For those of you that did not read Part 1 of my “Favorite Mass Effect Squadmate?” series, I chose Garrus, Liara, Wrex, Legion and Mordin as my top 5 squadmates from the Mass Effect series. What follows are my next top 5 squadmates from the series.
Miranda Lawson
Javik
Ashley Williams
When first encountered in Mass Effect 1, Ashley is somewhat a hothead, showing immediate distrust towards aliens, with some labeling her as a “space racist.” However, after Shepard starts to probe her about her family and religion, we start to see a whole new light on Ashley. She isn’t racist, rather, she harbors resentment over the fact that her grandfather was the first human to surrender to an alien force, at Shanxi. This in turn created resentment among her superiors, who stuck her in menial tasks despite her technical prowess in combat. Constantly being snubbed due to her history created a form of resentment for Ashley towards aliens, as her family is forever held captive to her grandfather. However,after being on the Normandy SR-1 for a while, she begins to accept other alien cultures, becoming friends with Wrex, Liara, Garrus and especially Tali, even calling Tali “a little sister”. She even calls out other groups that she identifies as “space-racist”, showing her evolution from one of skepticism due to her past to one of understanding. She also shows aptitude at poetry, going so far as to quote Walt Whitman and other notable poets. If Shepard pursues romantic interest in her, she constantly teases him but also shows a more caring side to her, also seen when she talks about her family. She even goes as far as to say Shepard makes her “feel good enough” for once in her life. This in turn can extend to her feelings for Shepard, especially after his death in Mass Effect 2, where she admits that she prayed for Shepard daily and was completely torn apart after his death. This is also shown at the end of Mass Effect 3, where she grabs Shepard and tells him “Don’t leave me.”
Death closes all: but something ere the end Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
- Thane Krios
“When you shoot a gun, do you hold the gun responsible?” Introduced in Mass Effect 2 with quite a snappy entrance, Thane isn’t your typical assassin. He’s an assassin haunted over his failure to take care of his family, both in raising his son Kolyat and defending his wife, Irikah. This is further exacerbated by the nature of Drell memories, which allows him to relive most, if not all, of every detail of his life. As such, he engages in increasing suicidal missions in the hopes to end his life and visit his wife in the afterlife, along with possibly atoning for everything he’s done in the past. Despite his insistence on only being a tool, Thane still feels regret for everyone that he’s killed, and wishes to atone for his actions. After Shepard starts communicating with him, Thane reveals he is suffering from Kepral’s Syndrome, which is slowly killing him. After completing his loyalty mission, Thane is more at ease, now that he is able to have a working relationship with his son. If Shepard romances Thane, he reveals that, while originally hoping to die a quick death, Shepard has now caused him to rethink his priorities and he now wishes to spend his remaining moments with Shepard. This is most reflected when, right before his death, Thane has a prayer read for Shepard, hoping to clear him/her from his/her sins.
“Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand– Kalahira, wash the sins from this one, and set him on the distant shore of the infinite spirit. Kalahira, this one’s heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention. Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve. Guide this one, Kalahira, and s/he will be a companion to you as s/he was to me.”
Sleep now, and dream of bulbous woman.
- Jack
First introduced as Subject Zero, Jack arbors extreme hostility towards Cerberus due to the experiments they performed on her. Talking to her reveals the torture she went through and how she felt she got it off worse than everyone due to her biotic prowess. However, while on her loyalty mission, we start to see cracks in the armor. Jack starts to realize that some of what she remembered were lies she told herself to make herself feel bad. She forgets things, and starts to see that most of what she went through was fabricated on her part. This is further reinforced when she realizes that the mirror she would yell at was a one-way mirror. But the biggest shocker for her was talking to Aresh, another biotic who suffered under Cerberus. Aresh reveals how Jack actually had it best compared to the other biotics. The lesser biotics were mercilessly killed to ensure that Jack wouldn’t. Every new biotic discovered was quickly given to Jack. And Cerberus would inject Jack with drugs so that she would enjoy killing when they pinned her against other biotics in a gladiator style death-match.This in turn made her realize that she actually had it best compared to everyone else there. Afterwards, Jack starts to reveal a more emotional side to her. Talking to her reveals that she was taken advantage of multiple times, causing her to be somewhat insecure, and casual around sex. She also reveals that there was someone she genuinely cared about who sacrificed himself rather than abandon her, causing her survivor’s guilt. Talking to Shepard causes her to soften up, with her eventually becoming a teacher for talented biotic students. If Shepard showed romantic feelings for her, Jack reveals her more emotional side, crying as she confesses that she needs a significant other. She then starts to warm up and become less insecure, even being protective towards her students, part of which she blames on Shepard. However, Jack still has a little bit of spunk about her, cussing out Joker over the comm and telling Shepard “After this, I’m getting laid.” Because otherwise, she will destroy you.
- This article was updated on February 21st, 2018
More on Attack of the Fanboy :
Attack of the Fanboy / ORIGINAL ARTICLES / Favorite Mass Effect Squadmate? Pt. 2
