Spoilers ahead for this episode of GBBO!

First of all, Noel’s shirt this week, am I right?! I would wear that.

Second of all, yep: the curse of Mith’s Favorite has struck again. I saw that one coming. I was hoping, for a moment there after that awesome coconut-cherry cocktail in the showstopper, that Pui Man had redeemed herself and would end up staying. But alas. I guess this was fair, because the flavors were off in her monkey bread and she came last in the technical (which was especially disappointing since she herself predicted that she would come in last in the technical, so it felt like she kind of cursed herself, too, even though she’s made doughnuts at home many times; I guess she just doesn’t do well in that format, I guess, which, can’t blame her). I’m kind of afraid to admit that Aaron is my new favorite; watch out, Aaron. I will miss Pui Man so much. I finally figured out why she’s so endearing to me: she reminds me very much of a younger, Chinese version of my MIL, who is an absolute treasure and I love dearly and get along well with.

Similarly, I figured out that part of the reason I’m so charmed by Lesley is that she reminds me of an older version of this girl I used to be friends with way back in the day – one of my first-ever friends, whom I met and connected with before my AvPD really got bad: a girl I met in preschool and stayed friends with throughout elementary and into high school. Both the hair color and the stature and the pleasant, relaxed personality: happy and quick to laugh, but neither loud nor pushy nor obnoxious, just kind of comfortably reserved. What a lovely person! And, I was surprised and impressed that Lesley managed to out-korovai the actual Ukrainian korovai, in this challenge. Poor Nataliia! Her own grandmother’s recipe! I wonder if that was a bread that she was so comfortable making that she didn’t stress as much about technical perfection as someone who’s less familiar with it (i.e. Lesley) might have.

Speaking of Nataliia, I just adore her, don’t you agree? In addition to being ridiculously pretty, she has this infectious energy that’s really fun to watch. Ten minutes into the show she’d already screamed with excitement three times, lol. This was not her best week overall, but I still think she could be a finalist. Nadia, who imo is the other ridiculously pretty one this season, did quite well this week. She was second the technical, and her showstopper sounded incredible – brioche with raspberry crème pat, white chocolate, and buttercream roses. That was a close second for my “bread I would most have liked to eat this week.”

And speaking of Nadia – I learned a thing this week! Had anyone else never heard of ‘nduja before in their life?! According to the internet, ‘nduja is a spicy, spreadable fermented pork sausage – which, ugh, sounds positively vile! But wow. I’ve watched so many baking competition shows by this point in my life, sometimes it feels like I’ve seen it all; it’s not often that I learn an entirely new ingredient! ‘Nduja came up twice just in this challenge alone, which made my head spin a bit; Jasmine used it as well.

Which, speaking of Jasmine: congratulations to her! Star baker was well-deserved this week. She did well in the signature, then won the technical, and then her showstopper was a masterpiece! The presentation was stunning, with that perfect piping and all the greenery surrounding it; she really captured the Swedish midsummer thing. And selfishly I’m glad that they included the bit in which Jasmine explains her hair situation, too, because maybe I’m just a shitty person but I could not stop wondering why she was so very bald. Good for her for being so unashamed about it.

What else? – Poor Iain! He did so well in the signature, but dropped down to #6 in the technical, and then the judges came down so freaking hard on his Samhain-inspired loaf in the showstopper. Was it really that bad?! They said it was too wet, but it didn’t look that bad, and the decorations were honestly cool! It was supposed to be creepy and Halloweeny, I mean come on, remember Helena from 2019? If she could do it every single challenge, why can’t Iain? I just couldn’t believe they were so harsh, I thought it still looked and sounded quite good despite being doughy. And the poor kid felt so bad afterwards. He was just devastated! He really thought he was going home. As sad as I am that Pui Man went home, I’m glad that Iain will live to compete another week.

A couple of LOL moments: Toby pointing out Aaron’s “unbelievable stance” while kneading dough for the showstopper, and Alison’s “WHAT IS THAT?!” to Tom’s little chocolate tree logs as he was rolling them. The magic tea towel joke and all of the “hole” jokes in the technical, however, made my prudish self a bit uncomfortable.

“Claggy” count: 2 (running total: 4)

“Concertina” count: 0 (running total: 1)

High point: Aaron’s dramatic comeback in the Showstopper. He seemed really upset after not doing well in the signature, and this particular bread he devoted to his two friends who died a couple years ago. The finished product was a masterpiece! Prue called it “faultless,” and Paul said he’d done a “decent job” which from Paul is very high praise. Then Aaron himself said in the little exit interview that it was one of his personal favorite things he’d ever made. I’m so pleased that he did well, and love to see a baker create something really heartfelt and do so well at it; it’s one of the best things about these baking competition shows. I’m not a baker myself, so it’s honestly hard for me to comprehend “baking from the heart” – how can baking be heartfelt? for me, baking is just following recipes and trying not to screw up, so I’m like, how is that self-expression? May as well talk about balancing a checkbook from the heart, lol – but at moments like these, I can really see what it means for someone to truly express themselves through baking.

Low point: My favorite going home, ofc. And watching poor little Iain feel so bad about himself undeservedly. With his quirky/artistic sensibility and his highly sensitive personality, he reminds me just a bit of Dylan from last season, don’t you think? Dylan also famously overreacted to bad critiques, and was really hard on himself. I guess it’s hard, when this is your passion that’s being scrutinized; Lord knows I would never have the guts to let my little creations face judgment on international TV. Loved Iain’s pretzel earring, too.

The bread that I would most have liked to eat: Iain again: his “Irish cheese board” monkey bread. He did three different flavor combos – blue cheese with pear and nut, hard cheese with apple and onion, and a brie-like soft cheese with blackberry, and this he served on an actual board alongside sliced fresh fruit including figs. Which all sounded delightful; plus, I love Irish stuff, so this made me happy.

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