Contains Spoilers for this season as well as series 5 (2014)

“For the final to rest on one cake – it’s terrifying, really.” – Prue, before the third challenge

Well, we all saw that one coming, didn’t we? There was no stopping Jasmine – although the show really did all it could to try and create tension (see above quote), to give the impression that any one of them could win, and I think they did a good job. I really had my hopes up for Tom, after the technical, and then he got such rave reviews in the showstopper. Was it just me, or did it seem like the judges actually liked his showstopper better than Jasmine’s? I personally don’t think cardamom-raspberry-almond-lemon sounds like a good flavor combination at all, and Tom’s raspberry-basil-mango-passionfruit sounded much tastier… but, oh well. The win was fair and square.

Can we talk about how Jasmine is quite possibly the best contestant they’ve had on this show ever? Five Star Baker wins (a record shared with only one other contestant, Richard Burr from eleven years ago, who did not win his season) (the season of the original Bingate! Yet another parallel!). Jasmine made barely a single mistake the entire season – frankly, she is so good it became boring to watch! And she’s only twenty-four – good grief! Not to mention she was also completing her medical exams at the same time as she was competing on this show?! High-achieving people like this just boggle my mind! What an amazing baker and person.

But, it was more boring than exciting to watch, honestly. I think part of the reason her consistent perfection was more annoying than thrilling was because, perfect as she was, she wasn’t exactly adventurous. Aaron and Tom were both artistic, bold, ambitious, creative – really fun to watch. Jasmine was predictable – even the judges commented on how she liked to use the same flavors over and over – and she never seemed particulary impassioned about her projects, never really seemed to be fighting a battle, and never had some out-there idea that she was trying to realize; she always just calmly produced these perfect, rather impersonal, technically-perfect bakes.

Which, as I’ve observed before, is exactly what they’re looking for, on GBBO; this show is supposed to be about consistency, tradition, classics, and technical skill; Jasmine is exactly the champion they set out to find, when they started this show. In no way do I mean the above paragraph as any kind of criticism of Jasmine. It’s honestly incredible that she’s able to stay so dispassionate and even-tempered under pressure (I’m sure her experience in the medical field has something to do with this). I just like to see bit more drama and angst, I guess, and like to root for the underdogs.

No banana coladas! In episode five, Tom and Noel agreed that, if Tom were in the final, there would be banana coladas. I was hoping they’d actually follow through!

This was all just kind of disappointing, to be honest. Tom using citric acid instead of salt in the signature; Aaron never getting a handshake; Aaron breaking a glass bowl in the showstopper, which forced him to have to re-start the batter, and set him behind for the rest of the challenge; the unfortunate messes that were the technical madeleine towers (“sadeleines,” my husband called them).

At least it was cool to see all the other contestants back for the party. My favorite, Pui Man, looked gorgeous with her new hair, and of course Iain is engaged now, yay!

Speaking of, I looked Iain up on Instagram (I never follow any of the contestants or hosts while the show is ongoing, because the episodes air three days earlier in the UK, and I don’t want spoilers, but now the season’s over so it’s fair game!). And, he might be my retroactive favorite now, alongside Aaron, Pui Man, and Hassan. First of all, did you know that his insta handle is “thug loaf”? And, he’s apparently made a post about his Bingate: Redemption bake, in which he asks the Series 5 Iain from Belfast to reach out to him so they can collab and perhaps make a baked Alaska together. The video and the comments on it are gold:

… but, it doesn’t appear that Series 5 Iain ever got back to him. Alas! I kind of wonder if Original Iain is pissed off that people are still talking about it, haha I kind of get the sense that he just wants to move on and stop being perceived as “Iain from Bingate.” Anyway, Short King Iain was pretty much the high point of this season for me.

So yes, it was still a good season. Alison and Noel were especially great this year; I feel they’ve found their vibe, and have really achieved peak chemistry as a comedy duo. And the themes this season were all solid, and the judging was fair. Oh, and we got to learn about Paul Hollywood’s meerkat commercials! As an American, this was news to me, and I had to go find them on YouTube. There appear to be several, but this one is my favorite.

So yeah, a good season overall. I just hope that, next season, the playing field is a little more level. What are your thoughts? Leave me your comments!

“Claggy” count: 0 (grand total for the season: 5)

“Concertina” count: 1 (grand total for the season: 2. Is it just me, or does Paul normally say “concertina” a lot more frequently than he did this season?!)

High point: Tom’s expression of flabbergasted delight upon receiving such high praises for his showstopper table cake. His face looked like that of a teenage boy seeing boobs.

Low point: Aaron’s expression of utter defeat upon hearing that he came in second, not first, in the technical. The way he took a few extra seconds to even raise his hand. It really felt to me like at this point he kind of threw in the towel: no handshakes, no technical wins, and we all knew that Jasmine was gonna win anyway. Aaron seemed sad, to me, today, like he just had an aura of sadness, and I realized that I have a vague, irrational and perhaps-erroneous impression that he may be a melancholic personality type like myself, which is maybe why I like him. What do you think?

The dessert that I would most have liked to eat: Aaron’s pear-yuzu iced finger buns with hazelnut mousseline. It might have been Tom’s peaches-and-cream-cheese “hot dogs,” but the mistake with the bread dough looked and sounded pretty disastrous. What a bummer!