Ep 15. Release the Beast

In Deadliest Catch season 8 episode 15, titled "Release the Beast", the captains and crews of the various crab fishing vessels featured on the show continue their desperate struggle to bring home the valuable bounty of king crab before the brutal Alaska winter sets in and forces them off the water.

As the episode begins, the fleet is still dealing with troublesome ice that keeps getting in the way of their crab pots and making their already challenging work even harder. The Northwestern and the Cornelia Marie are among the boats struggling with the ice, but they're determined to keep pushing through and filling their holds with crab.

Meanwhile, on the Wizard, Captain Keith Colburn has a medical scare that puts him out of commission for a while and sends the rest of the crew into a frenzy as they try to keep up with the demands of the job without their leader at the helm.

As the boats continue to haul in crab and compete for the top spot on the leaderboard, tensions begin to rise between some of the crew members. The Time Bandit, for instance, is struggling with dissension in the ranks as some of the deckhands get fed up with the grueling work and long hours.

And on the Seabrooke, rookie captain Scott Campbell Jr. is faced with a difficult decision when his crew becomes dangerously exhausted and he must choose whether to continue pushing for more crab or call it a day and let the crew rest.

Through it all, the Deadliest Catch cameras capture all the drama and danger of the high-stakes world of commercial crab fishing in the Bering Sea. From the thrilling moments of the hunt itself to the intense interpersonal dynamics that develop between the captains and crews, "Release the Beast" is a gripping episode that will leave fans of the show on the edge of their seats.