The Mass Effect series is considered by many as some of the best western role-playing games of all time, and it’s easy to see why this is the case. From engaging combat to a stellar storyline, the original Mass Effect trilogy has pretty much everything going for it… barring an ending that was extremely underwhelming for many.
That being said, the trilogy is still beloved by many, with its cast of characters being one of its biggest strengths. Across the three games, the player can partner up with some truly notable individuals, who will definitely play a major role in the events of these titles. One such character who makes a strong impression from the first game itself is Ashley Williams.
However, while Ashley might be a notable character in the franchise, there are certainly some rather odd details about her that feel unnecessary, out-of-place, and everything else along the same lines. Keeping this in mind, here are ten of the weirdest things about Ashley most players had no idea about.
10 She Was Originally Going To Be Voiced By Someone Else
Before Kimberly Brooks took on the role of Ashley Williams, there was actually another voice actor that had been shortlisted for the role — E. G. Daily. However, the developers didn’t feel any chemistry between Ashley and Shepard with Daily’s voice.
So, the role was recast and Kimberly Brooks ended up taking over this role instead — a rather fortunate turn of events, given the fact that Kimberly’s voice ended up being perfect for Ashley’s role.
9 She Makes A Rather Dated — Albeit Clever — Reference To Her Namesake From The Evil Dead
If the player decides to take Ashley on the Virmire mission in the first game, then Ashley will talk about how she’s going to decimate enemies with her “boomstick”.
For people who thought this choice of words was somewhat odd, “boomstick” is the word that the protagonist of the Evil Dead franchise uses to refer to his shotgun. Funnily enough, the protagonist is named Ashley “Ash” Williams too.
8 She And Her Father Love The Works Of Alfred Tennyson
For a character who is easily one of the hardest hitters in the entire game, it’s rather odd to see that Ashley is actually a lover of poetry — to the point where she even tries to woo Shepard by quoting Ulysses.
This poem was written by Alfred Tennyson — a rather beloved poet in the Williams family, as seen in the fact that Ashley’s middle name, Madeline, served as another homage to Tennyson as well.
7 Jennifer Hale Actually Voiced All The Romance Segments With Ashley As The Female Shepherd
For some reason, the original game actually has all the voice lines of a female Shepard enacting the romance scenes along with Ashley… even though Ashley was only meant to be romanceable for the main character!
This was apparently done in order to circumvent a programming error, meaning that players who download mods or edit their save files can actually engage in a romance with Ashley as FemShep… although the dialogue might be rather erratic at times due to the change in gender.
6 She’s Actually Hispanic, But The Game Never Clarifies This Fact
One rather random fact about Ashley that most people had absolutely no idea about is the fact that she’s mostly Hispanic… even though the trilogy does nothing to even remotely highlight her background!
This fact was confirmed behind-the-scenes by the developers, which is admittedly a neat touch when it came to making the article feel more well-realized in the grand scheme of things.
5 She Sent Her Sister’s Boyfriend To The Hospital Because He Was Being Pushy… But They Never Broke Up
As per Ashley herself, she apparently was very protective of her family, to the point where she had to take it upon herself to violently reprimand her sister’s boyfriend for making unwanted advances.
A rather odd thing about this fact is that Ashley’s sister and her boyfriend still ended up seeing each other… even though Ashley beat the man so severely that he went to the hospital!
There are a lot of parts to this story that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
4 Her Default Armor In The First Game Has The Colors Meant For Medics
Ashley’s default armor in the first game features shades of white and pink — something that isn’t inherently a problem in itself… until the player reads the description of the armors to understand that these colors are meant to show.
Apparently, as per the in-game description, the pink color is mainly reserved for medics in the Alliance. This makes it rather odd that a character like Ashley — who has absolutely no healing capabilities whatsoever and mainly serves as the firearms expert of the party — ends up with this kind of armor as her default choice.
3 She Has No Issues With Shooting Down A Teammate
While it’s true that a soldier should be ready to make tough decisions on the battlefield, one’s humanity should still remain intact even in such circumstances.
Keeping this in mind, it must be said that Ashley’s decision to shoot down her teammate Wrex the very moment he turns on the crew is rather cold-hearted. Perhaps it’s the right thing to do in hindsight… but that doesn’t take away from the chilling nature of this decision.
2 For Someone Whose Family Is Hated By The Military, Ashley Has No Problem Going Up The Ranks
Ashley doesn’t stop complaining about the fact that her father was the first human to surrender to alien forces in a war that happened before her time. This apparently besmirched the Williams name in the military, and she was generally given the short end of the stick when it came to most assignments.
However, she still reaches the rank of Gunnery Chief at the age of 25… and that’s even before meeting Shepard! After her heroic antics on the alliance, Ashley ends up being promoted even further!
This doesn’t really sound like the legacy of someone with a tainted background in the slightest.
1 There Was Apparently A Subplot Involving Shepard And Ashley Turning On Each Other
Apparently, in the third game, the developers played around with a subplot that would involve the Illusive Man turning Shepard and Ashley against each other — definitely a rather entertaining proposition.. but something that ultimately wouldn’t have come to pass.
After all, there were too many technicalities involved in this side story, with the biggest one being Ashley’s fate itself — after all, her potential death in the first game could’ve made any substantial work in this story largely inaccessible by many.
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