Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is here, and with some of BioWare's most memorable companions at play, fans are once again voicing strong opinions about the original trilogy's romance options. Fan-favorite romances include Garrus, Liara, and Tali. Among the most maligned are Mass Effect 1's human romance options, Kaiden Alenko and Ashley Williams.
There are some good reasons, however, that players should consider romancing Ashley Williams in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. That romance may be rocky, but it can also give Shepard a very different arc compared to some of the other available romances.
Ashley In Mass Effect 1
There are a few reasons players are put off from a romance with Ashley Williams in Mass Effect 1. Ashley's grandfather is revealed to be the first human to ever surrender to an alien when he lost a battle during the First Contact War with the Turians. Because of this, Ashley can be more prickly towards Shepard's alien companions at first.
Ashley also explicitly states that she is religious, which likely put off some players with different opinions. What makes Ashley a great romantic character across the original Mass Effect trilogy, however, is that there are so many opportunities for her and Shepard to be at odds. To see how, Ashley's romantic arc must be mapped over all of the original three Mass Effect games.
In the first game Ashley is still living in the shadow of her grandfather's defeat, which has led her be given fewer opportunities in the Systems Alliance than her skills deserver. She is also suffering survivors guilt as the only survivor of her team on Eden Prime. If a male Shepard befriends Ashley she will open up about her family history, her faith, and her interest in poetry.
If the player pushes forward to romance her, Ashley Williams will also do something very few companions do across the entire Mass Effect trilogy - call Shepard out for his romantic interest in someone under his command. This is one of the first moments that Ashley's independence in their relationship shines through, and it becomes particularly interesting in the next game.
Ashley In Mass Effect 2
If Ashley survives Virmire she will be with Shepard when the Commander dies during Mass Effect 2's opening. It is two years before the Lazarus Project successfully revives Shepard, and the player teams up with Cerberus. The reunion with Ashley on Horizon is not a happy one. She's furious that Shepard did not contact her right away, and angry at the grief she's felt over the last two years. Not only that, but Shepard's switching to Cerberus' side strikes her as highly suspicious.
This is probably the most reasonable reaction any Mass Effect 1 character has when learning Shepard has been brought back to life and is now taking orders from a faction that was hostile in the first game. Reuniting with Garrus Vakarian and Tali might have more feel-good moments, but Ash's reaction adds a lot more to Shepard's character. Ashley sends an email apologizing for her harsh words on Horizon, but she still stands her ground: "You came back," the email reads, "and it was like my prayers were answered. But I'm not who I was then, and neither are you." The email closes with a quote from Tennyson's poem Ulysses.
" Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. "
This is one of the bitter-sweet moments that reminds players of just how much they've actually lost despite having their life saved, and puts the bargain they've made with Cerberus and the Illusive Man into perspective. It also opens the opportunity for Shepard to have a separate romantic interest in Mass Effect 2, complicating the Commander's character and his relationship with Ashley further.
Not only does the romance show how truly complicated a character Ashley Williams is, but it also allows players the opportunity to roleplay as a more complicated version of Shepard that breaks through the Paragon-Renegade binary. Shepard has achieved an almost legendary status - "death closes all" literally does not apply to him. Shepard may have "strove with Gods," but in Mass Effect 2, a romanced Ashley feels like a part of his humanity that is at risk of slipping away.
Ashley In Mass Effect 3
This opens up the possibility of a few great character arcs to be finalized in Mass Effect 3 depending on the player's choices. In ME3 Ashley is badly injured, but also becomes a Spectre. In a tense confrontation, Cerberus attacks the Citadel and Ashley is left protecting the Council. Shepard has to convince her that Councilor Udina is actually working with Cerberus, otherwise Shepard is forced to kill her. If so, this ends up being one of the most tragic moments in the entire trilogy.
In most cases, however, a romanced Ashley can be talked down, and can be persuaded to rejoin the Normandy crew. Throughout the Mass Effect series, Ashley talks about the ways she deals with loss. She discusses her father's death, Shepard's death at the start of ME2, and in ME3 talks about the death of her sister's husband, a marine killed in the fight with the Reapers.
Although Shepard may be alive, this ultimately makes reuniting with Ashley and Shepard's sacrifice in Mass Effect 3 all the more painful. However, Shepard's death also plays into Ashley's greatest strength as a character. If there's anyone who can make it through the death of a loved on it's Ashley Williams, and in a way Shepard's death almost seems like part of the bargain of their reunion.
Ashley's arc is a slow burn that plays out over the entire original trilogy, but given the chance her romance is one of the most rewarding in the narrative. It may not have the consistency of the other Mass Effect romances, but that's exactly what makes it so compelling - it is a realistically strained relationship between two fiercely independent people with the fate of the galaxy on their shoulders. Plus, romancing Ashley lets Tali and Garrus get together, giving players their fair share of cute moments to distract them from their own complicated but criminally underrated relationship.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
