Ellie’s Bold Move on João Backfires Spectacularly: From Massage Offer to Rank Card Fail in BDDU Season 4 Episode 10

In Below Deck Down Under Season 4 Episode 10 (“Pick-Me-Sia”), Ellie Dubaich’s aggressive pursuit of João Franco went from flirty to cringeworthy in record time, culminating in a messy rank card showdown with Jenna that left even Ben Robinson shaking his head.

Ellie has never been subtle. After sliding into boatmance territory with Ben in the galley earlier this season and dropping her infamous “who amongst them squirts?” question during the wild crew night out in Episode 5, she set her sights firmly on João this week.

Her campaign started with a direct approach: “Would you like a massage?” João, seemingly oblivious to her intentions at first, accepted.

But while Ellie was “easing into it” (admitting in the van she and João hadn’t kissed… yet), João privately confessed he wished the attention was coming from Daisy instead. Ouch.

The night only got worse for Ellie. At the restaurant, she watched Alesia flirt heavily with João. Later on the dance floor, when Mike encouraged João to “seal the deal” with Ellie, João shut it down completely: “I can’t. I like Daisy.” Ellie’s response? A salty text to João saying, “I hope you and Alesia had a great time tonight.” Girl, chill.

The drama spilled into the next morning when the new charter guests — the “best gays” from Manhattan — were about to board. Daisy politely asked Ellie to switch places with Jenna on the dock because Jenna is the second stew. Ellie’s reaction was icy. In her confessional, she fumed, “You’re not my head of department,” before confronting Jenna directly.

“Did you ask to stand in line in front of me?” Ellie snapped. When Jenna looked confused, Ellie doubled down, claiming, “We’re the same rank. Sous-chef is the same as second stew.”

Jenna laughed it off and rightly pushed back. Even Ben, who’s been trying to keep peace with Ellie using his “honey pot” pet-name system (putting money in a jar every time he calls her a nickname), admitted in his confessional that Jenna had a point.

The situation highlighted growing tensions in the interior department. Earlier in the episode, Captain Jason read the latest comment cards, which criticized the interior team, and reminded everyone he’s willing to “make changes” if needed. Daisy held a team meeting to reinforce that Jenna is in charge when she’s absent, but Mike made it clear he wasn’t thrilled about taking orders from her.

Ellie’s bold romantic move on João not only backfired romantically, but it also exposed her shaky understanding of yacht hierarchy. Her attempt to pull rank on Jenna may have serious consequences, especially with Captain Jason already on edge after multiple service issues.

As the new charter begins, Ellie finds herself on thin ice — both with João and with her own department. Will her confidence continue to cause chaos, or will she finally learn to read the room?

Below Deck Down Under Season 4 airs Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo, streaming next day on Peacock. Did Ellie go too far with the rank card pull, or is she just standing up for herself? Let us know in the comments!