Buddy vs Duff Season 2 episode 2 review: A Jurassic change in the competition

In this week’s Buddy vs Duff, these cakes took a step back in time. Did these dinosaur cakes cause a Jurassic change in the competition?

Did you believe your eyes in this week’s Buddy vs Duff episode? After last week’s Big Apple cakes episode, the heated competition was basically dead even. Of course, everyone is expecting that this competition will go back and forth all season long. As Buddy Valastro and Duff Goldman take on these dinosaur cakes, did anyone expect such a big bang outcome?

Buddy vs Duff Season 2 is all about the cakes, which is both good and disappointing. If this competition is supposed to determine the king of cake, it does need to come down to the best cakes. Still, it would be nice to see some flavor combinations or other connection to the weekly challenge beyond the visual decoration.

This week’s challenge was all about realism. Both teams were making cakes for a dinosaur sleep over event at the American Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately, the theme of realism extended beyond just the appearance of the cake. It seems that the teams should have done a little science research before the design phase.

It was very clear that both teams had a very different approach to this challenge. One team made a scene and the other one made a huge, single dinosaur. Even though realism was the theme, it was a matter of interpretation.

Buddy, in his usual fashion, went big, almost life-size big. The 16 foot dinosaur cake was definitely extreme. The cake was almost too heavy to even be rolled into the exhibit. It would be interesting to know just how many people a cake of that size would feed.

While the size was ginormous, Buddy did focus on the details. His use of gumballs to create the textured appearance was genius. This idea should be used by all types of bakers, even home bakers. It is probably one of the best baking hacks.

Since this challenge was about realism, that idea really captured the challenge. Granted, it helped that Ralph knew about dinosaurs. Sometimes advantages appear in the most interesting ways.

But, it would be nice to see Buddy create a small, intricate cake. Yes, he can impress with gigantic cakes. Yes, this cake had details. But, what about doing something a little outside of his comfort zone?

Overall, the judges were impressed with both the size and realism. The biggest criticism was that the dinosaur needed some implied action. Without even a little body moment, the cake seemed stagnant. Even a little leaf in the mouth would have given the perception of eating.

As for Duff, he went in a totally different direction. His scene had a little bit of everything. Multiple dinosaurs, a bubbling pudding pool (aka tar), an erupting volcano and more. Basically, the scene came to life.

But, Duff and his team made some mistakes. The scene was a little extreme. Not everyone wants to see a spurting dinosaur tail. While some kids might think that it was cool, others might find the concept a little too “gross.” That word should never be used with dessert.

The biggest mistake that Duff made wasn’t with the cool mechanics or the incredible details. His mistake was that he didn’t research the idea. Unfortunately, this dinosaur demise would never happen because the two dinosaurs lived in different eras. Also, one dinosaur shouldn’t have had teeth. In a realism challenge, that scene was more fiction than reality.

Still, Duff captured created a scene. It wasn’t just a big cake. In a way, his idea was more a “Cake Wars” scenario. If the challenge was to create a story, he captured it.

At the same time, the scene was a little chaotic. With so much in the scene, the judges felt that they didn’t know where to look. All the amazing details got lost. A little editing could have made a big difference.

With both teams ready to hear the results, the outcome was definitely shocking and created a big bang in the competition. With a 4.5 difference in score, one team would take a huge lead.

The judges scored this week’s Buddy vs Duff challenge 28.5 to 24. Buddy took a commanding victory and lead.

Although the judges gave Buddy a huge victory, the outcome should have been closer. Duff’s display was quite impressive. Even compared to last week, the point difference seems extreme.

This week’s Buddy vs Duff outcome is not unexpected. In last season, there were huge point swings. There is no way that this competition will be decided before the finale episode.

What did you think of this week’s Buddy vs Duff episode? Do you think that Buddy’s victory was that convincing?