S09.E10: The Final

[Athena]

On 11/15/2018 at 3:46 AM, GaT said:

I thought it was ridiculous that they couldn’t cool the tent down enough to stop chocolate from melting, but now letting it get so hot that glass jars explode is way past the point of reasonable. Rahul could have been seriously hurt by flying glass.

I don't think it was the heat of the temperature of the tent alone. I rewinded it but we weren't shown the actual trigger to the explosion. The cameras probably didn't catch it. I thought it was probably that one of the jars was too close to the hobs.

[LaChavalina]

Came here to see others' opinions on this year's final and am pleased to see we're mostly in agreement about the silliness of the challenges! I liked Rahul all along, but I'm honestly stunned it wasn't Kim-Joy. Her showstopper was the most creative and appetizing, in my opinion, and I'm surprised she didn't get more recognition for the sugar work. I think Ruby could have more easily made her isomalt bowl if she'd turned a regular bowl upside-down and then poured/formed the isomalt around the sides.

I respectfully disagree that they picked Rahul because they want a new Nadiya... if they were purely going for photogenic and diverse contestants, they would have picked Ruby. She is a total knockout, great attitude, and I can totally see her going into a presenting gig. Rahul and his little Eeyore personality were adorable at times to me, but he did struggle these last couple of weeks.

This show manages to pull a lovely group of humans every year, but this group felt so special. I was all waterworks at the end esp. when they showed Terry hanging out with one of the other contestants and her daughter, recalling how lonely he'd seemed.

In conclusion: Can't wait for 2019.

 

[Quilt Fairy]

Yeah, so....... Rahul.  Wow.  Although it was obvious from how Paul and Prue raved about the flavors of his showstopper that it was going to be him. 

The technical reminded me of some of the goofier challenges on Top Chef: go out on a boat, catch a fish, then come back, collect driftwood for a fire and create something fabulous. 

When I re-watch this season, which is a given, I think I'll skip this episode.  

[Ceindreadh]

I thought it was really sweet when Sandy offered Rahul a kiss and he asked would she kiss him on the forehead.  Lovely little moment.

[Athena]

10 hours ago, LaChavalina said:

I respectfully disagree that they picked Rahul because they want a new Nadiya... if they were purely going for photogenic and diverse contestants, they would have picked Ruby. She is a total knockout, great attitude, and I can totally see her going into a presenting gig. Rahul and his little Eeyore personality were adorable at times to me, but he did struggle these last couple of weeks.

I don't think they necessarily wanted a Nadiya type in terms of just photogenic and charm, but they wanted a contestant with her kind of story. Nadiya was reserved coming into the show and it ended up as a significant journey of self-discovery. Her growth on the show was pivotal to peak GBBO; Mary Berry even cried about it. I got the sense they wanted Rahul to have this same kind of journey with the editing.

They probably over edited Rahul to be more Eeyore than he was because he does light up when not baking around the other contestants. Overall, I do feel the show has been doing more typical reality show editing of creating a story for the winner this season and by adding all those unnecessary crying scenes. I still love this show, but the editing on this season was not as good as earlier ones.

[truther]

You know what, I liked it. There I said it. I agree Rahul could/should have been dismissed a couple weeks ago but having made it to the final he deservedly won IMHO. It was clearly Kim-Joy or Rahul at the end and Rahul nicked it. Good for him. (Though those landscapes looked like some third grade save-the-environment themed baking project  yuck)  

Also agree with comments upthread that he must have gotten a harsh edit.  This is someone who chose to go on GBBO for example, and who brings baked goods to people to meet and make friends with them.  He's clearly a little unusual but by all accounts a wonderful baker.  

Finally, I for one didn't have a problem with the outdoor cooking technical challenge.  That seems the definition of "technical" and I'm glad they did something a bit different that still involved baking.  There's a difference between staying in the comfort zone and just endlessly repeating the same things. The contestants were just as wonderful as they are every year.  

Ps really love Noel, and I never thought I would.  He's a lovely addition to the show and you have to take the good with the bad.  Things change, but sometimes for the better.  

[ABay]

Well. That was...disappointing.

[leighdear]

In the minority, as I couldn't stand Rahul from the beginning.  But as I binged the entire season over the weekend, I didn't take any time between episodes to forget just how grumpy, whiny, griping, complaining, excusing he was and how he was just generally CONSTANTLY.BITCHING.ABOUT.EVERYTHING.  WTF did he enter the competition for?  

I think Kim-Joy wuz robbed.  She was strange and quirky and I didn't get everything she was going for, but her creativity and sheer delight at so many things was lovely to see.  You could tell the experience of being there was the most important thing.  And why I thought she should have won.

I adored Ruby's sense of humor, especially with Sandi and Noel.  She should have her own show.  

