LogFAQs > #913492756

23. Ashley Nolan (Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, 6th Place)

Its amazing to me that Ashley became as big of a character as she was, and in fact, her edit is one of the reasons why Im not 100% against HHH like I could be. See, on paper, Ashley isnot the most attractive young girl Survivor could possibly cast. Shes not UGLY, but when you compare her to Simone, Jessica, Desi and Ali from this same season, shes very average. And I feel like when Survivor casts young women, theyre looking for sex appeal above all else, and any strategic acumen is just a pleasant surprise. In other words, I feel like Ashley was cast to be fodder for the players producers liked more.

However, Ashley is a lot like Jaime Dugan in China, in that by all rights, she shouldve been relegated to the background of the seasonBUT by sheer virtue of inserting herself into important moments, she got herself a solid edit. First, she aligned herself with the only other young person on the Heroes Tribe, which made people think they were a showmance and got Ashley targeted as a decoy boot against Katrina. Frightened by this vision of her role, she tried her best to distance herself from JPbut fortunately for her, the Heroes won the next few immunity challenges.

In a hilarious bout of irony, Ashleys rival from the Heroes Tribe, Alan, wound up on her team after the swap, and she had to rely on him as a close ally against the Joe/Desi duo. Sure, she had Devon (whose surfer mentality meshed well with her lifeguard status), but it didnt matter if she couldnt keep Alan in check. But they kissed and made upJUST in time for Joe to play an idol and take Alan out, because Joe fears other alpha males. Somehow, the girl who would NORMALLY be the victim of such idol play managed to survive, and subsequently make the merge.

From there, Ashley kinda fell into the role youd expect from someone of her archetypejust a number in a larger alliance. Joe even went to her and called her a sheep at one point. So what does Ashley do? She joins a counter-alliance and helps blindside the dominant group on the tribe, and then takes out Joe right after. Girl was making MOVES, AND she was making moves that actively benefitted her. She waited until the right time to flip and then flipped to better her position, which is SO much more impressive than just making moves to build a rsum.

Of course, Ashley flew too close to the sun by targeting Ben just a LITTLE too early (and being open about it as well.) The alliance shouldve stuck together and booted either Ryan or Chrissy, THEN think about taking out Ben when they have the numbers. That mightve alleviated Bens paranoia and prevented his eventual idol spree as well. This misstep led to Laurens boot, and then Ashley immediately after (in a bizarre choice since again, Mike was the biggest threat for the majority at that point.) Still, it gave us a HILARIOUS Ponderosa video, and Ashley voted for Chrissy to win, so it all works out in the end I suppose.
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