The fourth season of Escape the Night, subtitled All Stars, premiered on July 11, 2019, through YouTube Premium, and concluded on September 4, 2019, after 10 episodes. Haunted by the deaths his adventures have caused, Joey Graceffa's Savant allies with the Society Against Evil to open a gateway into purgatory and enter the Museum of the Dead, where the souls of his fallen friends are held as exhibits by its ruler, the Collector. Eight guests from the first three seasons are freed to fight for a second life, alongside newcomer Bretman Rock, with each guest assuming a 1940s-styled persona.
Two guests — Bretman Rock and Colleen Ballinger — escaped the museum, while Graceffa's fate was left unknown after he stayed behind and vanished into Pandora's Box, setting up the events of Escape the Night: The Lost Tapes.
Format The season is set inside the Museum of the Dead, a purgatorial museum whose exhibits imprison the souls and monsters the Collector has gathered from different eras — including the guests who died in the series' first three seasons. After Joey breaches the museum and frees eight of his friends, the group learns that an Armageddon clock is counting down to morning, when everyone outside their exhibit will be burned to ash. To escape, the guests must survive the museum's exhibits, each a different era brought lethally to life, and recover the nine jeweled keys to the vault that holds their way out.
Each episode centers on one exhibit and its antagonist. After a recap narrated by the Collector and a scripted flashback introducing the exhibit, the guests work through that exhibit's story and puzzles, then typically vote two of their own into a lethal challenge, with the loser dying — again — and a key being claimed. Votes are cast with cards bearing each guest's name, which an in-story character shuffles and draws from; mistakes in some tasks, or drinking from cursed chalices, place a guest's card directly in the voting pile. The season varies its mechanics heavily: one episode replaces the vote with a coin-collecting game in which the two poorest guests are forced into the challenge, one challenge offers both competitors the chance to survive, Joey volunteers into one challenge in another guest's place, one challenge spares both competitors, and one is a three-way test. Two devices return dead guests to the game: a guardian angel stone brings back Matthew Patrick and Nikita Dragun as temporary helpers, and a genie's wish restores Colleen Ballinger permanently.
The storyline was scripted and performed with actors, while most votes and challenge outcomes were decided in play. Graceffa has said that the fifth episode's double elimination was arranged in advance by production.
Guests
+ Guests from the fourth season of Escape the Night Guest Persona Outcome Cause of Death Bretman Rock The PlayboyEscaped(Episode 10) rowspan=2 Colleen BallingerSeason 3 The Duchess Joey Graceffa The Savant Rosanna PansinoSeason 3 The Socialite Dead(Episode 9) Eaten alive by dinosaurs Alex WassabiSeason 2 The Aviator Dead(Episode 8) Shot in the chest three times by pirates Gabbie HannaSeason 2 The Hollywood Star Dead(Episode 5) Stabbed by the Black Knight Tana MongeauSeason 2 The Pin-up Girl Dead(Episode 5) DeStorm PowerSeason 2 The Enforcer Dead(Episode 4) Stabbed by the Emperor after sacrificing himself Timothy DeLaGhettoSeason 1 The Con Man Dead(Episode 3) Battered to death by Garuda Justine EzarikSeason 1 The Adventurer Dead(Episode 2) Strangled by the Pharaoh
Cast The museum's inhabitants and the antagonists of each exhibit were played by actors.
Recurring Character Role Outcome The Collector Ruler of the Museum of the Dead, who travels between eras collecting people, monsters, and creatures as exhibits Killed by the Sorceress in Episode 9, but returns in the finale; defeated with the Sword of All Legends The Sorceress The second season's antagonist, held in the museum and allied with the guests Kills the Collector, then claims the museum for herself and orders the guests back into their exhibits Mortimer The third season's ally, held in the museum as an exhibit Turned to stone by the Gorgon in Episode 6
Notes:
Guest progress Legend:
+ Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 VotedPlayers (None) JustineTana DeStormTimothy AlexDeStorm GabbieTana AlexColleen AlexBretmanJoey AlexBretmanJoey BretmanRosanna (None) ChallengeWinner(s) Tana DeStorm Alex (None) Alex Joey BretmanJoey Bretman Eliminated Justine Timothy DeStorm GabbieTana Colleen (None) Alex Rosanna (None) Bretman No vote Timothy 15 coins Alex Joey Colleen Bretman Won RosannaEscaped Colleen Justine 18 coins Alex Tana Alex Revived Bretman Joey Justine 14 coins Alex Gabbie Joey Won Rosanna Rosanna Timothy 23 coins Immune Joey Alex Rosanna Immune Bretman Alex Justine 25 coins Colleen Joey Rosanna Alex Lost Gabbie Alex 23 coins DeStorm Joey Tana Timothy 21 coins DeStorm Unknown DeStorm Rosanna 0 coins Alex Timothy Tana 13 coins Justine Alex
Challenges Legend:
+ Episode Guest(s) Challenge Eliminated Cause of Death 2 Justine Ezarik vs. Tana Mongeau In the Sands of Egypt, the two raced through the tomb's trials — placing twin sphinxes and claiming the Scepter of Isis, which could not be touched directly — to command the Pharaoh's mummy. Justine Ezarik Strangled to death by the Pharaoh. 3 DeStorm Power vs. Timothy DeLaGhetto The two guests who finished the episode's coin game with the fewest coins were forced into the demon Garuda's trial, competing to survive his attacks and complete his tasks. Timothy DeLaGhetto Battered to death by Garuda. 4 Alex Wassabi vs. DeStorm Power At the Emperor's wedding, the two competed in a tile game amid zombies for the Emperor's entertainment. DeStorm, declaring that he played by his own rules and dedicating the moment to Lauren Riihimaki, deliberately broke the rules and forfeited his life. DeStorm Power Stabbed by the Emperor.5Gabbie Hannavs.Tana MongeauProtected by a fairy light, the two had to build four symbols of power before the light died, with each allowed to help the other; if they succeeded, both could survive. The light failed before they finished. Gabbie HannaStabbed by the Black Knight. Tana Mongeau 6 Alex Wassabi vs. Colleen Ballinger Each nominee assembled a puzzle from pieces their guardian angel retrieved from the Minotaur's maze — Matthew Patrick for Colleen and Nikita Dragun for Alex.Colleen Ballinger Crushed by the Minotaur. 7 Bretman Rock vs. Joey Graceffa Joey volunteered in place of Alex. Each competitor searched a bazaar for three items to complete a story; the group voted on the worst story, whose author's name would be written into the tale as its tragic death. None Scheherazade's name was written into the story instead. 8 Alex Wassabi vs. Bretman Rock vs. Joey Graceffa After the guests invoked parley with a pirate captain, the three men each had to prove themselves "pirate worthy"; the pirates killed the one found unworthy.Alex Wassabi Shot in the chest three times by pirates. 9 Bretman Rock vs. Rosanna Pansino The two ventured into the raptors' territory in the prehistoric exhibit in the season's final duel. Rosanna Pansino Eaten alive by dinosaurs.
Episodes
Awards and nominations + Award Year Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Streamy Awards 2019 Best Costume Design Olivia Hines Best Editing Steve Grubel Best Ensemble Cast Escape the Night Best Unscripted Series Escape the Night Show of the Year Escape the Night
See also Murder in Small Town X The Murder Game Whodunnit? The Quest
References