I've gone back & started watching the previous season, just to get the bad taste of Rahul out of my mouth.  His win seriously bummed me out. 

Edited November 19, 2018 by leighdear

[ABay]

Pulling up a chair to your table, @leighdear.

[apollonia666]

On 11/15/2018 at 3:46 AM, GaT said:

I thought it was ridiculous that they couldn’t cool the tent down enough to stop chocolate from melting, but now letting it get so hot that glass jars explode is way past the point of reasonable. Rahul could have been seriously hurt by flying glass.

THIS. If they can't figure out a way to air condition the tent, they need to change to an indoor set, as much as I'd hate to lose the tent.

I've never had glass explode from heat. How freaking hot does it have to be for that to happen?

[Dots And Stripes]

So disappointed! Kim-Joy should have won.  She clearly beat him in 2 out of 3 rounds. I didn’t mind Rahul, I mostly found his bumbling to be funny, but he missed the mark too much to win. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 hours ago, leighdear said:

I think Kim-Joy wuz robbed.  She was strange and quirky and I didn't get everything she was going for, but her creativity and sheer delight at so many things was lovely to see.  You could tell the experience of being there was the most important thing.  And why I thought she should have won.

What I liked about Kim-Joy:

Over the years, we have seen a lot of bakers who can either deliver on flavors or presentation but not both. Kim-Joy was able to do both.

In addition, sometimes the presentation/decorating we see is skilled but not unique. I really enjoyed that Kim-Joy went beyond the usual flowers you can see at any bakery.

I also liked that she didn't take the themes too literally so that her decorating was related but not on the nose.

Similarly, I liked that her flavor combinations weren't always the same ones we see all the time. There's nothing wrong with, say, chocolate and raspberry (which I love!), but I like when the bakers try different flavors or flavor combinations.

[TimetoShine]

On 10/31/2018 at 5:52 AM, CaliCheeseSucks said:

That was genuinely touching - I teared up.

I wasn't familiar with Noel or Sandi prior to last season and halfway through this one, my review of them went from "They're fine" (last season) to "Mel and Sue who?" Honestly, I liked M&S at the time but now I don't miss them at all. Noel is so genuine, caring and kind towards the bakers and as you said, Sandi hasn't really gotten to have those moments, but she delivered here and in a very big way. I love them.

I agree completely. I don’t really feel that much for Sandi but I love Noel and feel like he’s been a great addition to the show. 

[MisterGlass]

I thought it would be Kim Joy since of the three she seemed the most consistent.  I do think Rahul's landscape was the best of the three.  I think in this season it's a little clearer that they relied on performance throughout the season for judging.

I didn't like the open fire technical.  One of the things I appreciate about GBBO is that everyone uses home cooking tools: basic oven, microwave, fridge, and freezer.  The only out of place bit (usually) is the proving drawer.  As @Quilt Fairy said, it feels like a Top Chef stunt to make them cook on a stone without prior practice.

[Johnny Dollar]

Seeing Ruby and her sister reminded me of Tahani and her sister on The Good Place. Pity poor Ruby!  Being the “ugly duckling” of that family must be awful!!

[rab01]

Such a disappointing final.  That was largely a standard reality show episode rather than GBBO.  Let's fry stuff for the first round, grill pita on a rock in the second, and then finally bake something only in the third.  Like so many have said already, I don't expect any home baker or professional baker for that matter to have practiced building a fire and then using a hot rock to make bread.  It's a camping skill, rather than a baking one.  If the trick is making sure your rock is the exact right temperature, how are supposed to tell that without a digital thermometer or years of practice?

As for the winner, we can't taste the food and it has felt like the thumb has been on the scale for him throughout the last 3 episodes.  But I don't think it really has.  If the producers wanted Rahul they wouldn't have used the clip of Noel reminding the judges that actually Kim-Joy was ahead going into the showstopper after they said it was all even.

[dleighg]

20 minutes ago, rab01 said:

Let's fry stuff for the first round, grill pita on a rock in the second, and then finally bake something only in the third. 

Especially the rock part felt much more like a Top Chef challenge (and I love that show) than a GBBO one. And the *three* savory sides? Again, more cooking, not baking; I assume just because there's not much else for them to do while they wait. 

[chaifan]

I binged the last 3 episodes in one sitting, so my thoughts from those are combined...

During the quarter and semi finals, I just wanted Rahul off my screen.  It was sheer agony watching his "I'm a failure", mopey attitude.  I was really hoping for a Ruby, Kim Joy and Briony final.  Once we got into the final, I was then sort of hoping Rahul would win, just so we didn't see him try and drown himself in the duck pond.  My attitude on him changed with the jar explosion, though.  I think he handled that really well.  (And if someone finds an explanation of what actually happened and how, please post!)

