The Great British Baking Show is not the same show we’re used to
Now that we’re on episode 4 of The Great British Baking Show, it’s clear this is not just another season. Something is up. The contestants seem to care less or at least be less worried when they make a huge mistake, Paul Hollywood seems to check out during judging at certain points in the show, and the jokes made by the hosts seem a little darker and meaner than what we’ve seen in the past.
But let’s start with a quick recap! This week was all about chocolate. Yay! For the signature challenge, the bakers had to make brownies. Seems easy enough, right? Wrong!
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Very few bakers did well on this challenge. Some brownies were raw while others looked like a big mess. I have to say I was honestly shocked by the results of this challenge. It’s brownies. Those are usually pretty simple. I guess not.
Next, it was the technical challenge and the bakers were tasked with making a chocolate babka.
The bakers were all about chocolate on this week’s Great British Baking Show
Never have I been more hungry than watching this portion of the show. A chocolate babka is what dreams are made of. And the bakers did pretty well. Lottie wasn’t sure how to fit the loaf into the pan and really seemed to not care much this whole episode, but other than that, it was a good technical challenge.
For the showstopper challenge, the bakers had to make a white chocolate cake for a celebration. This also went pretty well. There were a few mistakes as always, but the big “OMG” moment was the fact that Sura’s cake was still raw. I don’t think even she expected that. And because of her mistakes during all the challenges, she was, unfortunately, the one to go home.
Mark L got the Star Baker title this week as he did a great showstopper and wasn’t the absolute worst in the other challenges.
But let’s go back to the tone of the show. Everyone just seems a bit out of it and I’m sure it’s partly (if not completely) due to the coronavirus and the fact that they have to bake through a pandemic. They might be worried about their families and friends back home and not be able to do anything about it.
If nothing else, there are definitely more jokes thrown at Paul by Matt and Noel. I mean, I’m all for making fun of Paul, but it definitely seems meaner or more targeted this season. Matt clearly does not pull any punches. And the shenanigans while the bakers are working are also borderline annoying. I think the lack of a woman host is showing and I wish the show would have kept with that tradition.
What did you think of this week’s episode of The Great British Baking Show? Let us know in the comments below!