The second part of last week’s tumultuous Below Deck episode featuring RHONY alumni Jill Zarin aired this week, and her actions were somehow even worse despite that she was only being in the first half. She continued to give back-handed compliments, narrated the stressful docking experience the crew was managing, and still spoke over the primary guest. Zarin -- one of the well-salaried Housewives stars -- even went as far as being the first one to hug and thank the crew when the vacation finally ended. All that’s to say that fans weren’t the only ones who breathed a sigh of relief when she finally left — even Captain Kerry celebrated the end of the charter. However, with one "villain" gone, another has emerged from within the St. David crew.
It’s not uncommon for there to be some crew-on-crew fighting within this franchise, like during the maligned Below Deck Mediterranean Season 8. But the feud between Chief Stew Fraser Olender and Steward Barbie Pascual is a new type of tension for fans of the reality series. For context, the two got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the season, yet, Barbie gradually put in tremendous work to prove herself worthy of a crew position on board the St. David. Unfortunately, Fraser doesn’t seem to agree and has taken a page out of Jill Zarin’s handbook, spending the rest of Episode 10 complaining to everyone about Barbie’s so-called disrespectful and unprofessional behavior.
However, fans don’t seem to agree and have unofficially dubbed him the new villain of the series. One took to X, sharing the following:
Fraser needs to stop trying to turn the new stew on Barbie; omg he’s in his villain era. Poor Barbie 😭🙏🏽 #BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/XwGb3wbCYBApril 9, 2024
Here’s the thing, crew members are always going to clash on this show, considering they’re working amid high-stakes and close quarters. However, Fraser’s treatment of Barbie this week is honestly uncalled for. Not only did she take the brunt of Zarin’s criticisms, but she also did most of the work on this charter. Instead of staying behind to help with a complicated lunch service last week, Fraser opted to help set up the beach excursion and then never returned to the yacht. Still down a stew, Barbie was forced to handle all the housekeeping duties by herself and was immediately criticized for not doing enough work.
It’s no surprise that she was irritated with both Fraser and her other stewardess co-worker. Perhaps, Barbie should have voiced the concerns to Fraser instead of not saying anything. Though, in fairness, he's had a history of dismissing her concerns, so it’s really no surprise she went about things the way she did. As one X user pointed out, if he actually listened to her, maybe she’d feel comfortable talking to him:
I need Fraser to get over his hatred for Barbie bc the girl is great at her job. His inability to just shut up and just LISTEN to her is infuriating. #BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/wPWJ5yvvDFApril 9, 2024
The ironic element here is that Fraser doesn’t even take his own advice. Instead of trying to have a civil conversation with Barbie to hash things out, he corners the new stewardess joining the team and starts bad-mouthing her right away. Thankfully, the new stewardess, Paris Field, wasn’t ready to take his word for it and chose to talk to Barbie herself. She made such a positive impression on fans, that some have already started hoping she’ll somehow become the Chief Stew:
In the 5 minutes she’s been on the show, Paris shows that she would be a better Chief Stew than Fraser. He’s really showing his ass this season. #BelowDeckApril 9, 2024
Maybe if Fraser’s only issue was with Barbie, his villain attitude could be overlooked. But the fact of the matter is he also has a problem with Chef Anthony. Despite starting out as friends with him, Fraser has continuously talked behind the chef’s back, calling him unprepared and disorganized. However, he never jumps in to help when he definitely can, as pointed out by social media commenters:
Fraser is awful - Who rolls their eyes instead of getting in there to support Chef. He’s the only one that works by himself without a team and has to pull off all the crap for the guests. Fraser is useless.#BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/alNhhxQYC3April 9, 2024
On one hand, the crew is surely relieved that Jill Zarin is no longer aboard. But, on the other hand, fans may now be witnessing an even worse villain -- one who won't be leaving anytime soon. If I'm being honest, it seems unlikely that Fraser is ever going to admit to his mistakes and, baring a coup from the crew members, there's no way Captain Kerry will fire him. Regardless, there's still half a season left, which means anything can happen.
If you missed the episode or any of the current season of Below Deck (which includes two crew members leaving the ship in the same episode) you can stream it now using a Peacock subscription. And don’t forget to tune in next week for a brand-new episode when it airs on Monday, April 15, at 9 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule.
