Finally, All Stars is back! The long-awaited fourth season is on Paramount+ — so you can head there to check out the full episode.
Like I’ve done with prior seasons, we’re going to look at the Challenge history that adds context to the episodes. We see a lot of things happening that are callbacks to old seasons, so to understand the present, we need to look at the past.
1. Challenge Family
We open up with TJ introducing the cast, and he refers to Leroy and Kam as “family.” He also references their son, Kingston. The couple started an on-and-off relationship from Vendettas through War of the Worlds 2, but their partnership was solidified the last time we saw them, during Double Agents. After that, they had a child, but that was in 2022… just a reminder that this season was filmed over a year ago.
2. An Old School Prize
After the intros, TJ announces that the cast will be playing for a total prize pool of $300,000. If you think that’s small, you’re not wrong. The cumulative prize pool hasn’t been that low since Battle of the Exes 1.
3. Fishy Dialogue
Quickly, Steve brings up Jay’s “gag reflex.” Obviously, he’s referring to the Battle of the Exes 2 final when Jay couldn’t finish the fishy drink. But, this is also a bit of a signature move for Steve. On All Stars 2, he quickly got in Derrick’s head by making some sly comments.
4. An Ex Ally
Janelle and Nicole talk, and Nicole says there’s one person that she won’t work with — Laurel. If you’ve seen The Challenge, you know these two met during Invasion and broke up before Vendettas. But, they also did Ex on the Beach together in 2019, and that was really hostile. Nicole played Laurel and got her voted out of the house, so the relationship is not on good terms this time around… at least going into the game.
5. Six Stars Are Born
In the daily Challenge, Reach for the Stars, the top three men and women receive stars. The coveted awards went to Cara Maria, Averey, Rachel, Brad, Adam, and Brandon. TJ informs the cast that their stars can, and will, be stolen. This is not like All Stars 3. Rather, the stars are more like the keys on The Island.
6. A Star Falls
The first elimination, Catch a Falling Star, is played by Tyri and Steve, and the vote was mostly based on personal relationships. While this is familiar territory for Tyri, he did come close to taking the victory. However, Steve pulled out the win thanks to his crafty strategy. The last time we saw Steve in a pool of water, he lost a puzzle to Trishelle, so he was determined to not let history repeat itself.
7. The Threesome Reunites
Tina is elated that she’s finally back in the Challenge house with Rachel and Veronica. The trio did The Gauntlet, Battle of the Sexes 2, and The Inferno 2 together, but this is the first time Veronica has done a show with Rachel since their former relationship was publicly discussed on Dirty Thirty. The three girls plan to work together, but Veronica knows this is a game and there are only three stars for the women.
8. Radio All Stars
In the game Car Sick, the radio station has many Easter eggs related to prior shows. Carpe Diem is a tie to Diem, Jay’s Smoothie is a tie to the Battle of the Exes 2 finale, Thrashed by Julie is a call back to Wreck N Roll on The Inferno, and TJ’s Airhorns relates to, well, the airhorns TJ uses to begin and end challenges. Of course, the Road Rules puzzle is the logo of the former reality show.
9. A Star Lies
Janelle loses the daily challenge, and she decides that she wants to go into the elimination and get her star. So, she tells everyone — including Ayanna — to vote her in. Janelle insists that she doesn’t have a good relationship with Ayanna. Their only prior appearance is All Stars 2, and they weren’t close, but they didn’t seem like foes. However, Ayanna tries to twist Janelle’s words and make it seem like she’s gunning for Jasmine.
10. Spoken Like an All Star
At the nomination ceremony, Ayanna delivers a long, long speech. Production edits it down to snippets, but it seems like it could be an attempt to deliver memorable lines like her Greek salad speech from All Stars 2 or her “slept in my uniform” speech from Sexes 2. Regardless, it sparks annoyance and Leroy gets up and leaves.
11. A Shift in the Stars
Janelle leaves the game, claiming she wants to escape the toxic energy in the house. This leaves Tina in the elimination all by herself, and no one ends up competing. This means Tina wins by default and steals Averey’s star — just like she won the second female elimination on All Stars 3 by default.
Stop Being Polite 