Four (yet again)

After shrinking Black Hole to his normal size, Four initially appears mysterious, with little known about him. He later displays erratic and reckless behavior, frequently mutilating and otherwise harming the contestants. As a result, most contestants fear Four and pray that he will not “smite them off the face of the planet.” Nevertheless, they continue to participate willingly and enthusiastically in his challenges.

During his time as host, Four seeks to maintain control over the show, as demonstrated in “Fortunate Ben,” and becomes furious when others talk back to him or perform tasks on his behalf. When provoked, Four shows little mercy, even dismembering X in anger without remorse. Early in BFB, he also responds violently to perceived criticism. In “Four Goes Too Far,” Four interprets Nickel’s objection to his claim that David and Roboty are “the only two non-objects on the team” as criticism and threatens to zap Nickel. The attack is prevented only by A Better Name Than That’s plan.

In “Enter the Exit,” Four appears considerably calmer, friendlier, and humbler after the contestants recover him. He is noticeably less violent than before and does not screech at anyone after returning. However, he still does not hesitate to zap those who bother him.

“The Escape from Four” explores Four’s personality and possible motivations in greater depth, portraying him as insecure, emotionally volatile, and fixated on hosting his own competition. Four displays controlling behavior because he wants everyone to remain with him indefinitely, which may explain his self-centeredness and cruelty as a host. He throws tantrums when events do not unfold as he expects and demonstrates an intense fear of abandonment. This culminates in Four crying and rejecting X’s attempts to console him because he believes that X will eventually abandon him as well.

Following the split, Four appears somewhat kinder toward the remaining contestants. After Two takes nearly all of them, Taco tells Four that they have lost more than half of the cast. Rather than reacting with anger or sadness, Four eventually accepts the situation and makes light of it by declaring that BFB has “advanced” to its final 14 contestants.

In “Uprooting Everything,” Four immediately rejects Purple Face’s request to become a co-host. He later becomes saddened when the final four contestants praise X as a “good host” without offering Four the same recognition.

Finally, “Chapter Complete” reveals Four’s deep insecurity. His suppressed thoughts manifest as imaginary versions of the EXITors, who initially appear supportive. After overhearing Profily urge Four to wake up, they claim that nobody in the real world likes him and that they are the only friends he needs. When Four realizes that he created them, the Imaginary EXITors become hostile and insist that the contestants would not care if he abandoned them forever. Four attacks Imaginary 8-Ball for making this claim, prompting the others to criticize his behavior. They accuse Four of killing others for amusement, subjecting the EXITors to endless math and becoming angry when they do not complete it, guilt-tripping others, and acting excessively possessive. Four then erases them from existence and flees.

When the contestants later confront Four on the Sun, Gelatin rebukes him for expecting their affection despite continually mistreating them, particularly after they remain with him following “The Escape from Four.” Four finally acknowledges that his actions are wrong and apologizes to Gelatin. Afterward, he reconciles with the BFB contestants, Purple Face, and the Announcer.

Four gradually begins to feel guilty about leaving One imprisoned. While possessing the Sun, he looks at the Moon and becomes visibly saddened. Later, after overhearing Gelatin tell Flower, “Everyone deserves a second chance,” Four looks down guiltily.

As his name suggests, Four resembles a blue Arabic numeral 4. His design uses the open-top form of the numeral and may be based on its appearance in the original Minesweeper. He is drawn simplistically, with limbs that are lighter in color than his body. Like most algebraliens, Four has four fingers.