They need to go back to "basics" with the finale showstopper.  The portraits from last season and the landscapes this season don't do it for me.  And please do something about temperature control.  I love the tent, but I really wouldn't care if they move this to an inside studio.  Just put in a big picture window so we can still see sheep ambling about.

I agree with other comments about the subtle changes with the change in network.  I agree that it seems like production is amping up the drama potential, just because it's "reality" tv.  I also don't want to watch horribly stressed out people for an hour.  That's not what this show is about.  I don't mind the stress of the technical, but quit giving them 2 hours when something needs 1.5 hours just to proof.  Or multi-tiered cakes failing because they didn't have time to properly cool before icing and stacking.  And, I also didn't like the "and make a dipping sauce" additions.  It's a baking show, stick to baking.  I did like spice week, as I love spiced baked goods.  And I liked vegan week, because it really showed how there are viable substitutes for vegan baking.

And I know I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like Noel.  I felt he was really in the way over the last few episodes, I thought he crossed over into creepy stalker territory with Ruby and Manon a few times, and I think Rahul wanted him to just go away and he wasn't having it.  Sandi still does nothing for me.

[pasdetrois]

Hopefully the show doesn't go the way of Project Runway, whose producers decided years ago to ramp up the drama via ridiculous timelines. The timelines, not the design, became the series.

[sum]

Possible explanation of glass jar explosion

Spontaneous glass breakage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

Quote

Spontaneous glass breakage is a phenomenon by which toughened glass (or tempered) may spontaneously break without any apparent reason. The most common causes are:

• Minor damage during installation such as nicked or chipped edges later developing into larger breaks normally radiating from point of defect.
• Binding of the glass in the frame, causing stresses to develop as the glass expands and contracts due to thermal changes or deflects due to wind
• Internal defects within the glass such as nickel sulfide inclusions
• Thermal stresses in the glass
• Inadequate glass thickness to resist wind load

Exploding glass becomes scary at-home phenomenon https://pix11.com/2015/03/03/exploding-glass-becomes-scary-at-home-phenomenon/

So it may have nothing to do with the heat in the tent.

[Quilt Fairy]

12 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

Hopefully the show doesn't go the way of Project Runway, whose producers decided years ago to ramp up the drama via ridiculous timelines. The timelines, not the design, became the series.

Which happened - say it with me - when the show changed channels from Bravo to Lifetime.  Maybe Channel 4 gave us one season of old-timey GBBO before they started pushing the producers to make it more "dramatic". 

 

14 hours ago, chaifan said:

Once we got into the final, I was then sort of hoping Rahul would win, just so we didn't see him try and drown himself in the duck pond. 

I would have paid money to see that.  (Yep, going straight to hell, I know.)

[rab01]

17 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Which happened - say it with me - when the show changed channels from Bravo to Lifetime.  Maybe Channel 4 gave us one season of old-timey GBBO before they started pushing the producers to make it more "dramatic". 

I think Runway also changed producers when they made that jump -- Magical Elves had been co-producers until they left Bravo and Weinstein took full control.

[rejnel]

I was in Ruby's corner, but I'm OK with the result. Mainly, I just really want them to avoid ugly finale show-stoppers. I feel like this is the second season finale where the baking was a lot less appealing than an average episode (don't remember which other finale I'm thinking of, but I do remember it happening before). To me, these final show-stoppers looked like the funny messes on that "Nailed It!" site. 

I'd be good with them doing wedding cakes every time or something like that. If they want to keep a slight element of surprise and freshness, they can change the theme of the wedding every season. A couple other big finale-worthy projects would be a picnic (which they did once) or a shop window (which they did for patisserie this season). They could rotate a few big ideas like that, or like I said, even just stick with one, like wedding cakes.

For my money, Ruby and Antony are both so charismatic and watchable, they should have their own show.

Loved seeing the follow-ups. And I had to rewind to confirm that Rahul was actually relaxed and laughing at the dinner table with some other contestants!

Edited November 28, 2018 by rejnel
adding detail

[Amarsir]

On 11/23/2018 at 10:26 PM, Johnny Dollar said:

Seeing Ruby and her sister reminded me of Tahani and her sister on The Good Place. Pity poor Ruby!  Being the “ugly duckling” of that family must be awful!!

And Jameela has been on GBBO as well. It all makes sense now!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 hours ago, rejnel said:

I just really want them to avoid ugly finale show-stoppers.

