'Deadliest Catch' Season 16 Episode 12 Review: Sensei Sig and Harley return while a bomb cyclone brews
Spoilers for 'Deadliest Catch' Season 16 Episode 12 'Dutch Harbour Double Cross'
First things first. Hallelujah, Sig Hansen doesn't seem to be going anywhere this season. With the synopsis teasing he would hand over the heavy Northwestern to his daughter and relief skipper, Mandy, the speculation was he would retire. Thank god we were proved wrong. So that preview was pretty much pure speculation and we along with some fans who felt the same way are glad to be proved wrong. Moving on, 'Dutch Harbour Double Cross' sees the return of an infamous skipper, Steve Harley Davidson.
Harley strikes a deal with the Cornelia Marie, except Josh Harris and Casey McManus try to keep the spoils for themselves. Sounds familiar eh, Harley? Guess what goes around comes around as the young skippers manage to tick off Harley and the Southern Wind that lashed back at them with an ultimatum — honor the deal, give him a piece of the pie, else there would be a word that their spot is a huckleberry patch rich with Opilio. Josh and Casey play the diplomatic card and let Harley have his share while they plan for the larger gains.
Wild Bill Wichrowski may have hit paydirt, but a hydraulic issue and a missing backup block to patch it causes him a major headache and a loss as they beat a hasty retreat to St Pauls harbor to fix the vessel up. What's disheartening was that equipment cost Bill $17,000 and there was no sign of it aboard the ship. Pity that one, they just had a promising haul. The Northwestern was the clear winner of the day having a good turnout of Opilio and steering clear of the controversies and issues.
While they did stutter with engine trouble in Episode 9, the father-daughter duo made a comeback in style. Their earlier set pots yielded zero returns, but Mandy stuck with her hunch of staying at the same space as calmer waters will bring in the crab eventually. The move pays dividends as they hit a rich streak. Mandy's reward for the idea was getting to handle the Northwestern as Sig switches from skipper to sensei, guiding her to maneuver the heavy three-tank filled vessel smoothly.
The episode also serves as a backdrop to the incoming bomb cyclone. For those unaware, here's CNN's definition: "Bomb cyclone is a term given to a rapidly strengthening storm that fulfills one important criterion. Quite a simple, it is a storm that drops 24 millibars (a unit of pressure) within 24 hours." For all the challenges the skippers have weathered so far, the bomb cyclone will be their toughest hurdle yet as they race against time and Russia to win the Opilio battle.
It has been another compelling Tuesday affair as the episode brings back an old face, some slick moves and entertaining visuals. 'Deadliest Catch' Season 16 airs Tuesdays 8 pm ET on Discovery.