Below Deck Down Under: Are Benny Crawley's days numbered?

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Benny, Below Deck Down Under deckhand, is on thin ice with bosun boss Jamie Sayed. Will he be fired?

Benny Crawley, Benny, Below Deck Down Under, Below Deck Down Under season 1
(Image credit: Peacock)

One of the biggest questions surrounding the crew of the luxury yacht Thalassa is: who gets fired on Below Deck Down Under? 

The two main suspects have been text-happy stewardess Magda Ziomek and snippy chef Ryan McKeown, but episode 11 of Below Deck Down Under season 1 throws another challenger into the ring: deckhand Ben 'Benny' Crawley. 

The 34-year-old Australian native hasn't been a star employee for bosun Jamie Sayed so far this season, taking criticisms defensively, pushing back when asked to work the anchor chain and almost crashing a tender into the yacht in a previous episode. And things only get worse between Benny and his boss this week. 

Jason switches up the deckhand schedule so he can keep a closer eye on Benny, putting him on mornings, deckie Culver Bradbury on mid-afternoons and Brittini Burton on nights. "And that's gonna stay for the rest of the season," he tells his crew. 

"You'll be on nights for the next four. There's a reason for it. I feel like you'll be doing a better job at nights than certain other people," Jamie explains to Brittini, alluding to Crawley. 

"Does he know that though?" Brittini asks the bosun. "No, and he doesn't need to."

"But he doesn't realize the weight he's not carrying, so then I have to carry it for him," Brittini responds, later revealing to Jamie the resentment that she feels towards Benny because she's been forced to pick up his slack. "If you and Culver want to have a chat with Ben about it, feel free," Jamie tells her.

"I've spoken to Benny many times," Jamie says in a confessional. "Talking to him doesn't matter, it goes nowhere. So am I gonna talk to Ben about it? No, he just needs to do his job."

From his end, Benny says in a talking head: "No one is looking at Culver. It's just me, me, me. Hold Culver accountable, Jamie. He just doesn't like me, you know, and it's, like, I can't make someone like me."

Later, the two get into another tiff when Sayed spots Crawley taking photos with his phone when he's supposed to be manning the moving tender. "If Captain saw half the stuff this guy does," Jamie says to Culver, admonishing Benny when he returns: "Did you get enough selfies out there? Always stay behind the steering wheel, Jesus!"

A dangerous snafu with one of the jet skis, while Benny is supposed to be on watch, is the final draw for Jamie. "You don't want to listen to me, you chat with the captain. That's it for me, I'm finished," Jamie says in a confessional. "You're a liability and we cannot have a liability on deck, like, it's a ticking time bomb waiting to blow up themselves and everyone around them."

At the end of the episode, we see Jamie go to Captain Jason Chambers to make a formal complaint about his crewmate. Will Ben Crawley still be a Below Deck Down Under cast member next episode? 

Fans weigh in on Benny, Below Deck Down Under deckhand:

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Christina Izzo
Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.