u/ActuallyItsNuanced

Okay, I need to vent because I am losing my mind watching this season. Did anyone else have Cooper pegged as one of the few normal, decent guys on the boat, only to watch him completely implode and turn into a total asshole?

The way he is treating Kat right now is beyond rude. It’s freezing cold, dismissive, and straight-up disrespectful. He just wanders around doing whatever he pleases with seemingly zero regard for anyone else. And then there’s that bitchass “breakup” conversation. The sheer cowardice of hit-and-running her with a casual “Okay, so we’re just friends, right? Cool! Bye!” with absolutely no maturity or accountability whatsoever.

To make matters worse, he’s out here actively enabling Gen’s toddler-level temper tantrums. Between that and running around with Joe, I’m starting to think Joe has become his toxic little mentor in crime. And speaking of Joe, watching him low-key root for his own “best friend” Nathan to crash and burn is WILD. At this point I’m secretly hoping Max comes back specifically to drive Joe completely up the wall 😂 The toxicity levels on this deck crew are OFF THE CHARTS.

And then somehow Cooper manages to get even more cringeworthy?? HE TRIES TO MAKE KAT A SECRET. Suggesting they lie to the rest of the boat and pretend they aren’t even together so he can completely have his cake and eat it too. It’s infuriating, especially because Kat seems so genuinely sweet, and you can see her desperately wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt while he takes complete advantage of it.

And I think that’s what’s making Cooper so frustrating to watch: I genuinely liked him at first! I thought he was one of the relatively normal, decent ones, which somehow makes watching this transformation so much worse. I mean, these men have gotten obnoxious enough that I briefly caught myself MISSING LUKE, which is a sentence I never expected to type 😂 But this isn’t even about Luke - it’s the fact that Cooper has completely flipped the script from someone I was rooting for into someone I cannot stand watching interact with Kat.

Please tell me I’m not alone. Did anyone else have Cooper on their “normal ones” list at the beginning of the season?? Because I feel personally bamboozled. 😂

Is it just me, or have the new "introduction to the primary" scenes changed the vibe of the show a bit?
I feel like we never used to see these. We’d just meet the guests when the crew met them, and we’d experience the charter from the crew's perspective. Now, we’re getting these over-produced, "MTV Cribs" style intros where we see where they live, what they do, and hear them talk about how "demanding" they are before they even step foot on the boat.

It feels like the show is trying to make it more of a "Housewives" style cross-over, and I’m just not sure I’m here for it. I want to watch the crew navigate the chaos, not hear a mini-bio on why the primary guest thinks they’re a mogul.

Does anyone think they’re doing this because they’re struggling to find good guests, or is production just trying to force-feed us drama before the charter even starts? I’m genuinely curious if I’m the only one who fast-forwards through these parts!

Ok so in all honestly I’m only on the 7th episode of the latest season, but HOLY MOLY. I thought I’d seen my fair share of emotional terrorist chefs on these shows but he is losing it and in such an insane way it makes me genuinely worried for his mental health. I’ve heard lots of things about different stories with his fiance but there is no question he is taking it out on everything. Daisy literally just telling him what the guests want and he comes back with that she’s letting the guests “bully her” and that she’s clearly “intentionally” trying to fuck with him 😳 Obviously not even mentioning the insane treatment he gave Alisha (sp) at the beginning (though she’s taken a bit of a weird turn and very not girl code-y, like damn just break up with your bf and stop flirting with every single man on the boat 🤦‍♀️ and also not doing her job. Who thought I’d ever be feeling a little badly for Jen and I looooved Alisha, guess things can change, I can’t believe it 🤣).

Like. Idk but it feels like Ben’s lost his damn mind and it sucks because I used to like him - he was definitely a jerk sometimes but it was more a normal chef asshat vibe. This is like - him thinking everyone is personally out to get him and just taking it out on all the wrong people. I hope he gets better over the rest of the season bc I don’t know how much longer I can handle seeing his behaviour on TV 😐 Also, poor Daisy just came off like the worst season ever (not that she was perfect but still . . . Hurricane Gary etc) and now thrown into having to deal with Ben at his worst. He’s lucky to not have someone like Kate from the old days he used to deal with as a stew or there would probably have been a fistfight by now 😂 And OMG him just leaving Ellie to do alllll his shit while he goes and has a nice bath like are you kidding me?????

Ok but on a higher note, can I say I am SOOOOOOO glad Ellie is back. In a very unpopular opinion I thought she got the shit end of the deal on BDM and it was the one season where I thought Sandy and Aisha really messed up blaming Ellie and not the real problem? Bri. It was one of the most upset I’ve gotten at a captain and a stew in a long time and almost didn’t watch Med again because of it lol. I’m back to loving them now don’t worry haha. But I am sooooooo glad to have Ellie back. I’ve always loved her energy (maybe because she’s a fellow cancer ♋️ like I am and I know how deep those feels go when they came at her on Med) and am stoked she’s getting the second chance she deserve.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I’m genuinely wondering if something like this already exists, or if there is a community out there trying to build it.

We have a massive foster and adoption system for young children, but what happens to young adults who have lost their parents, been abandoned, or had to cut contact due to severe trauma and toxic/narcissistic abuse? Once you hit adulthood, the system acts like you no longer need parental love, guidance, or safety. But you do.

On the flip side, I know there are older adults out there who never had children, are empty nesters, or are estranged from their own families, who have an abundance of maternal or paternal love, wisdom, and support they want to share.

Why isn't there a formal system or verified matching network where these two groups can connect?
Imagine a chosen-family network where a young adult who is dealing with chronic illness, navigating life, or just needing to talk to a safe "mom or dad" figure could be matched with an older adult who genuinely wants to step into that supportive role. It feels like a missing puzzle piece in society that could heal so much isolation on both sides.

Does anyone know if a community like this exists? If it doesn't, how could we even start to build something safe like this?