'The Great British Baking Show' Discovers the Two Sweetest Words in the English Language

They say be careful what you wish for, and this season of The Great British Baking Show has been a stark reminder of why that's true. Since the series exited the BBC, losing most of the cast along the way and upsetting the balance of power in the tent, I have believed that the issue has been just that: an imbalance. Sandi Toksvig attempted to bring some semblance of opposing weight to Paul Hollywood, the only star to carry over from the original version, but she was overpowered by both Noel Fielding and Prue Leith, both of whom were kowtowing too much to his ego, along with the producers around him. Matt Lucas only worsened things, tipping the show far too much into a male-energy territory that only fed Paul's behavior.

Over these seven seasons, with the show now having run as long on Channel 4 as it did on the BBC, I have genuinely believed that all the series needed to do was replace at least one of the two hosts, preferably with a strong female presence that would fully force the energy back into balance, if not actively pull it away from Paul the way Sue and Mel did. I also thought that should that balance come, Prue might finally start standing up to Paul, treating him as an overexcitable junior partner, as he deserves, as Mary Berry did. Surely, that would solve everything.

However, here we are, and indeed, both those things came to pass this season. Allison may not actively pull the balance away from Paul, but she and Noel were unmistakably their own unit this season and, at times, did actively work to counteract him. And Prue did finally, icily stand up to "Mr. Hollywood," leaving him to shrink before our eyes.