season 9 was lucky to have her.
Below Deck Mediterranean
Cast
Below Deck Mediterranean is a Bravo reality television series that follows a crew that works aboard a gigantic superyacht during the busy season. The show highlights the challenges of the crew as they serve their high-end clientele. Each season tackles new locations, such as Greece, Croatia, Italy, and France, with some repeating.
