GBBO's Semi-Finals Elimination Is Giving Fans Flashbacks
Well, "The Great British Bake Off" fans, here we are again. We've arrived at the semi-finals, and with four bakers left, the tent is thinning out and the pressure is mounting. The challenges set by the judges for the Patisserie Week episode were a charlotte signature bake, a vertical tart technical round, and a towering Swedish krokan showstopper challenge. But — and this seems to be a common theme lately — the event led to frustration, disappointment, and for some, anger. "What an infuriating episode. Again! ... It hardly felt like a Patisserie Week. I mean, where was the Patisserie?" journalist and television critic Scott Bryan asked when live blogging the episode for The Guardian.
Abdul, Season 13's underdog and the only semi-finalist not to win Star Baker, had a marvelous week. His showstopper krokan was praised for being flavorful and detailed, and the contestant scored second place in the technical challenge. Even better, his signature bake was judged as the best-tasting of the four. Sandro, meanwhile, arrived last in the technical round after his vertical tart was deemed "a mess" by the judges, and Janusz followed in third. During the signature bake, judge Paul Hollywood said Janusz's mini charlottes didn't look neat, his chocolate was too loose, and the jaconde sponge was too tough. By the time the episode was nearing an end, the tension in the tent was palpable.
There are echoes of last year's shock elimination and fans are not happy
Spoiler alert: Janusz Domagala's elimination in GBBO's just-aired semi-finals brought up bad memories for fans of the show, who watched last year as Jürgen Krauss was shockingly eliminated in the penultimate episode. Many felt that Jürgen was robbed and should have had a place in the final, as he had been a consistent baker all season. Similarly, fans took to Twitter this week to express their dismay at Janusz's dismissal, drawing similarities between the two eliminations.
"Justice for my robbed European Kings," one viewer captioned a collage of Jürgen & Janusz. Another user tweeted, "Was really sad that Janusz left the bake off tent last night. The final will be poorer without him. ... It's like the year that Jürgen was eliminated." Yet another shared the punny advice, "Two Brighton bakers now robbed of their rightful places in the final, Jürgen and Janusz. Rise above it guys!" complete with a GIF of rolls rising in the oven. Finally, a photo of a crying child summed up what is apparently a very common sentiment: "janusz going is giving jurgen from last year i'm so UPSET."
Despite the disappointing result, Janusz seems to be handling it in stride, retweeting (along with Jürgen) a fan's homemade poster for a proposed Netflix spinoff series: "Jürgen & Janusz's Cakey Bakey." On Instagram, the baker left an emotional tribute to his time on GBBO, writing, "Thank you to every person who was in that tent on and behind the camera with me who became family! Janusz has left the tent."