Why Was Flora on All Stars 4?

The final has arrived, and four people went home on episode 11 because they didn’t have stars. At least, that was the plan — Flora removed herself from the competition prior to the Star Born challenge, her last opportunity to get a star.

To be fair, Flora’s body was hurting and she knew she wouldn’t be able to win; it’s not like she quit for no reasons. But, Flora also seemed self-aware enough to joke about her departure, implying she didn’t stand much of a chance in the final. So we have to wonder, why was Flora even there?

All Stars 4 had a super competitive female cast, but Flora was a wild card when the game started. She hadn’t competed in 22 years, but she didn’t come across as a super strong physical competitor. And, as we saw, she wasn’t the best performer. She placed in the bottom group in eight out of the 10 challenges.

But, if you know Flora from The Real World: Miami, you’d know her appeal isn’t her physical strength. She was noted for being an outspoken person and took shit from no one, so her biggest asset in the game was going to be her mental strength.

Clearly, Flora did something right. She avoided every female elimination, even when she seemed like she would have been an easy victory. She also did well navigating the social aspect of the competition, especially in an environment where she knew very few people. And yes, she did get into some drama (though it was mostly omitted from the final edit), she made allies, and she found herself with a few foes.

While Flora’s return was underwhelming in some aspects, her participation on this season hints at a fundamental element of the show. Flora is a super old school personality, and we would have never seen her again if All Stars hadn’t become a spinoff. While fans love the competition, All Stars ought to have spaces for unexpected returns — people even thought Flora was banned from ever returning.

When Flora’s return was announced in January 2023, It was exciting. As All Stars continues, the number of surprise returnees is dwindling, and depending on who you ask, All Stars 5 won’t give us any super unexpected returns.