I also want them to stop assigning things that don't look very show stopper-ish too. There were several times this season when the hosts announced what the final challenge was and I thought, "How are the bakers going to make that look worthy of a show stopper?" and the answer turned out to be "They aren't." The bakers are working within the parameters of the actual baking assignment and severe time constraints, so I find it difficult to fault them for not making something really impressive. The producers need to assign them challenges that are doable within the allotted time period, give them challenges that will allow them to make something that LOOKS impressive (sorry, cookie chandeliers, self-portraits, and landscapes don't qualify), and give them more time. I mean, it's in the name of the challenge so it's really disappointing when the show stoppers look average/boring/small/unimpressive.

[AmandaPanda]

This was possibly the most relaxed I've seen Rahul so far. There was a glimpse of a smile when he was talking about his donuts. Also, I don't know what Prue was talking about with saying one of Ruby's donuts could possibly be too sugary. There is no such thing when it comes to donuts. Granted these are the types of donuts my fat Midwestern ass is used to eating...and they are delicious. 

I felt for Rahul during the segment where they interviewed his friends. I figured there was no way Rahul applied on his own and was probably coaxed into it by a friend. His pictures from his childhood were very solitary. I think it was especially telling that he only talked to his mom at the end and his dad wasn't even mentioned. I really appreciated the thing at the end that said his parents had come to the UK and they were proud of him. That was really sweet. 

The technical was overly gimmicky. There was no reason why they needed to be out at a campfire, except that it would cause the bakers to panic. 

I was really glad they gave Rahul the 15 minutes back. It wasn't his fault that it was hot enough to shatter one of the storage jars. I was worried at first when they were like "Man, Rahul has got himself in a bit of a pickle." Of course! Because the sun literally exploded his station! I figured what happened was that the jar was in the path of the sun and combined with the heat, it caused the glass to shatter.

I love that Sandi helped Kim-Joy find out how to write Atlantis in ancient Greek. I don't think Sandi and Neil have the same easy chemistry with each other Mel and Sue did, but they're delightful in their own way. 

I loved Rahul sticking his hands out during the hug with Ruby and Kim-Joy and apologizing because his hands were just covered in frosting. That was a pretty perfect picture of Rahul's interactions with the other contestants. 

I was thrilled for Rahul. I connected with him and his crippling anxiety. I would have been happy for any of them if they had won, though. This was a really solid final three. 

The best moment at the end was when Antony and Luke were lifting Rahul on their shoulders and he was just freaking out about it. I think he is probably really shy and was never really okay with the idea of being in front of all the cameras. He seems genuinely happy in those off moments when he can forget he's in front of the cameras. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by AmandaPanda

[kirklandia]

I loved Kim-Joy's creativity and Ruby's spunk, but I'm OK with Rahul winning.  When he called home to announce his win, his mom said it was "such good news".  Not congratulations, or good job, son.  And then she said she prayed to God and God listened.  So, still no praise from mom for Rahul.  Credit goes to mom and God.

[Meedis]

I was totally rooting for Rahul to pull the win and pretty much when Paul and Prue were praising his flavors in the showstopper I knew he had in the bag.   I can see how others would be annoyed by his Eeyore (woe is me) edit that he's had.    It can be exhausting in real life constantly trying to tell an Eeyore that they're great and they repeatedly not get it.    I'm guilty of being an Eeyore at times but even I recognize that I have some value.    But nonetheless I found him oddly endearing....and I couldn't get the Pointer Sisters single He's So Shy out of my head...LOL.

[lampwick]

Triumph, indeed!  This was the first time I had ever seen the show, and I decided to start with this season, so I had no idea what to expect.  I settled in and watched the entire season in one sitting - and I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time.  This show lives up to the hype and I am now watching the previous season.  I enjoyed all of the contestants because of their sheer passion for their craft - this show is really unique in that these people aren’t competing “to eat” if you will; they have real jobs outside of baking and competing is truly for the love of the game.   The first extraordinary thing of note (because I didn’t notice until ep. 2) was the show’s failure to mention anything about Briony’s hand.  This is truly revolutionary - at least in the realm of American tv.  American producers would find it akin to blasphemy to not even mention it, let alone exploit it.  The fact that it wasn’t mentioned the entire season makes me stand up and applaud.  Briony brought it, and the show focused on her skill.  No sob stories influencing judging/audience.  Sure, there was some sad exposition, but not until after they were eliminated.  I cried several times watching - sometimes from sadness, sometimes from joy.  Everything was sincere and heartfelt.  This was the escape I was looking for - I was totally immersed and cared about these bakers!  

