'The Great British Baking Show' Ends Not With a Bang But With a Picnic

This season of The Great British Baking Show has not been its best. The series has reached the point that it no longer can surprise on its terms. The days when Mel and Sue kept crying contestants off camera are long gone, and Prue's inability to stand up to Paul means that the judging rarely does anything the Tent's Alpha Male hasn't channeled as his desired outcome ahead time. That means the show is now wholly dependent on its cast to draw viewers in and keep them engaged, which is asking a lot of amateur bakers who just want to make cakes.

Last year's Season 12 was a high point. The cast's overall energy and the sheer level of talent involved meant viewers had favorites to actively root for a while, feeling good about any outcome. Season 13, an unlucky number, to begin with, was always going to be hard-pressed to match. But the series also made a crucial mistake, showcased in the finale. It assigned challenges designed for its less favored contestants to fail, assuming its better bakers would be knowledgeable and come out on top. That is a dangerous game because you can never control who will get caught in the net.

The result is that this season has had an appalling failure rate in the Signatures and the Technicals. It was also compounded by several Technicals (Ice cream, Tacos, Spring rolls, Smores), which were not bakes, making the challenge feel borderline unfair. I've said it before about bad seasons of GBBO: There's no need to be Nailed It! Tent Edition. That's not why viewers tune in. Hopefully, the show will course correct next year -- or at least luck out in the casting department with contestants who will override the show's worst impulses.