Great British Bake Flop

**Great British Bake Off spoilers ahead potentially**

I am a huge fan of the Great British Bake Off. I think it's much better than any other US cooking/baking competition, mainly because the US shows all focus on the competitiveness, and they make it far more dramatic than I think is necessary.

GBBO is a total cinnamon roll compared to US cooking/baking shows. 

I love that the competitors all become such good friends—even helping each other finish things when time gets short. I find it to be incredibly touching, and I'm 99% positive I've probably cried in at least a few episodes. 

This last season just finished up the finale, which my roommates and I all watched together. None of my favorite bakers made it into the finale this year, which was a little tragic, but it's still fun to see the creations, and—of course—to cheer against the competitors that you just don't like for whatever reason. Unfortunately, this season was a bit of a flop in my opinion. They bakes were complex and somehow boring, and, like I mentioned already, all of my favorite competitors were sent home before the finale. The final four had no chemistry (obviously that's not the point of the show, but come one! We want entertaining media, right??).

My only problem with this or any similar show is the subjectiveness of the judging. Twice now (out of the four or five seasons I've seen), there have been people that get sent home seemingly out of the blue, while other people who are clearly not as good stay. I can't help but feel like the judges sometimes play favorites. @ Paul Hollywood.

I feel justified in my annoyance at who get sent home from the semi-final since the whole world seems to be annoyed with it, too. Don't get me wrong, I love Laura, but I don't think she had the confidence nor the consistency to win while Hermine had one bad bake, and got sent home for it. But how could a show prevent favoritism from happening? It's human nature to favor those whom we like, but that's not very fair in a competition that is supposed to be based solely on merit. Obviously they have rules, but in my opinion, Paul is always easier on the bakers he prefers (see season 9 Rahul) than on other talented bakers who just don't seem to vibe with him (see season 9 Manon who got sent home because her style was "too french" even though Rahul's bakes all sucked that episode). 

I'd like to give Paul some notes on how to not send home my favorite bakers next season. Except he lives on a different continent. And—let's face it—he's a little scary.