I immediately adored Kim-Joy’s designs and creativity, but found good reasons to have any of these bakers as someone to root for - even Rahul.   Although he Eeyore’d his way through the competition (my favorite line was when he said he was “dooming” - I assume he meant cultivating and manifesting doom and gloom into a reality - e.g., “something bad always happens after something good”), I can’t recall him actively burdening the other bakers with his negativity.  He was always responding to questions from Noel, or provocation from others.  The bakers and judges would tell him to be happy, smile, accept compliments, etc., and when he didn’t give people what they asked, the viewers seem to be bothered by this.  If others are bothered by his “dooming” they shouldn’t engage.  It is difficult when you’re in a pressure cooker like that, but Rahul’s demeanor absolutely seemed sincere the whole time.  I didn’t see him break character - and in all of his past pictures, he didn’t smile - not once.  It’s definitely frustrating to see someone not only excelling, but being the best, and acting like someone ran over their dog - but the reality was that whether he made it happen or he always knew he was one step away from losing because of his life experiences - disaster did befall him in the later episodes.  He totally lost the plot and was pretty fortunate to get to the finale.   I suppose this is a fancy way of saying that I don’t think he was acting that way to get sympathy - not even subconsciously.   It did bother me when I read here that he continued fussing after the time limit, but I read in these posts that there is no “hands up utensils down” enforcement going on, so maybe it wasn’t so egregious?   I didn’t see that moment while watching the show, but if it had, it may have changed my opinion of him, or the judges, because I then would have watched more closely to see how the other bakers were responding to him - if they thought he was breaking the rules, etc.  He definitely handled the breaking glass like a pro and didn’t seem to freak out like most people would be expected to.  Probably because he only stresses about things that are under this control - and that didn’t seem to be.  Most impressive was his call to safety by saying get rid of everything, even though that was the worst possible scenario for his success.  No hand wringing or bemoaning how it’s not fair.  In fact, his attitude was consistent with someone that is used to bad things always happening to them, so just business as usual.  (I can relate to this as Murphy hates me and is never satisfied.) 

Love the show, can’t wait to see all the seasons, and I love learning new things and watching people excel at their craft.  I know absolutely nothing about baking and cook food using only a microwave, but it has no affect on my enjoyment of this show.  As everyone here already knows, there is a shortage of feel good tv, and after hours of watching true crime reenactments, true crime documentaries, then simply true crime on the news, shows like this are necessary and I hope that it will stay true to its roots and be around for many years to come!  

[stillshimpy]

Well, good for Rahul.  He's got the goods, he apparently had an amazing sense for flavors and self-esteem issues notwithstanding for a moment, he seems a remarkably kindhearted person.  I'm glad he won and I end up sniffling when he did although I would have been just as happy with Ruby or Kim-Joy , I didn't have a clear favorite as I liked them all. 

The bakers that is, the challenges are becoming increasingly convoluted and strange for the sake of it.  Here's the thing: if you try to hire a professional to do something they clearly can't do due to weather or equipment availability, they're going to say no.  I've had bakers and caterers say no.  Real pros aren't going to say, "Sure, I'll cook breakfast for 40 over a candle in a wind tunnel and I'll bake up some challah bread in an oven I constructed out of tin cans to go with it!"  No one is really going to go out into the woods with a sack of flour, a slab of stone, a bunch of sticks, a can-do attitude to attempt freaking pita bread while camping.  Also, naught for nothing, but hand-smooshed babganoush made by someone with zero access to a sink to wash her hands didn't make me say "Yummy!" either. 

They were good sports but what a ludicrous thing to insert into a baking show that is supposed to be about celebrating the expertise of amateurs in pursuing a passion.  It's not about grinding said amateurs into a defeated paste while taunting them with their own inadequacies, then giving them an Easy Bake Oven and telling them to get busy with the fishes and loaves. 

I like Noel and Sandy, I also don't miss Mel and Sue in terms of tone, as people, sure they're lovely but so are Noel and Sandy.  Prue continues to hit the wrong note for me, she leans into how much of a jackass Paul Hollywood is naturally, and together they're just the raincloud set to ruin any picnic. 

It's kind of a pity the show doesn't understand why it was an international success.  It's because it was different in a good way.  People helped one another, didn't dissolve into sobs and self-recrimination and in a weary fucking world, we all got to feel happy and sad in the right proportions.  It was the most realistic of the reality shows.  Decent-to-the-bone people making primarily sugary confections that remind everyone of the joy of indulging in something bad-for-you that is so delicious, it's worth it anyway. 

It's now sort of a commonplace cooking show where people do things under circumstances that pros would laugh their damned asses off if you tried to hire them to do the exact same thing because part of expertise is not merely being able to do things but also knowing ahead of time whether it can work.  Too many challenges where the results were doomed by the weather, too little time or here by the innately unappetizing prospect of making contestants paw through every scrap of available food while broiling in the sun, over a fire and then present it to others to put in their mouths with a "Mind the ash!  I think the fire likely killed the germs! Here's hoping!"   

It took me months to watch this entire season despite its availability on Netflix.  

