The Challenging Relationship Between Wild Bill and Zack: What Hasn’t Been Told in Deadliest Catch?

The Challenging Relationship Between Wild Bill and Zack: What Hasn’t Been Told in Deadliest Catch?

Deadliest Catch star “Wild” Bill Wichrowski’s strained relationship with his son Zack Larson has always been a painful viewing experience for Discovery Channel fans. Rewatching old episodes of the series, some fans are questioning if the Deadliest Catch star ever had any love for his son. Is it possible “Wild” Bill Wichrowski hated his son?

Deadliest Catch: Background On This Son & Father

“Wild” Bill Wichrowski joined the cast of Deadliest Catch back in 2010. His son followed behind him and also signed on with the show at the same time. Unfortunately, it quickly became obvious that this wouldn’t be a sweet father and son duo on the screen. Fans discovered the duo had a rather strained relationship.

Bill reportedly walked out on his son when he was fairly young. And, that kind of distance from his father at a young age caused fractures in their relationship. Fans were always in awe of how well Zack Larson managed to navigate the tension between himself and his father. Fans, however, also felt bad the tension was there to begin with.

Does ‘Wild’ Bill Wichrowski Hate His Son Zack?

In a new thread on Reddit, one fan admits they recently found themselves watching old episodes of Deadliest Catch. This latest re-watch has them questioning if “Wild” Bill ever had any love for his son at all.

Watching season 12 again, and all wild Bill does is complain about and put down his son, set him up to fail and never meet expectations, and just act like he was some heavy cross to beat. Zach seems so worn down by always being pushed down and knowing he will never hit the mark no matter what. I dunno man, did he like his son, like at all?

Other Deadliest Catch Fans Chime In

In response to the thread, fans echoed the opinions of the OP. Moreover, one individual also did not care for how “Wild” Bill spoke of Zack’s mother either.

Here’s what some fans had to say in response to the thread:

• “He always complains because Zack is soft and too much like his mother. But how could Zack be anything other than that?”
• “The interactions between this father and son was painful to watch. Cannot imagine the level of pain for the two involved in real life.” 
• “Yeah i honestly think anyone trained in psychology would quickly break it down to Bill hates himself for what happened”
• “Most of the captains (especially the “old guard”) are giant a**holes and seem like miserable people. It is an industry where one person has total control over everyone else on the boat, so that leads to power trips.”

Overall, fans note Bill has no one to blame but himself for the way Zack turned out as he wasn’t around to raise him. Furthermore, fans believe Bill’s real problem is that he hates himself. Likewise, fans also pointed out that his “*sshole” personality came with the nature of his profession as a captain.