First of all, if you don’t watch the Great British Bake Off, turn around now because this article will make absolutely zero sense. It will probably also make me look crazy, because no one quite understands the intensity of Bake-Off until they really get into it.
This year, Netflix has graced us with the most glorious gift of our generation: weekly episodes of The Great British Bake Off ready to stream the same week they aired. Anyone who is familiar with the show (if you’re not then you’ve got some work to do), knows that it has been borderline painful waiting for seasons to air. Not only do the seasons get spoiled by social media, but there’s something less satisfying about being able to binge the entire competition at once.
But this season was different. American viewers, for the first time, had the opportunity to watch the rise and fall of bakers, holding our breath for who would be sent home, anxiously waiting for the next Friday installment. True fans of the show understand how this seemingly whimsical and warm-hearted baking show takes on a stress level I can only liken to the super bowl of baking. And let me tell you: this season was heartbreaking.
Not only did we fall in love with bakers who got sent home way too early (RIP Dan, our man-bun adorned king), but we also were able to truly fall in love with the ten-week journey of the bakers, full of innuendos and soggy bottoms.
But above all, we need to talk about the semi-final and the final.
The final four bakers were skilled, yes. However, I think most of the Bake-Off Community agrees that Henry deserved to be there. I don’t think I was as shocked and horrified all season as when Henry got sent home for seemingly small mistakes. Not only was he a joy in the tent, but he also was consistently amazing the entire season. He was by far the highlight of each episode with iconic lines such as “I achieve certain things in sort of the same way you achieve a hangover”, “if this works, I may strip”, and his infamous “shut up” to Paul Hollywood. Henry and his ties were a fan favorite, and he was gone way before his time was due.
And then the final. The Final. The freaking final. I want to start off by saying that I love David. He is a strangely stoic man who looks like the “handsome Squidward” meme. He’s charming, and I love him. However, he definitely did not deserve to win the whole entire show. Even though neither Alice or Steph stole my heart like David did, they were far superior bakers. Throughout the season, they performed consistently well in challenges, and far outranked David in the amount of times they won Star Baker. They were overall just better bakers, and it was obvious. Both were far more passionate about their bakes, were more focused, and overall more skilled.
Steph had a bad day. Her soufflés melted, her showstopper was a mess, and nothing really seemed to work at all that day for her. It was clear she wasn’t going to win after the first challenge, which was a major upset because she was definitely the front runner to win. I mean, she had four Star Baker weeks which is unheard of.
After watching Steph kerplunk her way to the bottom, I was convinced Alice was going to win. Her day was really good. She didn’t necessarily wow the judges, but she was again consistent. Plus, she had always been at the top of challenges, and won Star Baker twice. It seemed like a no brainer. David had never won Star Baker, was consistently in the middle during challenges, and never really stood out.
But then David was announced. My jaw hit the ground. Breads and cakes burned in ovens across the world. How on Earth could this be? I still grapple with this question today, as I write this way too in depth article about this seemingly inconspicuous show. How did David win?
I think the answer points to the fact that the show struggled with a narrative throughout the entire season. It consistently felt that the judges were stating “it all comes down to the showstopper” every single week. This led to a show that seemingly lacked distinct reasoning for why certain people went home each week. While this was fine at the beginning, when 12 bakers filled the tent, as more and more left, it seemed that the choice for who to send home was less clear.
Whatever the case, David is now our Bake-Off king, and I am going into hibernation until the next season comes out. Until then, I shall have dreams of Noel’s sweaters and Paul Hollywood’s handshakes.