I'm glad for Rahul but between the campfire ash, hand squished food (oh, barf) and then the weirdness of watching people try to make pastry look like rocks in great abundance...well, I guess a show that thought having people make gray food and didn't get that it might not be telegenic is either desperate for ideas or cares nothing about why the show was such a raging success in the states.  

I like the people, I love the older seasons, but it's becoming a commonplace reality show. 

Edited January 4, 2019 by stillshimpy

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Like many I was disappointed with the finale. Cooking pita bread on a fire that they had to manage was not a good test.  I was surprised that they all seemed unfamiliar with the idea of roasting vegetables to burn the skin off.  Otherwise, how the heck were they expected to know how best to manage this challenge?  As many have said, I see the technicals as testing the contestants ability to apply their knowledge of baking.  Given that they also made these whole wheat, they only knowledge they brought to the challenge was what a pita should look like and that they should knead and proof the dough.

I would have expected Rahul to do a little more research on doughnuts.  Clearly there is a disadvantage of not being familiar with the bake.  Donuts aren't exotic.  Between friends, colleagues and the internet, he should have realized buttercream is not put on donuts. 

The showstopper was just odd.  I felt for Ruby burning her hand so close to the end.  She kept pushing through though.  She seemed to have a good idea for the showstopper but not enough time to do it really well.

I do wish Kim Joy's showstopper had been better.  She grew on me throughout the season.  She did seem to typically combine style and flavor well. 

For the season as a whole, something really was lacking.  I have started to appreciate Noel more, but he does seem to lack the sense of when he needs to stop joking with the contestants and back away.  Sandi had her moments but in general was a non-entity.  Prue is unpleasant.  In interviews, Mary Berry talked about finding something nice to say when someone has failed.  That is, the baker knows they did poorly; there is no reason to make them feel worse.  Mel and Sue were also good at helping to alleviate the tension (and the swearing to make any footage useless makes me love them). Prue would pile on, and there was no one to really offer that relief.  So we had too many bakers in tears this year, and the camera people and editors chose to show it all.  I miss the gentler version of the show.

[GaT]

I'm rewatching this season & I'm up to this episode. They just had the part where Rahul's storage jar exploded from the heat & I realized that the production team came in & cleaned up all the broken glass from his area. Rahul couldn't start baking again until it was all cleaned up, so why didn't they move him to another area instead of making him wait? They were plenty of other stations he could have worked at, why did they keep him at that one?

[Athena]

On 1/28/2019 at 4:19 AM, GaT said:

I'm rewatching this season & I'm up to this episode. They just had the part where Rahul's storage jar exploded from the heat & I realized that the production team came in & cleaned up all the broken glass from his area. Rahul couldn't start baking again until it was all cleaned up, so why didn't they move him to another area instead of making him wait? They were plenty of other stations he could have worked at, why did they keep him at that one?

The other stations may not have been set up e.g. certain things may need to be plugged in and adapted. They also plan and choose the stations in advance for each contestant. I think they assign certain crew and cameras to it as well. It's why even in a tent with over a dozen people, we don't see a most of the crew. Logistically, it may have been quicker for crew and staff to clean it up rather than set up another station and redirect the shooting plans.

[desertflower]

I wonder if Rahul was more rattled about the jar breaking than they showed. They mentioned a couple times that he was in a tizzy and Paul asked him if he’d calmed down yet, and was assuring him it would be ok. But in the footage we saw he didn’t seem much more upset than he usually gets when things aren’t going well. 

I loved seeing Terry the widower getting together with some other bakers at the end. Hopefully he has found some new friends to spend time with. 

[Blue Plastic]

I think Kim-Joy, Manon, and Briony were all robbed!  At least Kim-Joy got to be in the final.  IMO Manon or Briony should have taken the other position and not Rahul.  Nothing against Rahul, he was good but I didn't like him as well and did get a little tired of him looking horrified and mortified all the time no matter what was happening.

I hated the final showstopper.  The "landscape" idea is more of a show ender!  There's probably a way to make something along those lines that comes out prettier, but none of the three did IMO.  They all went with ruins and moldy rockpiles.  It just looked terrible.

I actually hated the "make a picture of yourself with baked goods" and "make a chandelier out of baked goods" ideas, too.  I get that the show is trying to come up with tasks that will create something interesting for the TV audience to look at since we can't smell or taste anything, and while a tiered cake with decorations or the little decorated patisseries can be visually appealing, there's not much you can do to make a pile of danishes look exciting so they try to come up with something different.  But I hate it.

