Discussing the franchise’s greatest mystery: Why do all the women love this guy?
Do you likeBelow Deck?
If so, does every week suddenly feel like Christmas?
Gary King on ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’.Laurent Basset/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
bask inBelow Deck Down Under,BravohasBelow Deck Sailing Yachton Mondays.
In its third season,Sailing Yachtis the crown jewel.
This is not entirely because of Gary, but it is significantly because of Gary.
First mate Gary King joined the show in season 2.
He was South African.
He wore his brown hair long.
Think Prince Charming, if Prince Charming turned into a lion every full moon.
Coincidentally or not, theSailing Yachtcrew arrived onboard ready foraction.
Between charters,Below Deckers typically hit whatever coastal town they’re docked in.
They go to bars, dance in clubs, drown in shots, and make bad decisions in public.
But now, health protocols forced Gary and the rest of the crew to mostly party onboard theParsifal II.
They raided the boat’s liquor cabinet.
They inevitably found their way to the hot tub.
This triangle would have been THE story line in a normal season.
ButBelow Deck Sailing Yachtseason 2 was not normal; it was wonderful.
All those people are gone, but Gary remains.
The sixth episode of season 3 just aired Monday.
Gary has already kissed three members of the crew all three stewardesses!
Anecdotally, viewers I know seem split on his appeal.
Some consider his whole nonstop-flirty thing a bit creepy.
I kinda like him?
He has the best power a person can have onBelow Deck: He is Good at His Job.
Nobody really cared when half theJersey Shorecast gave up on selling T-shirts.
Who even remembers anyReal Worldjobs past the mid-’90s?
The show portrays the 24-hour necessities of keeping an ultra-ship afloat.
The crew labors round-the-clock to make their guests think everything is absolutely perfect all the time.
It is a pleasure to watch him work.
Likewise, Gary is a great first mate.
During a charter, he’s all business, perpetually on the move.
People, he can learn.
He can make himself a better man!
And he seems to know when he makes mistakes.
It helps, surely, that in both hisBelow Deckseasons he’s had engineer Colin as his wingman.
Colin is a very sarcastic saint.
I trust his judgment in people.
Previously, she had expressed some Gary skepticism.
Take it away, Rebecca!
This season, it’s been truly embarrassing to watch third stew Ashley literally throw herself at him.
Is it his South African accent?
His beach bum vibes?
(Is Ashley looking for more screen time?)
What is his appeal?
I mean, if they were all crushing on Colin, then I’d understand.
How did Daisy the one woman who appeared to have Gary’s number fall under his spell?
Or might there actually be something more between them?
And that wasbeforesecond stew Gabriela hopped in bed with Gary for an allegedly PG-13 overnight on Monday!
Is everyone coming around to Gary?
What doesBelow DecksuperfanSteven Soderberghthink?
And is Daisy the best chief stew inBelow Deckhistory?
Let’s sail on it.
