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Anatomy of a Great British Baking Show Flameout


At what point should we start considering that the Hollywood Handshake is cursed?

Dylan echoed elements of each contestant — Matty’s surprise whenever he was praised, Syabira’s eagerness to try out wacky flavors, Peter’s puppy-dog enthusiasm — and felt sometimes like GBBS ’s version of Top Chef ’s Brooke or Buddha, an upstart whose thinking is so outside of the box that you expect them to do well. That’s why there’s such cognitive dissonance when we’re repeatedly assured by Paul and Prue that a contestant like Dylan, Steph, or Ruby is so far above their competitors, and then they struggle in the endgame; when the GBBS frontrunner can’t clinch the win, it feels a little like the show has steered us into a fakeout. In the end, though, that dark-horse positioning made Georgie’s performance in the finale feel as triumphant as Dylan’s was disappointing: Her signature Mediterranean savory and raspberry sweet scones sounded and looked delightful, and her hanging showstopper cake was absolutely gorgeous.

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