[queenbee9b]

I liked all 3 of the finalists, but my favorite part of the episode was the part I usually hate the family part, but like people said when Rahul’s friend said that his life was richer with him and I loved when Kim Joy’s partner was testing the bake and gave her a Paul Hollywood handshake.

i also agree that I dislike the “impossible” challenges - too little time, tricky themes, but I do love the technicals.  Was it in Canada that someone was saying a few seasons ago they cut that part in their airing? I would not have been happy. 

[Eliza422]

On ‎6‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 7:44 PM, Blue Plastic said:

I think Kim-Joy, Manon, and Briony were all robbed!  At least Kim-Joy got to be in the final.  IMO Manon or Briony should have taken the other position and not Rahul.  Nothing against Rahul, he was good but I didn't like him as well and did get a little tired of him looking horrified and mortified all the time no matter what was happening.

I hated the final showstopper.  The "landscape" idea is more of a show ender!  There's probably a way to make something along those lines that comes out prettier, but none of the three did IMO.  They all went with ruins and moldy rockpiles.  It just looked terrible.

I actually hated the "make a picture of yourself with baked goods" and "make a chandelier out of baked goods" ideas, too.  I get that the show is trying to come up with tasks that will create something interesting for the TV audience to look at since we can't smell or taste anything, and while a tiered cake with decorations or the little decorated patisseries can be visually appealing, there's not much you can do to make a pile of danishes look exciting so they try to come up with something different.  But I hate it.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I really hate any of the "construct X out of Y" type of challenges - even more archetypal things like gingerbread houses and such. They are the worst challenges for me over all seasons. Almost no one does particularly well, and most don't look the least bit appetizing.  

[Evenshorter]

On 6/15/2019 at 9:10 AM, queenbee9b said:

I liked all 3 of the finalists, but my favorite part of the episode was the part I usually hate the family part, but like people said when Rahul’s friend said that his life was richer with him and I loved when Kim Joy’s partner was testing the bake and gave her a Paul Hollywood handshake.

i also agree that I dislike the “impossible” challenges - too little time, tricky themes, but I do love the technicals.  Was it in Canada that someone was saying a few seasons ago they cut that part in their airing? I would not have been happy. 

Yes, I'm in Canada and just finished watching.  None of the technicals were shown, although I don't think I missed anything with the pita bread.  I was really hoping for a Briony win and when she left, then Ruby was my next pick. I found Rahul difficult to watch. His anxiety was givng me anxiety. I agree with everyone else who thought the showstoppers....didn't stop the show. 

[GaT]

I'm rewatching this season on Netflix. When they announced Rahul, I was completely surprised, I never expected him to win. Now that I'm watching again knowing who won, I realize I shouldn't have been surprised at all, his work was consistently good & got a lot of praise from Paul & Prue. I guess it was just his defeatist attitude that made it seem like he couldn't win.

[lightninggirl]

I know I'm in the minority, but I absolutely couldn't stand Kim-Joy. She felt like a try-hard with her 'quirkiness' and it was absolutely annoying to me. When I first saw her, I honestly thought that she had Treacher Collins syndrome because of the odd faces she constantly pulled. I Googled her and just saw that she had selective mutism because she was anxious as a child. Like a commenter posted above, it was definitely odd - and pretty sad - that she didn't seem to have family or anyone there even though her boyfriend did a few b-rolls and interviews. Her picture when she was a kid was ADORABLE. She was a little beauty, so I'm glad we got to see that. 🙂 

Overall this series, she did poorly on the technicals until the very last episode. I know this sounds like I'm coming off as a baking purist, but I think that a good baker should be consistently good or at least decent in technicals because you're relying on instinct and past practices. Someone above me felt that the technicals should be eliminated completely, but I truly feel like it shows their baking stuff. However, cooking over a campfire is a completely crappy technical unless you're judging a bunch of wilderness bakers or something. I don't think judging a baker on a small bowl babaganoush is the right thing to do in a baking competition, either. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[GaT]

2 hours ago, lightninggirl said:

I know I'm in the minority, but I absolutely couldn't stand Kim-Joy.

I'm standing right with you. Her clown makeup drove me crazy.

[Mabinogia]

14 hours ago, lightninggirl said:

I know I'm in the minority, but I absolutely couldn't stand Kim-Joy. She felt like a try-hard with her 'quirkiness' and it was absolutely annoying to me.

Same here. It got to the point I couldn't stand the sight of her. She seems like a nice person and I wish her the best, as long as that best doesn't put her back in my orbit because I don't want to have to see her ever again. 

[blueray]

I felt bad but I have to agree at least at first. I hate clowns so when they showed her I had to look away. She did grow on me as she seems like a nice person but way to much makeup and I couldn't stand the yellow eyeliner.

[Oldernowiser]

I am always late to any cultural phenomenon but I found this on Netflix recently. I was SOOOO enjoying it...until this season. One of the reasons I enjoyed it is that I do bake, although mostly bread, because that much sugar would give me a three-day headache, and I often learned something.

