The episode ends with a “To Be Continued” and without any previews of what’s in store next week. While this would seem to set up the first firing of the season, a sneak peek at episode 4 shows that Barbie won’t just get sacked at the start of the episode. Instead, it looks like Captain Kerry wants Fraser and Barbie to try to work out their differences.

“I don’t like letting anybody go. I can’t just go, ‘Bang-bang, you’re gone,’” the captain says in the clip above. “What are her strengths? Is she good at service? Does she have an eye for detail? Are you happy with her work? Can she be an asset to us if her attitude changed? We need to think about it a bit, both of us take a few breaths, and come from a better place. Think about it open-minded but professionally.”

Fraser answers all of the captain’s questions in the affirmative, as Barbie has shown that she knows what she’s doing in the interior. In a confessional, Captain Kerry explains his decision to not immediately fire Barbie, saying, “One thing I’ve noticed with my conversation with Fraser is that there’s a lot of emotion involved. If she’s good at what she does, you can utilize that. You don’t have to like her. Let’s find a way for her to shine.”

Meanwhile, Barbie tells bunkmate Sunny Marquis that everyone on her team “fucking hates me” and that she feels so underappreciated despite the fact that the guests love her. She explains that she’s “just not sweet and fluffy,” which she thinks may be the reason she’s clashing with Fraser and Cat. “I’m in a really hard place and it really sucks.” At the end of the clip, we watch as Barbie calls her mom to complain about Fraser’s management style, just as Fraser is arriving to help set up an excursion.

In other words, this sneak peek leaves many questions in the air about whether Fraser and Barbie will be able to squash their beef. If they don’t, that means Captain Kerry will have some decisions to make about Barbie’s future on the St. David.

While it’s certainly not exactly rare for firings to happen this early in the charter season, both Fraser and lead deckhand Ben Willoughby have alluded to the fact that this year’s captain is a lot more willing to part ways with crewmembers who aren’t meeting his standards.

Danofgeek