Below Deck fans have been incredibly vocal about their feelings regarding Season 11's nonsensical drama, taking to social media to air their opinions and grievances almost immediately. Most of the time, they’ve been in agreeance. For instance, they all seemed to agree that Fraser Olender was this season’s villain and even banded together to support the new chef after the interior team tried to outrank him. However, reactions to a car argument in the finale have definitely been a mixed bag.
As many witnessed last night, Season 11 ended with heated back-and-forth that broke out between 2nd Stewardess Xandi Olivier and Stewardess Barbie Pascual while on the way back to the yacht after their final night out. It’s not the first time these two have disagreed, as they've been getting on each others’ nerves the entire season. However, it did mark the first time they really got into it. While the crew seemed to rally behind Xandi, the fans are having a harder time deciding which crew member was actually in the wrong.
Xandi And Barbie Get Into The Worst Argument Of The Season
This has been a tumultuous season for the two stewardesses, to say the least, and this finale moment was serious. Likely feeling the courage of copious amounts of alcohol (which always seems to ruin reality TV) after their final night out, Xandi made a comment on the car ride home. She asserted that she would have let Barbie go if she had more of a say in who got fired. Naturally, this angered Barbie, who felt like the interior team, specifically Xandi, had been against her from the very beginning.
Xandi tried to clarify her statement, saying that Barbie had improved since coming on board with a bad attitude and that she was glad she made it to the end. Yet the latter wasn’t thrilled with the secondhand praise and instead lashed out. As Barbie continued to shout about her grievance and the lack of support she received from everyone, including her “boatman” partner Kyle, Xandi seemed to suffer from an anxiety attack.
As the St. David rallied behind Xandi and tried to get Barbie to stop yelling, matters only got worse. In the end, Barbie ended up packing her things and storming off the boat at two in the morning.
Fans Aren’t Sure Which Stewardess Was In The Wrong
Thankfully, the argument stayed verbal, with neither woman getting their hands on the other, but both reactions have left fans wondering who really was in the wrong. As more and more tweets piled up on X, clear teams were drawn, with some fans rallying behind Barbie and others giving support to Xandi.
Team Barbie seem to agree that Xandi’s comment was unnecessary and out of line. A number of fans also aren’t fond of how she managed to become the victim in the entire thing with her reaction to being yelled at, despite being the one who got Barbie fired up to begin with:
Uh, Xandi, don’t tell someone you would have fired them if you were chief stew if you can’t handle their reaction. And really, at this point, why say anything at all? You’re not the victim here. #BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/QQSU7hmt3MMay 28, 2024
Interestingly enough, Team Xandi also seemed to agree that her comment was unnecessary. While they weren’t thrilled with the delivery, many did share Xandi’s same sentiments, arguing that Barbie never shed her entitlement and attitude and was difficult to work with on several occasions:
Part of being good at your job is how you treat your coworkers and make them feel. Barbie was great at service but she’s a horrible human. Clearly by her comments at the end she thinks she’s better than everyone on that boat because her dad has some coins #BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/uTqztcbm10May 28, 2024
After watching the season myself, it’s clear that both women have fair points. Barbie struggled with her work ethic at times, and Xandi made situations more difficult for her by not supporting her. While everyone is busy taking a side between the two women, one fan broke through the noise by recognizing who really started this entire mess -- Fraser:
Barbie had her ways but she always good at her job. Since the beginning, Fraser has been on this girl trying to get her fired, he poisoned his crew to make it seem like Barbie was inadequate at her job. Xandi and Paris both suck but Fraser for started all of this #BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/nb1FdfqV64May 28, 2024
Had Fraser been an actual leader like he was supposed to, he never would have turned the interior team against Barbie. He also should have figured out a way to defuse the argument in the car instead of immediately coming to Xandi’s aid when she couldn’t take the heat.
While the argument might have made for explosive TV, all it’s really done is divide the already struggling Below Deck fandom. The childish final antics all proved to many that this cast was not great, with many hoping to never see them on Bravo again:
Dear #Bravo, DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT bring back any of these people next season....except for Captain Kerry. ##BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/HK7PzpjxyQMay 28, 2024
Thankfully, this season of Below Deck is now over, but you can still catch up on all the drama by streaming the episodes with an Peacock subscription. Also, Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9 premieres Monday, June 3rd on Bravo at 9 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule, and it promises a whole new kind of drama fans won’t want to miss.