Well, that’s over. Now they’re asking them to do the impossible (baking is physics and chemistry as much as art and there’s no arguing with either) and then acting all fiendishly happy that the challenges are impossible. What happened??? I don’t need to see these poor people in tears and if Paul Hollywood was lurking around glaring at me when I was desperately trying to concentrate he would have gotten a bowl thrown at his head.

Noel gets old fast. Same problem...these people have no damned time to play Cutesy With Noel. I like Sandy better, just because she seems kinder and can read the room enough to walk away, but please just let the bakers get on with it. The business of asking the bakers “if they’re really going to do that” and then sarcastically wishing them good luck is just mind fuckery. Life has plenty of that these days...who needs it on what was a comforting, happy place show?

And hell, Paul, I was familiar with KimJoy’s Tangzhong technique and I’m not putting myself out there as the world’s greatest bread person. Catch up.

Meh. I guess we really can’t have nice things anymore.

[ombre]

51 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

I am always late to any cultural phenomenon but I found this on Netflix recently. I was SOOOO enjoying it...until this season. One of the reasons I enjoyed it is that I do bake, although mostly bread, because that much sugar would give me a three-day headache, and I often learned something.

Well, that’s over. Now they’re asking them to do the impossible (baking is physics and chemistry as much as art and there’s no arguing with either) and then acting all fiendishly happy that the challenges are impossible. What happened??? I don’t need to see these poor people in tears and if Paul Hollywood was lurking around glaring at me when I was desperately trying to concentrate he would have gotten a bowl thrown at his head.

Noel gets old fast. Same problem...these people have no damned time to play Cutesy With Noel. I like Sandy better, just because she seems kinder and can read the room enough to walk away, but please just let the bakers get on with it. The business of asking the bakers “if they’re really going to do that” and then sarcastically wishing them good luck is just mind fuckery. Life has plenty of that these days...who needs it on what was a comforting, happy place show?

And hell, Paul, I was familiar with KimJoy’s Tangzhong technique and I’m not putting myself out there as the world’s greatest bread person. Catch up.

Meh. I guess we really can’t have nice things anymore.

THIS.  All of this.

Particularly the comment about Tangzhong.  I'm blown away by the number of times that the judges on this show are horrified by things that are pretty common knowledge elsewhere.  Okay, maaaybe Benjamine's lovely half-dressed cake was a little trendier than they might have been familiar with, but the season where they slammed a contestant for her way-too-out-there combination of... peanut butter and jelly?  Uhhh... that combo's been rolling for more than a century.

[Oldernowiser]

4 hours ago, ombre said:

but the season where they slammed a contestant for her way-too-out-there combination of... peanut butter and jelly?  Uhhh... that combo's been rolling for more than a century.

I think they were dancing around not actually saying, “too American” out loud on that one...

While I’m kvetching... I do not want to eat a cream puff that looks like a rock. Or a “moldy” wall of ruins. Or anything that looks like a pond full of algae. I just hope they get back to making things look beautiful and appetizing again?

[Oldernowiser]

And I ended up liking KimJoy, despite finding her quirky shtick way too shticky in the beginning. I will also say that girl has some insane piping skills and her chocolate universe globe was beautiful.

Filling it full of turtles? Not so much. 

[ombre]

20 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

I think they were dancing around not actually saying, “too American” out loud on that one...

While I’m kvetching... I do not want to eat a cream puff that looks like a rock. Or a “moldy” wall of ruins. Or anything that looks like a pond full of algae. I just hope they get back to making things look beautiful and appetizing again?

I get that... although my memory was that it was an international contestant from... can't remember, but not USA, so it felt like some aspect of unwritten rules that you can only divine if you're brought up in the Commonwealth.  Part of the general We're Performing Empire vibe that I often get from the show.  Don't get me wrong - I adore most aspects of the show! But the cultural analytical side of me (which, if we're being honest, is.... most of me) constantly has jaw fascinatedly on ground.

20 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

And I ended up liking KimJoy, despite finding her quirky shtick way too shticky in the beginning. I will also say that girl has some insane piping skills and her chocolate universe globe was beautiful.

Filling it full of turtles? Not so much. 

I took that as a riff on turtles all the way down.  

[Macbeth]

On 11/11/2018 at 4:27 PM, krankydoodle said:

The peeks we got of Kim-Joy's home baking were so impressive. I'm tempted to join Instagram just so I can follow what she does.

Kim-Joy's instagram is fun.  And she made a really great landscape cake.

Here is a link to her instagram page.  

https://www.instagram.com/kimjoyskitchen/?hl=en

Edited May 10, 2021 by Macbeth